So I Married a Sorcerer (The Embraced #2)(60)

Her eyes narrowed. “Are you saying I owe you something in return?”

“No!” He gritted his teeth. “Yes, dammit. You should trust me.”

“I’ve known you only three days!”

But he’d known her since she was a babe. “Brigitta, all I want is for you tell me what happens to you when you touch me.” When she opened her mouth, he quickly added, “And don’t tell me it’s nothing. You fainted the first time I touched you. You nearly drowned yesterday when I grabbed you in the water. Am I hurting you somehow? Am I poisonous to you?”

“No! You’re not … hurting me.”

“Then tell me, dammit. Because I want to be able to touch you.” He lifted a hand to caress her face, but hesitated an inch away. “I like touching you.”

Her eyes glittered with tears as she stepped back.

Was she going to leave? “Brigitta.” Don’t leave me.

Her eyes met his. There was so much emotion in her eyes and face. A mixture of fear, nervousness, sympathy, and did he dare hope? Desire.

“Why do you say my name as if you know me?” she asked.

He winced inwardly. “There are things I dare not say.”

“Then our distrust is mutual.”

“I trust you enough to show you my face.” He pulled the scarf off his head and tossed it on the deck. “And no one, other than my own crew, is allowed that much. You know enough about me to endanger my life if you ever tell—”

“I would never do that!”

“I believe you.” Rupert gave her a pained look. “I trust you that much. So please, tell me.”

She drew in a shaky breath. “I-I suppose it would be safe. After all, you’re the same way.”

“The same what?”

“But you have to understand, I’ve been warned my entire life not to ever tell anyone. People like us are killed on the mainland, so I—”

“Holy crap. You’re Embraced?”

She hesitated, then nodded. “Yes.”

He remained stunned for a few seconds. He’d never met anyone before who was Embraced like him, so the idea had never occurred to him.

“Damn.” He ran a hand through his hair as his mind raced. When he’d first met her, that horrific day, it had been winter, and she’d been about three months old. “You were born on the night of the Autumn Embrace?”

“Yes.” She wandered toward the starboard railing to gaze up at the twin moons. “Growing up, I always assumed that my parents had sent me to the Isle of Moon for my own protection. But now I know that my father wanted rid of me. I was a loose end after he…”

Killed my father, Rupert mentally finished her sentence.

“I want nothing to do with my family,” she whispered. “I hate to even think of them as family. They’re monsters, and to think I share their blood…” She shuddered.

“You’re not like them.”

She turned toward him with tears in her eyes. “Thank you.”

The Light help him, he wanted to grab her and hold her tight. He wanted to show her how beautiful she was. He wanted to revel in her sweet innocence and kiss away all her self-doubt.

He joined her at the railing. “What is your gift as one of the Embraced?”

She wrinkled her nose. “It’s not nearly as exciting or useful as your gift.”

“It causes you to faint whenever a handsome man touches you?”

She snorted. “Are you calling yourself handsome?”

He smiled. “It was you who said it. You said I shouldn’t be hiding my handsome face.”

“Oh.” Her cheeks grew pink.

“So what is your gift?” He leaned close. “Show me yours and I’ll show you mine.”

She huffed. “I’ve already seen yours.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. It was very impress—” When he laughed, she gave him an annoyed look. “Are we still talking about gifts?”

“Are we?”

“Are you going to answer everything with a question?”

“Am I?”

She swatted his arm, then grew still, her face pale.

“What?” He grabbed her shoulders. “What happened?”

“I—sometimes, I see things. Images. Sometimes, I just feel emotions.” She regarded him sadly. “I saw you hiding in a cave. So lonesome and afraid. I’m so sorry.”

He released her and stepped back. “What are you—you’re eavesdropping on my mind? Invading my thoughts?”

She winced. “I don’t know what you’re thinking. Though I can guess by the look on your face that you’re not at all pleased.”

He swallowed hard. How much did she know?

“Let me explain,” she quickly added. “My gift enables me to find lost or hidden things. At the convent, it came in very handy whenever a sister would lose or misplace an item. All I had to do was touch her while thinking about the item, and then I would see it in my mind.”

He narrowed his eyes. “So if I say I’ve lost my … hat, you could tell me where it is?”

“I doubt it’s actually lost.”

“Humor me.”

“Fine.” She touched his sleeve. “It’s on the bed in your cabin.”