Blair straightened, the corners of her lips pull down into a slight frown. His query indicated that perhaps she hadnât projected enough feelings onto him. Or perhaps she just hadnât been subtle enough. Erik would have told her to try again, use more, practice. That wasnât something she was entirely comfortable with yet. âEmpathy,â she said neutrally, running her teeth along her bottom lip. She held out a hand for him to shake, painting on a friendly smile. âIâm Blair, by the way.â Hopefully, she hadnât ruined a potential friendship already.
Empathy. Empathy. Nikolai's lip twitched, but his expression gave away none of the disgust roiling through him. Not that it would matter, if she could feel his emotional state. Nikolai hated mind readers in every shape and form. Anyone who could access his thoughts without his permission, change his perception of the world, was an enemy. It was violation on the basest level, the lack of certainty that anything he thought or felt was his own that put a knot in Nikolai's gut and made him want to react with violence.Â
Carefully crushing down his dislike and desire to leave, Nikolai took her hand, returning her smile with a false one of his own. "Nikolai."











