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His expression didn’t soften. “Apology noted. But it’s not enough.”
“I understand.” I grimaced, feeling bruised inside, even though it was my own fault. I’d lost Talon’s trust, and I wasn’t sure how to gain it back. Or if I even could. “I didn’t think it would be. I just needed to tell you.”
“Follow me.” He started down the narrow flagstone steps that led to the Leclerc lair, two flights below.
Since signing my thrall contract, I must’ve descended these steps a few thousand times. But never like this, my chest tight, my stomach a mass of knots.
I’d never seen the dungeon, but I knew it existed, a level below the main lair.
He won’t lock you in a cell. He bought you new clothes, brought Rio along to keep you company. And there’s the baby.
Still, I wasn’t a hundred percent sure.
We came out on the lair’s main floor and wound our way through its torchlit tunnels. Talon passed the turnoff to the thralls’ section where my old apartment had been located. So I wasn’t going to be with the other thralls. On the plus side, we hadn’t turned toward the passage that led down to the dungeon.
He unlocked the door to the garden suite, and I followed him into the pretty one-bedroom apartment. When Brien had first brought Twilight to the island, he’d moved her into the garden suite. All the thralls had known that meant she was different.
I took in the sea-green walls and warm tropical-wood furniture. “This is where you’re putting me?”
It was way better than I’d expected. There was even an enclosed garden attached to the suite, accessed through a French door at the other end of the living room.
And Talon’s apartment was right around the corner.
“Yes. Cain thinks you should be thrown in a cell for the next decade, but Brien said it’s up to me.”
I flashed him a relieved smile. “Thank you.”
A shrug. “Don’t thank me. You need fresh air and sunlight…for the child.”
My stomach twisted with hurt. Of course, he was doing this for the baby, not me. He wanted to keep his spawn’s mother healthy.
He frowned at me, no doubt sensing my pain, but all he said was, “For now, you’re confined to these rooms and the garden outside except for a daily walk, where you’ll be accompanied by a guard.”
“I see. That’s…fair.”
“Your bags should be here soon. I can tell Kerry to have your old clothes transferred to this suite but—” His gaze flicked to my abdomen.
“They probably won’t fit much longer,” I agreed. “But I could use my runners and things like sweaters and sleepshirts. If you let me into my old apartment, I can get them.”
“No trips outside this suite,” he reminded me. “Except for your daily walk. I’ll have a maid pack up your room and bring your stuff here.”
“Okay. Sure.” I massaged the bridge of my nose. God, I was tired.
He nodded at the bedroom. “You’re asleep on your feet. I’ll see you later.”
I peered at him. Was his tone softer, less cold?
Then he added, “And Eden? Don’t fuck up, okay? Or even my blood bond won’t protect you.”
I grimaced wearily. “Got it.”
8
Talon
“You’re back.” Cain emerged from his office dressed in a white button-down shirt and black pants. It was like a uniform for the guy.
After leaving Eden, I’d come straight to the war room to check in with him and Brien. “We arrived about half an hour ago,” I said, automatically lifting my hand.
