Read Blood Will Tell (Warriors of Ankh #1) for Free Online

her head, swallowing back the bitter rage. “I mean… really hate them.”
    She felt his eyes on her face, studying her intently and she flushed. Finally he sighed heavily. “I don’t know what to tell you. I guess, I don’t know.”
    “ But what about you? How do you feel about your parents?”
    “ Eden, look-”
    “ I know we have this unwritten rule that our parents are off limits but I’m not asking for anything, Noah, I just want to know… do you love them?” This time she looked him straight in the eye. For a moment he didn’t say anything and she got lost in the clearness of his gaze. The colour had always amazed her, not blue, or purple, but pale violet. But it wasn’t just the colour. There was so much going on behind them and yet there was no deceit there. No hate. No sociopathic blankness. And now, pushing out into the fore was a sadness. A sadness for her.
    “ I don’t talk about my parents much because there isn’t a lot to say. However, I also don’t talk about them much because I know you don’t have a great relationship with yours, and me and my mom and dad are really good friends. I love them, Eden. I’d die for them.”
    For some reason that made her want to cry. Her throat started closing and she began blinking rapidly to stop the tears.
    “ Hey dude ,” he teased, nudging her gently. “I don’t judge you for hating your parents right now. I know they’re pissing you off.”
    Frustration gnawed at her and she wanted to scream at him that he didn’t know anything. She wanted to tell him the truth about who they were, what they wanted of her, what her father intended for her. She laughed humourlessly, bitterness ringing in the sound. Noah flinched a little, concern tightening his jaw. “You have no idea, Noah. No idea.”
    “ Then tell me.”
    She shook her head. “It’s too sick. And too tragic.”
    “ Eden, you’re really starting to scare me.” Noah stopped. He towered over her, his eyes now narrowed with anger. Her heart triple beat and a wave of nausea made her stumble back a little. Oh crap. She’d said too much. Her mind whirred as she tried to come up with something, even a little piece of the truth. “It’s nothing, I’m probably overreacting. You know what a freak I am.”
    “ If it’s nothing just tell me.”
    She glanced around, catching sight of the goon from the corner of her eye off in the distance. Teagan had teased her about the bodyguards last night. She’d finally had to escape to her room, leaving in the middle of the Xbox game she’d been playing with Stellan. She’d heard Stellan yelling at Teagan in admonishment the entire way up to her room. “M-my cousin,” she finally breathed, turning to look back up at Noah, who seemed braced to take on the world for her. She felt warmed by his protectiveness even though she could beat his ass from here until Timbuktu. “It’s totally sick, but my mom and dad are pushing Teagan on me.”
    Noah grimaced, genuine disgust lighting his eyes. “Your cousin? Your first cousin? That’s not even legal.”
    Eden shrugged, ignoring the moths of revulsion that erupted in her belly just at the thought of Teagan. She started walking again and Noah followed. “Yeah, well my dad is really, really old-fashioned and he loves Teagan, and he has a lot of money to make certain legalities go away.”
    “ Eden, this is twisted.”
    She ignored the spark of panic that flared in her chest as she said, “Have you finally reached your freak quota? Is this the friendship over?”
    “ Of course not,” he growled, seeming insulted. “But you gotta admit this is weird – beyond weird. Damn, I just wish I could do something…” Suddenly he paled and grasped a hold of Eden’s shoulder, pulling her to a stop with a surprising amount of strength. Eden frowned down at the hand that had halted her so effortlessly. “Teagan hasn’t done anything, right? That’s not why you’ve been so quiet all week, because I swear to God,