Allegiance by K. A. Tucker Read Free Book Online Page A

overactive imagination existed here. If I had learned one thing over the last few months, it was to assume the worst and then expect the truth to be ten times bleaker. If that were the case, it meant Veronique was in danger. It meant the witches knew who she was and of her ties to Sofie. “Our magic can’t touch her.” That’s what the woman with the whip said.
    Its meaning hit me like a freight train, terror seizing me in the deepest level. What if, when I agreed to climb atop that platform for the Tribe to “free me,” the same magic that poisoned me had also poisoned Veronique? It had touched her, after all. Oh God! Shocked, I cupped my hand over my mouth and nose. That meant she couldn’t be transformed, even when we rescued her. After all this, after all they’d done to preserve her and solve this problem … A ball of vomit formed in my throat, threatening to launch. No, Evangeline. Don’t panic , I silently commanded. Breathe in, breathe out. This could still be a dream; this could still just be your subconscious, torturing you.
    Well? Max asked. I could hear a hint of worry in his tone.
    I paused. “Just a bad dream,” I whispered, hearing the emptiness of my words as they left my lips. It has to be a dream … please, just be a dream … I repeated in my head as I fumbled absently for my pendant, for something to grasp. Then I remembered I didn’t have it anymore. I didn’t have it because I agreed to let the Tribe touch me with their magic, resulting in this entire mess.
    The clock read three in the morning. There was no chance of me falling asleep in the near future. “Did Caden come by at all?” I asked, peering outside at the night sky, longing to distract myself with him at that moment. And every moment after …
    Uh … I’m not sure. He may have slipped in, but, uh … I don’t know. I fell asleep … Max stumbled over his words.
    “Right … so you sleep now.” I glared at him and then pinched the bridge of my nose. I was never one to lose my temper, but if anyone could make me do it, Max certainly could. I sighed with exasperation. “Why didn’t he come by, do you think?” If it was a concern over blood, he should’ve found some blood bags and been sated by now. Shouldn’t he?
    Sofie’s probably got him running around , Max offered.
    “Yeah, maybe …” I threw off my covers and climbed out of bed. Grabbing the robe and slippers from the armchair, I crept toward the door.
    Max groaned loudly. Must you? Can’t you be happy in this bed for one whole night?
    “Stay here if you want, Max. In fact, maybe it’s best that you do. I could use a little bit of space. We’re safe here, right?”
    Suit yourself , Max answered, flopping back down.
    Bloody dog. I chuckled despite my own nervousness. The werebeast who doesn’t sleep and never tires is just plain lazy . It did comfort me, though. If he wasn’t breathing down my neck, it meant he didn’t feel he needed to be. That was rare, especially with Viggo and Mortimer nearby.
    As I stepped into the hall, my ears caught gentle female giggles from behind the door opposite me. My chest tightened with panic. Amelie with Julian. In a bedroom together? No … wait. Giggles are good. Screeches are bad. Julian’s life and Amelie’s heart were both safe for the time being.
    I tiptoed past and moved down the ghostly hallway. Dim sconces spaced every twenty or so feet lit my way. Gliding down the staircase, I took a moment to stand in the dark, empty foyer, my arms folded tightly around my body. The place reeked of history—hundreds of years of royalty, scandals and treachery, balls and beheadings … and vampires. I wondered where Nathan had died. Was it somewhere in this house? If so, how could Sofie stand being here? If I killed Caden, I don’t know how I’d live with myself, let alone come back to the scene of the crime. Just the thought made me shudder. I could kill Caden. Very easily. All he had to do was lose control. Just one little