Page 47 of Eternally Bound
“What about Joseph? I left my home to witness his death.”
“You stayed away from your home because you wanted your freedom. Now, you must decide what you want more; to possibly witness a death that will never fill the hole inside of you and may leave you feeling more hollow after, or to live out your dreams?”
Kadence rocked back on her heels as she contemplated his words. “I can always go after Joseph is dead.”
“No. This is a now or never deal, Kadence.” He may decide to keep her if she were here for more than a week. It would be difficult enough to let her go after spending that much time with her, never mind longer. “Things may change in the future and I may be unable to offer this to you. I can’t promise you that you will be there when Joseph dies either. Not with your lack of training.”
“I see,” she whispered.
She churned his words over in her mind. What would her dad want her to do? Easy enough to answer, he would want her back in the stronghold, but since that wasn’t an option for her right now, she knew he wouldn’t have her living her life for revenge.
She so badly wanted to see Joseph dead, but was witnessing his death worth giving up everything else for? Especially since she might not even get the chance to see it. Ronan would let her go travel, but he would keep her out of the fight until he believed her better prepared to be there.
“I… I will go,” she managed to stammer out.
Ronan clasped his hands behind his back, nearly tearing the skin from them as he restrained himself from grabbing her. “I will inform Marta and Baldric and have them set everything in motion.”
Before he could change his mind, he turned and walked out of the room. His fangs extended further with every step he took away from her.
CHAPTER 22
Her sleep plagued with dreams of Ronan, Kadence had risen earlier than normal and decided to explore the mansion. Maybe she should still be plotting her getaway. She felt in some way she was betraying her own kind by not doing so, but her kind had been wrong about so many things that she found herself not looking for a way out as she prowled through the rambling structure. It didn’t matter anyway. After this week, she wouldn’t be here anymore.
She should be overjoyed about that. She should have been kept awake with excitement, and not because she was fighting the urge to cry. She was finally going to be free; she was going to be able to do all the things she’d always dreamed about doing. Instead of being elated, all she wanted was to seek out Ronan and spend as much time with him as possible before leaving.
She kept waiting for someone to tell her she shouldn’t be in this area or that one, but no one bothered her as she strolled through the place. She explored the numerous rooms on the first floor. Some of them were empty, but most had furniture to mark what they were. There was an elaborate dining room with a table that easily fit fifty, what she assumed was a parlor with its tables and chairs, another room with sofas and a fireplace that took up the entire back wall, and another with an old desk and floor-to-ceiling shelves behind it.
She only went down one wing before realizing it was mostly empty rooms. She had no idea why anyone needed a place so big, and she felt completely overwhelmed by the vastness of it while she made her way back to the main foyer.
She stopped when she spotted Ronan standing at the bottom of the steps, his elbow resting on the banister as he watched her. “What do you think of the place?” he inquired.
“It’s huge.”
“And?”
“It’s kind of depressing. I don’t know if that’s because it’s so empty or because what they left behind feels like the remnants of ghosts instead of people.”
Ronan gazed around the foyer as he tried to see it through her eyes. To him, it didn’t matter. This place already had heavy security, was in a part of Massachusetts that was relatively peaceful, but Boston, Providence, Hartford, and New York City were all easily accessible by car.
It had been ideal for their needs. He hadn’t cared what it looked like when he purchased it, never would have taken a second look at the interior or had the time to do anything about it, but seeing it through her eyes made him realize the place was bleak.
“You’re right,” he said and moved away from the stairs. “Come with me.”
“Where are we going?”
“You wanted training, you’re going to get it, or at least a crash course in it. Marta and Baldric will continue working with you while you’re traveling. They’re highly skilled fighters.”
Kadence couldn’t help but smile as she pictured the plump woman, with her kind smile, kicking a vampire’s ass.
Their footsteps rang against the marble as she followed him to a door leading to a set of stairs. She’d opened the door earlier, but after looking down the shadowed staircase, she’d decided against exploring it.
Ronan flicked on a switch and descended the stairs before her. “I’ve asked Marta and Baldric to make sure most of your time outdoors is during the daytime. They will also take you overseas first, anywhere you ask to go, but across the ocean.”
“Why?” she inquired.
“The more they kill, the more Savages have a difficult time of crossing bodies of water. The ones following Joseph will mostly be located on this continent, and it seems in this area. For now, I’d prefer to have you away from them. You can explore this continent once they’ve been destroyed.”
What if something happened tohimwhile she was gone? The idea caused a tug on her heart and a lump to form in her throat. He was ancient and powerful, but vampires could be killed. What about her brother? What if something happened to Nathan?
