Page 105 of Bitten & Burned
Not a curse. Abrand.
How the fuck she’d gotten it, I had no clue.
I’d gotten mine on my first hunt. Burned into my back by my father—proof of bloodline, loyalty, servitude.
Proof I was an Ashborne.
Rowena’s was on her thigh. Like she was livestock.
Like she was owned.
I couldn’t tell the others. I couldn’t tell Rowena.
Not now. Not ever—if I could help it.
Because now I knew the truth.
It wasmy fault.
It was my fucking fault she was in pain.
Sixteen
BLOODROOT
Serpentine Bay, Euraline, Verdune
21 Ebry, Year 810
ANTON
I hadthe gift in my pocket.
Well, one gift was in my pocket. The other was in a paper bag, wrapped in soft tissue, and dangling from my fingers.
The one in my pocket was a bracelet, carved from white jade and studded with emeralds as green as the Emerald Sea. As green as her eyes.
The other, wrapped in tissue, was a pair of lace underthings. As promised.
I thought about the night before, how I’d promised to tear them off of her. It made my fangs ache.
I’d poked fun at Quil’s obsession, but here I was, utterly besotted with her myself.
I smiled, swinging my bag and whistling as I strodethrough the Serpentine Bay open-air market. But, as I walked, something… shifted.
Something was wrong.
The bond buzzed like a swarm of bees. A warning.
Rowena?
Maybe she was just with Quil. Maybe they were laughing about something. Maybe?—
No.
This was bad.
“Godsdamnit,” I muttered, already breaking into a run.
