Page 46 of Eternally Bound
“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’dlaugh. 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 itall.”
“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 Icando 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 herfree.
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 washis. 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, butonlyif 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.”
