bChapter /bb12 /b

bI /bacted like a damn fool, throwing hundreds of rubies at a scrawnyb, /bbgraceless /bgirl just because I thought I saw something in her gaze.

I brush her mind again with my invisible fingers.

2

“I said stop.” She ms the book shut with a sharp sound. “Don’t you have your favorite btoy /bto by /bwithb, /bcold and stiffb, /bbsir/b?”

She nearly makes meugh.

??? 1:| ? 1:|:?

?d ??????????????????

I nce at the book resting now on herp. I’m surprised to bsee /bthat she’s reading about us and our history. I slowly withdraw my fingers from the surface of her mind, which today seems imprable. That frustrates me. The arbitrariness of her mind. On the first day in the castle, her mind bwas /bwide open, and now it’s locked tight.

The m of my bedroom door breaks the connection. I abandon the library and my incorporeal form and return to sitting hands folded beneath my chin.

The one responsible for the noise is Mavka, who stares bat /bme with wide beyes/b.

Her blood is souring from fear.

You called for meb?/bb” /bThe words leave her lips in a weak stammer.

“I did.” I make a motion with my index finger, inviting her closer. “Come.”

She walks toward me with short steps, keeping ba /bcautious distanceb. /bShe knows I’m not pleased–my face bis /bba /bperfect mirror

at my desk with my

of

my emotions.

“I’ve heard of certain behaviors of yours that displease me.” I run my tongue bover /bone of my fangs. “How many times must I tell you I don’t like childish behavior?b” /b

“But bsir/b, Ib…/bb” /b

“Do you feel threatened by that little girl?b” /b

The pounding of her blood reaches my ears. She clenches her fists around the silk of her dress. She doesn’t look me in the eye, keeps her gaze down while a soft blush covers her cheeks.

“They’re calling her the ruby queen, bsir/bb./b”

“So?” I reply, narrowing my eyes. “Queens wear bcrowns/b, and the only thing that the peasant had on her head when I bought her was a tangle of hair. Don’t be pathetic, Mavka. You’re my favorite because of your intelligence, Don’t ruin it.”

Thatst line makes her lift her chin with a mixture of shame and rage flickering in her amber beyes/bb, /bwhich bcreates /ba wild contrast with her tanned skin and thick ck hair. Many times, when I look at her, those eyes remind me bof /bsome of my natural enemies.

“I won’t disappoint you again.”

“Words aren’t enough, Mavka.” I click my tongue. “Only I y with my toys. Don’t try to poison the minds bof /bthe others again. If you do, I’ll strip you of the arrogance that allows you to speak to the others that way. And bbelieve /bme, you won’t like what you’re reduced to.”

“bIt /bbwas /bba /bmistake. It won’t happen again.” She lifts her gaze slightly without meeting my eyes. “I let my human emotions get the better of me.”

“Of course it won’t happen again”

I stand, dragging the chair from the desk. She flinches, scared by the abruptness of my movements, and squints. I pace through the room, in no hurry to reach her. Her blood’s scent travels through the air.

I stop in front of her. Her facees to my chest; she doesn’t dare look at me bagain/bb, /band I end up grabbing her chin between my fingers with enough force to draw a grimace of pain, but not enough to break the bone.

“If I hear again that your damn tongue bis /bspouting nonsense, I lean in until bwe’re /bbreathing the same air, “I’ll rip it out for the crows to bpeck /bat and turn you into a Broken like others before you.”

Broken

That word makes the blood drain from anyone’s face just by hearing it. That’s what we call the poor wretches who manage to anger me or whose existence seems so useless I end up destroying their minds. I berase /beverything that made them who they were, leaving only an empty, useless shell that, with btime/b, ceases to exist. My reputation for being insatiable is true–many die from failing to satisfy my hunger. But many others, bmany /bbmure/b, die from the consequences of my gifts.

I extend my power into her mind, always wide open to me. I brush its threads with my invisible fingersb, /bmaking them vibrate like the tense strings of a harp.

+15

b2/2 /b

b12:18 /b

“Cassian…”

My name escapes her lips tinged with panic. She knows I’m toying with the fragility of her mind.

“Have I made myself clear enough?”

She nods, still ashen–faced and trembling.

“Then get out. Out of my sight.”

She pulls baway /bfrom me abruptly, clutching the skirts of her dress with trembling hands before running out of the room, her ck hair swinging over her bare back.

I look at my reflection in one of the windows facing outside and see my eyes glowing with pure rage. The intense blue has been nearly swallowed by the ck of my pupils. bI /bcross my hands behind my back and gaze out, where the light of dusk bathes the gardens.

Mavka’s scent has begun to repulse me–more than usual. Meanwhile, the new addition, the little ruby queen as the staff insist on calling herb, /bhas a sweet scent, and the vein on her neck won’t stop calling me to caress it.

This thought makes my blood boil. I m my fist into the window, which shatters into hundreds of tiny crystals.

Let Lilith protect that creature before I make her limp neck dangle from my hands.

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