Page 63

“The boy refused to wait inside the tent,” said Orlando, who hovered nearby. “He said he preferred the fresh wilderness air.”

Ashburn looked amused as he gazed at Lucienne. At first, she thought she must have drooled over the peach in her dream and forgot to clean herself up. But his gaze didn’t mock her. On the contrary, it was delighted by the sight of her. A second later, a cool mask slipped over his face.

“Pardon me if I disturbed your sleep,” he said. “I can come back after the light goes out, but I figured you wouldn’t allow guests after midnight.”

“The law forbids your people to enter Hell Gate.” Lucienne realized. “You can’t be seen.” And she knew any Nirvana citizen breaking the king’s law would end up with either years in the king’s dungeon, hanged, or beheaded.

“I came to return your interface. I’ve given it to your men.”

“You don’t need to return it. It’s a gift.”

“A gift with an untraceable, hidden wireless camera and spyware inside?” Ashburn asked quietly.

Damn him!Lucienne blushed furiously. She was now convinced that he could see through the operation system and firewall of the interface. “Spyware?” She frowned. “Hmm, I’ll have to check with my crew and see why they made such a mistake.”

“You don’t have to pretend in front of me.” Ashburn looked straight at her, his eyes piercing like a shard of ice.

Lucienne swallowed. “Did you come to scorn me?”

“No. I didn’t come here as your enemy and would never want to be,” he said. His cold smile didn’t warm his ice blue eyes; neither did it warm Lucienne’s. “The Lam industry is a global force, and of all Sirens, you’re the most formidable.”

“You aren’t just a farm boy from an isolated town, are you?”

“Farm boy?” Ashburn laughed drily. “I only hope Iamone, so the dark lightning over my head doesn’t strike me down.”

“The dark lightning I saw come from your fingertips.”

“You’re the only one who saw that,” he said, his eyes turning the color of the gloomy sea. “Why aren’t you afraid of me?”

“Do you want me to fear you?” Tilting her head, Lucienne threw back the question. Cold stiffness ebbed from her. She began to appreciate his straightforwardness.

Ashburn laughed at her question, but it was a short laugh. “Everyone in Nirvana was afraid of me back when I was only a baby and then a cripple,” he said darkly. “And since I’ve returned, they fear me more. I am the dangerous unknown to them, and their fear will turn to hatred eventually.”

“Last night they wanted a piece of the gods’ blessings from you. They’ve gotten over the fever. In no time, they’ll need a scapegoat again, and you’ll be the first transgressor they think of.”

“I wasn’t wrong about you,” Ashburn said. “You might really understand me.”

He might be really lonely here—an advanced specimen trapped in a backwards community.

“The prince will convince the neighbors I’m still the curse,” Ashburn continued. “Even my parents are wondering if I’m still their son. I watch fear eat at them, and I can’t even explain to them what really happened to me.”

“So whathasreally happened to you?” Lucienne asked. “Tell me. I’ll understand, and I won’t judge you.”

“You want to know if I’m a threat to you.”

“Do you plan on being a threat to me?”

“I’m not planning anything, but you’re a danger to me, just as I am to you.”

A smile curved Lucienne’s lips. “I promise to be nice if you’re nice.”

“You weren’t raised to be nice,” Ashburn said.

Lucienne blinked. No one had ever talked to her that way.

“You were trained to be the Siren,” Ashburn added, “to fulfill your duty.”

“I . . . I’m not going to apologize for that,” Lucienne said. Jed taught her never to apologize for anything. She was born to rule. She parted her lips, trying to say something more, but no words escaped.