Blood Debt (Touched Series Book 1) (44 page)

“I don’t believe it.”

“He wouldn’t have any reason to lie to me about it.  It’s the only explanation for why
Zandra
never found her.  Dad has Aphrodite’s magic
.  P
rotecting someone he loved with her magic
was the only thing that ensured her safety.”

“
So that story
Zandra
just told us is true?”

“My dad thinks it is.  I mean, don’t get me wrong.  I know he has powerful magic, but he wasn’t willing to use it against your mom.
  It seems like it would have been a lot easier on both of them if he had used it to make your mother fall in love with him.
  Whether it came from Aphrodite or the
W
icked
W
itch of the
W
est isn’t all that important
.  H
e knew where she was her whole life.  You, on the other hand, were a real surprise.  He didn’t know anything about you.”

“Why would he agree to let you marry me?  You’d think it would open old wounds or something.”

“I think he thought I’d be more charming or something
, w
ho knows.  Dad and
Zandra
do have one common goal
;
they definitely want us to marry.  I don’t think there’s anything either of them would
n’t
do
to make
it
happen.”
  He took a breath
,
then explained,
“
Zandra
is by far the most powerful
Centauride
.  H
er power comes from her lineage.  Dad is in the same boat
.  H
e
l
oaned
a chunk of his magic to your mother, but
s
ince your mother’s death. . .sorry
,
Aphrodite’s magic
has returned to him
.  They have this crazy idea that if we marry, our children will be kind of a Centaur Super-Race.  We have the only two ancestors
who
were touched directly by the gods.” 

“So how do you feel about it?”

“
About marrying you?”  I nodded.  “
When Bianca chose Drake, I didn’t care about much of anything. 
But when word spread that you had come to your father’s house, I thought
my dad might try to work something out with your dad
. 
Let’s face it, it’s not hard to look at you
.”  Gage’s smile was shy
.  H
e had been so larger-than-life since I met him that it took me aback.  “
I thought maybe you and I could start out as friends and maybe grow into something more
-
eventually I’d get over Bianca
.  W
hen I showed up the other
morning
,
and you were wearing the same stupid necklace
Dad
had
told me about
,
that had been
worn
by
Angela, I knew I
couldn’t force you to marry me any more than he could your mother
.
  I told my father about the necklace
,
and he wasn’t happy.  I told him I thought
if I could bring
Bianca and Drake
back with me
– history wouldn’t repeat itself.
”

“Does he know how you feel about Bianca?”

“Sure he does.  But he
knows engagements are almost never broken.  The fact that we were both betrothed, it wouldn’t have occurred to him or anyone else.”

“
I
’m ready to disappear, deep, deep undercover and never see another Cent
a
ur for the rest of my life!”

“We aren’t all bad.  In fact, I know
one
who
would
follow you
to the end of the earth.”

“Drake?”

“Well, yeah.  He’s been in
fatuated
with you since the night of your brother’s wedding. 
W
hen his engagement to Bianca was announced
,
he didn’t show even a hint of excitement.  He spent like thirty seconds with you that night
,
and he was ready to sacrifice his
blood line
.”
 

“You weren’t even there that night
.  H
ow would you know?”

“Bianca told me
,
and I see it on Drake’s face.
  You should have seen him the other night when I told him how we were going to smuggle him into your room.  You
’d
have thought he just won the lottery.
”

“You could have clued me in a little ahead of time.”

“Right, the next time I try to sneak my fiancé’s lover into her bedroom
,
I’ll make sure to send word ahead of time.”

“So
,
what do you think
Zandra
’s going to
do
to us
?”

“I don’t know
,
but knowing her, it’ll be something dramatic.  She might send me away
.
  Are you going to be okay here without me
for a few weeks
?
”

“
A
s long as I know I’m getting out of here
,
I’ll be fine.”

“Good, sorry Bianca got us busted.  I told her to use her microwaves or whatever
power she has
to make sure the coast was clear.”

I patted Gage’s hand, “I’m sure her thoughts
were elsewhere.”

We didn’t have to wait long
. 
I
had no sooner gotten
my
words out
than
Zandra
emerged from the house. 
In as kind and thoughtful a voice as I had heard from her, she said
,
“There’s no
reason to send you back to your father’s
, Gage
.
”
 

“M
is
s
Zandra
, I deeply apologize for my indiscretion.  It won’t happen again.”

That wicked smile that had been reserved for me reappeared, “I know it won’t
.  T
he problem has been dealt with.  There will be no more distractions.”

Horror gripped me when I saw the crimson on her hands. 
“Grandmother,
what’s on your hand
s
?”

In
that same
sweet voice she
had just used with Gage, she answered
, “Camille,
that
is the blood of your enemy.  Her heart no longer beats.”
  She turned to Gage, “As a gesture of my goodwill, I also stopped the heart of the man
who
lusted after your betrothed. 
Your
competition is also no longer a concern.”

“Nooooooooo!” was the only response I could get out. 
I grabbed hold of Gage, trying to steady myself
.  He
pushed my hand away and r
an into
Zandra
’s mansion
. 
I was behind
him
, but
he
topped the stairs before I took the first one.  My guard was in chase and grabbed my arms, holding me in place on the third step from the bottom.  

Chapter 34

It was
Phineas
.  I hadn’t seen him in several days
,
and in the back of my mind I knew I should have been concerned.  He did the unthinkable and whispered
aloud
to me, “Be quiet child, before the necklace does
her
dirty work.”
  He stood behind me with my arms
cinched
behind my back as the tears rolled down my cheeks.
  I heard Gage scream out as if someone had completely squeezed the life out of him
. 
I heard furniture being thrown into w
alls, glass break
,
and then stillness
.

Several minutes went by
,
and my sobs were nearly uncontrollable. 
Zandra
had stepped into the hallway and eyed me suspiciously
. 
I stood slack with
Phineas
still holding me in position.  I saw Gage emerge from the upstairs hallway.  He walked toward me with heavy steps, a defeated man. 
He took the steps slowly, his head hung low
.  H
e paused in front of me and gently brushed his fingertips to my
cheek
. 
I saw blood on his hands and on his clothing, tears streak
ing
his face
, “I promise I’ll be back for you on our wedding night.
. .
I can’t stay.”

Gage continued his march down the steps as
Phineas
allowed me to fall to the floor
.  H
e addressed
Zandra
with authority, squeezing the emotion completely out of his voice, “I’ll
notify
their families.  This is a debt I hope you are forced to pay before the sun sets tomorrow.”

“No Chancellor
or
Magistrate will find me guilty – you may want me to hold my tongue
. 
I’m sure your family would be none too thrilled with the circumstances of their deaths.  I will be here the night you return to marry Camille and meet your destiny.
”

Gage gave me one final sorrowful look before he walked out the door and shut it behind him. 
Zandra
turned her attention to me.  “I understand she was your friend, but I did it for your own good.  No
Centauride
should ever share
;
it goes against nature.
”  I didn’t respond
. 
I couldn’t
. 
I was in shock.  She continued, “Her fiancé had feelings for you.  Were you aware?  I could see it through his deceit.  I couldn’t allow for him to interfere with your destiny either. 
I’ll give you the remainder of the day to mourn.”
  I
hadn’t collected myself fully when she said, “It was done out of love, Camille.”

My body shut down
: 
I felt it go slack
as
e
verything went black. 

As I awoke, I saw that it was dark outside, and for the slightest fraction of a moment, I reached out for Drake.  When I came up empty, the events flooded over me again.  My eyes were swollen shut
: 
I must have been sobbing in my sleep
.  M
y throat was on fire
,
and I felt like I would be sick.  I
pried
myself out of bed, splashed cold water on my face
,
hoping it would help my eyes enough so th
at I could open them. 
 

Drake was gone.  We knew we’d never be able to have more than a few precious weeks together, but being robbed of what little time we should have had together felt cruel
,
even more cruel than the
betrothals
.  So much no longer mattered.  Drake was no more than a shooting star in my life
;
I didn’t realize how much of an impact he’d had on me until he was stolen
away
.  In that moment, I knew I had lost the love of my life.  I knew why Kyle Richardson had
hidden
my mother from
Zandra
all those years ago
.  I would have wished for any fate for Drake other than death, even if his fate never allowed me to see him again.  That’s what love is.  I was in love with him and
didn’t know it until
he was gone
. 
I
would never have the chance to tell him.  My heart ached
,
and I wondered if I’d ever be able to escape the pain.

Bianca had been the truest of friends, an ally.  I hated love-triangles – but she was the first person I’d ever known to advocate for a love-square.  She was deeply in love with Gage and willing to take nearly an
y
risk to be with him.  I couldn’t fault her for her crazy plan – love makes you do things you wouldn’t dream of
- e
ven befriending the woman
who
is supposed to marry the love of your life.  There would never be another Bianca.