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castle, who lorded over all of them. She had predicted
Jacquelyn would hate living in the night. Andrew was
stubborn and refuted it, saying he loved her and she would be
a good child and not turn on him.
Jacquelyn stared out the window. Crimson was right.
Andrew should have left me to drift off into the great
hereafter. Now I'm bound to the earth.
Recently, Andrew had dragged her back to the castle,
weak from hunger, after she'd wandered into the woods. He
sliced his wrists, smothering her with it until she was made to
open her mouth, drinking until she gagged. Finally, she had
regained enough strength to push him away. Then he left her
waiting in her room, until his temper cooled. He brought her a
human, which he forced her to eat. He ripped into her veins
and took back the blood she'd drunk from him. It was a
vicious cycle that had been going on for decades. She was
tired of it.
Why won't he let me go? If he truly loves me then why
doesn't he see I need my freedom even if that choice means
death?
"Because, beloved, I would be alone in the night and even
your hatred wouldn't be there to warm me. Is that what you
want? To see me all alone with no one to share forever with?
You know that I chose you. You're mine. No one else can
have you, not even the heaven the mortals believe in."
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"Andrew, please let me go. I don't want this life. If you had
told me before you ever changed me into this-this thing, then
I'd never have chosen it. You know that. I appreciate
everything you've done for me, but I can't continue living like
this. If you truly love me, then let me go. Give me the
freedom to choose how I want to live. I understand trying to
starve myself isn't worth it. You've given me a gift and I want
to explore, but I have to do it on my own. You can't be my
lord and master anymore."
Andrew stepped forward and ran his hand over the
bedpost before he looked up at her. A look of sorrow or
remorse flashed across his features. Then the feather-like
flickering of his mind played against hers. She wanted to slap
him so hard. She could almost feel the sting of it against her
flesh. Suddenly, the tether latched onto her thoughts like a
leash and compelled her to stand upright, not even allowing
her to blink. Jacquelyn couldn't even breathe without him
permitting it. She could barely even think. Her whole being
fought to regain control of her body. There was no way she
could get out from under his hold. Andrew studied her face.
He even brushed a piece of stray hair away and then traced
his finger over her lips. A small smile appeared on his face.
He bent over and kissed her lightly, knowing full well she
couldn't react.
"How can I let you go? I love you! You may deny the fact,
but deep down you love me, too. We are tied together, soul
to soul. I can find you in another life. If we are separated by
time, I can find you. We might wear different faces, but there
will be something in you that will recognize me. At your time
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of most dire need, I will be there. I will pick you back up and
save you from death. You think I stole your humanity so
many years ago, but I only rescued you from years of
torment. You came into my arms willingly when we first made
love. I held you when you were frightened of the sensations
awakening inside of you. I was there when you made your
first kill. From that first drop of blood hitting your mouth, you
knew you were a killer. The only thing that holds you back is
that last shred of mortality. You are no longer part of
humanity. We're something different. We are above them. Let
go of your fears and sorrows, for they're the reason you wish
to end your existence, not the woman I love. You have
bottled her up and left her to die, chained to some rotting
fence post, leaving me with a fragile human shell that wants
to be buried in the ground. I'm tired of having this argument.
I want what's best for us. Don't you know that?"
The pressure eased on her mind so she was allowed to
speak. "Master, you have to understand that we come from
the very beings we feast upon. How can you ask me to take
another life when we're living on borrowed time already? This
endlessness is unnatural. I accept it because I'm afraid to find
out what's beyond. Every time I try, you reel me back in. I
am what I am, and you can't change that. You brought me
into this hell and expected me to love you from the start. Yes,
part of me will always be your slave, but I cannot continue to
live the way you want me to. I don't love you. I loathe you.
Let me have my freedom. Maybe we can reconcile our
differences in the years to come. For now, I we cannot live
like this. You resent me for not being your devoted creation,
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and I despise you for stealing away my humanity. Please let
me go. There's no one else who can share my heart. I doubt
there ever will be. You have put your brand on me. You think
Trevor would pull me into his bed if I asked. He's a flirt. He
tolerates me as Crimson does. I'm tired of being tolerated by
you by them all. Let me go so I can find my own way.
Please, Andrew."
Jacquelyn forced her will and found his hold on her was not
iron-clad. Through their bond, she understood he loved her in
his own way. She tried to keep her mind blank so he wouldn't
feel her disgust. She touched the side of his face and looked
at him with kind eyes. He couldn't let her die. No matter how
hard she tried or how much she wanted to enjoy her life, she
couldn't do it with him. "Please let me go. Before my heart is
turned to stone and ice and there's no more room for what
might still be between us."
"Jacquelyn, you melt my heart, but your freedom you will
never have."
He said nothing more, but left her to her own wiles. The
leash on her mind vanished. He walked out and locked the
door again, keeping her prisoner. Tears threatened, but
something turned over in her. It was true, she was beyond
humanity and it was time she took advantage of that. Looking
around the room, she gathered what money she had stored,
valuables she could sell, and her heaviest cloak. She grabbed
a hairpin and then went to work on the lock. In a few
minutes, she had it opened and realized it would have been
easier to do that much earlier. Quietly she closed the door
again and then made her way down the long hallway to the
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staircase leading into the Great Hall. Usually Crimson and
Trevor were sparring to pass time. She was lucky to find the
hall empty. She made her way down and into a side hall that
led to a servant's entrance near the back. Once outside, she [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]