War of Hearts(35)
They hung up with assurances to speak again soon and Conall looked over at Thea. She was standing by the window, the morning sun casting her in a halo of light as she stared out into the city. Feeling his regard, she glanced over at him. “I’m not Ashforth’s ward. I’m not his anything, and you can’t trust him.”
Conall glowered at what he was sure was an attempt to manipulate him. Finally. He’d been waiting for her to take this path and was relieved he hadn’t misjudged her. “And I suppose I should trust you instead?”
Thea shook her head. “You shouldn’t trust anyone who can never trust you in return.”
Struck silent by the weary wisdom of those words, Conall’s scowl deepened. He wanted her to attempt to manipulate him. To fill his ears with lies about Ashforth. Instead, she continually surprised him.
The urge to ask for her side of her story was great, but he refrained. Conall now doubted Thea would tell him. She would have done so by now. There was a moment he thought she was going for it, and instead she’d chosen silence. That was frustrating for many reasons, mostly because he appreciated that she wasn’t trying to manipulate him, just as much as he wished she fucking would.
The phone rang again and this time when Conall answered, it was Ashforth.
“I trust you’re happy that your sister is being well cared for?” he asked without preamble.
“As much as I can be.”
“And Thea? I assume you’ve caught up with her?”
“I have. Unfortunately, she was in a bit of bother with a few vampires who told her someone hired them to grab her. Any news on who this unknown hunter is?”
“There are rumors that a coven is after a young woman with healing blood and are willing to pay a reward to anyone who brings her to them. Thea’s description has been passed along to several contacts throughout Europe.” Anger was clear in Ashforth’s words.
“She’s still a needle in a haystack,” Conall mused, not overly concerned. “What’s the name of the coven?”
“The Blackwoods. They’re a wealthy group of witches and warlocks from Maine. I came across them in my research years ago … but I have no idea how they could have discovered Thea’s existence, let alone her abilities.”
Conall sighed. “There’s nothing to be done about it now. We’ll avoid major cities.” His eyes flickered to Thea who was staring at the floor. Her tense body language told him she was listening in. “Of course, this would be easier and faster if we could just take a plane back to Scotland.”
Her gaze flew to his, and he marveled at how such warm, dark eyes could turn to black ice in an instant. “I guess plummeting to death would be faster than a road trip across Europe.”
Amusement tickled his lips, but it instantly fled when Ashforth whispered, “Was that her? Is that Thea?”
There was something like reverence in his voice, except darker, desperate. It was not the tone of a man bent on revenge but something else entirely. Confused, Conall asked, “Why would this coven be interested in Thea’s blood? If it’s about her healing abilities, surely they could find a way to become an immortal; get bitten by a vampire. Or even a wolf if all they’re interested in is some longevity and strength. They’ve got enough between them to pay supes to do it.”
“Well, vampires are not true immortals,” Ashforth’s tone returned to normal. “They can still be killed.”
“None of us are truly immortal.”
“Yes, well, I don’t believe immortality is the coven’s goal, but I’m also not sure what is their goal.”
Exasperated by what sounded like a lie, he replied shortly, “We’ll drive through Germany, avoiding the cities if we have to stop. I willnae give you an estimated time of arrival since things arenae exactly going to plan at the moment.”
“That’s fine. Call in tomorrow at the same time. And tell Thea I’ll see her soon.”
Conall hung up, scowling at the phone.
“Hard for an alpha to take orders, huh?”
He half expected her to gloat. Instead, she eyed him like she was trying to figure him out.
“What was your nightmare about?” he asked before he could overthink his curiosity.
She held his gaze for a few seconds and Conall thought she might answer. Instead she moved away from the window and grabbed her small backpack off the floor. “I’m going to use the bathroom and then I could eat before we leave, if that’s okay.”
He pushed. “The nightmare, Thea?”
She sighed, a long, slow exhale. “You don’t really want to know, Conall. You need to believe I’m your enemy, for your sister’s sake.”
“And you telling me about your nightmare … you think that will change things, do you?” Why the fuck was he pushing this?
“You said it yourself. Nothing will stop you from saving her life.”
She was right. “Nothing, lass.” He stood up slowly and Thea took a wary step back. “I’ll protect you until we reach Scotland. Where I fully intend to hand you over to Ashforth as soon as you save my sister’s life.”
Thea didn’t seem particularly upset by any of this but Conall suspected she was very good at hiding her feelings.
Not long later, after Thea had freshened up and pulled the masses of her rich, dark hair into a ponytail, Conall took the risk of using the bathroom to relieve himself but nothing more. He needed a fresh change of clothes; however, it would have to wait.