“Of course.”
Declan gazed at him before taking a sip of his whiskey. “You say that because she is here now, but we both know you’re lying. You would have kept her.”
Ronan was across the room between one heartbeat and the next. Lifting Declan by the throat, Ronan smashed his back against the bar and bent the larger man backward. “I realize that you have your own way of doing things, but this is the first and the last time you will go against me in anything, do you understand me?”
Declan lifted his hands in a pacifying gesture. It was the first time Ronan had ever laid a hand on any of his friends in anger, yet Declan didn’t seem surprised. “Yes.”
Ronan released him. Pacing away, he ran his hands through his hair as he tried to understand what had happened. He’d never believed he’d ever attack one of his friends, unless they turned Savage, but there had been a moment when he’d truly contemplated sinking his fangs into Declan’s throat and feasting on him. A good kill would help to calm him.
“It’s time to hunt,” he said and turned away.
“Ronan.” He stopped and looked over his shoulder at Declan. “You may not believe me, but I did not go against you in this. One day I hope you will get the chance to see I did this for you. Killean, Lucien, and Saxon, they haven’t been here long enough to know.”
“To know what?” Ronan demanded.
“That at one time your eyes were entirely brown. That they’ve changed over the centuries.”
It was true. Ronan didn’t just feel the madness creeping over him, he saw it every time he looked in the mirror. “What is your point, Declan?” he bit out.
“We all fight our more malevolent side every day. Because of your lineage, you fight it more than the rest of us. I’ve watched you descend into the darkness more and more over the years, but for one brief second in the alley, when you first held Kadence against you, your eyes were entirely brown again.”
“You’re losing your mind.”
Declan lifted a shoulder and finished off the rest of his whiskey. “I think we all are, but I also think we’re coming to a head with something.”
“With what?”
Declan set the glass on the bar, lifted his bomber jacket, and slid it on. “That I do not know. Now, let’s kill something. It will make us all feel better.”
CHAPTER 21
The grandfather clock in the corner chimed 3:00 a.m. Kadence stared at the creeping hands, the book in her lap all but forgotten. She hadn’t been able to concentrate on anything since Ronan and the others left. Setting the book on the small stand beside the chair she reclined in, she climbed to her feet. Pacing the large room, she scanned the thousands of volumes lining the floor-to-ceiling shelves of the two-story library.
Marta had explained that Ronan and the others had brought the books with them from wherever they’d been before. The older woman had stayed with her for a good hour, pointing out her favorite books while she gave Kadence a tour. Marta exuded enthusiasm and warmth as she shared her love of the books and the vampires in residence. She hadn’t left until Baldric came to retrieve her for help with something.
Normally, being alone in a room such as this would be her idea of heaven. Reading was the way she spent most of her days. It was her only refuge from a life of boredom. Now, she found herself unable to concentrate on the endless spines lining the shelves.
Kadence pulled back the navy blue curtains covering the windows. She peered into the night, barely able to discern the bars on the outside. Releasing the curtain, she strode to the center of the room. She had traded one prison for another, but at least there were no expectations of perfection for her here, no one for her to marry. She may not be free to go outside or travel at will, but she still had more freedom than she’d had before.
She felt liberated. Yet, there was a constricting grip on her chest that she’d never experienced before.
Turning away from the multitude of shelves, she left the library. Baldric was descending the staircase when she walked into the foyer. He smiled at her as he stepped off the last stair and onto the marble. His brown eyes were warm when they met hers.
“Can I get you anything, miss?”
“No, I’m all set. Thank you.”
He bowed his head to her and started walking toward where Marta had told her the kitchen was located. “Let us know if you require anything. There is a buzzer in almost every room.” He rested his hand beneath a small golden button on the wall and pointed to it. Kadence recalled seeing one in her room earlier too. “It goes straight to the back hall where we can hear it even if we’re sleeping.”
“Thank you,” she said though she suspected Ronan and his men would never bother them by hitting that button while Marta and Baldric slept, unless it was an absolute emergency, and neither would she.
“Good night, miss.”
“Good night, Baldric.”
She remained standing in the foyer after he’d vanished into the shadows beyond. She glanced back at the hall leading to the library as she debated returning there, going to her room, or wandering the large mansion and seeing what she could discover now that Marta and Baldric were going to sleep. She might be able to figure out how to get out of this place while no one was around.
She decided it was time to explore seconds before the front door flung open, letting in a rush of wind and fresh snow. Ronan strode into the house, his coat swirling around his calves. Declan, Saxon, and Killean followed him into the foyer. A large, ugly gash seeped blood down the side of Killean’s face. Kadence let out a gasp of horror. Forgetting all about her dislike of Killean, she rushed toward him.
“What happened?” Before she could reach him, Ronan grasped her outstretched wrist and pulled her back a step. “I only want to help him!” she protested as she uselessly tried to tug her arm from Ronan’s grasp.
“Declan and Saxon will take care of him,” Ronan replied.
“But I’m good at tending wounds,” Kadence protested.
“Not this one.”
“What happened?” she demanded.
“Savages.”
“Joseph?” she managed to choke out.
Ronan’s body vibrated with barely contained power as he stared at her. “Joseph wasn’t there.”
“But he sent his friends,” Saxon muttered.
Kadence bit her lower lip. “Joseph sent them?”
“I believe so,” Ronan answered.
“Was my brother there?”
“No.”
She turned to look at Killean’s brutalized face. The skin of his unscarred cheek hung down to reveal the fine white bone beneath, and blood continued to ooze from the injury. “Please let me help him.”
“No. It will heal on its own and he will be fine. I will not have you around this. You are going upstairs,” Ronan replied.
“No, I’m—”
Her protest was cut off when he tugged her toward the steps. Kadence glared at his back as he stalked up the stairs ahead of her, every muscle in his body rigid. “What happened out there?” she inquired as they arrived at the top and he pulled her forward.
“Nothing good,” was the crisp reply.
“I can help him.”
“I won’t have you near a vampire who has lost so much blood and is still geared for the kill.”
“Oh,” she said as realization dawned on her. These were not hunters returning from a battle. These vampires hadn’t hurt her, but they were still lethal creatures with a lot of power and a thirst for blood. She shivered at the thought and hurried to walk beside Ronan.
He opened the door to her room and she stepped inside. “I’m sorry for what happened tonight.”
He took hold of her chin. “Joseph is organizing the Savages, Kadence. After tonight, I am certain of it. It is not safe for you here.”
“Then let me go.”
His finger rubbed her chin, melting her bones from the inside out. Heat pooled through her body, causing her toes to curl. Like everyone else in her life, he’d
taken her freedom from her, but she found she couldn’t be mad at him when he was gazing at her like she was the most precious thing he’d ever seen.
“Where would you go?” he asked.
“Everywhere,” she breathed. “I’d go to Machu Picchu and Venice and Rome. I’d stand on the Great Wall and try to puzzle out the mysteries of Stonehenge before kissing the Blarney Stone and drinking ale at a pub. I’d breathe in the air of history, soak in the arts, speak the languages I’ve learned, and immerse myself in the people and cultures. I’d laugh. I’ve done so little laughing in my life. I want to know what it is like to throw open my arms, laugh to the skies, and inhale freedom.”
Ronan was stunned speechless by her impassioned words and the vision she created with them. He could well imagine her laughing and celebrating all those places. This young, vibrant woman had been caged so much she’d rarely laughed in her life, and now he was placing bars around her all over again. Now, he was the one denying her the life she deserved.
Was he keeping her here because she had disobeyed him and he was concerned about her safety, or was it because Declan was right and he really didn’t want to let her go?
He’d done some atrocious things in his lengthy life. Holding her captive here until she bent to his will was one of the worst of them. Self-hatred burned into him as he caressed her chin.
“All wonderful things,” he murmured. “So you would go Machu Picchu first then?”
“Maybe the Grand Canyon or Niagara Falls, it doesn’t matter as long as I see it all.”
“And what about money?”
“I would figure it out. I’m not stupid or as naïve as you believe me to be. I know it will be difficult, but I can do it. I’m not used to the human world, but I’m a hard worker and I am stronger than others. I’m sure I can find something to do while I travel.”
He didn’t remind her that she had no ID either. There were some times it was best to let things go. “If anyone could do it, I think it would be you, Kadence.”
A beautiful smile lit her face. “That’s not what you were saying earlier.”
“Even with my many years of experience, I am sometimes wrong.”
She chuckled and gripped his hand on her chin. “I imagine someone could live for all of time and still get things wrong. We were born to be flawed after all.”
“We were. I can’t let you go out into this world alone. You have no idea what it is like out there.”
Her crestfallen expression tore at his heart. “I realize there is a lot I don’t know, but no one has ever given me the chance to learn it either.”
“I know they haven’t. I wish I could take you to all of those places myself.” He would give anything to see her face the first time she saw Ireland or the Colosseum, to hear her laughter as she looked on each new sight with delight. “My duty is to my kind, especially now, and that means that I have to stay here, where the threat is located.”
Her delicate fingers tightened around his. “I know.”
“Baldric and Marta can take you.” The words were out of his mouth before he realized he’d intended to say them. He fought against drawing her against his chest and holding her there as denial raced across his mind. He’d just found her and now he intended to send her away. No, he would set her free.
They may only be human, but Marta and Baldric were better trained at fighting vampires than Kadence was. They would keep her safe. They knew places to bring her that would be safe if they ever ran into trouble, and they knew vampires around the world who would help them if it became necessary.
He didn’t want her out in the world without him, but that selfishness only made him a bigger monster than Joseph.
“I will give you money and they can go with you wherever you wish to go,” he told her. “With the condition and the understanding that you are to stay with them throughout your journey. I know it is not the complete freedom you seek, but they will help keep you safe, and they won’t stand in the way of anything you do as long as they believe it’s not too dangerous.”
He’d make sure they didn’t stand in her way if she found a man she loved and decided to settle down with him. His fangs ached in his gums at the thought. She was his. But she wasn’t.
Kadence’s heart hammered as hope bloomed in her chest. He was offering her dreams to her. “Do you mean it?”
He gave a brisk nod as the demon clawed at his chest, seeking to break free to claim her. It took everything he had to keep it securely locked away. “Yes, but if you try to run away from them, they will bring you back. If you get away from them, or do anything to hurt them, I will hunt you to the ends of the earth, Kadence. Do you understand?”
“I would never hurt them or try to escape them, I promise. Will they bring me back when I’m done exploring?”
“That is up to you. It is your life to live now. They will only be there to help guide and protect you through your travels. If they feel you are safe to be on your own, and that is what you ask of them, they will also leave you, but only if they feel you will be safe.”
“You… you would do that? You would have them leave here with me? You would give me money and let me go?”
No! The denial rang throughout every part of him. “Yes. It will take about a week to get everything organized and to get you a passport and ID that will make it through security everywhere in the world.”
“What about Joseph? I left my home to witness his death.”
“You stayed away from your home because you wanted your freedom. Now, you must decide what you want more; to possibly witness a death that will never fill the hole inside of you and may leave you feeling more hollow after, or to live out your dreams?”
Kadence rocked back on her heels as she contemplated his words. “I can always go after Joseph is dead.”
“No. This is a now or never deal, Kadence.” He may decide to keep her if she were here for more than a week. It would be difficult enough to let her go after spending that much time with her, never mind longer. “Things may change in the future and I may be unable to offer this to you. I can’t promise you that you will be there when Joseph dies either. Not with your lack of training.”
“I see,” she whispered.
She churned his words over in her mind. What would her dad want her to do? Easy enough to answer, he would want her back in the stronghold, but since that wasn’t an option for her right now, she knew he wouldn’t have her living her life for revenge.
She so badly wanted to see Joseph dead, but was witnessing his death worth giving up everything else for? Especially since she might not even get the chance to see it. Ronan would let her go travel, but he would keep her out of the fight until he believed her better prepared to be there.
“I… I will go,” she managed to stammer out.
Ronan clasped his hands behind his back, nearly tearing the skin from them as he restrained himself from grabbing her. “I will inform Marta and Baldric and have them set everything in motion.”
Before he could change his mind, he turned and walked out of the room. His fangs extended further with every step he took away from her.
CHAPTER 22
Her sleep plagued with dreams of Ronan, Kadence had risen earlier than normal and decided to explore the mansion. Maybe she should still be plotting her getaway. She felt in some way she was betraying her own kind by not doing so, but her kind had been wrong about so many things that she found herself not looking for a way out as she prowled through the rambling structure. It didn’t matter anyway. After this week, she wouldn’t be here anymore.
She should be overjoyed about that. She should have been kept awake with excitement, and not because she was fighting the urge to cry. She was finally going to be free; she was going to be able to do all the things she’d always dreamed about doing. Instead of being elated, all she wanted was to seek out Ronan and spend as much time with him as possible before leaving.
She kept waiting for someone to tell her she shouldn’t be in this area or that o
ne, but no one bothered her as she strolled through the place. She explored the numerous rooms on the first floor. Some of them were empty, but most had furniture to mark what they were. There was an elaborate dining room with a table that easily fit fifty, what she assumed was a parlor with its tables and chairs, another room with sofas and a fireplace that took up the entire back wall, and another with an old desk and floor-to-ceiling shelves behind it.
She only went down one wing before realizing it was mostly empty rooms. She had no idea why anyone needed a place so big, and she felt completely overwhelmed by the vastness of it while she made her way back to the main foyer.
She stopped when she spotted Ronan standing at the bottom of the steps, his elbow resting on the banister as he watched her. “What do you think of the place?” he inquired.
“It’s huge.”
“And?”
“It’s kind of depressing. I don’t know if that’s because it’s so empty or because what they left behind feels like the remnants of ghosts instead of people.”
Ronan gazed around the foyer as he tried to see it through her eyes. To him, it didn’t matter. This place already had heavy security, was in a part of Massachusetts that was relatively peaceful, but Boston, Providence, Hartford, and New York City were all easily accessible by car.
It had been ideal for their needs. He hadn’t cared what it looked like when he purchased it, never would have taken a second look at the interior or had the time to do anything about it, but seeing it through her eyes made him realize the place was bleak.
“You’re right,” he said and moved away from the stairs. “Come with me.”
“Where are we going?”
“You wanted training, you’re going to get it, or at least a crash course in it. Marta and Baldric will continue working with you while you’re traveling. They’re highly skilled fighters.”
Kadence couldn’t help but smile as she pictured the plump woman, with her kind smile, kicking a vampire’s ass.
Eternally Bound (The Alliance, Book 1) Page 15