Betrayed: Ruby's Story (Destined Book 4) by Kaylin Lee

Author:Kaylin Lee [Lee, Kaylin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-11-05T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 22

Lucien shifted in his chair, like he was preparing for a burst of movement. But I dropped the notes on the table and stood quickly, before he could get it in his head to try and protect me.

The woman beckoned, and I followed her from the room.

“Would you mind telling me why the Praetor wants to see me?” I asked, once we were out of earshot of the library.

She tossed me a knowing smirk. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

She led me through the building to the main staircase, then downstairs and outside into the desolate square. We crossed it and entered a smaller, adjacent villa—the one I’d seen the first day, with the warehouse attached to it. Though smaller, the front entrance was grander than the main villa’s.

We turned down a hallway on the first floor and stopped by a closed door.

A gangly man with a tailored, black suit lounged in front of it with his back against the door frame. “Well, hello again, Leila.” A distinct hunger lurked in his eyes.

The woman, Leila, narrowed her eyes at him and shook her head so subtly I barely caught it. “Manuel,” she answered coldly. She prodded the man aside and she tapped twice on the door. “Praetor? The assistant is here.”

“Send her in.” The man’s voice was muffled by the door, but it still made me shiver.

Leila opened the door and, when I hesitated, shoved me inside with surprising strength. I stumbled into the office, and she shut the door behind me without joining me.

Praetor Demetrius appraised me from behind a neatly-organized desk. The most powerful man in Draicia was wide, with broad shoulders like Lucien’s and a square jaw that had probably once been quite handsome. His black hair was carefully slicked into place, his suit equally smooth and precisely-tailored. But he seemed soft despite the crisp suit, like perhaps he’d once been as powerfully-built as Lucien and had let his strength turn to paunch over the years.

I kept my expression neutral and waited for him to speak. The Wolves in the library frightened me, with their unpredictability and dark humor. But for some reason, the Praetor didn’t scare me. Perhaps it was because I’d interviewed dozens of men just like him. If there was anything in this impossible story I knew I could handle, it was this.

“You think you’re better than us?” he growled.

Ice ran through my veins at his angry tone. No one had ever said such a thing to me before. Maybe I couldn’t handle him, after all. “No, of course I—”

“Both Asylian and Western, put together in one pretty, freckled package.” He had heavy-lidded eyes just like Lucien’s but even more difficult to read. “Double the civility, I see. How kind of you to come to teach the barbarians in the north.”

“That’s not—”

“I know, I know.” He waved a hand. “But if you did come here to civilize us, I wouldn’t mind.” His tone switched to amusement, as if the anger at first had been a test.

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