*****
Mandy
Of course, it was private property. With Greg's magic powering her spell, she'd brought them all the way to the shore of Queen Boudicca's estate on Mercer Island. Once they'd recognized Greg, the security guards had carried them into the palace. It wasn't officially called a palace outside the magical community. The queen preferred the term 'estate.' But it was 15,000 square feet of multi-level housing located on five acres of prime Lake Washington waterfront. Mandy was sure there were palaces in Europe that hadn't cost as much to build, although she did think the architecture owed more to a certain Native American gambling casino thirty miles to the north than to medieval European fortifications.
Still, she'd managed to bring Greg here, and she was beside him now as he lay in bed in one of the guest suites. He wouldn't let go of her hand. She wasn't sure that he was even awake enough to be aware of what he was doing, but he refused to let her go, and she couldn't bring herself to pry his fingers loose. There was a grayish undertone to his skin, and his hair hung in tangles over his eyes. Mandy tried to brush his blond hair away from his face, but it was matted in place with his own blood.
Trying to stay out of the way of the healers, Mandy had curled up at the head of the king-size bed. She held Greg's hand to her cheek and wished she could take a shower. Her pants and shirt had dried, but she still was covered with sand, saltwater, and blood. More, her skin still tingled with Greg's magic.
"I think we've done what we can," the first healer said. She was a white-haired woman named Lenora. She looked exhausted, as did her two young assistants. "I think a mundane doctor can take it from here."
"Is that really necessary?" the queen asked.
"Yes, your majesty, it is," Lenora insisted. "We've mended much of the damage, but he needs at least one more unit of blood."
"Very well then. Thank you, Lenora. All of you, please go get some rest." She turned to the handsome older man at her side. "Darling, will you arrange for someone discrete to help us?"
"Of course."
Magnus, the queen's Prince Consort, left the sage and silver room quietly, followed by the three healers. Mandy was left alone with the unconscious Greg and the very alert Queen Boudicca. The queen pulled the soft blue cashmere shawl she wore closer around her and leaned forward to peer at Greg and then raise cold gray eyes to Mandy.
"So, you're the witch who broke my grandson's heart," the queen said in a voice that made the waters of the Puget Sound seem warm in comparison.
"Broke—" Mandy stopped, outraged. How dare the queen take that accusing tone with her. "I did no such thing! Greg lied to me. He tried to hide who he was."
She looked down at the face of the man sleeping next to her. He looked like an ordinary guy, and ordinary, handsome, gorgeous guy. But he'd insinuated himself into her life in order to steal her heart and her magic.
"I cannot believe how stupid you are," the queen told her. She adjusted her shawl around her shoulders as if it were a royal robe trimmed with ermine. "Greg has been in love with you since he was twelve years old, but you've always refused to have anything to do with him. It was your own mother's idea for him to meet you anonymously. He just wanted you to give him a chance."
Mandy felt her mouth drop open and hastily closed it again. Her mother's idea; Greg had said that, too, just before Dormolon and his squids showed up.
"I won't become a mere appendage," Mandy insisted. "My magic is who I am. I won't give it up to anyone, not even Greg."
The queen scowled at her. Or it would have been a scowl on a less aristocratic face. On Boudicca, it was a look of frosty displeasure from eyes as gray as the sound on a winter day.
"Is that what you think happens?" Boudicca bit off her words with a crisp enunciation that in any other woman would have been a snarl. "You used Greg's power to get here. Did that make you less than you are?"
No, it hadn't made her any less. Taking in Greg's magic had given her a rush of power and strength. But that was just taking a little of his magic as he bled all over her. That was not bonding her soul to his.
"I want my freedom," Mandy said. She bowed her head, and let her hair veil her face.
She heard Boudicca sigh. "Then there's nothing more I can say on the subject. However, now that we know what Prince Dormolon is up to, we can keep watch for his next kidnapping attempt. I've set up something with a couple of my guards, and we'll see if he'll take the bait. If I can get a couple of combat trained witches down in that cavern, they may be able to stop the sacrifices."
But the queen didn't say how they'd be able to get out again or bring the others with them. Abigail and the rest were still trapped in the cave. Their aborted rebellion had to have made Dormolon furious. He might not wait to perform his sacrifices. Boudicca's people might find that Dormolon had served the prisoners to the Guardian as an hors d'oeuvre, and it would be her fault.
On the bed beside her, Greg stirred. Mandy reached over to touch his face. How had he managed to become so precious to her? His eyes opened, a brilliant blue as bright as a summer sky. Without thinking, she leaned down and kissed his mouth.
She felt his smile under her lips, and finally let go of her hand only to wrap his arms around her as he kissed her back.
"Ahem."
Oh, crap. She'd forgotten that the queen was still there. Reluctantly, Mandy pulled away from Greg.
"So, how are you doing?" she asked him. Then she blushed. He had a hole in his chest that had nearly killed him. But recent events seemed to have put her brain into foot-in-mouth mode. And it didn't help to have Boudicca watching them from wintery eyes.
"Just peachy," Greg replied in a voice that was barely a whisper. He raised his head a few inches to look around, and then fell back onto the pillows. "Looks like you got us out of that cave. Are you okay?"
"Mandy was able to use a little of your power," Boudicca told him. "She transported the two of you here. The others remain Prince Dormolon's prisoners."
Greg let out a sigh. "Not good."
He closed his eyes again, and Mandy saw creases of pain between his brows. Despite the healers' work, his breathing was shallow, as if he couldn't get quite enough air into his damaged lung. Mandy stretched out beside him and rested her head against his shoulder, making sure that her weight was off his chest.
Boudicca said nothing.
Which left Mandy alone with her thoughts, and they were ugly. It was time, time to step up and grow up. She'd been behaving like a child, considering only herself and what she wanted. But other people were depending on her. If she didn't help them, they would die. If Prince Dormolon got his way, millions would die. Saving the world was more than she could wrap her mind around, but she could understand saving Abigail, the weres, the two strange wildfae, and even Sennusi.
She would be binding her soul to Greg's, but the Greg she'd fallen in love with wasn't a bad man. He was intelligent, charming, patient, and even kind. If she could no longer call her magic within her own, it was a small price to pay. But it didn't feel like a small price. Saving the world felt like the end of her world.
At last, she raised her head from Greg's shoulder. "What will it take to perform the ceremony of joining?" she asked Boudicca.
She wasn't surprised when Greg's eyes flew open, his face full of questions.
Waters of Chaos Page 3