Blood Debt (Touched Series Book 1) (47 page)

“Uh, no.  I wasn’t aware of that either.”  I took a deep breath,
almost scared to hear
,
but knowing I couldn’t not know,
“What’d you tell him?”

“We told him Bianca was a lovely
Centauride
who
would make an excellent wife.”  She watched my eyes
,
and she seemed perceptive enough that she probably saw the glossiness I wasn’t willing to let free.  “I also told him to follow his heart, that if he was happy, we were happy.  He was so nervous
at the time
that I
believed
he wished to break his engagement with Bianca to pursue a human. 
That was
until
Gage filled in the missing pieces for us when he delivered the news of Drake’s death.”

“And you came to meet me?”

“I came to find my son. 
Zandra
knows I am here
.  S
he will also be aware that I can feel his presence.  It is only a matter of time before she owns up to not murdering them and sets them free, or makes good on her fabrication and slays them.”

A rush of emotions shook my body.  “
Phineas
,
take Mrs. Nash to the gate.  Get her out of here.”

“Camille, I can’t leave you.”

“I’m going to find Drake and Bianca
.  Y
ou get her to safety and catch up with me after.”

“I can’t let you do that.”

I stood my ground.  I didn’t feel weak.  I felt energy surge through my entire body, my
necklace buzzed to life and I could feel the energy once again pulsate through the device.  “I’ll be fine.  Get her out of here before Zandra catches her here.”

Phineas shook his head,
“If anything happens to you, I won’t be able to face your father again.  I’m here for your protection.”

“Dammit
Phineas
!  I don’t need your protection right now.  I need to get Drake out of here.  Take care of his mom
. 
I’ll find them and get them to the gate.”

“Zandra is on the estate.  How do you plan to find them?  She will know you’ve left your room.  She will sense your excitement.”

I shook my head.  “If she senses my excitement, she’ll interpret it that I am excited for the wedding.  My thoughts have been blocked from her since my arrival.”

Hallenjah nodded, “It’s true
,
Phineas
.  None of her thoughts have escaped since I’ve been here.  She has blocked all of them from me.  If I cannot read her thoughts, neither can Zandra.”

Phineas
reluctantly agreed and motioned for Mrs. Nash to follow him.

Before she left, Hallenjah said,
“Wait!  Why do you wear
a
necklace of obedience?”

I nearly spat out the words, “Zandra thought it would be an exceptional engagement present.”

“Come here for a minute.”  Hallenjah put her hands on either side of the necklace.
  I cringed, anticipating the electric shock that rocked me when
Gage and
Drake had done the same thing.  She spoke loud
ly
,
“As matriarch of the Nash
herd
,
I absorb your magic.  This
Centauride
has prove
n
her obedience
;
she is free of your enchantment.”  I felt the same pulse of electricity
run through it
that I felt
while Zandra was near
,
but no painful shock
followed.  A few seconds passed
,
and the pulse faded away completely
.  I reached up and touched the clasps
: 
it came off easily.

“I’m free, I can take it off!”

“If you intend to convince Zandra that you haven’t spoken with me, you may want to keep it on.”

I did as I was told
and left the necklace in place while I b
olted from the room
.  A
fter not leaving it for weeks
,
I had become immune to the stale air inside. 
Phineas
and Hallenjah followed me down the steps.  When we reached the outside
,
we went in opposite directions.  I passed the garden
where I sat on the bench so many morning
s
with Zandra
. 
As I ran toward the structure at the far end of the property
,
I soaked up the last of the day
’
s rays.  I forgot just how incredible the sunlight felt on my skin.  The air was thick with the smell of the swamp, lush and green.  I heard the sounds of the swamp and tried to concentrate on them to calm my nerves.  

I saw the guard standing in front of the
guest house’s
door.  I stood just outside his view, allowing the foliage to camouflage my approach.  I was able to stay away from his view and went around the back.  I found a window opened
,
allowing breeze from the swamp to enter. 
The open window
had steel bars on
it
.  They had been installed recently, likely in a rush.  A pile of more metal bars lay haphazardly below another window a little further to my right.  That window was closed
.  I could see it had been nailed shut. 
A forgotten tool pouch was buried under the stack of metal bars on the ground. 

I found a crow bar
in the tool pouch
and wedged it under
one of
the bar
s
on the window.  The screw securing the bar in place complained
,
but I didn’t relent.  I kept angling and re-angling the crowbar until I heard the screw fly free from the structure.  I went to work
on
a
second
bar
.  As I
had disengaged the second, I heard a squeal of excitement
from inside the house
.  I looked up to the window and saw Bianca.  I put my finger to my lips in the international signal for, “Be Quiet.” 
She nodded
.  T
he next time I glanced
up
at the window, I saw two sets of eyes staring down at me.  I let out a harsh whisper, “Block your thoughts!”

Both nodded, neither uttered a word. 

In five minutes I had removed five screws, which were enough for Bianca and Drake to slip through the opening.  Bianca was on the ground in seconds.  Drake’s frame was much bulkier than Bianca’s
,
and he was halfway through the bars when
Phineas
joined us.  I could see the desperation in Drake’s eyes when he saw
Phineas
. 
H
e slid free of the final bar on the window
,
then
charged
Phineas
.

My whisper was louder than it had been just seconds before, “Stop
!  H
e’s helping me.”

Drake stopped his assault. 
Phineas
grinned,
eyeing the metal bars hanging loosely on the window’s frame,
“Clever.
  What now?
”

Chapter 36

Bianca had given me a quick hug
. 
I was thrilled to see her, but it was
n’t
her embrace that I’d longed for
. 
The reunion I’d never hoped for, never thought possible
-
happened. 
The thrill of seeing him in front of me rendered me speechless. 
Drake scooped me up
into his arms.
  I didn’t care about anything else in the world.  He was alive.  I could hear
Phineas
filling Bianca in.  I was so wrapped up with Drake that I didn’t think he was listening
,
either.  He whispered,
“I
never thought I’d see you again.  Not until after you belonged to Gage.  Not until there was no chance for us.  I need you,
Camille.
  Don’t marry him.  I swear I’ll wait for you for as long as it takes, but don’t marry him.”

“I won’t.”  I couldn’t get anything else out because Drake
’
s lips were on mine.  There was nothing discre
e
t about us
,
and I didn’t care if the entire world saw us.  I pulled my lips from his and said, “
Leave with me, now.
”

Drake’s eyes drifted to the necklace I still wore.  His hand reached for it in a silent reminder to me that I couldn’t go.  I couldn’t contain my smile.  “
Your mom
was here
.”
 
I reached up to the
clasps of the
necklace and took it off. 

Drake
’
s eyes grew to the size of quarters.  “
You took it off!”

“
Yo
ur
mo
m
fixed it
.  It turns out any Matriarch can remove it.  I thought I was going to have to marry Gage to get it off.”

I was still cradled in his arms, his voice heavy,
“
You were going to go through with it? 
You would have
married
Gage
?
”

“
I didn’t know you were alive
until your mom told me
a little while ago
. 
As far as being bound to Gage, I didn’t think I had
much of a
choice.  If I
had
refuse
d to marry him
,
I w
ould have
stay
ed
a prisoner here. 
I’d already planned to go back to California, to my old life. 
I figured
Gage w
ould
let me divorce him
.
”
  Some of my darker desires included convincing Gage to return to Zandra’s estate to exact revenge for
the
killing
of
Bianca and Drake.  Now that I knew the truth
,
I didn’t think I’d share that one with anyone.

“There
’
s no divorce for Centaurs, Camille.  It can
’
t be done.
  A couple united can be parted by death, but the surviving Centaur cannot marry again.  They cannot be bound a second time.
”
  Drake finally eased me onto my feet but kept his arms wrapped around me.

“Anything is possible.  I was born of two Centaurs that weren’t married.
  That isn’t possible either.
”

“Camille, you don’t understand.  You
’
re the only one.  There are no others.”

“What do you mean there are no others?”

“
You’re the only
Centaur
child
to be
born out of wedlock.  Gage would never
have
agree
d
to
a divorce
.  H
e would
have
be
en
shunned
by
his family
.  H
e would
have
los
t
his livelihood
.  H
e would
have been
disgraced.”  Drake
still held me in his arms
, the warmth I never thought I’d feel again
encircl
ing
me
.

“Well then
,
it’s a good thing Bianca isn’t dead.  He can marry her.
”  I was all smiles and wasn’t sure gravity still worked because I felt like I was floating.
 
I brought myself back to earth when s
omething
that
had bothered me for a long time
came to mind
,
“
But
wait -
Gretchen said she gave Will permission to be with my mom if he wanted.”

Drake eyed me curiously, “Your father shouldn’t have been able to . . . you know . . . with your mother.  Gretchen may have given him permission because she didn’t know what to make of it.  I’ve heard of no
blood line
s from the pastures of Thessaly that can break a bond.”

“So maybe he was from a different pasture.”