Page 39 of The Never List
My heart flutters at the way his voice shifts, the way his eyes darken just slightly. “I mean,” I say, hushing my words, “theprivateKal. The one you become in the safety behindclosed doors.” I can’t help but think of the kiss from last night. The way he’d held me against him, scooped me up and claimed my mouth and then left me hanging in wire-tight suspense. My lips tingle with the memory. “The one I think I got a glimpse of last night.”
He smirks, then takes another drink, not taking his eyes off me. Slowly, he sets down his mug, drawing out the tension so much, I think I might break. “I’ll show you sometime,” he says. “If you’re up for it.”
Anticipation unfurls in my core, and I shift in my seat. “I think you’d be surprised what I’m up for,” I say, a little breathless from the butterflies in my stomach. I’m not faking this reaction, and I don’t exactly hate it. Ishouldhate it. Hate him and everything his royal blood represents. But he’s making it impossible.
His eyes are full of curiosity. “Is that right?”
“What, the other potentials never surprised you?”
His smile drops, and he clears his throat. “The other potentials were clearly not a match.”
“And who’s to say I am?” I grin. “Isn’t it too early to tell?”
A startled laugh rips from his lips. “You really are different,” he says, leaning back in his seat. “Jax was right.”
A thrill rushes through me at the sound of Jax’s name.
“He chose you because of it,” he says. “Not that he’d admit every reason behind his decision, but…” Kal nods, something churning in his eyes. “I see it now.”
“Jax isn’t a big sharer?” I guess.
Kal laughs again, shaking his head. “Never has been. Not even when we were kids.”
I try to picture the Legends as young boys runningaround without a handle on their powers and have a hard time wrapping my head around the image. “I can’t imagine any of you as children,” I admit. “It must’ve been chaotic.”
“Where do you think we earned our name?”
“You’re not serious.”
“My mother gave it to us,” he says, eyes going distant, soft. “After scolding us for destroying one of her favorite tea rooms during a game.”
I swallow hard, watching his features shift as the memory plays out behind his eyes.
“As we were cleaning up the room we wrecked, I heard her explaining to Axl’s mother what we’d done. She said, ‘these little Legends of Chaos broke all my favorite teacups.’”
I laugh, shocked at the story I’ve never heard. Everyone who has ever spoken about the Legends around me has glorified the name with stories of destruction, madness, and murder. And here he’s saying it’s about teacups?
“Do you remember her well?” I ask, marveling at the fact that I’m asking about the goddess Neph like she’s any other mother in Lumathyst.
“Here and there,” he answers. “We were only six when they went to sleep.” A muscle in his jaw pops, his eyes hardening as he stares at a spot on the table, seeing something else entirely, I imagine.
“I remember when it happened,” I say, shrugging. “Even though I was only four.”
Kal nods, his gaze still distant.
I’m about to ask him where he is, what he’s remembering, but Alice returns with our food, setting it before us. Kal blinks away the memory, shifting back into that publiclyacceptable version of himself so easily, it’s almost jarring.
Careful. I’ll have to beverycareful with him. While he might be charming and sexy and downright intriguing, he’s also clearly an expert at wearing invisible masks.
So am I, but he doesn’t need to know that.
I glance down at the plates, inhaling the sweet smell of fresh bread and something like caramel.
“This is one of her specialties,” Kal explains as Alice leaves us to it. “You’re going to love it.”
I scoop up a knife and fork, slice through a piece of bread that is big and thick like a novel, and pop it into my mouth. It’s seared in some kind of egg, milk, and sugar mixture and then topped with vibrant fruit and cream that create a blend of flavors that work so well together, I can’t help but close my eyes.
“Goddess,” I say after finishing the bite. “How is that real?”
