Page 28 of Twisted Ties

My father smirks. He has always been the most powerful magical in this family. Something he still believes to be true. He let us know it frequently, testing our abilities, pushing us to the brink, exerting his dominance. But those days have passed. These days I would beat him hands down. I suspect my cousin would too. My father thinks he knows everything with his little network of spies, but he’s wrong. There is much he doesn’t know. That he never will.

“Lie in your bed with your whore, and know this family will never acknowledge her, will never accept her, will never even admit she exists.”

“Uncle!” Azlan’s sister cries.

“It is fine, Eleanor,” Azlan says. “It is no great loss.”

He strides from the room, slamming the door behind him and the silence is only permeated by my cousin’s muffled sobs.

“You are banned from communicating with the girl, Eleanor,” my uncle tells his daughter.

“And you,” my mother adds, eyeing me from the other side of the table.

“She attends my school,” I say lazily.

“Then I expect you to report back anything of interest to me,” my father says. “Azlan was always a lost cause.” My uncle hangs his head in shame. “But all is not lost.”

He turns his gaze on me and I feel the weight of his expectations heavy on my shoulders.

10

Stone

I hoveroutside Azlan’s house, hands in my pockets, kicking at loose stones on the path.

I can’t stand out here forever – even if it’s far preferable to inside. I’m going to have to go in. I gave him my word. Why I gave him my word is a fucking mystery.

No, not a mystery. I’m as concerned about the girl’s safety as he is. Doesn’t mean I’ve forgiven him though.

I’m still fuming at him about this whole goddamn situation.

A situation that’s one thousand times more complicated than it was.

Deep in my gut, I feel that familiar tug and glance up towards the window. The curtain twitches. She’s there watching me.

I sigh and, dragging my feet, walk up to the front door.My friend has cast a series of complex protection spells around the house, but I know him well enough to undo them all and knock firmly on the door. It’s a minute and then I hear the light patter of footsteps and the door swings back.

She’s standing in the hallway in what looks like Azlan’s oversized t-shirt, her legs bare and her dark hair loose in waves around her shoulders. That hook twists deep and pulls me forward, but I dig in my heels and swallow. Her scent is sweet but different today. There’s something … something …masculineabout it. I frown.

“You shouldn’t be opening the door without checking who it is first.” She rolls her eyes at me in that manner that has my blood heating.

“I knew it was you.”

“How?” I ask, and I swear a pinkness brushes across her cheeks.

She doesn’t answer, spinning on her heels and taking off down the corridor, the stupid t-shirt barely covering her ass.

“Don’t you own any clothes?”

“If you remember, you forced me out of my house with about five minutes’ notice. I barely had time to grab any panties.”

I swallow again. Hard. This is torture, especially when there’s the scent of sex about the house. Azlan hadn’t mentioned that bit, but it was inevitable. The fated bond is known to be impossible to resist.

“You’ve been at school weeks. Are you telling me you don’t know how to buy your own clothes?”

“I don’t have any money,” she retorts, turning into the kitchen and striding to the cupboard. She reaches up on her tiptoes and that damn shirt slides up her legs even further.

I look away and curse Azlan for the millionth time.