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Alcántara. There was only one reason the vampire would show up here, and it was me. Ronan looked back at me, and I met his meaningful glare with a smile.
It was as childish as he’d accused, and I knew both feminine triumph as well as deep regret. A part of me knew he was right—I’d made some dumb, impulsive choices, and here I was, yet again stooping to some pretty immature depths.
He said, “Good day, Acari Drew,” and there was no warmth in his voice, no old Ronan, no Annelise.
Ronan and Alcántara—the two were mutually exclusive. The closer I got to one, the more distant the other became.
My emotions were complicated and unsettling as I watched him walk away. I feared I’d lost a friend but gained a vampire.
But maybe I needed to harden my heart. Amanda had told me herself—there were no allies on this island. And the only judges with final say were the ones with fangs.
I braced myself, putting a poised smile on my face, and turned. “Buenos días, Master Alcántara. ”
That pleased him, and I was met by a smile, slow and full of promise. “When we are alone like this, querida, you may call me Hugo. ”
I opened my mouth to say something, but I was speechless. Hugo? I was floored. And suddenly very nervous.
He gave a sultry chuckle and put his hand on my shoulder. “Fret not, young one. Thin
k of it as practice. For our upcoming mission. You must accustom yourself to subterfuge. The way of pretending to be someone you are not. ”
“Hugo, then. ” My voice was breathy. I was navigating some seriously treacherous terrain.
My ribs were killing me, too, his touch a burden on my shoulder. I forced myself to stand up straight, not to lean into the pain. A new path was one thing, but I wasn’t ready to have him ask about my injury. I had a giant, purple bruise on my chest that I imagined would’ve really floated his boat.
He stepped closer. “Did you like your rose?”
I consciously stayed put, defying every instinct to step back. “I did. Thank you. ”
“You are like that hothouse flower. ” He shifted, and my body froze in place as he began to run his hand slowly down my arm. And then I forgot my pain completely, because he was lowering himself to kneel before me. He brushed his hand over my hip, grazing it lightly down my leg, until his fingers came to rest at the top of my boot. He pulled my remaining throwing stars from their holster and stood again before me, stroking the blades. “You, a rose, with these very sharp thorns. ”
It was too intense. But it was so amazing, too, and flattering, I couldn’t help but glow at the attention. Particularly after the disastrous conversation I’d just had with Ronan. As creepy as it was, at least Alcántara didn’t treat me like a child. He treated me like a woman.
“And your dress?” He held my gaze, and I couldn’t look away. His eyes were black and bottomless, and their intensity made me feel as if I were the only person in the world. “Did you like that, too?”
“It was lovely. ” I let myself bask a moment in his attentions, even though I knew, holding his gaze, sharing his smile, it was reckless. But I let myself believe, just for an instant, that this was normal, that this was merely a guy who liked me and whom I could trust. It wasn’t, though, and I couldn’t. Alcántara’s hypnotic eyes and voice made Ronan’s powers of persuasion seem like child’s play.
With a modest bow, he swept his arm toward the target, ending our moment. “But I have interrupted your training. ”
I blinked, gathering my thoughts. “No interruption. I was just finishing up. ”
He strolled to the tree, fingering the holes in the bull’s-eye I’d hung there. “Might I watch you?”
“Certainly. ” Not. Performing under Alcántara’s scrutiny was the last thing I wanted. This was my own damned fault, though—I’d been the one who wanted to show off, practicing in public for all and sundry to see.
He still held my stars and studied them. “Such lovely craftsmanship. Did you know shuriken are illegal in many countries? England, for example. They are so small and so lovely, and yet so lethal. ” He brought one to his face and kept it still as he looked through the points, meeting and holding my gaze. “Much like you, no? Small, lovely, lethal. ”
What on earth to say to that? “I…I try. ”
“Do not forget, I have seen you fight, Acarita. You do more than try. You succeed. ” He tilted the star, and despite the gray skies, the flawless steel glimmered. When he handed them back to me, our fingers touched, and his skin was nearly as cool as the steel.
“Watcher Priti tells me you have a proclivity for such things,” he continued. “More than strength, more than talent, I believe you possess great focus. This is the hardest of all skills, I think. ”
He looked as if he expected me to say something, but should it be modest or confident? I said carefully, “I imagine it’s a lot like meditation. ”
“Show me. ” He nodded toward the target. “Show me how focused you can be, practicing before me. Most humans become so discomposed in our presence. ”
Contrary to what Ronan thought, I wasn’t a dumb bunny. I knew there was more going on here than Alcántara simply wanting to check out my skills.
