Page 33 of Degradation

“Don’t do it again. Promise me. There are casters in Adele with more power than you can imagine. If they even catch a hint of your ability, you would be in danger, Kellen. Promise me you won’t do it again.”

“I promise not to take unnecessary risks. Now tell me what you did today. Did you find any help?”

He glanced at the open window before saying, “It’ll take time, Kitten. Please be patient.”

“I am, Brandle, which is why I’m willing to wait for you to share what you’ve truly been doing with your time.”

“We’ve found a home. It’s run down like this one but large enough for the eight of us. We can move there tomorrow.”

“What about?—”

“Uncle will return home.”

I heard a creak in the hallway and cursed myself for not paying more attention.

A moment later, the innkeeper knocked on the door Brandle had closed when he’d started kissing me.

“I have your tea, dear.”

Brandle opened the door and bade the woman to enter.

“Don’t leave without an escort again, or Edmund truly will take you over his knee out of fear for your safety. You know how unhappy that will make the rest of us.”

I nodded and watched him leave.

“They’re a protective lot, aren’t they? Not very understanding, though.” She motioned for me to sit on the bed then joined me as I sipped the tea. “It’s normal for a girl not to want to leave the home she knows to marry a man she doesn’t. But by using a caster to ruin your marriage before it’s even formed, aren’t you removing any possible chance for your future happiness? Not all men are bad. Look at your kin and how much they care about you. Even the gruff one who wants to swat your backside only does so out of love and fear for your safety.”

I nodded, and she patted my hand.

“Any spell done can be undone. Take one of your men with you tomorrow and have the caster remove it. All right?”

“I will.”

CHAPTERSEVEN

Surrounded by the brothers,I looked at the place they’d found to be our home for the duration of our stay in Adele. The house looked no better than the inn. Chinking was missing between the boards. One of the upper windows was broken. And the front door hung askew.

“Did you purchase it outright or rent it?” I asked.

“We’ve rented it for a month, but we can repair whatever we wish,” Darian said.

“How generous of the landlord,” I said.

“It’s a widow with an infant,” Eadric said. “She would have sold the house if anyone were interested in it. It belonged to her deceased husband’s parents, who died almost eighteen years ago.”

Guilt wrapped around me, as it should. A restless night alone in a strange bed had left me with little rest, and the warning prickling under my skin was wearing on my nerves.

“I apologize,” I said. “I was being petty without considering another’s circumstance.”

“Which isn’t like you, Snow. What’s wrong?”

“Is there no other way to help Eloise than here?” I asked.

I felt Brandle’s concern grow. “Why? What is it?”

“A persistent whisper of danger. I felt it the moment I saw the white towers, which led me to believe it was grave to feel it from such a distance. Yet, the feeling hasn’t grown strong enough for that.”

Brandle shared a look with Edmund. I could feel their secret in that glance. Whatever it was, they still feared me learning of it. Was their secret tied to why I was feeling this warning?

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