Read Online Hereditary by Jane Washington - Free Book Online

consider how I really wanted to respond.
    “I don’t work for you.”
    “You don’t work for anybody, little spitfire, it’s all about who you align yourself with.”
    “Fine, I’m not aligned with you then.”
    “Oh, sweetheart, once you see your other options, you’ll be begging to be anything I want you to be.”
    His touch shifted then, became something else, and I felt his compulsion lift completely, leaving me trembling and sucking in a deep breath of fresh air. His hand was half cradling my face, and I realised my body was pressed right up against his, and that I was probably the one who had done it. I wanted to lash out, as I had the last time he had lifted such a heavy compulsion, but the truth was, he was simply too entrancing up-close. There was a spark of interest in those grey eyes too, which seemed to darken as he gazed down at me, and the pad of his thumb stroked upwards, across the slope of my cheekbone.
    “Well,” he amended, “almost anything.” And then he jerked away from me, and stalked off.
     
     

Chapter Five
     
    The Camaraderie of Abnormalities
     
    When I finally turned back to the gates, I was almost sure that I was under control again, but as I handed the small folded card over to one of the soldiers standing by the gate, I noticed that my hand was shaking. He took the card, glanced at it, and then waved me in absently, handing the card back. I walked over to where Cale was waiting and lifted it up for his inspection.
    “How do they know I didn’t just steal this?”
    “If you had, the card would have burst into flame. Not exactly the safest invention, but it does the trick.”
    He took my arm, and led me into the castle, which was unlike anything I had ever seen before. I had a few books that showed pictures of the inside of it, dating back to the first Read ruler, which was centuries ago now, but no picture could have prepared me for the reality. It wasn’t all glossy and lustrous, though there was a glass domed roof high above the entrance hall, and the sunlight filtering through each tile played dancing patters across the polished wooden floor. It was mostly just imposing, the furniture dated, and the huge, open spaces stretching into shadow, though there was also something pleasant in the distinctly antique quality it held. We walked to the side of the large entrance chamber, and through a side corridor that led to a garden, opening out into the afternoon sun. It was so big I would have hardly even called it a garden… it was more like a yard, with a maze of cobbled pathways leading to various hidden spots of seclusion amongst the perfectly preened hedges and apple trees. There was a towering fountain right in the middle, boasting a stone statue of a robed woman holding a jug over her shoulder in the typical pose of careless respite, as water tumbled from the mouth of the jug. Yet in her free hand, she dragged a sword along behind her.
    Cale lead me around the fountain and to the corner of the garden, where a few stone seats were arranged in a semi-circle facing a bubbling birdbath and not much else. Hazen was already there, sitting with his back to us. Two of the castle guards were stationed not far away and were already staring at us. I expected Hazen to turn around when his guards stiffened, but he didn’t move an inch, and when we came around the side of his seat, I noticed that his eyes were closed. Cale acted as if this was a regular occurrence, and quietly sat on the spare seat, leaving me to sit beside him and clear my throat awkwardly.
    Hazen opened his eyes then, and as that dark gaze swung up to lock onto me, I quickly ducked my head, fiddling with the books in my bag until I found the one I was looking for, and pulled it out.
    When nobody else made a move, I felt the anxious feeling building, and with it, the strange moodiness that I had felt at Kaylee’s prodding, earlier that day. I flicked open my textbook, and then realised that I had no idea what chapter