Free Bound by Light by Tracey Jane Jackson

asked.
    “Edinburgh.”
    “Alone with you?” she clarified. “I’m not
that kind of girl, Thane.” She couldn’t keep the smile from her
face at her jab.
    “I know that, love. You can stay with Niall
and Charlotte if you feel more comfortable. They live very close to
me.”
    She forced down her excitement at the
prospect. A whole weekend with him, without the prying eyes of her
uncle’s security was enticing. Not to mention, fangirls nowhere
near them.
    “Sydney?” he pressed.
    “I’ve never been to Edinburgh.”
    “You did that on purpose.” He chuckled.
“Making me think you were weighing the options.”
    She grinned, her irritation quickly
forgotten. “Maybe.”
    “I’ll work out the details with your uncle
and we’ll talk tomorrow, okay?”
    “Okay.” Sydney flopped back onto her
pillows. “How will we get there?”
    “I typically fly—”
    “So you are a vampire, then?”
    “Only on Sundays.”
    Sydney giggled. “That’s an option?”
    “If you twerking on a table is an option,
then why wouldn’t being a vampire on Sunday be one?”
    “You have a point,” she conceded.
    He chuckled. “If you don’t want me to don my
cape and fly you to Edinburgh, there is always the option to take
the train.”
    “Oh,” she breathed out. “The train sounds
amazing.”
    “I can have Pam look into it.”
    She smiled. “Do you mind?”
    “Why would I mind? The train’s a lovely way
to get there.”
    “Are you always this agreeable?”
    He chuckled again. “Absolutely.”
    “Liar.”
    “I’ll let you go back to sleep, sweetheart
and we’ll talk tomorrow.”
    She yawned. “Okay.”
    “Sleep, baby.”
    She yawned again. “Okay.”
    “’Bye,” he whispered.
    “’Bye.” She hung up and stared at the
ceiling for longer than she would have liked before sleep took
her.
    * * *
    The next morning, Lucy burst into her room
and bounced up and down on the mattress. “You’re going to
Scotland.”
    “Hmm?” Sydney mumbled.
    “Get up.”
    “Huh? Why are you waking me, evil one?”
    “It’s almost six,” Lucy said.
    “In the morning?” Sydney squeaked. She’d
slept for almost five hours, a record for her.
    “Yep.” Lucy bounced again. “And Dad said
you’re going to Scotland with Thane. Ohmigod, Sid. Thane Allen is
whisking you away to his lair.”
    Sydney pulled the covers over her head. “Go
away. I want more sleep.”
    Lucy yanked the duvet from her face. “Wake
up, wake up, wake up. We have to pack.”
    “Why do we have to pack now?”
    “Because the train leaves at like eight.
Thane said he’ll be here to pick you up at seven.”
    “Then you go with him,” she argued, and
rolled away from her cousin.
    Lucy smacked her butt. “I’m going to pack
sexy undies and nothing else if you don’t get out of this bed.”
    “Wait.” Sydney sat up, her hair falling in
front of her face. She found the scrunchy that fell out during the
night and pulled her hair into a ponytail. “Start again, Luce, and
talk really slowly.”
    Lucy giggled. “Thane is taking you to
Edinburgh, and the train leaves at eight. He’ll be here at seven to
collect you.”
    “But he said he’d call me today to talk
about it.”
    “Well, he talked to Dad and is now on his
way.”
    “Uncle Cary said that was okay?”
    “Yep.” Lucy walked into Sydney’s closet,
returning with a suitcase. “Go shower and then we’ll pack.”
    Sydney jumped from the bed with a squeal and
rushed into the bathroom, taking the fastest shower in history.
Dressing in dark jeans, black knee-high boots, and a cowl-necked
cream sweater, she left her hair in a ponytail, rather than washing
it. It would take too long to dry.
    “You look gorgeous,” Lucy said.
    Sydney giggled. “Thanks, cuz. Okay, let’s
figure out what I’m taking.”
    “Shoes. You need shoes.”
    “I need sneakers and flats, maybe
slippers.”
    “No, you need one-, two-, and four-inch heels, plus sneakers, flats, and definitely
slippers...oh, and