Page 45 of Eternally Bound
“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.
“Icanhelp 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.”
