Of Thorn and Thread (Daughters of Eville #4) - Chanda Hahn Page 0,30

don’t understand. She’s hurting. I can tell. I can protect her from those feelings.”

“You’re the one causing her pain right now, you dumb oaf,” Eden snapped. I could almost imagine what was happening as if I were in the room. Eden probably jabbed her finger into Liam’s chest.

“Eden.” Dorian’s voice grew louder. “I think this is your maternal instinct kicking in. Aura’s an adult.”

“None of you understand like I do. Aura’s life is pain. Constant empathetic pain. Her smiles and endless chatter are just a facade to hide what she is feeling. I’ve spent years studying her, trying to protect her from the one thing she always wanted.”

“No, don’t,” I whispered, knowing Eden couldn’t hear me on the other side of the door.

“She can’t have a normal relationship. Can you imagine what it would be like to hear everyone’s innermost, darkest, and deepest thoughts all the time? It would destroy a sane person.”

“You don’t know that,” Liam said.

“I do. Mother has researched. All empaths have either gone crazy or committed suicide at an early age. For her to have any hope of living a long life, it will have to be one of loneliness and away from people. Crowds, cities, and even this curse that is brewing could be the death of her. As she grows older, her power grows stronger, and most don’t live long past twenty or so winters.”

“My only desire is to protect her,” Liam repeated.

“But who will protect her from you?”

Chapter Ten

“You shouldn’t have said that,” I chastised Eden as she came back into the hall.

She smoothed her hands down her dress and straightened her crown. “Yeah, well, blame it on the hormones.” Eden led me up the stairs to a guest suite filled with beautiful ornate furniture covered in the sun crests.

“It feels unreal,” I said.

Eden waved her hand and glamoured the fleur-de-lis wallpaper to became stone walls, the four-poster bed changed into my simple bed in the tower.

“Oh, wait. I remember.” She flicked her wrist, and the blanket turned into a pink spread with ruffles.

Eden loved to spoil me by using glamour on my few meager possessions.

“It’s home,” I said, softly. “Well, not exactly, because you’re not there.”

Eden moved to sit on my bed, her hand resting on her belly protectively. “I want to know what Liam is to you?”

“A friend,” I said.

“Nothing more?” she asked.

I blushed. “No. I don’t think he thinks of me in that way.”

She sighed. “I’m sorry for what I said earlier. I shouldn’t have gone off like that. It’s just that he doesn’t see what he’s doing to you. Those careless comments wound you deeply.”

“It’s actually not as bad as you think. I can’t read his thoughts.”

“What?”

“It’s true. Most of the time I have no clue what he’s thinking. He has shield magic, and he’s a natural. Only rarely do I get a glimpse of what he’s thinking. But Eden, more than that.” I reached and clasped her hands between mine. “When he’s near me, I can’t hear them. He blocks out their cries.” Even as we spoke, I heard the hum of thoughts from the hundreds of house-elves four floors below.

She blinked, and her hand went to her mouth. “Oh dear, then everything I said was—”

“The truth,” I finished for her. “Don’t worry, I’ve known for a long time. Mother explained it to me. It’s why I’m constantly being tested and pushed, but it’s also why she shelters me so much. My empathy gifts have grown stronger, but not my control over them. I know I only have a few more sane years left. So I want to enjoy them. I can already feel the hints of madness beginning to linger in the corners of my mind. I just don’t to talk about it.”

“Oh, Aura. I didn’t know.” Eden wrapped me in a hug. I should have been a better sister. I should never have teased her when she was younger.

“Stop. Stop!” I pulled away. “Stop feeling guilty and sorry for me. I’ve accepted it. So should you. And at least let me try to help Liam. I would like to do one truly noble thing in my life before I go find my own lonely tower and become a crazy cat lady.”

“But what if Liam—” she began.

“No,” I said adamantly and rubbed my temples. The pain became unbearable. “We are friends, and nothing more. He’s my anchor in the chaos, but he doesn’t think of me like that. He’s too noble to his cause. Plus, he said