Page 39 of Empire of Dark

I had nothing.

Try as I might, after that kiss with Damen yesterday, I couldn’t conjure anything I needed to. Not hate, not revulsion, not disgust—everything that Ishouldbe feeling.

And I had nothing.

From bed, I stared up at the ornate plaster ceiling, reliefs of grape leaves twining about the edges of the room.

That damn kiss had embodied everything I wasn’t here to do.

I hated him. Hated his kind. Hated his family.

I couldn’t even explain why I’d let him kiss me. I blamed the adrenaline from the sparring.

It really couldn’t be that he’d wormed a little hole through the layer of hate into my brain. It really couldn’t be that I could barely take my eyes off of him sometimes, mesmerized by how his body moved, smooth but with bridled control—a sleek panther with the scent of prey in its nose. Every step he took bled sensuality and he knew it. Owned it. He was more damn handsome than any malefic had right to be.

But no. Adrenaline. Unbound adrenaline was my problem. Also my disgrace.

After that kiss, all I’d felt was desire pounding a greedy, vicious track through my core that stole all rational thought from my head. The bizarre energy that had coursed back and forth between us had thrown me off—I’d never felt something like that before and had no explanation for it.

Though maybe that’s what he did as a breeder. Maybe all of this was mundane for him. It probably was. I’d just never been in this close of proximity with a male malefic breeder before.

I needed distance.

Distance from him. From the kiss. From how he had so easily swiped the pain away from my head.

So I had ducked out of dinner the previous night, and he hadn’t come to find me.

Not that I knew what to make of that. He hadn’t once let me out of the dinner commitment.

But I wasn’t going to go seek him out to find out the reason. No. I was staying in bed, deep under the warm silk covers, hiding away from breakfast as well.

A knock echoed into my room from the door.

Reluctantly, I pushed myself upright in bed. “Come.”

The door opened and Josie stepped in, carrying a large silver platter with a pile of breads and several glasses atop it. “Good morning, Miss Ada. I was told to bring up breakfast to you as it is already late in the morning.”

It was? I glanced at the clock atop a bureau across the room. I hadn’t even bothered to look at the time when my eyes crept open.

Josie brought the tray to the bed, setting it along the edge of the mattress, the platter large enough to easily balance over the mounds of bedding.

I reached for a lemon poppy seed muffin. “Thank you. This is overaccommodating—I could have just skipped breakfast or gone down to the kitchens for food.”

“It’s not a problem. Oh, wait”—her hand whipped out and she snatched the muffin out of my fingers and took a bite.

My jaw dropped as I stared at her.

Her eyes crinkled. Apologetic, she held her free hand in front of her mouth as she talked with her mouth full. “Mr. Folotto told me to take a bite out of everything before you ate it.”

I stared at the muffin, now topless. She’d just bitten off the best part of a muffin. Regrettable, but at least I wasn’t falling face down onto the floor from being drugged.

My brows lifted. “He did? Really?”

She nodded, still trying to swallow the huge bite she’d taken as she held out the bummer of the bottom of the muffin to me.

I took it from her, looking down at it with sadness. “Or were you just eying the sugary crust of the muffin top?”

A smile went onto her face and she swallowed hard, a laugh coming up her throat. “Sorry. I mean, I won’t deny that it was pretty tasty.” She pointed to the chocolate chip muffin. “Maybe you want that one instead. I’ll take a smaller bite. I swear.”

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