My world has ended.
Two hands hold me by the thighs and other by the shoulder. I squint into the too-bright light. “How dare you,” I breathe, but the words sound foreign and the faces that appear belong to the men sent by the gods to protect me.
Sam and Dylan.
Their muscles strain and I realize I’m still fighting. Who? I don’t know. Why? I haven’t the faintest other than it’s important. Very important.
“Morgan!” Dylan shouts, his voice carrying an edge I’ve never heard before. I clench my jaw and swallow back the pain, the voice inside.
Another set of hands touches my face. Glasses and copper hair. “Morgan? You with us?”
His thumb, dipped in something slippery and wet, makes a mark on my forehead. The mark burns, so hot I start screaming, then a hand covers my mouth and I see rather than hear Bunny say, “I’m sorry,” before the pain is too much and I pass out.
Chapter Twelve
Dylan
“Hurry,” Bunny says, kicking the door open. We’re at the entrance of my suite and the plan is to get Morgan in a contained space.
I turn and say to him and Sam, “I’ve got this.”
Sam frowns. Bunny looks outright distressed. He glances at Morgan, who is not exactly passed out. More like in a trance.
“Are you sure?” he asks, pushing his glasses up his nose. “I can wake her up.”
“I want to talk to her.”
Not Morgan. The Morrigan. We need to have some words.
“Put her in that chair,” he says. “Sam, find some ties. She’ll have to be restrained.”
I start to argue that, but Bunny cuts me a non-negotiable look. I sigh and say, “There’s rope in that top drawer.”
I place Morgan in the armchair as gently as possible. Sam disappears into the entry and I hear him opening and closing drawers, before slamming one and reappearing. I take the ties and nod to them both.
“I’m good. Thank you.”
“Are you sure?” Bunny asks again.
“Yes. I’ll call you if I need you.”
He slips me a small pot. Inside is the mixture he used to activate the trance and subdue her at the park. Morgan is ’wired’ with an intricate security system through the runes Bunny painted on her body. They’re meant to keep her and everyone else safe. “Use it if you need to. It won’t hurt her.”
I rest the container on the table. “I will.”
The Guardians leave and I hear the door latch behind them. I quickly bind her wrists to the chair, making an effort to keep them tight but not painful. I need the Morrigan to appear. I need to see her strength. I touch her chin and lift it upwards, placing a gentle kiss to her pink lips. Energy flows between us and I pull away quickly. It’s enough to wake her and she licks her lips, eyes fluttering. I wait to see who will appear. The wicked smile that greets me clues me in.
“Your Highness,” I say, bowing before her. The act makes me feel dirty.
“The Sentinel.” She looks me up and down. No, she’s not at full strength. If so, she would have ripped my throat out in greeting. “Where are the others.”
“I wanted some time with you alone.”
“Did you now?” She laughs. It’s Morgan’s face, her voice, but her eyes are cold and dark. She’s in there but somewhere deep beneath the surface. “Why? To kill me?”
“Why would I kill you?” I ask standing with my hands behind my back. “I’m your guard. As I have been for a millennium.”
“You’re a man.” She slinks back in her chair, crossing her legs. She makes no notice of the binds. “It’s in your nature to betray. You have an attention span of a gnat. Once something more interesting comes along, you’ll walk.”