Claimed by the enemies

mind reader

Chapter 3: The Mind Reader

I barely have time to return to my chambers and clean up before a servant arrives to escort me to Prince Zane. My body is still humming from the encounter with Kai, skin sensitive and pulse elevated. I need to get control of myself before facing the most dangerous of the three brothers.

The servant leads me deeper into the palace than I've been before, down corridors lined with strange symbols carved into the stone. The air grows colder as we walk, and I catch glimpses of rooms filled with books and artifacts that seem to pulse with their own dark energy.

"His Highness is in the observatory," the servant says, stopping before a spiral staircase that disappears upward into shadows. "He's expecting you."

I climb the stairs alone, each step echoing in the narrow space. The temperature drops further as I ascend, until I can see my breath misting in the air. Whatever Zane does up here, it requires isolation and cold.

The observatory is a circular room at the top of the highest tower, its walls lined with windows that offer a commanding view of the entire kingdom. But it's not the view that captures my attention—it's the man standing at the center of the room.

Prince Zane has his back to me, studying something on a table covered with maps and strange instruments. He's dressed in dark blue silk that clings to his lean frame, and his black hair catches the afternoon light streaming through the windows. Even from behind, there's something unsettling about his stillness, like a predator that doesn't need to move to be threatening.

"Close the door behind you," he says without turning around. "And lock it."

The command sends a shiver down my spine, but I obey. The lock clicks into place with an ominous finality.

"You're late," he continues, still focused on his work. "Kai kept you longer than expected."

"We were training, Your Highness. Time got away from us."

"Training." He turns slowly, and those pale blue eyes fix on my face with unnerving intensity. "Is that what you call it?"

Heat floods my cheeks. Can he somehow know what happened between Kai and me? What I felt?

"I'm sorry, Your Highness. I don't understand."

He walks toward me with fluid grace, each step deliberate and measured. "Your heart rate is elevated. Your breathing is shallow. Your pupils are dilated, and your scent..." He stops close enough that I can feel the cold emanating from his skin. "Your scent tells me exactly what kind of training you received."

My mouth goes dry. "Your Highness—"

"Do you know what I am, Lyra?" He circles me slowly, like a shark testing the waters. "What my gifts are?"

"I've heard rumors."

"Rumors." He laughs, but there's no humor in the sound. "Let me enlighten you. I can read surface thoughts. I can influence emotions. I can make people feel pleasure or pain with nothing but a touch." He stops in front of me, reaching out to trace a finger along my cheek. "And right now, I'm reading exactly what my brother did to you."

Ice shoots through my veins. If he can read minds, my mission is over before it truly began.

"You're thinking about how his hands felt on your skin," Zane continues, his voice dropping to a hypnotic whisper. "How his body pressed against yours during your sparring session. How he made you feel things you've never experienced before."

"Stop." The word comes out as a breathless plea.

"But that's not all you're thinking about, is it?" His finger trails down my throat, and everywhere he touches, my skin burns with cold fire. "You're also thinking about revenge. About secrets. About things that could get you killed if the wrong people discovered them."

My heart stops. He knows. Somehow, he knows exactly who I am and what I'm planning.

"Please," I whisper.

"Please what? Please don't expose your lies? Please don't tell my brothers that you're not the innocent gift you pretend to be?" He leans closer, his lips nearly touching my ear. "Or please don't stop touching you?"

His hand slides to the base of my throat, fingers wrapping around my neck in a grip that's possessive rather than threatening. The touch sends liquid heat coursing through my veins, and I hate myself for the way my body responds to him.

"You want to know the truth, Lyra? I've known what you are since the moment you walked into our throne room. Your thoughts were so loud, so full of rage and pain and carefully constructed lies, that reading them was like listening to someone scream."

Terror and arousal war for control of my nervous system. "Then why haven't you—"

"Exposed you? Killed you? Had you dragged away in chains?" His thumb strokes across my pulse point, and I shudder. "Because you fascinate me. It's been years since someone walked into my presence with such exquisite darkness hiding beneath their surface."

He releases my throat and steps back, leaving me cold and aching. "Tell me, princess, do you remember the night your family died?"

The old title hits me like a physical blow. No one has called me princess since I was four years old, hidden in the secret passages while my world burned around me.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't you? I was there that night, you know. Fifteen years old and eager to prove myself to my father. I helped plan the attack that killed your parents, your siblings, your entire bloodline." He moves to the window, gazing out at his stolen kingdom. "I even suggested we check the secret passages, make sure no one escaped."

Rage builds in my chest, hot and consuming. "Then why—"

"Why didn't we find you? Because someone helped you. Someone with power almost as strong as mine, who could hide your thoughts and scent even from us." He turns back to me, and his smile is cruel and beautiful. "I've spent fifteen years wondering who that someone was. Wondering what happened to the little princess who vanished from her burning palace."

I can barely breathe around the fury choking me. "You murdered children."

"Yes. I did." There's no remorse in his voice, no shame. "And I'd do it again if necessary. Your family was a threat to the natural order. Omegas aren't meant to rule, regardless of what gifts they possess."

"We brought peace to the realm. Prosperity. Our people loved us."

"Your people feared you. There's a difference." He crosses to a cabinet filled with bottles of dark liquid, selecting one and pouring himself a glass. "Would you like some wine? It might steady your nerves for what comes next."

"What comes next?"

"Your punishment, of course. Did you think you could walk into my home, lie to my face, and seduce my brothers without consequences?" He sips his wine, studying me over the rim. "I'm going to teach you exactly what happens to Omegas who forget their place."

Fear spikes through me, but it's mixed with something else—a dark anticipation that makes me hate myself. "Are you going to kill me?"

"Kill you? Oh, my dear princess, death would be far too merciful." He sets down his glass and moves toward me again. "I'm going to break you. Piece by piece, thought by thought, until there's nothing left but a pretty shell that lives only to serve."

"You can't. Someone would notice—"

"Who? My brothers? They think you're just another Omega gift. They have no reason to question your sudden transformation into the perfect submissive pet." His hand tangles in my hair, jerking my head back to expose my throat. "Besides, they won't mind sharing a more... compliant version of you."

Cold fire spreads from his touch, sinking into my bones and making my vision blur. This is his gift—not just reading minds, but rewriting them. I can feel him pressing against my mental defenses, trying to find cracks where he can pour his influence.

"Let me show you what perfect submission feels like," he whispers against my ear.

Power crashes against my shields like a tidal wave, and for a moment, I think they'll hold. The protection spells woven into my mind fifteen years ago flare to life, pushing back against his invasion. But Zane is stronger than I expected, his abilities honed by years of practice and cruelty.

My shields crack.

Pleasure floods my nervous system, so intense it's almost painful. My knees buckle, and only his grip on my hair keeps me upright. Every nerve ending ignites with sensation, waves of euphoria crashing through me until I can't think, can't breathe, can only feel.

"There we go," he murmurs, his voice sounding like it's coming from underwater. "Much better. Now, let's see what other modifications I can make."

He's inside my head now, rifling through my thoughts and memories like pages in a book. I feel him examining my training, my plans, my deepest secrets. The violation is absolute and terrifying.

But then something unexpected happens. As he delves deeper into my mind, our connection becomes a two-way street. Suddenly, I'm seeing his thoughts, his memories, his carefully guarded emotions.

I see him as a teenage boy, desperate for his father's approval, participating in the m******e of my family while fighting back nausea. I see years of being used as a weapon, forced to break minds and bend wills until he convinced himself he enjoyed the power. I see the loneliness that eats at him, the knowledge that everyone fears him too much to truly connect with him.

And beneath it all, I see something that shocks me to my core—attraction. Raw, desperate desire for me that goes far beyond simple lust. He wants to possess me not just because I'm his enemy, but because I'm the first person in years who's looked at him without immediately cowering.

The revelation breaks his concentration, and my shields slam back into place with enough force to send him staggering backward.

We stare at each other across the room, both breathing hard, both shaken by what just happened.

"Impossible," he whispers. "No one can resist me once I'm in their head."

"I'm not no one." I straighten my spine, meeting his shocked gaze directly. "I'm the last princess of the Moonspire line, and my bloodline carries gifts you can't even comprehend."

"Your shields..." He runs a hand through his hair, looking genuinely rattled for the first time. "They're not just mental barriers. They're bound to your very soul."

"Protection spells cast by someone who loved me enough to sacrifice everything to keep me safe." I take a step toward him, drawing on every ounce of royal authority I was born with. "You can't break what was forged in love and sealed with blood."

For a moment, we stand there in perfect tension—predator and prey, hunter and hunted, enemy and enemy. But there's something else crackling between us now, something dark and electric that makes my skin burn with need.

"You felt it too," I say quietly. "When our minds touched. You want me."

His jaw clenches. "Desire is weakness. I don't have weaknesses."

"Don't you? Because what I saw in your head suggests otherwise." I move closer, close enough to see the flecks of silver in his pale eyes. "You're tired of being feared. Tired of being alone. You want someone who can match you, challenge you, stand up to your power without breaking."

"Stop."

"You want someone who can see past the monster you've made yourself into and find the man underneath." I reach out and place my palm flat against his chest, feeling his heart hammering beneath the silk. "You want me to submit to you, yes. But not through force. You want me to choose it."

His hand covers mine, pressing it harder against his chest. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Then why aren't you compelling me to leave? Why aren't you using your abilities to make me stop speaking?" I tilt my head up, studying his face. "Because you're afraid that if you force my compliance now, you'll never know if I could have chosen it freely."

"I should kill you." But his voice lacks conviction.

"Yes, you should. It would be the smart thing to do." I lean closer, until our faces are inches apart. "But you won't. Because killing me would mean never finding out what it feels like to have someone surrender to you completely, willingly, without coercion."

"You're playing a dangerous game, princess."

"I'm playing the only game that matters." My free hand slides up his chest to rest against his throat. "The question is, are you brave enough to play it with me?"

For a long moment, he doesn't respond. Then his hand tangles in my hair again, but this time the grip is gentle rather than controlling.

"If you're lying," he whispers, "if this is just another manipulation—"

"Then you'll destroy me. I know. I'm counting on it." I press closer, until our bodies are almost touching. "But if I'm telling the truth, if I can choose to surrender to you without losing myself, then we both get what we want."

"And what do I want?"

"Someone who sees you. Really sees you, darkness and all, and stays anyway." I rise on my toes, my lips barely brushing his ear. "Someone who isn't afraid of your power because they have power of their own."

He goes very still, and I can feel the war raging inside him—the desire to take what he wants versus the need to have it given freely.

"This changes nothing between us," he says finally. "You're still my enemy. I still know all your secrets."

"Good. That means when I choose you, you'll know it's real."

He pulls back to look at me, those pale eyes searching my face for deception. "When you choose me? You seem very confident."

"I am. Because I know what you know—that this pull between us goes deeper than simple attraction. You felt it when our minds touched. The connection, the recognition." I trace my fingers along his jaw, feeling him shiver at the contact. "We're matched, Zane. Predators who understand each other in ways no one else ever could."

"You think you can seduce me into sparing you?"

"I think we can seduce each other into something much more interesting than simple survival." I step back, breaking the spell of proximity. "But not today. Today, I think you need time to process what just happened between us."

His laugh is breathless and incredulous. "You're dismissing me? In my own chambers?"

"I'm giving you space to think. To decide if you want to be the prince who forces compliance or the one who earns devotion." I move toward the door, then pause with my hand on the lock. "When you're ready to find out which one you really are, you know where to find me."

I leave him standing there in his observatory, surrounded by his books and instruments of power, looking shaken and aroused and utterly fascinating.

As I descend the spiral staircase, my legs are unsteady and my heart is racing. I came closer to exposure and death in that room than ever before in my life. But I also discovered something that changes everything—Zane wants me as much as I'm beginning to want him.

The game has shifted. My enemies are becoming something else entirely, something far more dangerous than simple targets for revenge.

They're becoming temptations I'm not sure I'm strong enough to resist.