Page 95 of Forever Touched

They could sense me the same way I could sense them. It was a whisper. A mere impression of thought. A delicate web that linked us together, one they didn’t realize they were caught in.

I see you, the bond softly breathed, caressing the air between us.The time has come. Wait for the right moment. Just wait. . .

Almost without thought, the magic trickled from me and into them. Awakening our bonds.Flaringthem to life.

I’d been doing it for so long that it came instinctively. The magic was strongest when we were touching, when my blood was fresh in their veins, but I’d formed a strong enough connection with them to wield my control from a distance.

Their minds were wide open right now, ripe for the taking. I could make them do just about anything. I’d learned the hard way that I couldn’t bend their minds to my will while they were in a frenzy. Influencing them took finesse and patience. But once I was in control, I could sway even their most stubborn thoughts. I’d spent years encouraging them to drink my blood, knowing that the more they fed, the less I had to endure their touch. Once they started to feed, I simply made thembelievethey were having sex with me.

To them, I was the blood whore who made all their dark, twisted fantasies come true. In reality, I was the witch who planted lies deep inside their minds.

The royals only care about each other.

They would rather listen to outsiders than their most loyal subjects.

The king is weak.

The princes are cruel and have rejected their own kind, including their own brother.

They see the Venturi as useless figureheads.

Feltore are nothing to them, and they kill them without cause.

The royals must be stopped.

Must be stopped.

Must be stopped.

The lies went on and on, painting the royal family as heartless monsters. Feeding my client’s doubts and insecurities. Even the strongest of them eventually broke, allowing me to pollute their minds with thoughts they didn’t actually believe. Truthfully, most of them were deeply loyal to the royal family, which was the most twisted thing of all.

I’d ruined them as they had ruined me. I’d done itgladly, tainting their minds while they had tainted my body. They’d deserved it for treating me like a lowly blood whore. Like I was nothing more than an object for their pleasure.

I’d justified my actions, condemning them whenIhad been the one to lure them in.

If anyone was a heartless monster here, it was me.

But it was too late. There was no undoing the damage I’d done. If I didn’t finish what I’d started, the pactum would kill me. Even worse, Mistress would kill Pepper.

I was tied up in knots tighter than ever, and I didn’t know how to escape. Icouldn’tescape. Mistress had made certain of that.

She was the first to speak as Everett paused a few steps below us. “Your Highness,” she demurred, curtsying deeply. “It is such an honor to be invited to your beautiful home. We can’t thank you enough.”

Georgina and Octavia curtsied as well, the latter stumbling a bit. She wasn’t even blood drunk, but the youngest Faircroft had all the grace of a giraffe. Which was quite the feat considering how naturally graceful vampires were.

“Madame Faircroft. Ladies. Thank you for coming tonight,”Everett acknowledged, yet his tone was formal. Clipped. Anger trickled through our bond, but he kept the emotion firmly in check.

When his gaze rested on me again, I started to curtsy. Before I could finish, he stretched up his hand and said, “Dance with me?”

I froze, my eyes flying wide. The entireroomfroze, every masked face turning toward us in shock. Not everyone here knew who I was, but it was clear that I wasn’t one of them. And if I accepted Everett’s request, they would know all too soon what I was.

Awitch.

The very thing that had cast them into darkness a century ago. The thing they had hunted and killed. ThatEveretthad killed.

I could only imagine what they were thinking. Could only imagine how horrified they would be if they knew what I was capable of.

Whispers swept through the crowd as I hesitated. Every eye was on me now. Waiting. Waiting for me toperform.

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