Page 48 of Shadow Mark

“Does the ritual require a certain number of shakes?”

“Maybe I just like holding your hand?” she asked in a playful tone and gave a comedic wink.

Baris frowned and jerked his hand away. “You tease me.”

“That’s what friends do,” she said.

He huffed, as if disbelieving her words. Still, it felt correct. The tension between them had disappeared. He had the same comfortable feeling as he had the previous night before he mucked it up.

Friends. It was not what he desired, but more than he deserved.

“We have a similar superstition,” he said.

“Really?” Lenore perked with interest. “Tell me everything.”

“It is said that the peripheral eyes watch you with suspicion but the front eyes for trust,” he explained.

“Wait, the peripheral…you mean the side eyes are dodgy? We say that, too, giving someone the side-eye when you think they’re acting suspicious.” She looked out of the corner of her eyes to demonstrate.

“Not exactly. We do not use all this constantly.” He waved his hand from ear to ear. “When we are in conversation with someone who has our full concentration or trust, we use the front and let the peripherals drift out of focus. But if we are on alert, all eyes are focused.”

“Interesting. Is that why people are always spooked with Prince Vekele? Because he does this?” She turned her head to look away and tilted her head. “It freaks people out because his body language is on alert?”

“It is a combination of his vision loss and the use of his peripheral sight. Arcosian culture can be unforgiving. A physical weakness in an opponent is to be exploited. When you are the one who is weak, you hide it or yourself,” he explained. “Vekele does neither.”

Not now. In the months after the attack that cost him his vision, Vekele had spent nearly a year hiding. Baris never, not once, considered his brother damaged or without value. It took sending him on a mission to investigate an anomaly that turned out to be a portal from Earth to convince Vekele that he still had worth.

“Right, right. You’re all fancy murderers,” Lenore muttered.

“Is Earth such a peaceful planet? No scheming or betrayal? War and conquest?”

“We definitely have those things. Are you doing it now? Using your side eyes?” She leaned to one side, making a comedic production of examining him.

“No.”

“Ah, you trust me.” That smile returned to her face. It was like the first touch of a cool breeze on a stifling hot day. It revived him.

It would not be easy to remain merely a friend and keep distance between them, as she requested. He craved her. She affected him and inspired great emotions. It was no simple trick to turn off those emotions. He did trust her. She had captured his attention completely.

She could never know. So he lied.

“It is difficult to maintain such constant awareness.”

“Because of your condition?”

“Yes,” he said, thankful that he could mostly speak the truth. Lies were more effective when they were built from truths. “My eyes tire, and I am prone to headaches.”

“I’ve got like a dozen more questions?—”

Baris held up a hand. “Prepare a list. Medic Harol will be thrilled to have such an enthusiastic pupil. We depart in a few hours. Will you be ready?”

She bobbed her head up and down in the same motion he had observed in Sarah when she meant to agree. “Everything is still packed. I want to talk to a few people before leaving.”

“See Des. He will authorize you for the ship and see to the transportation of your belongings,” Baris said. When she left, she took the warmth and vitality in the room with her.

Baris tapped the side of his head, just below the peripheral eye.

A friend. He hadn’t had one of those in a long time.

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