it, and of those that have the potential, they have to work at
it to master it.” “I assume you can’t since you didn’t trace us instead of going through the swamp.” “I used to be able to. For centuries I enjoyed that power. But Omort bound my ability to trace. My brother’s as well.” “Will you ever get it back?”
He met her eyes. “As soon as that sword severs his head from his neck, we’ll be free.”
Cadeon’s expression grew sinister, as if he was imagining beheading Omort right at that moment. Then his gaze slid to her, and he seemed to shake himself. “So questions about you now…” “What do you want to know?”
“How did you find out you were adopted?” “My adoption was never a secret. My mom used to tell me the story of the day someone left me on their doorstep. She always called me her foundling.” Holly smiled softly. “They’d tried for years to get pregnant. When they couldn’t and sought an adoption, the parish said my father was too old. And he outlived her.”
Though not by much. He’d been so utterly in love with his wife of forty-five years that when they’d lost her to cancer, he’d wanted only to follow her wherever she’d gone. Her parents had had an extraordinary kind of love, the kind that you read about but rarely see.
Had her biological parents experienced it, too?
“I bet you never imagined your real mum as a warrior Valkyrie,” he said, taking a deep swallow of Red Bull. “No, we’d always supposed she was an unwed teenager.” An unfamiliar scent hit her, and she sniffed the
air. “Are you…tippling? Did you pour alcohol in your drink?” “Maybe.” “You’re drinking and driving!”
“If I were blotto, my reflexes would still be a thousand times better than a human’s.” “You curse like a sailor and denigrate women, and now I find out that you drive under the influence.”
She peered over at the speedometer. “And you do it too fast.” “True, true, true. And you don’t live a little, don’t get the lead out, and never have fun.” “I do have fun!”
“You wouldn’t know fun if it bit you on the ass.” Her chin jutted up. “You think I’m a goody two-shoes, a prude.” “I was going to say preachy tight-ass . But prude might fit. Especially after what Nïx told me about you
tonight.” “What did she say?” Holly demanded. “She said that you’re innocent, and not just in body. I’d figured you were definitely a virgin, but—” “How?” she interrupted. She wasn’t secretive about her virginity, but she hadn’t thought it’d be patently
obvious to others. “You’ve got it written all over you. It’s like a flickering beacon for males like me.”
“Please. Tell me. What do I have inscribed and flickering over me?”
“Starving—for—it.”
She glared at the roof of the car, grasping for patience. Because heaven help her, he might be right.
“So, I got that you were innocent body-wise, but the innocent-in-mind bit threw me. How is that even possible?” “Why couldn’t it be?” she asked. “The media and such today. Sex is pervasive.” It was. But Holly had diligently trained herself to Turn Away . Somehow, she unfailingly forced herself to avoid anything that might make her lose control—anything erotic, passionate, moving, angering….
A couple necking on campus? Turn away. A steamy scene on network TV? Turn away. “Can you accept that an alcoholic avoids the liquor store? Or that a dieter avoids the bakery?” “A dieter still has to go to the grocery store.” “Unless he gets the groceries delivered,” she countered. “He?”
“Why would a dieter have to be a she?” The corners of his lips curled. “Almost forgot what a little feminist you are.” “I guess everyone would be considered so, compared to a huge chauvinist such as yourself.” “Back to the subject. You’re telling me you’ve never even seen people having sex in a movie?”
“Regrettably, my adult video
it to master it.” “I assume you can’t since you didn’t trace us instead of going through the swamp.” “I used to be able to. For centuries I enjoyed that power. But Omort bound my ability to trace. My brother’s as well.” “Will you ever get it back?”
He met her eyes. “As soon as that sword severs his head from his neck, we’ll be free.”
Cadeon’s expression grew sinister, as if he was imagining beheading Omort right at that moment. Then his gaze slid to her, and he seemed to shake himself. “So questions about you now…” “What do you want to know?”
“How did you find out you were adopted?” “My adoption was never a secret. My mom used to tell me the story of the day someone left me on their doorstep. She always called me her foundling.” Holly smiled softly. “They’d tried for years to get pregnant. When they couldn’t and sought an adoption, the parish said my father was too old. And he outlived her.”
Though not by much. He’d been so utterly in love with his wife of forty-five years that when they’d lost her to cancer, he’d wanted only to follow her wherever she’d gone. Her parents had had an extraordinary kind of love, the kind that you read about but rarely see.
Had her biological parents experienced it, too?
“I bet you never imagined your real mum as a warrior Valkyrie,” he said, taking a deep swallow of Red Bull. “No, we’d always supposed she was an unwed teenager.” An unfamiliar scent hit her, and she sniffed the
air. “Are you…tippling? Did you pour alcohol in your drink?” “Maybe.” “You’re drinking and driving!”
“If I were blotto, my reflexes would still be a thousand times better than a human’s.” “You curse like a sailor and denigrate women, and now I find out that you drive under the influence.”
She peered over at the speedometer. “And you do it too fast.” “True, true, true. And you don’t live a little, don’t get the lead out, and never have fun.” “I do have fun!”
“You wouldn’t know fun if it bit you on the ass.” Her chin jutted up. “You think I’m a goody two-shoes, a prude.” “I was going to say preachy tight-ass . But prude might fit. Especially after what Nïx told me about you
tonight.” “What did she say?” Holly demanded. “She said that you’re innocent, and not just in body. I’d figured you were definitely a virgin, but—” “How?” she interrupted. She wasn’t secretive about her virginity, but she hadn’t thought it’d be patently
obvious to others. “You’ve got it written all over you. It’s like a flickering beacon for males like me.”
“Please. Tell me. What do I have inscribed and flickering over me?”
“Starving—for—it.”
She glared at the roof of the car, grasping for patience. Because heaven help her, he might be right.
“So, I got that you were innocent body-wise, but the innocent-in-mind bit threw me. How is that even possible?” “Why couldn’t it be?” she asked. “The media and such today. Sex is pervasive.” It was. But Holly had diligently trained herself to Turn Away . Somehow, she unfailingly forced herself to avoid anything that might make her lose control—anything erotic, passionate, moving, angering….
A couple necking on campus? Turn away. A steamy scene on network TV? Turn away. “Can you accept that an alcoholic avoids the liquor store? Or that a dieter avoids the bakery?” “A dieter still has to go to the grocery store.” “Unless he gets the groceries delivered,” she countered. “He?”
“Why would a dieter have to be a she?” The corners of his lips curled. “Almost forgot what a little feminist you are.” “I guess everyone would be considered so, compared to a huge chauvinist such as yourself.” “Back to the subject. You’re telling me you’ve never even seen people having sex in a movie?”
“Regrettably, my adult video
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