edatory eyes cut through the space between them

immediately dropped her gaze, staring hard at the tips of her bare, dirty toes on the marb

rned his head, following the exact trajectory her eyes had j

yanked her out of the line. Haley lost her footing on the polished marble, a stifled gasp escaping her lips as her knees hit the hard floor with a sharp crack. The impact left her disorient

marble floor made his stomach turn. He was about to turn away. He was about to tell his men to clear the portico. But the image of her eyes from a moment ago flas

ce was low, but it carried across the

ed together, producing a faint, clicking sound. When she didn't answer immediately, Bea raised her ha

d threatening to fall from the girl's lip onto his pristine floor. But the absolute, freezing lethality in his tone-his utter intolerance for min

wnward field of vision. The shadow of his tall frame fell over her, blocking out the

ands, using the pain to force her vocal cords to work. "The... the map." Her voice was a brok

ble shift occurred in Axel

rely on the next few seconds. "It's... it's a dr

ley, her mouth slightly open. No one expected the girl

oed loudly. "Go on," Axel said. The killing intent in his posture

oportions on the bottom left are wrong. And the oxidation on the edges of the parchment... it's artificial. It was chemically aged." She gather

king a step back. To insult the warlord's private collection

ke a physical weight. Then, a low, dark sound rumbled in Axel's chest. He laughed. It wasn't a warm sound. It was a short, sharp

rning his broad back to her, and resumed his walk into the foyer. "Keep her

o a mask of ecstatic relief. She bow

against her ribs, entirely unsure if her knowledge had jus