Free Conflicted: Keegan's Chronicles by Julia Crane

a position in the Army of the Light; however, I
feel it is best I leave and continue with the path that was set
from the day I was born. We shouldn’t have even met yet. You should
be enjoying your high school years and having the time of your life
with your friends. When you turn eighteen I will come back for you.
Perhaps you will have found a way to get our bond back. If you have
not, and you wish me to let you go I will do so. Just know Keegan,
you are the only one for me. I will wait forever. Leaving you is
one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. Not a day will
pass that I will not think of you. Every night when I close my eyes
I will hope that by some miracle I can see you with my mind’s eye
again. Even if you decide you do not wish to be with me when you
are of age, I will be forever grateful to you. The short time I
spent with you were the happiest moments of my life.
    Forever Yours, Rourk
    Keegan reread the letter three times. She
wasn’t sure what to think. She felt sad that he was gone, but she
was also annoyed that he didn’t try harder to win her over. The
more she thought about it, the angrier she got. The paper turned to
a sheet of ice in her hands. Keegan dropped the note on the counter
and pulled her sweater tighter. Why was she so angry? She should be
relieved. Now she could date Donald and not worry about hurting
Rourk’s feelings. For some reason that thought didn’t bring her
much comfort.
    ***
    Thaddeus came downstairs, took one look at
his sister sitting in a chair at the kitchen table, and asked,
“What’s the matter?”
    Keegan gestured down at the paper which was
now in a puddle of water at her feet. She leaned over to pick it
up, shook the water off it and thrust the soggy note into her
brother’s chest. “Let me guess, you didn’t see this coming?”
    He grabbed the letter and read it. While he
read, he had flashes of a vision. Rourk was in uniform with a look of indifference
on his face, getting screamed at by an instructor. Rourk lying on
his cot looking at the ceiling. The tiger in the woods. Anna
holding a ruby ring in her hand.
    His visions drove him crazy. What did Anna
have to do with all of this and why were they showing a ruby ring?
It was pretty obvious why Rourk and the tiger were in the vision.
Leave it to Keegan to create a love triangle between an elf and a
shape-shifter.
    Thaddeus mentally scanned books looking for
rings. He could have smacked himself in the head when it finally
dawned on him. How could he have missed something so simple?
    Thaddeus handed the note back to Keegan. “I
can’t say I blame him for leaving. Probably a smart move on his
part.”
    “Thaddeus, please tell me.” Keegan pleaded.
She reached up and tugged on her brother’s black t-shirt. “Am I
going to get my bond back with Rourk?”
    “Keegan, I couldn’t tell you even if I knew,
which I don’t.” Thaddeus gave her a look of pity. “I haven’t had
any visions of you since you came back from the dead. You are
closed off from me as well.”
    She walked across the room and plopped down
on the couch like the drama queen she was. “This sucks!”
    “Keegan, do you want your bond back with
Rourk?” Thaddeus asked, following behind her to stand next to the
arm of the couch.
    “I don’t know. I’m an elf. I’m supposed to
be bonded to my chosen. It’s what I’ve always expected. It’s really
not fair.” She crossed her arms over her chest with a pout, leaning
her head back on the couch.
    “It could be worse. You could be dead,”
Thaddeus reminded her.
    “Ugh!” Keegan groaned. She whipped a pillow
from the couch beside her and threw it at him.
    Thaddeus dodged it with a chuckle. “How’s
Anna?”
    Keegan looked up at her brother, narrowing
her eyes suspiciously. “Since when do you care about my
friends?”
    “I don’t know, I was just curious about how
she took finding out about her mother and the black magic. Did she
already know about it?” He needed to find a