Page 28

“I disagree; I could be far closer,” he answered before he began to cut his way through the skin of the fruit.

There was a small silence, and he noted her lips thinned.She knows I am right.

She softened her look. “What do you want from me?” Her eyes refused to leave him, like she was cautious.

“Who said I wanted anything from you? I simply came here to eat my fruit.” When he cracked open the pomegranate, the ruby-red seeds began to fall.

They fell from his elevated spot onto her. She used the book to protect herself as they sprinkled down.

“You spilled them on me. Why would you pick something so messy? Most consume these with a bowl beneath them.”

“I like things that are difficult. The harder something is, the more it satisfies me.” He grinned at the small frown she gave.

“Then you must be easy to bore.”She is perceptive.

“There is talk between King Bradwick and I that you very much find me unpleasant.” He began to pick at his fruit, having to chase the seeds occasionally when they fell on top of the cabinet.The servants will definitely come here to find a mess.“I am interested as to why that is.”

“Well, that is most unfortunate,” she answered before her eyes finally fell away to look at the book she was reading. “Since you are nothing more than a face.”

Geryon raised a brow, pausing his attempt to scoop seeds with his knife. “How do you mean?”

“I cannot hate someone I have never spoken to, heard about, or even know the name of. All I know of you is your face.”

She has never inquired about me?The court would have informed her of who he was if she asked. Somehow, Geryon was offended at her lack of interest.

He grinned at the terrible emotion she gave him.

“Perhaps we can rectify that, and you may come to despise me for real.” He continued with his messy fruit, bringing some to his mouth. “We would not want to make a liar out of the king.”

“We do not need to become acquainted as nemeses. The king can be whatever he wishes.”

“Then you would prefer to make a liar out of me? Do you not care that I may be punished for trickery?”

She turned the page of her book slowly, but she didn’t skip a beat in answering. “Then you should not have spoken so forwardly with an assumption rather than truth.”

“You are a very cold woman.”

Geryon pouted, but the humour in his eyes didn’t match his lips. He could tell she noticed the conflicting emotions when she peeked up at him.

“I thought you would have already deduced that, since you have been keeping a watchful gaze upon me and the other ladies.”

Her gentle voice...It never matched the cold-blooded words she spoke.

“You are all quite entertaining, but I findyouimpressive to watch. You spin conversations to your liking and weave opinions of yourself to make the mindless court fancy you, despite your obvious distinction against your companions.”

“You attempt to flatter me.” She licked her thumb and turned another page. It was like she wasn’t interested in his conversation. Yet Geryon was vibrating with excitement from it. “It is unsuccessful. The other ladies are much more... charming.”

She let her hands fall backwards slightly, the book going with them as she turned her gaze to him.Cold, unfeeling, brutal.

She spoke once more.“Perhaps you should give such dazzling words to those who lack the comprehension to see the truth behind them.”

She brazenly kept his eyes, and he couldn’t help pausing what he was doing to stare back. It was like he was being controlled against his will.

“And what truth would that be?”

Why do I feel this?He’d felt it occasionally when watching her, admiring her from afar. Usually, it happened whenever he watched her being calculating and blank. He’d felt it the day she tripped Charlotte, and he tried to get her to fumble over her lie about how the girl fell.

The merciless stare she’d given him that day behind those pale eyes reminded him of a cold, unforgiving winter’s morning. It was the same one she gave him now, and it stirred in him the same gut-clenching reaction.