Page 21 of Blood Bought

I yelped at the sudden voice and flipped over quickly, straining my muscles in the process. “Kellian? What the fuck?”

“The whole castle can hear you fantasizing about Alaris,” he said casually. “Figured I’d do you a favor and give you a heads up about that.”

My face burned. “You’re kidding, right? That’s a joke?”

“Mostly.” He took a seat on a wooden chair that looked too small for him and looked me over. “If you want to see it, all you have to do is ask, which I think is the point he’s trying to make.”

Fuck me sideways.“This is insane. He’s insane. He could try being less of an ass,” I pointed out, then immediately remembered that perfect silhouette. “Hell.”

Kellian laughed. “Perfect, huh? Even the scar he got when he and Ciro were eleven and got into a knife fight? Ciro thought it would be hilarious to stab him in the ass, and luckily for Ris, he turned a little bit and it mostly missed. Now it’s just a skinny pink line on an otherwise immaculate ass.”

“Must’ve missed that,” I mumbled. “Seems like the three of you had fun.”

“We did, even if we all had to hold back.”

I tilted my head. “Why? Because there was only one?”

“Well, yeah. We can drink more when it’s a one-on-one. She had to take three of us. We don’t always all join in like that, that was mostly for you.”

“Then it was mostly for nothing,” I said quietly. “I didn’t change my mind, and all it did was remind me that that was probably how my mom died.”

“It wasn’t,” he said plainly, then tossed her journal over on the bed next to me. “She really was happy here, Addy.”

I picked it up carefully and ran my fingers over the faded leather binding. “Then tell me how it happened.”

He hesitated, only making me want to ask a million more questions, but after a moment of silence, he spoke up. “She overheard Brander talking to Alaris. He thought she was sleeping after they... you know... but she wasn’t. He summoned Alaris for a check-in and they happened to talk about you. She didn’t like what she heard.”

“So he killed her? On purpose?” My chest constricted almost painfully as I begged him silently to lie to me, but that seemed to be the one thing he didn’t hear.

“Unfortunately, yes. I’m sorry, but you need to know the truth. He told Alaris you were his regardless of the deal, and Alaris was angry because in his mind, a deal is a deal. He doesn’t like fine print and he tried to deny Brander and say he wouldn’t do it. Remember when I said, ‘he didn’t save you only to kill you later’? That was his line to his father. Brander was angry because he doesn’t like being denied, Alaris was punished, Senna was... eliminated the second he saw that she’d heard. You were fetched within a week.”

Grief like I’d never known it washed over me. She’d given me so much, sacrificed so much, and died for overhearing that I’d be taken. And now, I was promised to the son of the man who’d done it. “Oh,” I whispered, breathless and fighting back tears. “Alaris should’ve just let me die, then.”

Kellian didn’t seem to know what to say to that. His posture straightened, hands rubbed nervously on his jeans as a sign of anxiety. It was almost human. “Can I get you anything?”

I shook my head and stood up, then changed my mind almost instantly. “Tell him to give me ten minutes and then come see me, please. It’s not an order obviously so please don’t let him take it like that, it’s just a request. I’d like to... I’d like to change my mind.”

Kellian stood, his face unreadable as he took his leave and left me alone. I paced for a moment to make sure I could really do what I was about to do — and I knew at the end of the day, I didn’t have a choice. His father murdered my mother for overhearing a conversation. I might’ve been told that the apple fell far from the tree, but this was mylife. It wasn’t a risk I was willing to take, and I had no way of knowing how long Alaris would allow me to deny him before disposing of me.

I allowed myself two minutes to grieve for the loss of my innocence, for the loss of control. For the loss of a life I’d only begun living. For the mother I never knew who’d given so much for me.

And then I stripped. I’d been given a floor-length silk robe when I moved into this room, so I slipped it on and stood as tall as I could as I waited for him to come. My heart was steadier than I expected, my thoughts calmer.

I could do this.

To my surprise, he knocked on the door first, then gently pushed it open as he stood on the outside. He could have easily appeared in here or waltzed his way in, yet he stood there staring at me with a tense jaw and a small frown. “You called for me?”

“Come in. I’m sorry, I know I don’t have a right to summon you or anything.”

“You do.” He took two steps in and then closed the door behind him. “You have more of a right to summon me than most. I’m trying not to read your mind, but your robe is making that difficult. Do you want to dress so we can talk?”

I kept my mind as clear as I could as I shook my head. “Actually, I was hoping to undress so we could talk less.” My fingers only shook slightly as I opened that robe and slipped it off my shoulders, letting it drop to the ground. “If you want me, Alaris, I won’t tell you no again. Consider my lesson thoroughly learned.”

That small frown deepened, eyes glued to my frame like he didn’t have the strength to look away and then he snapped his gaze to the side. “Stop,” he growled, hands clenching at his sides. “You don’t want me.”

Shit.I stepped forward, staying as calm as I could. “It’s okay,” I whispered, knowing that was as close to the truth as I could get. “It’s okay.”

“No, it isn’t.” He met my eyes again. “You don’t want me. I’m not my father, Adalind. I care about consent, and you can believe you wouldn’t be here if I truly did, but if I would have said no?” Alaris took a step in, his expression more genuine than I’d ever seen it. “He would have killed your whole family.”

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