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Julian chuckles. “You need to speak to your friend. She’s the one playing games.”
Stacey laughs. “Doesn’t surprise me. The girl’s been glowing ever since yesterday.”
My cheeks heat to inferno levels. Stacey’s allusion to the things I told her from the night before makes me want to crawl under the table and hide. Julian doesn’t seem to be fazed. In fact, he seems to be thrilled I told Stacey.
“So, she told you about that, did she?”
“Not at first. It was written all over her face, so I called her out. Whatever you did to her changed her. Got any friends?”
I scoff. “Okay, you two. Could we possibly talk about something else?”
I’m shifting in my seat, becoming antsy very quickly.
“Are you embarrassed, Marina?” Julian jests. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of. Everyone here has had sex before,” he says reassuringly.
Stacey snickers. “This is new for her, though. It can be embarrassing.”
They continue to talk as if I’m not sitting right here, making me feel increasingly uncomfortable. My mind runs away with itself.Just how many people over the past few centuries has Julian been with?Has he been in love before? Does he love me?All of these thoughts compound until my chest feels heavy. Worry and doubt have me questioning everything that happened between us.
Not noticing the sudden awkwardness, Stacey stands, informing us she needs to use the ladies’ room. When she’s out of earshot, Julian leans across the table, grabbing my hand in his.
“Marina, breathe,” he suggests. “I’m sorry we talked about those things. It was inappropriate. You have my word it will never happen again.”
Pulling my hand out of his grasp, I sit back, putting distance between us. “It’s fine, Julian,” I lie, and he knows it, based on the look he’s giving me.
He chews on his bottom lip, “To answer your question, there haven’t been many.”
I scrunch my eyebrows together, trying to figure out what he’s going on about.
“You shouldn’t worry about those things. My feelings for you run deep. That’s all that should matter,” he says.
He’s given himself away. There’s no possibility that he can know that’s what I was thinking. Unless he’s reading my mind. I glare.
“How? Have you been able to read my mind this whole time?”
Julian’s eyes bug out, realizing what he’s done. “I should’ve told you. It was wrong of me not to. It happened when I drank your blood at the auction.”
My eyes widen. “Is that normal?”
He shakes his head. “No. It’s not normal. I can only guess that it’s your blood that binds us. Since I consumed your blood at the auction, I’ve had this ability; I’m linked to you.”
“If that’s the case, why can’t I read your thoughts?”
“The only person who can read my thoughts is my familiar. She’d have to ingest my blood to have that capability.”
“What happens if you find this mythical familiar? Is that the end of us?”
He sighs. “Marina. I’ve lived hundreds of years and I’ve never experienced what the legend says. Neither have my brothers, and neither have any of the Borns from the other families. It’s a myth. One that’s been passed down by people who are jealous of our powers. They hope it’ll drive us insane. They want us to go chasing a unicorn.”
He sounds angry. Almost like he’s done just that, went on a wild goose chase, only to end up empty-handed.
“It doesn’t change the fact that you’ve been reading my mind.”
“I didn’t mean to be intrusive—I don’t purposely try to listen in on your thoughts. I only ever hear them when they’re screaming at me. Like when you’re extremely upset or frightened—it’s hard to ignore.
At that moment Stacey sits back down, looking between us. “Do you need me to leave again?”
“No,” I say, and at the same time the server arrives with our food. We continue to eat in silence, all while I try my hardest to shut down all thoughts. If Julian can read my mind, I don’t want to give him any more of an upper hand.
