Page 10

“Perhaps you should be more cautious. If you wish to gain the king’s hand in marriage, you would do well not to upset the court, my dear.”

Valerie became quiet with thought. Even though she had no desire to earn the king’s marriage proposal, she needed to get close to him to find the answers she sought.

It does not matter. I intend to avoid the court as much as possible.She didn’t need to change.

Valerie also didn’t want to pretend her personality wasn’t what it was. She already had to pretend to be another person; changing who she truly was to play a soft woman would add confusion.

They were moving in a slow circle. Eventually, she was able to peek over her pretend uncle’s shoulder to see the king upon his throne once more. Her focus drifted to the guard, who had returned to his position next to him.

Their eyes met, and she held his gaze, since he refused to look away. Folding his arms across his chest, his head reared back very slowly, lifting, while his brow raised.

He appeared tall and muscular under his black dress suit. Ten red felt buttons ran in pairs up his coat while that same red was stitched into the seams, including the thick collar.

The hilt of his sword was silver, held by a mahogany brown scabbard. The hilt wasn’t fancy, but she could tell by the size of the thing that it was a claymore.

He has the eyes of a killer.Predatory, cunning, with a shining blue that almost appeared silver if he moved.

His inch-long hair was unruly, as though he didn’t care about it, yet it was such a dark shade of black, it almost appeared blue in the light.

Along with a sharp clip of jaw was a curved nose that almost looked as though it was buttoned with a triangle rather than a circle, making him look fiercer. His cheeks were not as high as the king’s, but there was a rugged edge to him.

She expected him to be stone cold with the way he looked, but the king leaned his head back and to the side to speak with him, and the guard’s eyes lit up. She could tell he gave a warm chuckle, turning his gaze away to speak to the king.

Now that the eye contact was broken, she allowed Vermont to continue their circle so her side was facing them.

The reason Valerie had met his eyes for so long was so he would know she wasn’t afraid of him, and to leave her alone. Men didn’t appreciate women like her, women who might cause trouble if they were approached wrong.

It was a silent warning that she would cause trouble for him at court, would cause strife with the king if he bothered her.

She gave similar looks to other men in the room who gazed at her while she danced. They shied away much quicker.

There were only a handful of women who could grab the attention of someone like Geryon within the first moment.

Watching this beauty – who appeared as delicate as a butterfly and walked with the elegance of a deer, all while wearing the stare of a snake – approach the king to bow to him was truly intriguing.

There was something about the cold, calculating look in her pale green eyes that made it hard to look away. She was focused, even when her eyes darted to look at him standing just off from the king, before she gracefully curtsied and bowed her head.

There was no smile when she was complimented by King Bradwick, nor did she grow rosy in the cheeks under the scrutiny of the court.

She is different from the other ladies.Then again, they were all different.

The black-haired one had been easy to make smile with a simple compliment – the king had spoken such tender words to each of them. She also held a certain grace, but she lacked a fierce gaze that would have grabbed his interest.

The redhead had been dazzling when she was introduced. The subtle lick at the seam of her lips and the inviting eye she gave would have made lesser men crawl over each other to bed her.

The female with light brown hair had not only curtsied, but she had almost gotten to her knees to do so. The complete dip in her bow allowed them to see straight down her dress – which was already low to accentuate her femininity. The roaring blush with a flutter of her lids at being complimented was an attempt to show she was flustered.

He could tell she was used to such words.

The only one who didn’t seem to care about the king’s affectionate words had been this woman. Then, her chin had lifted ever so slightly at Bradwick’s rude words about her father, like anything he said was insignificant.

As soon as the word came to mind, that’s when he realised the look she gave all of them was just that. It was as though they were all insignificant. Beneath her. Inferior.

Other than that cold look in her eyes, the other aspect of her that caught his attention was her long, slender neck.Like a swan...

Unlike the other females, who he’d already decided what kind of prey they reminded him of, she was the only one who resembled multiple. He couldn’t decide on which one to call her.

Why did Geryon like to think this way about women? He didn’t. He thought this way about all people, especially men.