Max pointed at her hands, “That’s why, sweetie. You don’t have the control you need yet.”
“Fuck. You’re right. Let’s go.” She shoved back from the table and stomped outside.
“We don’t have to go too far. Just to the grass is fine.”
Mor huffed and stalked out into the grass. She glared at Max as she sat down. “Let’s get this done with.”
Max chuckled as he sat down across from her. “I know you’re stressed, but you need to be clear headed to get through all this shit.”
“Yeah, I know.” Mor sighed and took a deep breath. “Okay, let’s do this.” She settled in, legs crossed, hands on her knees, back straight.
“Good. Close your eyes. Feel the earth beneath you, the breeze in your hair, the water in the air, the fire deep below.” Mor closed her eyes and reached out with her powers. Max’s voice was soft, “Feel the pulse of the earth and try to match your heartbeat to it.” He was silent as Mor focused on her breathing and her heart. “Slow your breathing.”
Mor sighed as her heart rate slowed, and she could feel everything around her. The trees reaching into the septs of the earth, a hawk gliding on an air current, water in the stream. As she settled in, her vision expanded until she could see past the ring into land she hadn’t been on yet. Max was still talking, but his voice faded the deeper she went. Her mind turned up, and she reached toward the stars, but when she did, she felt something push back.
Suddenly, she could see. She could see Boris. And the place he came from. It was full of demons. Or at least what she would assume were demons. They weren’t anything like the Fae, Dragons, or humans, that was for damn sure. But Boris. He was one crazy motherfucker. His sickness swirled around him, infecting those closest to him and reaching out little feelers to those farther out. Her mind accidentally touched one and she recoiled, feeling immediately nauseous.
Mor opened her eyes with a snap, gasping and heaving. Max had hold of her shoulders and was calling her name. “Mor, where did you go? Are you okay?”
“I could see Boris. He’s sick. So sick.”
“You went too deep. That’s dangerous. If something hadn’t snapped you out of it, you may not have been able to pull out of it.”
“I don’t know what happened. I just kept reaching and ended up…seeing…Boris.” Max’s mouth dropped open. “And I could see where he came from.” Mor shuddered.
“Wow. That could be useful.”
“He’s sick.”
“We knew that, sweetie.” Max smiled and kissed her forehead.
“I know, but his sickness is like a cloud over him. And it - reaches? - for everyone around him. It’s sticky.”
“We’ll need to meet with the council once Atreyu is awake.” Max’s face was grim.
“I need to see how he is.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Calm, Max. I’m good. I’m pretty sure I can handle myself.”
Max smiled and stood up. “Alright, let’s go check on them. It’s almost dinner, anyway.”
“What? It’s dinner?” Her stomach grumbled. “Fuck.” She stood with a groan and walked inside.
They walked inside and Mor went up to the suite. Max didn’t follow, but she didn’t wait for him. Mor needed to see Atreyu. The doors to her suite were closed. Mor hesitated for just a moment before opening the doors. Atreyu was lying on the bed, with Morgana sitting in a chair next to the bed. Her hands were hovering over Atreyu and she was mumbling something. Ben was leaning against the wall, watching them. “How is he?”
“He’s hanging in there. Morgana took a break a few minutes ago and said the spells were complicated. And then she went right back to that.” He gestured toward the bed.
“Did she say how long?”
“No. Just that it was complicated. But she’s been slowing down.”
“Damn.” Mor leaned against the wall next to Ben. “I feel so helpless.”
“Me too, love.” Ben kissed the top of her head. “Morgana will get him back.”
“I know.”
They stood there until Max came up with food and then ate in the room. Morgana didn’t stop while they snacked. After they finished, Max, Sebastian, Ben, Arthur, and Mor sat along the wall and waited. Around midnight, Morgana finally stopped chanting. Her hands dropped, and she leaned forward on to the bed. “That was harder than I expected.” Her voice was weak.
“Are you okay?” Mor struggled up and went over to Morgana.
“I just need to rest. The spells - “
“Just tell me if he’s back. The rest can wait until tomorrow, or the next day if you need to rest longer.”
“He’s back. I don’t know what he’s going to remember, but he’ll be normal when he wakes up.”
Mor felt tears form in her eyes. Forcing it down, she pulled Morgana into a hug. “Thank you. I don’t know what I would have done if I’d lost him.”
“You’d have survived. It would have hurt like hell for a long time. But you’d have survived.”
Nodding, Mor said, “Let’s get you to bed.” She helped Morgana to stand.
Sebastian came up to them, “I’ll help her. You get in bed with Atreyu. He’ll need you close to him when he wakes. I bet he remembers more than we expect him too.”
Mor nodded and stripped out of her shirt and pants before crawling in bed next to Atreyu. She pushed herself under his arm, sighing in relief when she felt his arm tighten around her. Mor drifted for a while until the bed dipped and she felt her other mates crawl into the bed. Taking a deep breath, Mor settled in and fell asleep.
Chapter 6
Max
Max sat in a chair at the foot of their bed.
Mor was wrapped up in Atreyu’s arms. He hadn’t woken up yet, but sometime in the night he roused enough to pull Mor into him. That was a good sign. Or at least, Max hoped it was. The others had already gone downstairs, but they had decided that one of them should stay with Atreyu just in case he tried to kill Mor again. Max rubbed his eyes. They’d been taking shifts and he was at the end of his. He hadn’t been able to sleep, anyway, so he was exhausted.
“What happened?” Atreyu’s voice was rough.
Max stood, instantly alert. “Atreyu, how are you feeling?”
“Like I got run over by a truck. Or a dragon. Or both.”
Max laughed, “No homicidal thoughts?”
“No. What happened?”
“You came back and wanted us to try to keep Mor away from you. Which, shockingly, didn’t work. When you saw her you went crazy. It took all of us to hold you long enough for Morgana to start working on you. Then it took Morgana hours to clear you. And here we are.”
“What about Amara?”
“Amara? My sister?” Max drew back in surprise.
“She helped me escape. But - “
“Fuck! My sister! I need to go find her!” Max stood in a rush.
“Max, wait, you don’t - “
He ran out, not listening to what Atreyu had to say. He was fine. They were fine. His baby sister, the one he’d hoped would escape their family. And she helped Atreyu! Max grinned as he ran down the stairs and straight to the kitchen. Trisha would know where she was. “Trisha! Trisha!” He burst into the room.
“Quit yer yellin’, boyo. I’m right here.” Trisha grumbled.
“Where’s my sister?”
“She’s in the dining room right now, havin’ breakfast. She’s an early riser.”
He ran out, tossing “Thank you!” over his shoulder as he hurried to the dining room. “Amara!” He burst into the dining room.
“Max!” Amara set down her coffee and ran down over to him.
Max wrapped her in a hug. “I’m so glad to see you! And I’m so glad you got away. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” She pushed away from him. “Why didn’t you come see me last night?” She pouted.
Chuckling, Max said, “Still the same Amara. You know I had to be there for my brother and my mate.”
“But I’m your sist
er. You should have at least checked on me.”
Max frowned, “I didn’t even know you were here, Amara. And you know that my mate and my brothers come first. As it should be.”
Amara’s eyes narrowed before she grinned. “You’re right, of course. I’m sorry, Max. I just missed you so much.”
He relaxed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Let’s get something to eat and catch up!”
* * *
Atreyu
Atreyu tried to stand up. He got halfway up, then realized two things. One, he was really fucking tired. And two, Mor was wrapped around him. He pulled her in closer and kissed the top of her head. It had only been a few days, but it had felt like forever. Mor pressed herself into him and Atreyu groaned. Well, that still worked anyway. Her hand slipped up his side and to his face as Mor sat up.
“Are you back to me?”
“I’m back. I’m sorry it took so long.”
Tears welled in her eyes as she looked down at him. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t get you back. What happened? What did they do to you?”
“Nothing, really. Or at least nothing I remember. I woke up with Selina in bed next to me and I almost threw up on her. It was awful. She threw a tantrum and said she and Boris were going to trap you and then kill me anyway.” He paused to sit up and pull Mor up with him so they were leaning against the headboard. “I was in a room with a bed, a bathroom with one towel and some soap and that’s it. Amara came once a day with food and brought a couple of books when she came. But that was really it.”
Mor growled, then paused, her face surprised. “Amara, Max’s sister? Does he know you saw her?”
“She was the one who helped me escape. But here’s the thing. It was too fucking easy. She made the guards ‘sleep’. We escaped out the window, and then our path was totally clear. At one point, we heard Selina roar behind us but we never saw her shadow or anything.”
“That doesn’t make sense. It sounds like they let you escape.”
His face was grim as he looked down at Mor. “That means either I was the bait or she’s a spy. Or both, honestly. That’s the most likely scenario. If I failed to kill you when I was supposed to, then she’s the backup.”
“Fuck, we need to tell Max.”
“I tried to, but he ran out. Let’s keep an eye on her. We’ll talk to Ben and the others as soon as we get the chance.”
“Alright. I hope for his sake you’re wrong about Amara.”
“Me too.” Atreyu leaned over and kissed her softly, fully intending to stop there. But she grabbed his head and pulled him down, deepening the kiss. “Mor, if you don’t stop that…”
“I like where that thought is going.”
Atreyu laughed as he felt the pulse of desire along their bond. “Do you now?” He rolled over so he was on top of her, pinning her down. “Let’s see what we can do about that, shall we?” He kissed her hard, one hand going to the back of her head to grip her hair and hold her in place. She arched into him as he ground against her.
“I think you're happy to see me,” Mor smirked when he broke the kiss.
“Beautiful, you have no idea how happy I am to see you.” He grinned. Atreyu’s other hand slipped behind her back and unsnapped her bra. He pulled it off of her and cupped a breast before bending down to take it in his mouth. She groaned as his tongue flicked her nipple then tugged with his teeth. He switched to the other side, not wanting to leave any part of her out. When she was panting, Atreyu kissed his way down her body. She sat up on her elbow and watched him.
“Time for breakfast, beautiful.” His voice was rough as he pushed her legs open and licked her slit. She gasped and started to lay back. “No. Watch,” he commanded. When she nodded, he bent his head back down and licked her again, this time circling her clit with the tip of his tongue before flicking it. She gasped, tilting her hips toward him. Atreyu grinned to himself. She liked that. He flicked, put his hands on her hips, holding her down as he flicked faster. With a moan, Mor fell back and grabbed the back of his head, pushing his face into her as she came.
When Mor relaxed, Atreyu kissed his way up her body. When he reached her mouth, he kissed her as he slid into her body. Neither of them moved for a moment. Mor looked up at him, hand on his cheek. “I thought I’d lost you forever. I’m so sorry. I should have been paying better attention.”
“No, beautiful, I should have known that Adair wouldn’t ask me to leave.” He kissed her, hard. “I’ll always find my way back to you. Even if I have to wait for you in the afterlife, I’ll always find you in the end.”
Atreyu kissed her again and started to move. Mor moaned as she moved in time with him. Her nails scratched down his back. “Atreyu! Please, I need to come!”
He moved faster, “Then come, beautiful.” She gasped and wrapped her legs around him as she came. Atreyu groaned when he felt her spasm around his cock. He thrust twice more before he came. Neither of them moved. Atreyu rested his forehead against Mor’s. “I don’t want to hear you blaming yourself again. We all fucked up, thinking we were safe here.”
“We need to find a way to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“Come on, let’s join the others. We have plans to make.”
* * *
Max
Max stood against the wall and watched Amara during breakfast. She was…different than he remembered. She used to be light but reserved, rarely talking to any but him. Any silliness was punished immediately, so she had learned to push it down. This Amara talked with everyone. And she had an edge to her that didn’t quite cut whoever she was talking to. Granted, he hadn’t seen her in at least one hundred years, so it was possible she’d just come out of her shell. But he didn’t like what he was seeing. Something was off. He just couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
“Brother, come talk with us.” Amara smiled at him. It wasn’t worded like a question.
“I’m good here.” Max smiled.
Amara’s face darkened for a moment before she tossed her hair over her shoulder and turned back to Lancelot. He was keeping up the conversation with her, but Max thought he looked a little annoyed. She kept touching his arm, and he kept moving it away. Eventually, Mor and Atreyu came into the dining room. Now Max did smile as he walked over and kissed his mate and then hugged Atreyu. When he let him go, Max wrapped an arm around Mor’s shoulders and led her to the table.
“Let me get you some breakfast, sweetie,” he said as he helped Mor to sit in her chair.
“Thank you,” she smiled up at him.
“Want me to bring you yours, too, Atreyu?”
“Nah, I’ll get it.”
Max turned to go back to the sideboard. He caught Amara looking at him. She was glaring at him but as soon as she saw him looking she smiled. Something was definitely not right. As soon as he could, he needed to meet with Mor and his brothers. And probably the Dragon Council. And Atreyu’s parents. And Sebastian’s. Basically, everyone not Amara. But he’d need to find a way to distract her so she didn’t know they were meeting. He was pretty sure this Amara would try to insist on being part of the meeting. And when she wasn’t allowed in, he was sure she’d try to find a way to listen in.
Max got Mor and himself a plate, pretending like nothing was wrong. “Mor, may I present my sister Amara? Amara, this is my mate, Mor of House Byrne, Queen of the Fae.”
Amara nodded, “Charmed, I’m sure.”
Mor drew back, blinking in surprise. Max stood and glared. “I know you’ve been through a lot, so I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt. That is not how you address my mate and certainly not how you would address your queen.” He clenched his teeth, trying not to yell, “Try. Again.”
Amara stood, “I apologize, Mor. That is no way for me to greet a sister.”
“You need to greet your queen before anything else,” Ben growled.
“Your Majesty.” Amara bobbed a curtsey that wasn’t - quite - deep enough and said, “If you’ll excuse me.” She didn’t want for Mor to s
ay anything, just turned and left.
They all stared at the door Amara had gone through. “You know, Max, I don’t mean to be rude but…”
“There’s something wrong with her.” Max finished for Lancelot. “I know.”
Atreyu cleared his throat. “She is the one who helped me escape, but honestly, it was too easy. We saw one guard, who conveniently walked away while we were there.”
“We’ll need to keep an eye on her. Pass the word to the others. Amara isn’t to be trusted with anything.”
Chapter 7
Mor
So that was Amara. She could see the family resemblance in the long red hair and pale skin. But she wasn’t sure where the sweet sister Max had left behind was. Of course, a hundred years was a long fucking time. And she was sure that without Max to protect her, life had been hard. She shook her head, feeling Max’s pain through the bond.
“Max…”
“It’s okay, Mor. I know. Something’s up.”
“I wonder if she was touched by that black stuff I saw coming off of Boris.”
“That’s definitely possible,” Arthur walked in. “I’ll have Morgana talk with her today and see if she can figure anything out.”
“In the meantime, I want her followed.” Mor looked guiltily over at Max. When he smiled and kissed her hand, she kept going. “We aren’t sure what she’s after besides the obvious answer of information.”
“I’ll get someone on that right away,” Ben kissed her and headed out to find a scout.
“For the rest of it, Arthur how is the training going?”
“Uh, honestly, we haven’t gotten very far. We were distracted by Atreyu returning.” He flushed.
“Are you blushing?” Mor snorted and then clapped a hand over her mouth.
“No, I never blush. I - uh - have to go help Ben get the training started. After he finds a scout.” He almost ran out of the room.
Lancelot burst out laughing, “I haven’t seen him blush in centuries! ‘Distracted’, indeed.” He laughed again.
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