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“Stay out of my head. You haven’t been invited.” I drew strength from my anger and faced him down. “And don’t presume that I’m with you in any way other than what I’m forced to be.”
He bowed his head mockingly. “Understood. But just as I haven’t been invited into your head, you were never invited into my lands.”
“I don’t have to be invited. I’m the Enforcer for the Drakán.”
“Not my Drakán,” he interrupted. “Only your clan.”
“Nevertheless. Law states that if my investigations lead me to think another clan is the guilty party, then I have a right to cross into their territory for questioning.”
“There’s no need to quote the law to me. I helped write it.” He glided closer to me as if he controlled gravity itself. His body flowed with the ethereal grace only the Ancients could achieve.
“You’re right, of course. I have been quite remiss in my duties, Rena, daughter of Alasdair. I apologize.”
His voice slid across my skin like liquid silk. His power nipped at the pulse points throughout my body. I shouldn’t have let him use his powers on me like this, but I couldn’t seem to help it. Were my own powers really so much less than I’d always thought?
“I am Julian, and I welcome you openly to my lands.” He took my hand and bowed formally before me, kissing the back of my hand lightly. “And never doubt yourself, little one, for your powers are great indeed. You only need the proper guidance.”
“I told you to stay out of my head.” I jerked my hand away from his, and the moment our skin separated it was as if I could breathe on my own again. I couldn’t seem to find my focus anywhere.
Julian laughed at the turmoil I was in, and I had a feeling he knew exactly what was happening to me. “Stop it.” The words came out as a growl, and my fire brought everything back into focus. I embraced my anger. It was the only thing in my entire life that had never failed me. His eyes flared in response to the rush of my power, but he shut down his reaction almost as soon as it had begun.
“I apologize, but it’s almost impossible not to hear them.”
“Try harder.”
“As you wish. Have you dined this evening?” he asked, changing the subject so quickly I had trouble following along. “I’d be pleased if you’d join me. We have much to discuss.”
I didn’t want to go anywhere with Julian. It was as if I was losing a piece of myself with every minute I spent in his presence. But I needed to follow protocol and accept his graciousness, such as it was. It would make things go smoother once the Council moved in to take over. I looked down at my ragged clothes and wished for nothing more than a hot bath and bed, but it would have to wait.
“If you’ll give me a moment to change, I’ll meet you in the dining room.”
“I think you look lovely as you are. Blood looks good on you, but there’s no need for you to change.”
Something whispered across my skin, delicate and soft, and it felt like heaven. I looked down and my travel-worn clothes were gone, replaced by a sheer gown the color of rubies. Thin satin straps barely held up the soft material. It was gathered at the bodice and flowed softly all the way to the floor. Other than the color, it reminded me of the dresses of long ago. But it didn’t seem at all appropriate now.
“That’s much better,” Julian said, huskily.
I ignored his offered hand, afraid of what his touch did to me. We walked side by side to the dining room. “Forgive me if I’m insulting you,” I said, “but I find your change of heart on my arrival insincere. I was under the impression there would be no peace between us, since you sent your Bellator to greet me.”
“Complete peace would make life quite boring. The Drakán have never been at peace. It’s not in our nature. Besides, I already know why you’ve come. I know why you’re here better than you do.”
“I had a feeling you might,” I said sarcastically.
“But I think we will speak of it later. Much later. Unpleasant talk disrupts the digestion.”
He spoke as if that was the end of the conversation, but I wasn’t ready to let my questions go unanswered. “You must understand my skepticism. There’s no way I would trust you after the way I was treated at my arrival. I’ve heard you are a most—unaccommodating man.” It was the nicest word I could think of to describe him.
“You speak the truth. My people learn quickly that I do not believe in forgiveness. My wrath is a powerful thing, but this is my right as Archos. My people do their best to never make mistakes, and my land flourishes because of it. We are stronger than all the others. Can you say the same of your people?”
The troubling thing was, I couldn’t say the same about our clan. My father ruled with vengeance, much like Julian. But he ruled only when he was forced to—when a problem grew so out of hand extreme measures had to be taken. He usually called me in to handle those extremities. He chose to spend most of his time in seclusion, in his dragon form, ignoring the basic needs of his people and forcing them to make do on their own. If they weren’t powerful, they were meaningless to him. If they were too powerful, he had me wipe their memories and make them malleable to his wishes.
In all honesty, our clan wasn’t flourishing at all. We were slowly withering to death. My people had businesses and families, and once a year they came to our home and pledged their loyalty to my father at the gathering. But there were plenty of our people who didn’t have families or businesses, who were forced to live on the streets and scrounge for food. These were usually the Drakán who hardly had any power at all, but whose savage beast was just prominent enough that they still had to feed their need to hunt and kill. My father ignored these Drakán and left them to their own devices until they started drawing attention to themselves and I had to kill them. I hated doing it, so I’d started making it a point to seek them out and use my powers of mind control to help them find jobs and lodging.
Julian interrupted my thoughts with his silver-tongued words. “There is a saying I’m sure you’ve heard, Rena. One that someone very wise once told me.”
“What is it?”
“Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.”
