Page 57 of Above (Darkness Reigns #1)

“The day after I found out you robbed me, I tore apart the wards and then rebuilt them. I’ve been capable of entering for awhile now.

” He stared at me, gloating when he realized how upset such a thing made me.

I tried to fix my face into a blank stare, but the scowl was impossible to remove.

“Seems you stole more than just my ring. Maybe I should be calling you little thief instead.”

“Or you could call me nothing at all,” I retorted, scooting back until my shoulder blades met the head board. I couldn’t let him get to me.

I opened the book, scanning the pages until I found the start of the Zade family.

“You know, there’s a library you could use for free, rather than sneaking into my barracks room.” He wasn’t being nearly as hostile as he normally was. Something was amiss. What had changed his behavior? I sat there, not able to read as I tried to decipher his presence and attitude.

“They won’t let me in the library. The educator in charge said of eadi were a curse that would taint the books.

” That one had hurt. I had been so excited to have the chance to enter the space where our histories were written, to read and learn.

But they had promptly turned me away, hissing that I was too foul to be near the books.

“Do you blame them?” Altair asked, raising a brow.

I looked at him, truly looked, trying to find some way to understand what he was thinking. He so rarely said what he meant. “For what? Hating me?”

“Yes.” His arms crossed, bottom lip nonchalantly slipping into his mouth and between his pearly teeth. His eyes widened slightly, jaw tight.

“Of course I do.” My head tilted to the side, contemplating his question. It sounded so…genuine. “Why?”

“Just curious. Anyway, I saw you at the war room door. Care to tell me what you were hoping to learn?” he asked, stepping through the threshold of the doorway and making his way to me on sure feet.

His ringed hands slipped into the pockets of his training leathers, remaining there as he stood above me.

“No,” I deadpanned, looking down at the book, pretending to read about how the Zade family chose their sigil.

“Someone is cranky today.” A hint of teasing was there in his voice, making the words slower and longer.

“Sorry, I don’t often care to be around someone who actively seeks my death.” Stars I wished they’d all leave me alone.

Reaching down, he snatched one of my curls, twirling it around his finger. I risked looking at his face, finding a grin there as he stared at his finger. “I haven’t killed you yet.”

“You’ll try when the time is right.” Swatting his hand away, I brought the book closer to my face.

“Yes, I will.” His admission had me furious, but his voice was still steady. Unphased.

I slammed the book closed, pushing myself up to stand. Our chests pressed together, my head tilting back so I could look into the filthy snake’s eyes. Forcing him to look into mine as well. To see me as more than a pawn or a pest.

“Then why are you here? Why not leave me alone until the time comes? Are you hoping to smooth things over so that I will trust you? Wanting this to be easier?” My finger dug into his chest, the movement so forceful it hurt me . “Bad news, Altair, I will never trust you.”

“I don’t expect you to trust me,” he muttered, looking down from my eyes. Was there something on my chin? I reached up, wiping at the spot he seemed to be looking at. “I’m just wondering what you’re planning.”

“Afraid I’ll mess everything up for you?

“Always.” It was a whisper. A soft caress. A ghost of a word. By the way his eyes scrutinized me, flitting across my face, I felt like it had an ulterior meaning.

In an equally quiet voice, but with a much firmer tone, I said, “I’m not in the habit of pissing the stars off.”

“Sadly, I don’t believe you.”

“I don’t care what you believe.”

Again he openly stared, his face moving forward.

I felt the urge to step back, my feet taking me to the wall behind my bed, my shoulder blades hitting it.

Altair followed in what seemed like a subconscious way, and oh how I wished to flee.

To run and hide from the weight of his gaze.

So utterly terrified was I of whatever he was plotting, that I didn’t immediately push him away when he stepped back into my space, his hands flattening against the wall and forming a cage around me.

“Do you know what the stars are composed of?” he asked.

What in the stars was the lunatic talking about? “They’re balls of burning magic.”

“Exactly. They burn above, we burn below.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“We’ll always be at their mercy, Tershetta.” We were a breath away. Our eyes nearly level with him bending so far down. “We can’t fight back or change anything. Instead of trying to find ways around their control, we should simply submit to it.”

“Say what you mean for once in your life,” I demanded, growing angry at his riddles.

“My family is the last in the book.” He pushed off the wall, pivoting and heading for the door.

“I think you’re kidding yourself by reading about Talon’s.

You don’t actually care.” Groaning, I grabbed a pillow and threw it his way.

Without looking he dodged it, his husky chuckle making bumps rise on my skin.

“Stupid, foul snake!”

“Do let me know if you plan to steal anything else, I’ll have to make it more interesting next time.”