Read Online Eternal Shadows by Kate Martin - Free Book Online Page A

her. Or maybe Rhys.
    Rhys had spent the last five days working on my control. Fun times. His method of teaching was a bit unconventional, at least in my opinion. When he had first explained our learning-filled activity I had informed him he was completely and utterly insane. First of all, as I had explained to him, my hand-eye coordination sucked. My whole life, any time I caught anything I was left stunned. He had thrown things anyway. Fragile, breakable things. At first they broke on the floor, but once I got the hang of catching things on a regular basis, they broke in my too-strong grip. Not exactly encouraging. Currently, I had successfully caught and not broken a grand total of nine things ranging from kitchen glasses to Christmas ornaments. Apparently that made me ready to hold the life of a human being in my clumsy hands. I had argued, but Rhys was tired of bringing me fresh-squeezed blood in glasses since I refused to bite anyone random.
    And so the race to find my feeder had begun. And oh, how amusing it had been. This wasn’t the first argument they had had on the subject. The day before I had heard them debate specific names, or people more accurately. Rhys didn’t seem to like any of the possibilities Millie had come up with.
    “We can’t afford to have just anyone around,” he explained after I had badgered him about what the big deal was the night before. “We have to trust the people we let close to us.”
    So many complications in this life. What did they think would happen? No way a human could kill a vampire without help. Especially when suffering from chronic blood loss. I had said as much, but both Rhys and Millie just looked at me like I was an idiot who needed correcting. Like there was something I still didn’t know.
    Yet, they didn’t feel the need to fill me in.
    Their current argument devolved into an indistinguishable hum. Dammit. I still wasn’t that good a listener. Why did all this vampire nonsense have to be learned? In all the movies the power was instant. Unfair.
    Well, I couldn’t understand them anymore, but I could very easily open the door and walk in. No way they didn’t know I was lingering outside, anyway. Sure enough, they were annoyed, but not surprised, to see me when I did just that.
    “Sorry, couldn’t help but overhear. You know how it is. Superhuman hearing. Rather uncontrollable at my age.” I grinned sweetly to top it all off.
    “Just like an American to eavesdrop.”
    “You know, Rhys, I’m getting tired of all your American cracks.”
    “Then stop acting like one.”
    “Stop it, both of you,” Millie said, sitting in the biggest and most comfortable leather chair in my father’s study, straightening her skirt as she spoke. “Kassandra, it may actually be a good thing you’re here.”
    “Oh?” Most of the time I felt like I was indefinitely in the way. In my own home, nonetheless. Which I was still pissed about, but as my mother had always said, there’s no point in dwelling on what you cannot change.
    “I think I’ve finally found the perfect feeder for you.” She said it like she had found the perfect birthday present.
    “Goody,” I said.
    “I’ve opted for a male over a female, as you’ve no doubt already heard.”
    “Male? God, Millie, you’re not buying me a puppy. Say you picked a guy.”
    “Fine. A guy over a girl. Does that suit you?”
    “None of this suits me. Rhys was right on that part.”
    “Don’t give Rhys a reason to gloat, please.” The dirty look on her face went right over my shoulder to where he stood behind me. I could only imagine what he retaliated with.
    “Yeah, sure, a guy’s fine. I guess.” How was I supposed to know? Millie had Brody and that was a rather intimate affair. Cade bit anything that walked by, as did Madge, though supposedly they did both keep feeders from time to time. Rhys had avoided the conversation thus far, but I’d yet to see him with anyone. So with only one example how should I know