Rooks and Romanticide by J.I. Radke Page A

with confusion—and just as he’d seen earlier in the grand hall and the courtyard, just as they all gossiped, his eyes were a pale, washed-out gray. Weak genetics . Or fragilely stunning, like ice in the sun.
    â€œ You —” was what the Earl said next, spitting it out like the word was the worst tasting one he’d ever spoken. Cain was his first name, if Levi remembered correctly. Cain , like the Biblical story, or fair in Welsh?
    Cain scowled, pulling his revolver back but not abandoning it just yet. He leaned forward. “How the hell did you—? Have you been hiding out here all this time? The ball is over, and most everyone’s gone. What are you still doing here? I’ll have you arrested for trespassing!”
    â€œMany apologies, my lord….” Levi jumped in before the Earl could finish his tirade, and he dipped down into a wide bow. That empty cold was still there, filling him up to the point of breathlessness. Like rage, but no anger. It was the strangest, most restless feeling he’d had in a long while. “‘The Death of the Ruslanivs,’ hmm?” he mused aloud, smirking bitterly.
    â€œI will be. I am.” The Earl issued an indifferent shrug and a cold scoff from the balcony above.
    â€œI was just concerned about your well-being after….” Levi trailed off on purpose, shaking his head.
    â€œWell,” the Earl said, and the nighttime wind carried his voice perfectly, “thank you for your worries, but really, do you have any idea who I am at all? Are you foreign or something? New to New London? I don’t need anybody’s concern for my well-being, especially not from a mere civilian.”
    Levi moved closer to the wall beneath the balcony. The liquor had made his skin warm and itchy; he needed to stay sharp. The Earl scowled down at him with murderous intent, and Levi couldn’t help but grin now, attempting humility but really inexorably pleased. By the Earl’s lack of sympathy, or by his obvious relief at seeing Levi again. There was no denying the Earl had hoped to see him again. He would have called Security by now if it had been any other way. Looked like BLACK’s plans were right on spot, after all.
    â€œPardon me,” Levi called again, knowing exactly what to say, “but I thought the intrigue in the air was mutual, in the garden when we….”
    â€œTch!” the Earl spat down at him, lip curling gently.
    But Levi caught the flare of color in his face, the spark of something in his eyes. He was thinking of their assignation in the garden, just like Levi, yes. The kiss. The tongue, the teeth, the wandering hands.
    The Earl was in his bedclothes already. The lingering face paint made him look ghostly. Levi wondered if he was cold. Again he thought about the taste of his mouth and he had to stop himself from touching his own lips in sweet memory. This was the Earl Dietrich —
    â€œWell,” the Earl said again, curtly, “you were horribly mistaken. I was bored and you weren’t annoying me— at the time . Now, if you’ll escort yourself out, it’ll save me the trouble of alerting my officers.”
    â€œOh, I wish you wouldn’t lie.” Levi offered his best smile. That was a bold move, and if it worked like he thought it would….
    The Earl studied him coldly. Clearly he was startled, disgruntled, but in a very guilty way. Finally, after a few long, torturous moments, he set his revolver down and gestured with one hand for Levi to close in on the balcony. The Earl leaned forward against the stone, hooked one ankle behind the other, and called down coolly, “What do you want?”
    Success. Levi’s neck ached from looking up. He wished there had been some vines or lattice to climb to get even closer, out of any light.
    â€œRemove your mask,” the Earl demanded suddenly, and Levi bristled as he realized the revolver was back and pointed his way once