Page 201 of Interion

“You can't kill,” I whispered, as if it were both a question and a statement.

“No gorgon, human, or faerie. That's what the blood pact demands!” Serguei responded, returning to his amused expression and rocking on his heels. “But she doesn't know that.”

When his eyes turned to me, they were soft. A smile formed on my lips, and I looked away.

“I swear I don't understand why the palace receptionist is a medusa,” I murmured. “I mean, it doesn't make sense—she'll scare away any visitor.”

“That's exactly the reason. The king doesn't like visitors, and there's nothing better than having a starving serpent in the entrance hall.”

He put his hands in his pockets, exactly as Zion did.

“But being so close to society, doesn't she attack the guests?”

Medusas could attack if they were very hungry, even more so if provoked, which was why they preferred to stay away from the five nations, living outside the walls in a place called the Serpents' Fort, east of Interion. Serguei turned to Zion and smiled, as if remembering something.

“It only attacks foolish, unsuspecting people with enticing blood. There’s a story etched in these walls...” He gestured around the room, wearing a half-smile that spelled trouble. “It tells of a boy who was once bitten for being... Guess what?”

“Foolish?” I asked, mouth agape.

“Exactly, a complete fool! And do you know what we discovered from that incident?”

“That a gorgon is dangerous?”

That was pretty obvious. I thought of Kaori again and felt confused. She certainly didn’t fit the description of gorgons. Serguei laughed, his eyes gleaming with amusement.

“We discovered that serpents and shadows are natural enemies—they repel each other and can’t harm one another. But... it’s better not to talk about that,” he said, turning to me and whispering deliberately loud in my ear. “The boy is still sensitive about it.”

I wanted to laugh. Zion had been attacked by a gorgon? At that moment he was sulking in his corner, pretending not to pay attention, but his clenched jaw gave him away.

“Sirena is the king’s lover, and he feeds her well. There’s a feeding room here in this palace, with five willing providers and the king himself. So there’s no reason for her to attack—only to scare.”

“So the king has eccentric tastes.”

I caught myself imagining the two of them together, but soon my treacherous mind made me picture Kaori and Zion instead. I looked in the elevator mirror and saw myself blushing when I noticed Serguei and Zion watching me. Something about my scent must have been giving away my thoughts. Serguei cleared his throat:

“The sun brought out your beauty.” He smiled at me. From his anxious tone, I could tell he was trying to distract me from morbid thoughts about Kaori. “Your freckles are adorable today. I could even say you’re the most beautiful Drute I’ve ever seen.”

My cheeks flushed even deeper, and I did everything I could to avoid looking at either of them. I felt like I was going to disintegrate right there.

“Thank you,” I said awkwardly. Only Breno ever complimented me, but never so directly. Everyone else usually found me strange, and their opinion outweighed my only friend’s.

I stared at myself in the mirror and tried to see what Serguei saw. I was different. Too different to be pretty, and I found my eyes frightening. They were large and gleamed gold. In fact, all my features were strong, angular, and expressive, especially my highly arched eyebrows. People were probably right to find me strange—I really was different from the delicate fae of Interion. In the end, Serguei’s compliment reached my ears, but not my heart.

The elevator stopped, and Serguei and Zion led me out. We walked down a carpeted hallway lined with paintings and sconces. We reached the end of the corridor and finally stopped in front of a golden door.

“Welcome to my home!” he said, opening the door.

The first thing that reached my senses was the soft melody of a violin playing through the sound system. The second, no less pleasant, was the delicious smell of the banquet laid out on a long carved wooden table to the left.

I walked through the apartment, taking in everything around me. It was a lofty, spacious, and very well-organized space, but despite its size, there were no dividers between rooms—everything was exposed. On the far side I saw a living room with a giant screen, and to Serguei’s right, a balcony extended outward, revealing a long, narrow pool that began inside the apartment and ended in an infinity edge on the balcony. The entire exterior portion of the apartment was surrounded by heavy black curtains, and only one of the huge windows was open, showing a view of the well-lit city center. The only walls that weren’t glass had been transformed into shelves lined with countless books. There were only three doors in the place, and I suspected they were bathrooms.

Zion sat on the gray velvet sofa, wearing the same expression as me, as if every detail were a surprise. I couldn’t help but notice a huge painting of a woman with an intriguing smile. It hung on the farthest wall, next to a round bed set on black marble steps. The monochromatic apartment was beautiful, but very open and exposed. Exactly like a mind without barriers.

“You have excellent taste, Serguei,” I said, heading to the table and setting the cake in its center. He looked at the cake with such interest that he barely heard the compliment. When he shifted his attention from the cake, he focused on me, and I felt as if something had pierced my spine. I put my hand on my chest—it hurt in a strange way.

Suddenly, his presence flooded my mind.

“How rude, lying to me. You don’t need to pretend you like my house.”