Reluctant Adept: Book Three of A Clairvoyant's Complicated Life by Katherine Bayless Read Free Book Online Page B

demon-conspiring Princess Maeve.
    Even if Lorcán spoke the unvarnished truth and Kieran was employing some sort of mask, such a thing couldn't disguise his actions, which spoke louder than any superficial glamour he might be using.
    It wasn't hard to decide whose side I wanted to be on.
    "You should talk," I said, my voice calm in spite of my gyrating insides. "Kieran isn't the one working with strigoi to illegally enslave my friends."
    "Ah," he drew out, eyebrows lifting. "I see." A satisfied smile broke over his lips. "You were unaware of this deception, too. How interesting."
    He tilted his head dismissively, gesturing at our surroundings. "As for your friends … necessity, I'm afraid. For my protection. A rogue does not venture into the open without some assurances, especially when meeting an adversary who has so very much to lose. You must know, Kieran's done you a great disservice."
    "Why? Because he protects me from you ?"
    "No. Your protection I cannot begrudge. Your continued survival is paramount. No, my ingénue. It's because he hasn't told you why ."
    "Why? Why what ? Why he protects me?"
    He angled his head, indicating partial agreement. "Why you are what you are."
    "What I am, huh? And what, exactly, am I?"
    "The second potential adept to be born in over four thousand years." He peered at me. "Do you know the identity of the other?"
    I frowned, sure I didn't want to know, but I had a strong suspicion that I did.
    "Nuala, of course." He took a step closer. "His former mate. And you, my dear, are born of her familial line."
    I blinked, the air going out of me as though I'd been sucker-punched.
    Born of—? My mind wheeled. I was somehow related to Nuala?
    That wasn't possible. When Kieran and I had first met, he told me I had no appreciable sidhe blood and asked how I'd acquired my additional psychic gifts. But the fact that he now remained ominously silent and tense at my side led me to believe that 'appreciable' was the operative word. And since Kieran didn't accuse Lorcán of lying, that meant …
    I was Nuala's human kin—the one Maeve had used as bait to lure Kieran into doing her bidding.
    I was so damned stupid. This is what drove Kieran's single-minded interest in protecting me. I'd suspected it had something to do with Nuala and atoning for his past mistakes, but I thought it was due to the similarity of our situations. The irony stung. Kieran had come to Earth with Maeve, for no other reason than because I was related to his former mate.
    God! This explained Kim's surprised reaction to my green eyes when she and Brassal had first seen me. Apparently, I'd inherited the trait, which, according to Kieran, was a rare attribute among sidhe.
    Was this why Kieran had seduced me? Because I reminded him so much of his former love—the one he'd called 'a treasure'? All those times he looked longingly into my eyes, had he seen her staring back at him?
    My skin itched to crawl away, and I felt sick.
    As far as the camel's back went, this latest straw was a freaking steel I-beam, further taxing my already shaky control. Magic surged from my core and spread throughout my body, galvanizing my nerve endings and straining the limits of my psychic shield.
    It clawed for escape.
    I dropped my arm from Kieran's waist. When I tried to wobble out of his embrace, his arm tightened at my side.
    "Don't," he whispered fiercely into my ear. "This is what he seeks, to drive you away from me."
    "If you know what's good for you, you will let … me … go ," I growled, leveling him with a molten glare so there was no mistaking my warning. Of course, the spiking air temperature surrounding me likely clued him in, even before I'd opened my mouth.
    Whenever my emotions got the better of me, most notably anger, my pyrokinesis tended to boil over. And, right now, Kieran's betrayal, combined with Lorcán's threat and my friends' subjugation, fueled it. The fiery potential heated me inside and out, the anticipation of its release so