A Calling to Thrall by Jena Cryer Read Free Book Online

didn’t understand what was going on. So if you want to take
back the necklace…”
    I pulled back my hair and waited for the shopkeeper
to unfasten the band, but he didn’t move. He just stared at me with
his head cocked to the side and his lips pressed into a thin white
line.
    “Bella no like?”
    “Oh, no,” I said. “I love it. I’ve never seen
anything more beautiful. It’s just too much, that’s all. I could
never afford something this…amazing.”
    I must have said the right thing, because his
features softened and he leaned forward to stroke my cheek.
    “Old Pietro already say no price, bella. This yours.
It meant for you. Wishing stone know what make you happy, and
this—” He fingered my pearl. “She make you happy, si?”
    “Oh, si. Molto happy, but—”
    He pressed a finger to my lips. “No more but and no
more sad. Is present. Now just sit here and let old Pietro finish
his magic. When I done you be happiest girl who ever live. You
see.”
    He was so excited I didn’t even think about
disappointing him. Already the mortar and pestle were out again. He
slid on a pair of thin leather gloves before adding his
ingredients. A dash of golden spice here. A bit of red wine there.
He ground his concoction into a thick cream, and when he was done,
he held it up for me to smell.
    “Bella like?”
    I inhaled, and tears filled my eyes. Oh, God, it was
the most beautiful aroma I’d ever encountered. Waves of lilac and
honeysuckle rolled over me. I felt like I was lost somewhere
between heaven and home, and I didn’t want to leave.
    Oh, Lord, I never wanted to leave at all.
    He took my wrist in his hand, and when he rubbed the
fragrant cream across my bare inner arm I didn’t say a word. I
didn’t even move when his fingers traced perfumed patterns into the
hollow of my throat. My skin tingled. His every touch was like a
lover’s soft kiss, and I sighed when he finally stepped back.
    I was a fool not to run away right then.
    Surrounded by that heavenly scent, I felt more
relaxed than I had in years. My parents’ expectations, my friends’
opinions, my own misgivings, they all just ceased to be. I was
myself. I was Adair Bartlett. I was purified. I was new. And I was
alive.
    I was so very alive.
    Through half-hooded lids, I watched the old
shopkeeper rummage through his cabinets. Words still trickled past
his lips, but I was beyond caring what they meant. Every now and
then he tossed an item onto the table in front of me. A pair of
long, leather shin-guards slapped against the wood followed by
stubby-fingered gloves and then a pile of different length leather
belts. I wondered how many more oddities he intended to shower
before me and just what role they had in the magic to come, but my
brain was too foggy to think.
    A final item slid across the table, and I blinked
twice before I realized what it was.
    A blindfold.
    A padded leather blindfold.
    My heart raced.
    Adrenaline pulled me out of my daze, and when I
looked back at the other items they finally all made sense.
    Those weren’t tiny leather belts. They were
restraints. Thick leather cuffs hung from the top of each glove,
and those greaves…
    I sucked in a sharp breath. I had to get out of
there. I had to run while I still could.
    I leapt to my feet. Behind me, the chair toppled
backwards, but I couldn’t worry about that. No, I couldn’t worry
about anything but my shaking knees. Why were they shaking? Why did
every step seem so very, very hard?
    I hadn’t even made it three feet before my legs
crumpled beneath me. For a second, the world darkened. I expected
to find myself sprawled across the floor, but strong arms grasped
me from behind. I heard the cluck of a tongue. The old shopkeeper
held me in one arm while he reached down for the toppled chair with
the other.
    I had to get away.
    Why couldn’t I get away?
    My head lolled to the side, and I could barely lift
my arms as the shopkeeper placed me back in the chair. I might as
well have