Page 69 of Forever Touched

“Oh, Adalyn. Come here, precious.”

When she came to me with a sob, I gathered her tightly in myarms, offering her my strength and comfort. She shook against me, crying into my chest without restraint.

“It’s okay,” I whispered. “We’re going to figure this out. You’re not alone anymore.”

She only cried harder.

21

ADALYN

“I bet it’s Deloris Faircroft. She and her late husband spent the past several decades trying to claw their way up the social ladder. She also admitted that her husband died the day the curse was broken.”

“What’s your point, Loch?” Everett asked his brother.

“Her husband might have been a rogue. If so, she might have been one too—or at least a sympathizer. The rogues may have gone into hiding, but we know many of them still exist and aren’t happy with how this kingdom is run, especially now that we’ve allied with the SCA. Therefore, it makes sense that someone like Deloris would bend our new laws to get ahead. She runs a highly profitable nightclub, and I bet Adalyn is the key to that success. No other vampire-owned nightclub has a witch in their employment, and that’s what makes Adalyn so valuable. Of course Deloris would find a way to keep her from leaving. If she proposed a pactum to ensure Adalyn worked off her debt, then that’s technically not illegal. Neither is using thrall to keep the details of their agreement private.”

Everett’s knuckles bled white on the steering wheel. “Sheforcedthat pactum on Adalyn. There’s no other explanation. Why would a fourteen-year-old witch willingly agree to stay with a vampire family? It doesn’t make sense and neither does this supposeddebtshe has to work off. What could she have possibly done that would require her to throw away her life like this?”

Loch grunted. “I agree it doesn’t add up, but pactumsaren’t always formed on truths. If both partiesbelievethe oaths they swear, then it’s enough to bind them. The important question is, what consequences will Adalyn face if she tries to break the pactum?”

“By how terrified she sounded earlier, I’m guessing death.”

Everett glanced at me in the rearview mirror. I didn’t look away, silently confirming his guess. Cursing, he gripped the steering wheel so hard that it cracked.

As the miles flew by, bringing me ever closer to Faircroft Manor, I quietly listened to Everett and Loch work out the missing pieces. They were doing a pretty good job, except that they thought I was the helpless victim and entirely innocent in all this. If they only knew the full story, they wouldn’t be trying to help me so much.

More confused and conflicted than ever, I kept silent. Nothing I said could fix this anyway. Layers of thrall had ensured I couldn’t spill any secrets, and the pactum kept me from fighting the thrall. As much as I yearned to be rescued from this messed up situation, I didn’t think even Everett could save me from it.

I was in too deep, my bindings too tight. The only way out was to see it through.

“My wife has been thralled a few times. And also allured by an ancient.”

I turned to Kade in surprise. “Anancient?I thought they were a myth.”

“So did I until a year ago.”

“Is that how she was turned?”

Some of the light left his twinkling blue eyes. “No. I turned her.”

Wow. He seemed like thelastperson who would turn a human. Despite his intimidating size, he was a big huggable teddy bear at heart. “What happened?”

“Six years ago, she was kidnapped by rogues and used as bait.Before we could save her, one of them drained and killed her. I didn’t want to turn her, but . . . I’m glad I did. She’s the joy of my life.”

A lump formed in my throat. The more I learned about the royal family, the more my sympathy for them grew. They definitely weren’t the bad guys I’d been taught to believe. It made me wonder what else I’d been taught that was a lie. Maybe I had this all wrong. And if I did, how on earth was I going to fix it?

As if sensing my inner turmoil, Kade said, “Everett is right, you know. You’re not alone anymore.”

The second he reached between us to squeeze my hand, Everett growled, “Hands off, Feltore.”

“Feltore? And here I thought we were becoming friends,” Kade drawled. Still, he promptly withdrew his hand and added, “I’m happily mated, man. I’m not a threat to you.”

“I don’t care. Keep your hands off Adalyn, or I’ll rip them off.”

Kade threw back his head and roared with laughter. “Now there’s the Everett we all know and adore. I was wondering where he’d wandered off to. What do you think, Lochie? Is your brother just being his usual jolly self, or is he suffering from the mating frenzy?”

“Definitely the mating frenzy,” Loch replied.

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