Free Thrall by Jennifer Quintenz Page B

“Braedyn, you have to nip this thing with Lucas in the bud. Any feelings you have for him put both of your lives in danger.” I tried to pull away, but he held me tighter. “What I said earlier, about the way Lilitu kill - it’s not a choice for them. It’s part of what they are. What you are. I need to make sure you understand. You can’t get romantically involved. Not with Lucas. Not with anyone.”
    I struggled out of his grip and glared at him.
    He held my gaze. “Hate me if you need to. But please hear me. Be careful with Lucas. He hates the Lilitu, and his grief is still fresh. We’re not keeping the truth from Lucas to protect him. We’re doing it to protect
you.
Lucas knows how to fight. He’s good enough that if he decided to hurt you, he could do it. We don’t want to give him a reason to. Do you understand?”
    “Yes,
Murphy,
” I said coldly. “I understand.”
    Something seemed to break inside Dad; the light in his deep brown eyes faded. He bowed his head. Nodded.
    I fled the basement before the swelling dam inside me had time to burst.

Chapter 6
    I awoke the next morning, groggy. My thoughts were slow to collect. For a few moments, I lay still, enjoying the warmth of the bed. And then everything came crashing back, and the world seemed to tilt on its axis.
    A sharp crack sounded outside my bedroom window. I slipped out from under the covers, shivering in the early morning chill. The wood floor was cold as stone to my bare feet. I walked to the window and edged the curtains apart, peering into Lucas’ backyard.
    Lucas was pulling a rotted plank off his back porch with a crowbar. Gretchen leaned against the rail behind him, giving orders. A stack of new lumber rested on blocks in the lawn behind him. When Lucas had wrestled the rotted plank up he glanced at Gretchen. She made a sweeping gesture that seemed to cover the entire back porch. Lucas nodded glumly. Gretchen entered the house, leaving Lucas alone. He waited a moment, and then shot a furtive glance up at my window.
    I stepped back quickly, letting the drapes fall closed. My heart pounded. After a night tortured by indecision, I still didn’t know how I was going to face him. I walked to my closet and pulled some clothes out with leaden fingers. I dressed numbly, unable to shake this sense of dread.
    Downstairs, Dad was waiting for me at the dining room table. I ignored him, fixed a bowl of cereal, and ate it leaning against the kitchen island. Dad pushed back from the table and walked into the kitchen.
    “I was worried about you last night,” he said. I ate the cereal wordlessly, refusing to acknowledge him. He took the hint and sighed. “All right. I’m going to miss dinner tonight, but there’s an enchilada for you in the fridge. We’re watching Derek in shifts.”
    I looked up as a wash of guilt swept over me. I’d forgotten about Derek. “Is he going to be okay?” I asked.
    Dad hesitated. “We’re doing everything we can for him.”
    “That’s not exactly a yes.”
    “It’s complicated.”
    “What’s complicated about it?” I snapped. “If he spends another night with her, he turns into a Thrall. You think he’d risk that, now that he knows?”
    Dad bit his lower lip, something he did when he wrestled with a decision. “Lilitu have formidable powers,” he said. “Derek may know what’s at risk, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be able to resist her. She’s already weakened him; he’ll be more susceptible to her now.” Dad reached out and smoothed a lock of hair back behind my shoulder. “I am sorry about yesterday,” he said. “I should have told you sooner. I know that now. But I didn’t want to hurt you. For the last sixteen years, my whole life has been about protecting you.”
    I lowered my spoon, no longer hungry. “What happens now?”
    “What do you mean? With Derek?”
    “With me.” I asked the question that had kept me up half the night, and my voice quavered. “If the Guard is depending on