Silver Shark (Kinsmen, #2)

by Ilona Andrews

He was trying to check if she'd suffered any mind lesions. Claire smiled. "I'm fine." Ven opened the bottle and poured shimmering pink liquid into two glasses. "I'm sorry. I should have never put you into that position." Ven would have never attacked a civilian. In his mind, that sort of action was filed under It's Just Not Done. His mind-shields were down - probably so he could scan her mind at the first sign of trouble - and his emotions leaked out. He was intensely worried about her well-being. Claire smiled. "Am I funny?" "No." "Then why are you smiling?" "I find your customs - Dahlia customs - antiquated. Charming, but antiquated." "We're a very violent society," he said, turning the skewers. "We have to have customs and ceremonies, otherwise we'd constantly offend each other and soon none of us would be left. Some things are not done. Attacking a civilian is one of them." "Were you worried?" She sipped the pink drink. It was sweet, tart, and refreshing, with a trace of alcohol. She realized it must be wine. "Yes," Ven said. "I was worried. I didn't want you to be hurt because I was caught off-guard." "I wasn't worried," she told him. "I noticed. You handled the whole situation with the poise of a seasoned kinsman." He laughed. "A violent psycher paralyzes your mind, and when he lets you go, you calmly ask if you should alert the authorities. You kill me, Claire." Kill. A dangerous word. "I considered screaming in blind panic, but I didn't want to break your concentra...

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