2_-_court_of_mist_and_fury_a_-_sarah_j._maas

doubt his favorite mask. “Only occasionally will I do that. And I can’t help it if you send
things down the bond.”
I contemplated refusing to ask as I had done last night, but … “How does it work—this
bond that allows you to see into my head?”
He sipped from his own tea. “Think of the bargain’s bond as a bridge between us—and
at either end is a door to our respective minds. A shield. My innate talents allow me to slip
through the mental shields of anyone I wish, with or without that bridge—unless they’re
very, very strong, or have trained extensively to keep those shields tight. As a human, the
gates to your mind were flung open for me to stroll through. As Fae … ” A little shrug.
“Sometimes, you unwittingly have a shield up—sometimes, when emotion seems to be
running strong, that shield vanishes. And sometimes, when those shields are open, you
might as well be standing at the gates to your mind, shouting your thoughts across the
bridge to me. Sometimes I hear them; sometimes I don’t.”
I scowled, clenching my fork harder. “And how often do you just rifle through my mind
when my shields are down?”
All amusement faded from his face. “When I can’t tell if your nightmares are real
threats or imagined. When you’re about to be married and you silently beg anyone to help
you. Only when you drop your mental shields and unknowingly blast those things down
the bridge. And to answer your question before you ask, yes. Even with your shields up, I
could get through them if I wished. You could train, though—learn how to shield against
someone like me, even with the bond bridging our minds and my own abilities.”
I ignored the offer. Agreeing to do anything with him felt too permanent, too accepting
of the bargain between us. “What do you want with me? You said you’d tell me here. So
tell me.”
Rhys leaned back in his chair, folding powerful arms that even the fine clothes couldn’t
hide. “For this week? I want you to learn how to read.”