The Dark Prince (The Dark Light Series)(34)

“What are you making?” I ask after a few moments of ogling him.

“You’ll see. Hope you like lamb.”

I nod. “So what, no abracadabra and lunch is served?” I ask, tapping my fingernails against the cool, smooth marble countertop.

“Nah. Sometimes I like to mix it up. I thought I’d cook for you,” he says rummaging through the fresh produce.

“Cook for me? Since when do you cook?” I ask with a raised eyebrow.

Dorian smiles slyly. “Oh my dear, Gabriella, you have so much to learn about me.” He grabs a couple beers from the fridge, popping them open and setting one down in front of me. “I found a little Greek deli and grabbed a few things for the fridge. Thought it was time I got you in touch with your roots,” he winks taking a swig of his beer.

“My roots? You mean, I’m…”

“Greek? Yes, in part. Alex’s father is Greek though most of his family was from Egypt.” Dorian turns around just in time to take in my astonished expression. “There are Dark and Light forces all over the globe. We look just like regular people,” he winks. He turns on some kind of indoor grill unit he’s installed in the kitchen. Probably for times like these.

“But do they look like you? With…the eyes?” Dorian’s ice blue eyes are an anomaly; too beautiful not to be extraordinary.

He pulls out a little container of stuffed olives and places them in front of me, nabbing one for himself before returning to the grill. “The Dark do, though most of them change them to blend in. Or hide.” He pulls out some seasoned meat skewers and places them on the hot grill.

“So… are all magical forces from Greece?” I ask, picking up an olive and popping it in my mouth.

Dorian moves around the kitchen as if he is at home. He pulls out a cutting board and begins to assemble a salad. “No, not at all. Mostly just the Dark families of nobility. The Light royals are mainly from Rome.”

Rome? “So the Light have royalty too?” This stuff just keeps getting better.

“We all have laws; hierarchy. If we didn’t, we’d all go around slaughtering each other for power.”

“And my mom? Was she from Rome?”

“I believe her family was from Spain originally but settled in Italy. Why the sudden interest?”

I finger the feta-stuffed olive I’m holding before popping it into my mouth and chewing slowly. “Just never knew what I was,” I shrug.

“You’re Light and Dark. That goes far beyond nationality, Gabriella,” he smiles.

I smile back at my equally exotic lover as he moves around the kitchen with grace and ease. I feel selfish as I relish this moment. In light of all that’s going on with Jared’s mom, I shouldn’t be allowed to enjoy this. I shouldn’t be this happy. But I am. Having Dorian makes it hard not to be.

“I’m happy too,” he suddenly remarks. He places our plates on the bar in front of me then walks around to join me.

My mouth drops in aggravation. “Thought you said you weren’t a mind-reader.”

“I’m not. But I can feel what you feel. The link, Gabriella. Your emotions become mine.”

“Why can’t I feel what you feel? Doesn’t seem fair to me,” I smirk, picking up a forkful of salad dressed with a yogurt sauce.

“You will but not until you ascend. You’re still a somewhat normal girl.” He chews a bite of skewered meat. “After that, you could probably infiltrate any mind you please and plant all sorts of crazy ideas.”

Infiltrate any mind? How can he discuss something so intrusive and insensitive so casually?

“But…how? How do you get into my head? It’s freakin’ infuriating to know that you can just mess with my thoughts whenever you please.” I sigh before taking another swig of beer. Suddenly I’m not as hungry as I thought I was. “You did that before, didn’t you? You messed with my head, making me doubt all the signs, all the hints that you were Dark. Why?”

Dorian chews his lip nervously. “I thought I wanted you to know what I was. To make it…easier for me. But then I’d change my mind. I wasn’t ready to let you go.” He picks at his food, obviously uncomfortable with discussing another layer of his betrayal. “I apologize for confusing you. I thought if I removed those thoughts from your mind, soothed your qualms, we could have more time.”

I understand; Dorian wanted to hang onto the beautiful illusion just as much as I did. Ignorance truly was bliss when we both could mask the truth of our identities. But that doesn’t excuse him from altering my thoughts. There has to be some boundaries.