Ripper(128)

Marcus nodded. “I have, Your Highness. The Council trained Hunters long before I walked the night, and always it is an academic who handles the Hunter in the beginning. Hunters and academics have a long history of partnership.”

“Because of the persuasion powers of the academic?” the queen continued her questions.

“This and the fact that academics are able to bond to females in ways the other classes cannot.” Marcus’s fingers almost absently tangled in mine. “Though we sleep, we do not go into a fugue state the way other vampires do. If a Hunter needs her mentor during the day, only an academic can be there for her, but it goes far beyond that. I can go into her dreams, as you very well know. I can sense her emotional state. If we…got close, I would be able to taste the food on her tongue, to sense when she’s in trouble. An academic can have a very intimate relationship with a female. It helps the Hunter to bond with her trainer. It helps her trust him and allows her to form other relationships later on. Without training, Kelsey would more than likely be alone the rest of her life. She would push people away and never truly understand why.”

“By close, I suppose you mean sleeping with her,” the queen deduced with a wry smile.

His hand squeezed mine while he spoke to the queen. “It’s where the relationship usually goes. It’s difficult to stay apart when properly training a Hunter. You have to know her inside and out. Unless the female is simply ugly on the inside, you discover her true beauty. A certain affection will always spring from that.” He looked down at me. “I would never force you into anything, cara mia. I doubt I will be allowed to train you. Please remember whoever the king chooses must respect your wishes concerning your own body. You do not have to share yourself with anyone.”

“He’s talking about Henri,” the queen offered.

Marcus huffed and cursed under his breath. “You must talk sense into him, Zoey. Henri has never trained a Hunter before. He should allow Hugo Wells to try. Hugo is older than Henri and he’s unmarried. For the first three months, she should not be allowed out of his sight, and that includes during sleep. She needs to remain in the room with him.”

“I doubt Kim is going to like that.” Zoey’s eyes widened. I thought she wouldn’t much like that.

I pulled my hand out of Marcus’s. I better get used to trying to calm myself down. I wasn’t letting some other vampire do that to me. Marcus was different. I’d felt a connection to him even before we’d met, but I wouldn’t let some vampire I’d never seen before touch me and keep me like a pet he was trying to train.

“Cara,” Marcus began.

“No,” I said, moving away from him, turning to the queen. “Tell your husband he can go to hell. I won’t be treated like a dog. He can’t order someone to adopt and housebreak me. I’ll stay in this fucking cell or he can put me down humanely, but I won’t go with that Henri person.”

“You’ll go with who I tell you to go with.” Donovan opened the door with a wicked frown on his face. A shorter man in a suit came in behind the king. He stared at me, wariness on his attractive face. “I’m doing this for your own good, Kelsey. Don’t you interfere, Z. If I allow her to walk into that arena and she gets killed, you’ll never forgive me. Henri, persuade her to walk into the Council chamber and take back her accusation.”

The blond guy named Henri narrowed his eyes as he concentrated his will my direction. A rush of power sizzled across my skin as he attempted to get me to do his will. He was strong, much stronger than Michael had been. He was stronger in this way than the king, but he wasn’t anything close to Marcus. The impulse was right there. My legs wanted to move. I wanted to rise and do exactly what that voice ordered me to do. I would walk into the chamber and tell them I made the whole thing up.

My feet hit the ground and I saw the king relax. He thought it was going to be all right. That was what really did it. I pushed through because I didn’t intend to give the king what he wanted. That slight smile gave me the strength I needed. I shoved back at the magic invading my limbs. I pictured that wall in my head and slammed it shut with everything I had.

“Hell.” Henri staggered back. He put his hand to his forehead as I climbed back on my bed.

Just to piss the king off, I slipped my hand back into Marcus’s.

“She shoved you out?” the king asked, frustration evident in his voice.

“Yes. That was very unpleasant,” Henri complained. “I’ve never had that happen before. I would like to avoid it in the future.”