Anathema (Causal Enchantment, #1) by K.A. Tucker Read Free Book Online Page A

guy with the
firewood—Caden—asked.
    I nodded. They were all silent then, exchanging
cryptic glances.
    In a flash, Caden was crouching down beside me,
so unexpectedly that I flinched, startled. He leaned in close,
staring intently at my chest. My half–naked chest, I realized. I
instinctively crossed my arms over my torso, my hot face turning
every shade of humiliation from rose to eggplant, I was sure. With
everything else going on, I had forgotten about my clothing—or lack
thereof. He raised his eyes, his brow furrowed in confusion for a
moment. Then his jade eyes went wide with comprehension. “Your
necklace—I was looking at the charm,” he explained, raising his
hands in surrender.
    “ I wasn’t!” I heard Bishop call from
behind him, followed by a loud smack—presumably Fiona’s response to
his lewdness.
    “ Can I please see it? The pendant,”
Caden asked gently.
    “ Um, yeah, sure … I guess.” I
reached up to unclasp the chain, then remembered Sofie’s request to
leave it on. “I can’t take it off. The clasp is broken and I don’t
want to lose it.” He nodded once. I grabbed the chain and pulled it
as far out from my half–exposed chest as possible, the glowing red
heart swinging back and forth thanks to my trembling
hand.
    Caden slid in closer to me.
    I swallowed, my chest tightening with anxiety
at his proximity, my heart beginning to hammer my chest again. I
noticed his eyes flit curiously to my face for a second and I
thought I detected the slight crook of a smile, but his face
smoothed before I could be sure.
    His hand reached out to grasp the pendant. A
burst of red light flashed brightly. He recoiled. Leaning back to
squat on his heels, he placed his chin in his hands.
    “ What is it?” Rachel asked crisply.
I glanced over to see her standing with arms crossed,
scowling.
    Caden, a pensive expression on his face,
ignored her. “Where’d you get that?”
    “ It was a gift.”
    “ Recent?”
    I nodded.
    “ From whom?”
    “ Sofie. Um, I mean … my
boss.”
    Caden continued studying it in silence, his
eyes shifting back and forth. “You’ll have to thank Sofie. I think
it saved your life.”
    I glanced down at the radiant heart and an
unpleasant chill ran down my spine. “What do you mean?” I
stammered.
    Caden opened his mouth to answer, but Bishop
sprang to his feet, cursing vehemently as his eyes darted to the
cave entrance. “They’ve tracked us here,” he growled, his jovial
tone of moments ago gone.
    “ Damn it, Amelie!” Rachel
cursed.
    “ Oh, shut it!” Amelie threw a
withering glare in Rachel’s direction. It didn’t phase the dark
beauty in the least.
    “ Must be the fire,” Fiona
whispered.
    “ How much time?” Caden asked, his
eyes locked on mine, his voice now hard and determined.
    Bishop inhaled deeply. “Maybe two minutes … I
can’t believe I missed their scent,” he hissed through gritted
teeth.
    Scent?
I inhaled deeply but my
nostrils filled with nothing but smoke.
    “ There. I can sense them … three of
them. They’ll be here soon,” Rachel confirmed.
    Three … there’d been three people by the river.
Three murderers. I wondered if it was the same group.
    In the next second I was flying across the
cave, cradled in Caden’s strong arms. Setting me on my feet, he
gently pushed me into a small alcove. Standing within it, I
couldn’t see two–thirds of the cave.
They’re hiding me,
I
realized.
    Caden’s hand lifted my chin, tilting my head
back far enough that my eyes met his. He stared at me so fixedly
that I began squirming, trying to turn away. “No, don’t,” he
whispered calmly, holding my chin securely between his thumb and
forefinger.
    The tension slid from my body as I fell deeper
and deeper into those infinite pools of jade, my focus becoming
cloudy, my thoughts muddled.
    Caden’s voice whispered, slow and deliberate,
“You need to stay hidden and remain calm. Don’t speak. Don’t make a
single sound.” His words