as stars danced within them. Midnight-black eyes watched me as the lines spread over his face, moving down his throat.
My body trembled as a sinfully wicked smile played on his lips. He lowered his mouth, claiming my lips as he released my throat, feeding me air while I moaned against him. He continued gripping my hair, holding it painfully in his grasp while he pushed his tongue into my mouth. I bit down, drawing blood as he gasped. Coppery tang painted my tongue as he pulled my head away from his.
“You think you’re so much fucking better than us, don’t you? Why? Because the moon cursed you with light so that creatures like me can suck it out of you? You were escorted into the Kingdom of Night by nightwalkers, and you didn’t even fucking notice. Poor Alexandria and her neglected cunt, couldn’t think past the male who offered her a tiny bit of affection. You’re the pathetic one.”
My head swam with his words, searching his face as I realized he was a fully functioning nightwalker. I’d assumed he held a demonic presence, but never a nightwalker since they weren’t capable of thought or control of their minds when hunger hit. I’d heard the whispers of the nightwalkers being able to retain their memories, but most were mindless killing machines that merely lived to destroy the moon-touched people. My body shuddered as I pushed myself against the wall, staring at him.
“You’re lying,” I argued, knowing he wasn’t.
Torrin lowered his head, and when it rose, his eyes were filled with black that consumed the whites of his eyes. Now that his guard was down, I began to really explore his features, noticing that his ears were pointed, like those of the original families that had once lived in the land thousands of years ago. His teeth were sharp, the long canines exposed in the smile he gave me while my mouth opened and closed in denial. Torrin’s arms were covered in delicate black lines that hummed and pulsed beneath his skin. His hair was silver and longer than it normally appeared to be.
“Tell me I’m lying,” he whispered huskily. “Do you think your people will allow you back within their protection after hearing that their fearless assassin sucked off a nightwalker? Or that she allowed him to play with her inside her mind?” he asked, and the blood drained from my face.
No. They’d assassinate us. The Moon Clan would hunt us down as deserters, capture us, and put us down to keep their secrets safe. My heart pounded in my chest as I searched Torrin’s face, praying to the Goddess of the Moon that he was playing some sort of sick joke.
His head tipped to the side, and the smile that spread over his lips wasn’t friendly. He moved closer, and I slammed myself against the wall, watching the anger pulsing in his stare. His hands grabbed me, holding me in place while he pushed against my body, showing me how hard he was.
“Your fear excites me, Alexandria. If I were you, I’d at least try to conceal it.”
Chapter Eighteen
Torrin took me to the stable and left me there momentarily while he spoke to the stable hand. I stroked Chivalry’s mane, rubbing down his side as I told him we’d lost people and who they were. He bayed and rubbed his head against my shoulder, tossing his head back the moment Torrin reappeared. My eyes moved to his frosted glare.
Torrin was a nightwalker who’d looked normal until he chose not to. They were evolving. He’d been able to change at will. That meant nothing we knew about nightwalkers was right. They could be within the gates of the clan stronghold, and we’d never see the difference.
He’d passed every test we’d been trained to administer. Torrin had no problem ignoring the call to take my light, and he’d seemed normal. Okay, so he appeared normal for those within the Kingdom of Night, altering some signs I would have recognized.
Torrin had taken me within his dreamscape, which required a lot of mind control and precision to do correctly. I’d been inside his mind, forcing my way into it, and nothing had been off about him. Usually, when one pushed into a nightwalker’s mind, there was nothing, no brain activity besides the urgency to consume light. So how had he evolved into one displaying none of the symptoms?
“Done?” he asked, staring into my angry eyes, noting my frosty response.
“Yes,” I whispered, uncertain how to