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"Aranted a private audience with my own family?" The hurt and irritation in Sin’s voice was clear "I’ll go," Thorne offered It was kind of hiht of hied in ways she couldn’t yet analyze, but that ht or she’d go aze went soft, then hot "Then you shall have me" Sin scoffed "Bloody perfect" Holly turned her attention back to hi If you’d rather speak to me alone to down at the corners "Were you hurt tonight? Are you well?" "I’m fin

Only tired" And she was Every day, exhaustion built within her, and that strange, pained weight greithin her flesh Thorne squeezed her hand but kept silent With an aard nod, Sin opened hisback upon the chair "It’s about Eliza May" Holly went very still She hadn’t forgotten her lost cousin, but she had not told Sin about what had happened to her either "What do you know of Eliza?" His green eyes narrowed, catlike and glowing celadon green in the firelight "More than you, to be sure" "Who," Thorne cut in, "is Eliza May?" "A distant cousin," Holly answered "Come over from America last year She hs" "Aye," added Sin "And now she’s with that sod, Adam" Holly’s brows lifted in surpris

"And just how do you know this?" Sin grew very interested in the das I cannot say Not," he hurried on, "because I don’t want to, but because I literally cannot" "Sin" Holly grabbed his hand and squeezed it tight "Are you in trouble? Danger? I cannot think anything less when you say such things Tell ave her a squeeze in return "No, Holly berry I’er But Eliza is And I need to help her" Thorne held up a hand as he leaned forward, his gaze cutting between Holly and Sin "Let ht Adain and unknoeaknesses, has absconded with your cousin, and you want to hunt him down and take her back?" "That is the short of it," Sin said tightly Thorne snorted, running a hand through his flowing hair "Oh, well that’s bloody good Good luck to you, lad" Holly shot hi to Sin "How do you intend to help her?" "We need to… no, you, with your great big brain box, ure out a way to contact Adam To demand to see Eliza" "Oh, bloody hell," Thorne bit out in exasperation "You want to draw her into this? Are you ba rat

"Hush," Holly snapped, before sitting back with a huff "Why haven’t you asked Daisy for help? She is your sister and a GIM" "Even if she wanted to, she’d be unable to call him The GIM literally cannot call Ada that I intend to take away his new prize, I don’t think he’d cohed "You, however, are an ele for your help to call him forth" "You think I can contact one of the most powerful known demons, who just so happens to live in another plane of bloody existence?" Holly laughed, but there was little humor in it "I’m inventive, not a miracle worker" Sin’s mouth flattened to a thin lin

"But I was told that only you could… You have to, Holly You simply do" "Whyher chest tighten "What aren’t you telling me, St John?" He seemed to deflat

"I made a blood vow to see her returned home" A blood vow Which meant should he fail, he’d be the property of whoever he’d made the vow to Thorne muttered under his breath, and Holly rather wanted to join him "Look, all I know is that it has to be you Don’t ask me for details," Sin said, "because I can’t tell you" "No, I don’t suppose you can" If the blood vow forbade him, he’d literally be unable to say a word Who in the bloody hell had he"It’s for a good cause, isn’t it?" His expression was mulish, defiant The little idiot "At what cost?" Holly snapped, then sighed "All right, yes I want to see Eliza hoh with relief "Thank you, Holly" Thorne, on the other hand, sat up straight "You are both barmy You cannot make an enemy of Adas extended and his eyes burning "After all ent through to keep you safe, you cannot do this I won’t let you" Holly had a great deal to say about what Williarand edicts He’d soon learn that he would not be ordering her about But he’d suffered for her this night He’d suffered due to her sins for a year So she held her tongue for now and si at the ," she added when Sin voiced a protest "When this is through, St John, we’re going to have words, you and I" He glared back "Fine" Sin winced "There’s o" Thorne tossed up a hand in exasperation And they both glared at him Sin recovered first "Thorne’s involved… somehow" Thorne snapped to attention "The bloody hell--" "I don’t kno," Sin explained "Butto find a way around the blasted blood vow "They know about him and seem to find his presence here very… shit… they approve! They’ve been pushing you two together" He’d broken out into a sweat and swayed until he braced hi hand, he wiped his brow "Oh, Sin" Holly ached that he’d bound himself, for whatever reason, and that he could only feed her cruh--"they believe you and Thorne are the key"

Chapter Twenty-Seven

I don’t like it" Thorne strode into Holly’s bedroom moments after her and slapped a hand upon the bedpost The steel supports clanged at the hit "Nor I" Bone tired, Holly pulled the pins from her hair Her head ached and sat heavily upon her tender neck Undeterred, Thorne raised an imperious brow Tiht have been "It is the height of insanity to antagonize Adaree" "Then you’ll refuse to help your cousin?" Her hair ambled free of its bun in a curtain of relief "I didn’t say that" "Daain "I cannot--" "Do you wonder," Holly said softly, for her head throbbed, "who talked Sin into a blood vow?" Deflating a bit, Thorne glanced off towards the fire crackling in the grat

"Yes And I wonder…" He looked at her with dark eyes "Nan tells me your family is related to the fae" "Nan and her tales," Holly ey housekeeper would love nothing more than to scare Thorne off "If the fae had any interaction with o, for I’ve never seen them" "Back when the earth was flat, eh?" The corners of Thorne’s eyes crinkled "Just so," Holly said with a smile of her own "It isn’t easy for the fae to travel into our world They h as sprit and then create a corporeal body once her

It takes a great deal of power Not to mention that those crossroads are well protected, as the reality of fae co en masse into our world would be catastrophic" Fae were powerful and would subjugate all those weaker than they were, which included not only hureat deal of de to shudder, but she pushed that back by reical event, far more rare than the fae theh to let them in" "Amaros came here because of a catastrophic event," Thorne reht have taken siht of it" Holly sat and removed her shoes The satin heels landed with a thud on the carpet "If you are related to the fae," Thorne continued, "then, by logic, Eliza May is also their kin" It row cold Fae werehad a price, and they often requested favors, usually to the extreained The sane avoided contact with the the fae wantedlines of Thorne’s body were taut "Then soo tonight" His eyesfor help to release Eliza May?" The corners of his eyes wrinkled as he gave a small shake of his head "It is too reed Gads, but her body ached She ran a hand through her hair "We’ll have to talk to Sin--" Thorne was suddenly at her side, kneeling in front of her and taking her hand "What is this?" Horror lit his expression "What is what?" "This!" He lifted her arm "Your bloody arm is platinum!" Holly’s vision wavered as she spied the thick swath of platinu from her elbow to her underarm Cold fear and an odd sense of finality pressed upon her insides She let her arm fall to her lap "Well" " ‘Well?’ " Thorne juht I say?" The truth was, she didn’t want to talk, or to think "I don’t know" Thorne raked his hands through his hair "But so that Thorne had suddenly beco to suss out every problem Holly bit her lip and refused to answer Which rowl "Do not dare try to sweep this under the rug, Holly Not e both knohat is happening" Past patience, Thorne lifted his hand, displaying a thin band of shining platinuan "Your hair And mine" Thorne stomped over to the fire, sneered at it, and stomped back towards her "Like a fool, I held onto some wild hope that this one hair was an ano worse!" "I had a suspicion that ht be the case" She tried to say this calmly but it didn’t ease him Thorne reached her in a step and clasped her upper arrip The heat of his hands ?" Holly searched his face, hating the pain and fear she saw in his eyes, hating that she could not fix this "I do not know" They stared at each other for a long moment, Thorne’s throat worked on a s, and then he let her go with a snarl He paced away, his boot heels clicking on the floorboards "Bloody fking hell" He glared down at his hands, spreading his fingers wide as if they held the answers Holly sagged against the chair A thought occurred to her, one she did not favor "I think…" She took a deep, pained breath "I think that perhaps we are bonding" His head jerked up, and he looked at her with sharp eyes of silver and onyx "Bonding?" It was a quiet query, but there was soers, Holly clutched the arical teranisms In this case…" God, she didn’t want to say it, but the concept was the ical conclusion she could for at her warily A spash her heart "In this case," she said, forcing herself to hold his gaze, "it is a parasitic connection" Thorne reared back as if she’d stuck him "Parasitic?" His voice was thin, cold And she recalled how sanguis were often accused of being parasites, feeding off the life force of others to surviv

It was one of the greatest insults one could use on theh her throat constricted "One organisains control through the use of my power Thus it demands it more and more" He went utterly white, the rivers of platinu contrast His mouth moved to speak but the words were slow to follow "I am a parasite to you?" Oh, William Her vision wavered before she quickly blinked "It is merely a term Not how I think of you There was no way to foresee this result" He knelt before her, his thighsbetween her knees as far as her skirts would allow "But the fact reaintendril of her unbound hair His jaorked as he held it up between thelinted within the dark locks, as if they inking "You are turning into ust and pain in his eyes, she lowered her lids, her throat sore and her heart unbearably heavy She wrapped her fingers around his "All is not lost" It was soht to theive up Ever "I will find a solution" A strangled sound left Thorne’s lips, and his arms wrapped around her waist as he burrowed his head into her lap "Holly," he whispered, his breath warhter, his touch alhtened boy, and she instinctively leaned over hih his silken hair as her free ar on to each other, both shivering despite the war, heavyhis head to rest his cheek upon her thigh Holly’s fingers trembled only a little as she traced the line of his te back errant strands of his hair He , and toyed with the dark fringe on her overskirt with the tip of one finger She felt the touch, his power, all the way to her bones When he spoke, his voice swept over her like a caress "I am your creature" "No" She could not bear it if she had to think of him in that manner A small smile curled his mouth but he did not move froer htly ticklish Her skin prickled as he traced along her sid