Page 41 of Empire of Dark

She grabbed the water bottle next to her and held it out to me. “The evergreens soak in the sun and then hold the heat in place. It’s why I like it in here. I like the heat.”

Grateful for the water, I took a sip. For as skittish as I’d been about my drinks or food being spiked, I instinctively trusted this girl and didn’t think twice as I guzzled down a quarter of the bottle. I usually did trust the young ones. They hadn’t lived long enough to do anything other than speak their minds. Intrigue and deceit weren’t yet a sport for them.

“Thank you.” I handed the bottle back to her. “I had no idea I would be lost that long in the maze. Which probably makes this the perfect spot to escape from everyone and I’ve gone and interrupted your peace.”

The toe of her foot dragged through the gravel and she looked up at me from below her thick bangs. “It’s nice to have someone other than my father to speak with. Not that he speaks to me that often.”

I nodded. Almost every young adult that came to the Academy had brewing issues with one or both of their parents. That was what happened when people lived for hundreds of years. The natural cycle of birth, alive for eighty years, then death, was lost on us. Time with loved ones wasn’t precious because time wasn’t limited.

Time just sifted past and we barely noticed.

“He told me about you.” I smiled at her, attempting to put her at ease.

“You talked to him about me?”

“I did.”

Fear flashed in her eyes. “Why?”

“I was mad that you don’t know how to read. It should be a basic, and in your case, it is not.”

Her look of fear relaxed, replaced with curiosity. “Did you yell at him?”

My mouth quirked into a smile. “I did. He did not take it well.”

She snorted a laugh. “I don’t imagine he would have. He likes control. He likes order. That is why he limits his time with me. I don’t fit into the order of his world.”

“He said you can control earth—lava?” My hand motioned to the granite gravel under my feet. “Which is probably why you like heat so much.”

Her head angled to the side and she gave a half-hearted nod. “Probably.”

I took a deep breath, taking a leap—I didn’t want to push my way into Venetia’s life, but I also could recognize when someone needed a friend. “Do you mind if I ask you a question? You can feel free to say no, of course.”

Her pretty, maple syrup-colored eyes that matched Damen’s except for the triangular dot of blue in her left iris, narrowed at me. “What’s the question?”

My forefinger flicked out to point at her phone where I could still see the stilled frame of a movie that had been paused. “Do you want me to teach you to read? Your phone may be more fun that way. You could interact with people online. Make friends from far away. I’ll be here at the castle for a long while—a year—so it should give us plenty of time to work on your skills. But only if you want to, of course.”

She stared at me for a long moment like I had just asked her to lick the bottom of my shoe. But then her bottom lip trembled, her eyes glossing over. “You would do that?” Her voice small, it broke with the question.

I scooted closer to her, my hand going to rub her back. “Oh, honey, of course I would. In fact, you’d be doing me a favor, because I’m having a hard time figuring out how to fill my days here. I’ll help you so much you’ll cry uncle in no time.”

Her brow furrowed. “Cry uncle?”

“Ask me to stop.”

She took a deep breath and started to nod, but then her head started to swing back and forth and she scooted away from me on the bench, almost to the point of slipping off the end. “No. You shouldn’t be around me.”

My lips pursed. “Well, that seems a little arbitrary and sudden. Why not?”

“No one should.”

“Be around you? Who says that?”

“My father.”

I seethed in a silent breath.

Of course. Damen. Who else would be an oppressive ogre over this girl?

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