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“Are you a witch?” he asked.
“No. I’m not.”
“Okay.”
She blinked at his easy response, then relaxed. His silence seemed to give her a boost of encouragement as she continued.
“I also have knowledge passed on long ago from someone in the Otherworld. That’s how I know things.”
“I see.” His brain whirled, the questions flying. But one was more important than the rest. “Was he excited when he met Denison’s gaze?”
“Yes.”
Then another question floated in, curiosity nudging him insistently until he had to ask.
“What about me? How do I feel?”
Her mouth parted, then closed. She couldn’t quite meet his gaze, but buckled up at the last second and did.
“I can’t read you,” she admitted.
Again, it was the last thing he expected. Fascination unfurled as he kept eye contact, daring her to look away. When she didn’t, his thumb brushed her jawline.
“Yet you are not scared of me?”
“I am.”
It was said lightly, just a tad reluctantly, but it was enough to remind him that under all of the guise, she only agreed because her life was on the line—and he held it there. It was as effective as getting doused with freezing water, jerking him back as he let her go. Winter lost her footing slightly, but he refrained from reaching out. She recovered, cheeks flushing pink. He bit back a groan, refusing to touch, and cleared his throat.
“Tonight…”
“Yes?”
“You will no longer be staying in your room but in my room.”
“What?”
“I need every information I can get.”
“No.”
“Winter…”
“I won’t…he’s still scared.”
It cut off whatever argument was about to happen as he glanced at his brother slipping out of the hall. Seconds later, Denison went for another exit. Nate’s body snapped, ready to move, but he looked around first until someone caught his eye.
“Nate.”
Matthew Chatterley approached, a welcome face in a world of pretend politeness and politics, a smile already ready for Winter. Beside Matthew was Rebekah, so polished in her dress and pieces of jewelry that no one would have suspected she had been a human servant once. Rebekah assessed Winter with more caution, but the look on Nate’s face had them both reacting. Within seconds, they were in the two’s circle, and Nate was whispering in Winter’s ear.
“I have to go. Don’t leave this hall until I’m back. Stay with them.”
Her hand reached out, tugging at his sleeve, but he was quicker in evading her grasp. He nodded once in her direction, trying to convey one message:They won’t harm you.Then the two closed in on Winter, distracting her with introductions. They also redirected their attention until the music turned louder.
Nate slipped out of the hall undetected.
Following his brother wasn’t a hardship, not when Nicholas had favorite spots all around the castle, just like Nate did. He found his brother in the third favorite spot: a large glass window that overlooked the front of the castle, the lush forests leading to the ocean, and the large strip of a market where humans who didn’t belong in houses thrived doing different tasks that benefited Ostrov Krov. It was dark now as they were smart enough to get out of the vampires’ way in the latter’s natural waking hours.
