She shook her head.
He set his plate on the coffee table. “Look at me.” He put bite into his tone this time.
She jumped and then looked up, her eyes wide.
He didn’t know how to deal with delicate or fragile females, and there was no doubt the woman staring so regally at him was both. She was also terrified. He rubbed the scruff at his chin. When had he last shaved? “If you don’t want to give blood, you don’t have to. If you want me to take you away from Realm Headquarters right now, I’ll do it. Just stop being so afraid. Nobody is going to hurt you.”
Even her scoff was delicate. “You brought me here for the queen to experiment upon. I doubt she’ll just let us leave.”
What the hell? “Experiment on?” Holy shit, he’d missed something. Something big. He moved to the sofa, sitting at the end close to her. She immediately shrank away, and his temper stirred even more. He swallowed several times to keep it at bay. “Honey? Emma draws blood from every immortal she can chase down. She studies it to help humans, and maybe us if a virus ever threatens us again. That’s all. She conducts experiments in the lab, but not on bodies. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her use even a mouse in a lab experiment.”
Karma’s mouth tightened. “I have heard the stories about her.”
What was the correct approach here? Benny reached for a cookie and chewed, his mind spinning. “We should probably start there, then. Tell me about the stories.”
“No.” Karma looked surprised at herself for a moment. Perhaps she didn’t say no often.
Just how bad was it in the Kurjan world for a Soti without a mate? Benny took another cookie and shoved down the anger inside him. “Okay. You certainly don’t have to do or say anything you don’t want.” When she just sniffed, he had to grin. “However, I have to tell you, somebody has filled you full of bull…nonsense. The queen has never tortured a soul.”
Karma’s gaze flickered away and then back. “She doesn’t tear the skin off enhanced females to see how fast they recuperate?”
Benny lost the grin. His gut chilled. “Hell no.”
* * * *
Karma’s mind frazzled, and it was difficult to concentrate. Male heat washed over her at Benjamin’s nearness, along with that scent of wildness, citrus, and the woods that always clung to him. Her body grew sensitive so close to him—was it because of the bizarre mating mark? The fact that she’d caused his mark when she’d already been mated was unheard of. Until now.
She retreated into her calm facade. “It is well known that the queen tortures the enemy for fun. For her own research and enjoyment.”
Benjamin sat back, his eyes a burning combination of metallic colors. “Let me get this straight. When I left you with Emma earlier today, you thought I was handing you over to have your skin torn from your body?” Because he was a hybrid, his voice was naturally low and hoarse. It lowered even more with his question.
She squirmed on her chair. Was there a correct answer? She was accustomed to fading into the background to keep herself safe, but right now, there was nowhere to go.
His gaze swept her face, and then he dropped his head into his hands. “All right.” He lifted up, scrubbed both cheeks, and then pinched the bridge of his nose. “Okay.” Then he pressed his thumbs to the corners of his eyes and shut them. “I see.”
Was he having some sort of stroke? “Benjamin?” she whispered.
He lifted his head and let his hands drop to his black cargo pants. His fingers tangled and then folded together. He took a deep breath. Then another. “Where were you born?”
The question threw her completely out of the moment. “I was born in a small town in Sweden.”
“When?”
She struggled to remember. “Late seventeen hundreds, in the spring. May first, actually.” She hadn’t thought about her birthday in centuries.
He handed her a peanut-butter cookie. “Your name is interesting, considering you’re Swedish. Isn’t Karma a Hindu name?”
She nodded. “The Vikings traded with the people of Constantinople and brought home spices. My mother heard the name from one of them. She liked it, and Krama means ‘to hug’ in my native language, so it’s close to that, too.”
His smile was too charming for her peace of mind. “When did you get mated?”
She took a bite, letting the delicious sugar ease her fear. “I was seventeen, I think.” It was so long ago. “His name was Kraig, and he died that first year.” She’d been a widow forever.
“You didn’t go back home?”
“No. I belonged to the Kurjans by then. I’ve worked for them and helped throughout the years.” She’d made some friends, and now she had the twins to protect. How was she going to help them?
“Did he hurt you, Karma?” Benny asked, his tone gentle.
She blinked. “Not really. My dowry was a good one, and I knew what my wifely duties meant. Mating wasn’t much different. Of course, my family and I were humans—they did not know I had mated an immortal. Kraig took me away right afterward, so I never saw them again.” Despite her gifts, she’d never seen any family member once they’d crossed into the beyond. Perhaps that was part of the rules she had never understood.
“Huh. What’s your enhancement? Are you psychic?” Benjamin took another cookie.
Her body was weary and her mind fuzzy. She couldn’t help relaxing against the chair. It was too much effort to lie to him, and it didn’t really matter what he thought of her, so she told the truth for once. Not even the Kurjans knew about her gift. “No. I can sometimes channel those who’ve not crossed over completely. Not often, but it does happen.”
His eyebrows rose. Oddly enough, he appeared intrigued. “You see dead people?”
Her face heated. Why had she just trusted him with such a private secret? Because it felt right, somehow. “Yes. You said you wanted the truth.”
“I do. Always.” He tugged on his ear. “Do you think the Kurjans always tell the truth?”
She finished the cookie. “No. I have seen them tell falsehoods.”
He handed her another one—this one oatmeal with raisins. “Is it possible they lied to you about Emma? That they lied to all of the enhanced women or anybody thinking of escaping from them?”
She chewed and thought about it. Her body was almost too tired to worry about that right now. “I do not know.”
“That’s fair.” He tipped back his glass and finished his wine. “Tell me how to convince you, and I’ll do it right now.”