Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
The fury that had burned through Merrill when he learned what Varek had gone through singed him still. It was a good thing he hadn’t been there. He would’ve set the entire city ablaze for the actions of a few. A handful were still causing problems, it seemed.
“ Surely , these warriors know they can’t win against you—or any King . They don’t have magic,” Katla said.
He brought his right arm against his side, recalling the feeling of the blade sinking into his skin. “ Their iron stopped Varek’s magic. And I believe they’ve found another use for it.”
“ What ?”
“ If I’m wounded, my body begins to heal immediately. When I faced off against the entity, it kept me focused on it so I didna see the warriors. I ended up stabbed multiple times by something that prevented me from healing.”
Her lips parted, and her brows drew together in a frown. “ You think it was that metal?”
“ I do.”
“ For what purpose?”
He sat up and pressed his lips together as he once more looked into the fire. “ I’ve been mulling that over. Nothing makes sense. Had the entity struck me as it had the other Kings , it would’ve rendered me unconscious. It would be easy enough to attempt to take my life then. But it didna strike me. It …goaded me.” Merrill slid his gaze to her. “ I caught it. I had a hold of it. I was getting ready to call for Varek when I felt the first blade pierce my spine.”
“ You think they’re working together?”
“ I do.”
She tucked her feet beneath the chair and crossed her ankles. “ That is rather ominous.”
“ Even more so when I think about how it seemed the entity watched as they stabbed me. Each blow weakened me. I lost my hold on the entity and the ability to reach out mentally to the Kings . And it still didna attack.”
“ This is the same enemy that has killed other dragons?”
He nodded.
“ Why did it trail us all day? Why is it working with others? And why not go after you itself? Why let the warriors hurt you?”
Merrill released a breath as he sat back. “ Those are questions I’ve asked myself, and I doona have an answer.”
“ We can’t go back. Have you told the other Kings ?”
“ I will.”
She gaped at him. “ Why have you waited?”
“ I had to sort things out, and I needed to know exactly what you saw.”
“ Nothing more than I already described: ten men standing around you, laughing. I didn’t see the entity until after I rushed to your side.”
He shouldn’t be elated that she had come for him, not after he had told her to run. “ You were supposed to sleep through all of it.”
“ You would rather I had woken to believe you left me?” She gave him a flat look before turning her head to the fire.
Merrill sighed. She might not realize what her help meant, but he did. “ You’ll have a target on your back now.”
“ I likely already had one since I was traveling with you.”
“ Perhaps .” He hoped to hell that wasn’t true, but he planned to find out.
Katla’s swung her gaze to him. “ What now?”
“ We can no’ remain here for long. The entity can get to you. And while the vines might try to prevent the warriors, they’d find a way through. I’d rather leave the valley as it is.” Merrill considered their options, which were few. “ I spent the majority of my verra long life hiding. I willna do it anymore.”
“ You want to seek them out?”
“ I want to stop the entity. I had it in my grasp. I might’ve been able to kill it.”
Her gray eyes were troubled as she stared at him. “ You told me Villette couldn’t kill it.”
“ Neither could Lotti , and she tried multiple times.”
“ What makes you think you can?”
He lifted a shoulder. “ A feeling. None of the other Kings have been able to make contact.”
“ For good reason, obviously.”
“ But if I can grab it again, I can hold it for you.”
Her eyes widened in astonishment before she scrunched up her face. “ Did you miss the part where I said it went through my magic?”
“ It has to be stopped.”
“ It doesn’t have to be by you.”
Merrill put his elbow on the arm of the chair and leaned forward. “ It targeted me . It followed us and waited until I was out of the cave. It was patient. Who knows how long it watched us?”
“ My point exactly. You can’t see it. You’d never know it was coming at you.”
Unless she was with him. She had gotten closer to the entity than he liked. It worried him that the enemy had tracked them. Had it listened to their conversations? Had it come close enough to hurt them? He was afraid of what the answers might be.
“ How many do you think there are?” Katla asked.
He ran his hands through his hair, tugging the strands away from his face before letting his hands fall to his legs. “ No one has asked that question. We’ve all assumed it’s just the one.”
“ And if it isn’t? What if multiple attack you at once?”
“ This one acted differently than the previous attacks. That leads me to believe there is more than one. Fuck ,” he muttered. The Kings couldn’t catch a break.
Katla rose and walked to the hearth, where a kettle hung off to the side. She took it and brought it to the kitchen, pumping some water into it. Then she hung it over the fire and faced him. “ You need to warn the Kings .”
“ They’re already on alert for that thing, but you’re right. They need to know the rest,” he agreed.
She smoothed her hands over her split trousers and returned to the kitchen. He watched as she reached above to some hanging herbs and picked a few. She moved about the space easily, taking dried herbs before surveying others in jars. As she mixed and combined, he opened the mental link and called out to Varek .
“ Where the fuck have you been?” his friend demanded. “ You screamed my name and then didna answer.”
“ I couldna.”
Varek hesitated before he bit out, “ Why could you no’ answer?”
“ I was attacked.”
Merrill spent the next few moments spelling everything out to Varek while studying Katla as she ground the herbs with a mortar and pestle. When he finished, Varek was silent.
Then he said, “ Bloody fucking hell.”
“ I couldna have said it better.”
“ Con , Brandr , and Eurwen need to be brought up to speed.”
“ That’s what you’re going to do.”
Varek made a sound. “ Is that right? And just what are you planning?”
“ I’m no’ sure yet.”
“ You should come home.”
Merrill’s eyes followed Katla as she retrieved the heated kettle and poured some boiling water into two cups. “ If this thing is after me, I’m no’ bringing it to everyone else. Especially to where the bairns are.”
“ We’ll handle that.”
“ I’m no’ doing it.”
Varek’s voice was tight with worry when he said, “ Then I’m coming to you.”
His friend severed the link. Merrill tried to get Varek to talk again, but he had apparently said his piece. Varek wasn’t one to rehash something over and over.
“ Varek is coming here,” Merrill told Katla .
“ It’s a soothing tea, nothing more.” She handed him one of the cups. “ You sound surprised about Varek .”
“ You are no’?”
“ I’m not,” she said with a soft chuckle, bringing her cup to her seat. “ He’s your friend, and you’re in a difficult situation. Wouldn’t you do the same for him?”
Merrill twisted his lips. “ Without hesitation.”
She flashed a quick grin before sipping her tea.
He inhaled the scent of the liquid, letting the delicate, sweet aroma fill his senses. “ Jeyra willna let him come alone.”
“ If you think it wise, I can go elsewhere and let the three of you talk.”
“ Why ?” he asked in confusion. “ This is your home.”
Katla dropped her gaze to the floor. “ You know why.”
“ If they can no’ be courteous to you in your own home, then I’ll tell them to leave. And doona dare say you deserve it. You deserve nothing but respect and civility.”
She focused on the cup and then the fire, not saying anything.
Merrill had gotten used to being with her. He liked being around her. He liked her . And if he had his way, that wouldn’t end. He understood her reluctance to go against the entity with him and respected it. It would be harder to walk away from her than he thought. “ I’m sorry you got dragged into this.”
“ It isn’t your fault.”
He wanted her to look at him. “ I’ll leave as soon as Varek gets here.”
Katla’s head swiveled to him. She stared at him for a moment, then pushed to her feet and walked to the sink. She set her cup inside and leaned her hands on the counter, staring out the window into the night. “ You’re leaving me here.”
Merrill set his tea on the floor and stood. He took one step toward her and then stopped. “ This isna your fight.”
“ You made that decision for me, did you?”
“ I’ll return as soon as we defeat the entity. You and I still need to find Villette , remember?”
She looked at him over her shoulder before facing him fully. Her eyes beseeched him, and her voice wobbled with emotion as she said, “ I’ve experienced more in the last few days with you than I have in my entire life.”
He took another step forward before stopping himself. This goodbye was harder than he’d thought it would be. He looked at her lips. God , how he wanted to kiss her. The pain cutting across her expression was like a dagger to his heart. “ They’ve meant more to me than you’ll ever know. You …”
“ I , what?” she implored, taking a step closer.
As he stared at her beautiful face, he found himself leaning toward her. Once more, he stopped himself. “ You …helped clear the noise in my head. You quieted my rage.”
Her lips parted as she leaned forward, then pulled back. Desire had turned her gray eyes to liquid steel. He took the final step separating them, her face tilted up to his. He slid his fingers along the side of her face, then into her hair and around her neck. He was trying to find the will to leave when her body melted against his.
Merrill was lost then, adrift in a sea of yearning. Her lids slid shut as he lowered his head. Their lips met and lingered as his blood rushed loudly through his ears. He kissed her a second time, then a third. She moaned softly as he swept his tongue between her lips and tangled it with hers in a sensual, carnal dance.