did not miss that his fingernails were long, sharpened points, like claws. He straightened slowly, red eyes catching the firelight and flashing dangerously. “But to you, Miss Parker, I would be only Vlad.”
She swallowed. She wasn’t quite sure why his words made her as nervous as they did. “That is an assumption of a level of personal intimacy I was not aware we shared.”
“You have invaded my mind. Twice in one day, no less. You pry into my thoughts. I would call that rather personal. As for intimate…” He tilted his head slightly, his gaze pointedly traveling down her body once and back up. “No need to rush the inevitable.”
She laughed. That seemed to catch him by surprise, and he furrowed his brow in confusion. She did her best to smile. “Forgive me. I thought you were making a joke.”
“No. You once more lie to me. You know my comment was not made in jest. You wish to dismiss it. Why?”
“You are a vampire tyrant bent on destroying my city. Flirtatious commentary is hardly appropriate. Therefore, it must be an attempt at humor.”
“Mmh. And a third lie.”
“Neither statement was false.”
“Perhaps not, but the latter is hardly the real reason you seek to ignore my flirtatious commentary, is it, Miss Parker?”
“It seems foolish to call me Miss Parker when you would have me call you Vlad. As it is clear you already know my full name, you may call me Maxine.” She hurried into her next thought. He was right. Usually, it was she who could sniff out the lie in the room, not the other way around. It was unnerving, and there was enough about him that was troubling already.
That he was a terrifying King of Vampires was top on that list. Second was that he knew her name and likely knew who she was and, therefore, where she lived.
“A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Maxine.” The glint in his eyes betrayed that he had caught her attempt to steer the conversation away from his comment. “I look forward to meeting you in person and not in…whatever this is.” He glanced around them with a thoughtful look. “Is this a dream, or a vision?”
“I am not sure what this is, to be blunt.”
“Oh, grand. You do not know the results of your gift.” He sighed. “How disappointing. I thought you were more formidable.”
“No, you misunderstand. I know what this should be. But what it should be and what it very clearly is are quite different.”
“Explain.”
It was an order, and she bristled at the idea of being given a command by him, just as much as she did at his easy dismissal of her. One was understandable, and the other was an odd reflex to being insulted. As she wavered on the edge of doing anything the vampire said, his crimson gaze turned back to her.
“I have demanded countless things from countless souls, Maxine. I suspect I will demand far worse of you in the days to come. If what I require of you is painless…I recommend you do not fight me for the sake of it alone. You will have plenty cause to find yourself quite rationally obstinate in due time.”
“What an odd speech. You ask me to take your small intrusions with grace because there are larger and crueler mandates to come.” She laughed again. “You are a tyrant indeed.”
“I will not argue the title.”
“Why not? Do you agree with it?”
“I am merely tired of fighting against such childish insults.” The lines of his face grew weary. “I am very old, my dear.”
“How old?”
“A conversation for another time. When we are in person, and I am not trapped in this dreamworld of yours.” His expression shifted back, and she realized now that she could see it anew that it bore a strange kind of playfulness. “Perhaps over a bottle of wine.”
She skipped over both his mischievous tone and his comment. She would not be lured down that road once more. “This is not a dream. It should be a memory.”
“Interesting. Go on.”
“When I touch something, I see the imprint that time has made upon it. They play out for me as a living painting. They are nothing more than pages from a book long penned and immutable in their events. I am a silent and passive witness. What this is”—she gestured between them with the wave of a hand—“I do not know.”
“I am not one to ever be passive or silent.” He smiled. “In any matters.” His gaze drifted