Total pages in book: 215
Estimated words: 206625 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1033(@200wpm)___ 827(@250wpm)___ 689(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 206625 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1033(@200wpm)___ 827(@250wpm)___ 689(@300wpm)
“The crowd wasn’t polarized. They were all for it. I was there.”
“You were torn. In fact, you begged Tairn not to kill her, damn well knowing she’d just come after you again.”
That point was still debatable.
“Fine. But let’s not pretend that you didn’t do most of that for yourself. It would be inconvenient for you if I died.” I shrug, blatantly poking at him to help ignore the rising tide of lust thundering through me.
He stares at me with disbelief. “You know what? We’re not fighting tonight. Not if you want to learn how to shield.”
“Fine. We’re not fighting. Teach me.” I tilt my chin. Gods, I barely reach his collarbone.
“Ask me nicely.” He leans closer.
“Have you always been this tall?” I blurt the first thing that comes to mind.
“No. I was a child at some point.”
I roll my eyes.
“Ask me nicely, Violence,” he whispers. “Or I’m gone.”
I can feel Tairn at the edge of my mind, his emotions ebbing and flowing, and know the next wave is going to hit hard. How freaking long can those two possibly take? “How often is it like this with them?”
“Often enough that you’re going to need proper shields. You won’t ever be able to block them out completely, and sometimes they forget to block us, like tonight. That’s why the churam helps, but at least it’s like walking by a brothel instead of actively participating in one.”
Well…shit. “Right then. All right. Will you teach me to shield?”
A smile curves his mouth, and my gaze drops to his lips. “Say please.”
“Are you always this difficult?”
“Only when I know I have something you need. What can I say, I like making you squirm. It’s like a sweet little slice of payback for what you’ve put me through these last couple of months.” He brushes the snow off my hair.
“What I’ve put you through?” Unbelievable.
“You’ve scared me nearly to death once or twice, so I think saying please is a fair request.”
Like he’s ever played fair a day in his life. I take a deep breath and swat at a snowflake that lands on my nose. “As you prefer. Xaden?” I smile sweetly up at him and inch a little closer. “Would you pretty, pretty please teach me how to shield before I accidentally climb you like a tree and we both wake up with regrets?”
“Oh, I’m firmly in control of my faculties.” He smiles again, and I feel it like a caress.
Dangerous. This is so damned dangerous. Heat flushes my skin, so hot that I debate tossing my cloak to the ground just to get a little relief. Notably, Xaden isn’t wearing one.
“And since you asked so nicely.” He adjusts his stance and brings both his hands up to my cheeks, cradling my face before sliding them back to hold my head. “Close your eyes.”
“It requires touching me?” My eyes flutter shut at the sensation of his skin against mine.
“Not at all. Just one of the perks of not thinking too clearly. You have incredibly touchable skin.”
The compliment makes me suck in a breath. So much for controlling his faculties.
“You need to envision somewhere. Anywhere. I prefer the top of my favorite hillside near what’s left of Aretia. Wherever it is, it needs to feel like home.”
The only place I can think of is the Archives.
“Feel your feet hit the ground and dig in some.”
I imagine my boots on the polished marble floor of the Archives and wiggle them a little. “Got it.”
“That’s called grounding, keeping your mental self somewhere so you aren’t swept away by the power. Now call to your power. Open your senses.”
My palms begin to tingle, and a flood of energy surrounds me, just as saturating as it was in my bedroom but without the pain. It’s everywhere, filling the Archives and pushing at the walls, making them bow and bend, threatening to break them. “Too much.”
“Focus on your feet. Stay grounded. Can you see where the power flows from? If not, just pick a place.”
I turn in my mind. The barrage of molten power is flowing through the door. “I see it.”
“Perfect. You’re a natural. It takes most people a week just to learn how to ground. Now, do whatever you need to mentally do to wall yourself off from that current. Tairn is the source. You block that power, and you’ll have some control back.”
The door. I just need to close the door and twist the enormous, circular handle that seals the Archives off for fire control.
Desire makes my heart pound, and I grab on to Xaden’s arms, anchoring myself in reality.
“You’ve got this.” His voice sounds strained. “Whatever you create in your mind is real to you. Shut off the valve. Build a wall. Whatever makes sense.”
“It’s a door.” My fingers dig into the soft material of his tunic, and I mentally heave myself against the door, forcing it shut one inch at a time.