The Tears of Elios (7 page)

She raised one brow, curious if he would admit to knowing what she was.

“A shape-shifter?” He jumped up from the chair when she nodded. “I knew it!” His hazel eyes glowed in excitement. “Is it true you can take whatever form you want?”

She grinned and focused on morphing her features to mirror his.

He cringed and backed away from his clone.

His reaction amused her, and her body shook as strange sound escaped from her lips that she had not heard in years—laughter. “Anything,” she said as she returned to her normal form.

He circled the table. “There’s something different about you, though.” He shoved his glasses up his nose and stroked his chin. “Your eyes! That’s the difference.”

She frowned. She hadn’t expected him to be so observant. For a second, she toyed with the idea of slitting his throat.

He was in her face now, studying it closer, and she resisted the temptation to claw his eyes out. “Your eyes never quite look human. They are still very bird-like—golden with large black centers. Remarkable, actually.” He ran back to his papers and began writing, mumbling to himself and glancing at her from time to time.

“Am I to be the subject of a dissertation?”

“There’s just so much that’s unknown about your race.” He spoke without glancing up from his notes. “I want to document all I can—”

“Perhaps there’s a reason so little is known.” A faint growl seeped into her voice. “Maybe I prefer to keep it that way.”

“But why?”

“Because you don’t have a crazed king trying to wipe out your entire race.” She snatched the piece of paper he was writing on and crumpled it. “You don’t have demon-infested drae chasing after you every place you go. You—”

“Drae? What are drae?” Panic silenced him as she threatened to throw his notes into the fire. “No, please don’t destroy them.” He seized the wad from her hand and held it close to his chest, smoothing it out.

“You’re strange, even for human. Most men value gold and jewels. You treat these papers as if they were treasure.”

“I just value things differently.” A hint of anger laced his voice. “To me, knowledge is far more precious than those objects. I think we’ve talked enough. It’s late, and I should go to sleep. You can get back to bed on your own.” He locked his notes away in a drawer and slammed the door behind him.

So, he actually has a backbone
. Although she didn’t look forward to the pain of crawling back to bed on her injured leg, she felt a spark of respect for Gregor Meritis.

***

He was already gathering the supplies to clean her leg when she awoke the next morning. A few minutes passed before he finally spoke. “I’m sorry I lost my temper last night.”

Ranealya said nothing and allowed him to continue working. He was a mystery to her—or rather, her feelings about him were mystery to her. For centuries, she had hated humans, yet here she was at the mercy of one. He had saved her life twice now and had managed to discover some of her secrets. Any other human would have been covered in blood by now, permanently silenced.

Worse, she couldn’t stop wondering would it feel like to have his hands elsewhere on her body. Would he blush? She couldn’t help but inwardly laugh as she thought about how his eyes filled with lust when he looked at her while his cheeks flamed. Then she frowned.
Damn it, I’m beginning to think this human is attractive
.

“I was thinking about your situation as I lay in bed. It must be difficult for you, being hunted and not being with those of your own kind. I’m sure being wounded and helpless in a sense doesn’t help either. You strike me as the type that doesn’t like to be dependent on anyone.”

She waited a moment before nodding. “I like my privacy.”

“As do I.” He pulled her to her feet and escorted to the table.

“So I’m not allowed to perform my own interrogation? After all, I might like to know a bit more about you.”

His brows rose. “Most people find me rather boring.”

“I don’t. Humans are social creatures, much like wolves. I find it odd that you would stray from the pack and live alone.”

“I’m not alone—Sal and Ben are here, too. And don’t forget Duke.”

“You hardly say three words at a time to your servants. And Duke is your pet. I’m talking about true interaction with another of your race.”

Gregor turned his back to her. “Perhaps I despise members of my race as much as you do.”

She’d unearthed yet another touchy subject with him. He was growing more complex than she’d first thought. “And why is that?”

He shuffled through his papers, ignoring her question.

“Do you think you’re better than most of them?”

“Let’s just say I’m happiest with my books and my scrolls and without interruptions.”

“I’m sorry to be an interruption.” She stood, wincing at the pain of her action. “I suppose I should just leave you to your books and your scrolls.”

He pushed her back in her chair, knocking the wind out of her lungs in the process. “Sorry—I didn’t mean—” He threw his hands up in the air. “I’m hopeless. I can’t even say what I mean.”

He paced in front of her chair, his hand on his chin. “I don’t like being with other humans because they don’t understand me. They demand my attention and try to make me do certain things that they decree as acceptable. Here, I am the king of my own world. I do what I want, when I want. I can focus on my studies and not worry about anything else.” He paused and considered her. “You, on the other hand, are different than most humans. I—um—don’t mind your company at all.”

She raised one corner of her mouth. “And why is that? Because I shed less than Duke?”

He grinned and looked away. “I can’t exactly explain why, but…” He furrowed his brow. “I suppose it’s because you think you could probably order me around, but you don’t. Does that make sense?”

She laughed in her mind. He was quite amusing, even for a human. “No, but I’m sure you’ll think of a better way to explain it.”

He opened his mouth to reply, but Sal called from below that breakfast was ready. When he returned, he sat across from her and divided the contents onto the two plates. “You know you’re welcome to stay as long as you want, Ranealya,” he said without looking up.

For a moment, she considered his offer. What would it be like to have a place to call home, to not have to sleep on the ground every night? To be near someone who didn’t consider her to be little more than a beast?

Then she remembered the harsh lessons she’d learned over the centuries. Memories of the Great Hunt filled her mind, and a knot formed in her gut. “My kind are solitary in nature. We possess the ability to blend in wherever we want, yet we wander throughout life. If we stay too long in one place, we’re discovered for what we truly are and shunned. We never have a place that we can call home.” Her heart grew heavy as she admitted, “It’s better to be alone than to be rejected.”

He nodded, his expression one of understanding. “I couldn’t agree more.”

They ate in silence. She felt an odd connection to this human, one that she both welcomed and feared. She’d been alone for so long. When would he reject her? Perhaps it would be better to keep him at a distance. That way, she couldn’t get hurt in the process.

“Just out of curiosity, how many shape-shifters are there?”

So, he had resumed the interrogation
. “One hundred and twenty-eight, at one time,” she replied. “Now I think I am the last one.” The words of Elios echoed in her mind, and she added without realizing, “I was told I would be the last one.”

She looked up at him and grew angry at the pity in his eyes. “Not that we were social race anyway. I’m the last one because I am the strongest, the most cunning, the deadliest of my race.” She lifted her lips and felt the cold air touch her fangs. “And I won’t disappear without a fight.”

His pity changed to fear. “I don’t doubt you there.”

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, satisfied that she’d pushed him away from the subject. “Do you have a book I can read so I have something to fill my time while my leg heals?”

“You can read?”

Anger flared deep within her. “Just because I look like some malformed beast doesn’t mean I am completely without higher intelligence! For your information, I can read—several languages in fact—as well as write. I suppose you would like to put that in your notes, too?”

He swallowed hard. “Well, if—if you don’t mind.”

She yanked the book he offered her out of his hands and sighed. It took too much energy to stay angry with him. He caught her when she tried to stand and steadied her as she crossed the room back to her bed. Her head throbbed as much as her leg by this point. He retreated behind his desk and scribbled furiously, no doubt analyzing every piece of their conversation. She stared at the pages of the book, unable to concentrate on the words in front of her. If every day was going to be as intense as this, it would be a long two weeks.

CHAPTER 7

Gregor tapped his quill on the scroll. He’d enjoyed Ranealya's company over the last few days, despite her occasional outbursts of ferocious sarcasm. Unfortunately, her wounds were healing faster than he had anticipated. He suspected she’d disappear as quickly as before once she had the strength to do so.

For now, though, she sat on the bed, reading a book of Elvish poetry. Her long legs stretched out in front of her, and he visually traced their curves from the tips of her toes, along her shapely calves, past her knees, along her thighs to where they disappeared under the short tunic she conceded to wear when he was present. His body grew warm at the slight curve of her breasts peeking through the opening of the tunic.

He diverted his attention to the window before she caught him staring at her. It was snowing again. He tried to focus on that, but his eyes found their way back to her bare legs again. This time, however, the soft brown fur that covered her body had been replaced by smooth ivory flesh. He squirmed in his chair and longed to touch them, to feel the warm skin under his hands.

“See something you like?” she drawled, tearing him from his thoughts. She smirked as she stretched, flexing her body in a cat-like arch.

“I—I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he mumbled and shuffled his papers, making certain to conceal his face behind them. His trousers were beginning to feel too tight.

She laughed, and the brown fur rippled down her body, replacing the delicious ivory skin. For once, he was glad of her animal-like appearance. If she was a human, he'd never get anything done. As it was, the studies were already suffering. He spent hours each day watching her, noting subtle findings like the way the feathers woven in her wild hair glistened in the sunlight. He kept telling himself that his interest in her was purely academic, that he was so fascinated by her ever changing eyes because she was the last shape-shifter, and he needed to document everything he could about her before she left the sanctuary of his lands and the magic that protected them. He refused to admit that he was becoming more and more attracted to this wild woman.

“I think it's time to take Duke for his walk.”
And clear my mind
, he added to himself.

She looked out the window. “In that weather?”

“Why not? It's not like I haven't been out in the snow before.”

She smiled at him as if she knew exactly what he had been thinking but said nothing and returned to her book. It irked him that she seemed to know so much about him—or rather, enough about him to know how to taunt him.

The wind was bitter cold outside, but the walk in the woods cleared his mind and cooled his body. He laughed at himself. He’d retreated to the woods to escape other people, to be a hermit and devote himself to his studies without the distraction of others. Now he desired her company because he’d found someone who understood him better than any human ever had.

When he returned from his walk, Ranealya was standing at his desk, leaning on her uninjured leg. She was reading his notes again.

His jaw tightened, and he swept the pieces of paper up in his arms. If his notes fell into the wrong hands, he was a dead man. “Do you mind not prying into my personal things?”

She cocked her head to the side, not the least bit embarrassed that he’d caught her. “I always read them when you're not here.”

Perhaps he’d formed his opinion of her company too quickly. The last thing he wanted was a snoop. “That will remind me to lock them away every time I leave the room then.”

She laughed again, irritating him even more, and sat in her chair at the table. “If you have questions, perhaps I can answer some of them.”

After straightening his papers, he sat behind his desk and scribbled a reminder to himself to secure his notes. “I've seen where that gets me—on the wrong side of your foul temper.”

“Am I always that disagreeable?”

He removed his glasses and massaged the bridge of his nose. “Not always.”

She leaned back in her chair, her lips pursed tightly together. Now he felt like the one being studied. He tried to ignore her, but prickles of sweat formed at the base of his neck.

At last, she broke the silence. “The word you're having trouble translating is ‘sepharium’. There is no human equivalent for it, mainly because you humans don't know of its existence.”

Gregor knocked over the inkwell. The thick liquid seeped across the papers on his desk, and he struggled to remember the simple spell to clean it up in his excitement. “Sepharium, you say?” He wrote the word down in his notes. “What exactly is sepharium?”

The corners of her mouth curled up, reminding him of a cat that had cornered a mouse and was trying to decide how long to play with it before eating it. “A stone,” she replied after a moment, obviously enjoying the control she had over the conversation.

“A stone? What kind of stone? What does it look like? What are its properties? Where can I find it?”

“Why should I tell you?”

Gregor threw his quill across the room, narrowly missing her shoulder. Always teasing him. Always giving him a hint of what he wanted and then turning it against him. He dug his fingers into his hair to resist the urge to wring her neck. He’d always prided himself on being calm and rational, never letting his feelings get the better of him. Then she came into his life.