\u201cI have nothing to offer you,\u201d Matt said as his stomach tightened into a knot. \u201cI fail to see why I\u2019m such a goddamned prize.\u201d<\/p>\n
I just have to stall her long enough for someone to sense she\u2019s here, or for someone to realize they haven\u2019t seen me come back, then this problem will be solved once and for all.<\/em><\/p>\n Unfortunately, he wasn\u2019t sure he\u2019d end up having that kind of time.<\/p>\n If she came in here to lay in wait for me, there\u2019s pretty good odds that she\u2019s got an exit strategy, too. You don\u2019t get to be this old, this mean, and this obsessed with certain families and bloodlines by being dumb.<\/em><\/p>\n He swallowed hard.<\/p>\n \u201cYou hope that they\u2019ll find you before I\u2019ve whisked you away,\u201d the Hecate said softly. \u201cHope is a dangerous thing, sweet druid, but you know that, don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou certainly assume a lot,\u201d he said, still somehow managing to keep his voice even. \u201cDoes that habit come with age, or just too much experience with these situations?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cContrary to what is apparently popular belief, I don\u2019t often have to do this when I see someone or something I want,\u201d she said. Her arm was still around his waist, though it somehow felt like it had drifted lower. Matt tried not to shudder again.<\/p>\n Shit. I hope they damned well <\/em>hurry.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cBut that blood has always been stubborn,\u201d she continued, as if she hadn\u2019t noticed\u2014or had summarily ignored\u2014his faint movement. \u201cA blessing and a curse, if you ask me. Oh, I know no one has\u2014no one here, has, in any case. But their enemies are legion and I will not let the blood that runs through you and through them and your friends pass from this earth until I\u2019ve had my fill of it.\u201d<\/p>\n Matt stiffened, confusion starting to creep in and displace fear and disgust. \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI mean that I want you,\u201d she said simply. \u201cAnd I want you to want me as well, but I will take what I want even if our desires don\u2019t match up. Goodness, sweet druid, you can\u2019t possibly be that obtuse.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d Matt said faintly. \u201cNo, I\u2019m not.\u201d I was just more than a little afraid that\u2019s what you meant.<\/em><\/p>\n He felt sick, stomach roiling, twisting. She was obsessed with Phelan, with Seamus\u2014maybe even with the other one, too.<\/em> \u201cDid you want him then?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n His mouth was dry. \u201cThe Ridden Druid. C\u00edar mac D\u00fabhshl\u00e1in.\u201d<\/p>\n The Hecate was almost tender as she nuzzled his ear, the corner of his jaw. \u201cMore than the Taliesins, sweet boy. More than Seamus the Black and the Wanderer combined.\u201d<\/p>\n I was afraid of that.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWhat will you do if I agree to come with you?\u201d<\/p>\n He couldn\u2019t believe he\u2019d said the words, couldn\u2019t believe that he was about to make the offer he was, but only if the price was right.<\/p>\n \u201cWillingly?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs willing as someone can be when they\u2019re being held at knifepoint.\u201d Steady. Steady. If your sacrifice means the others will be okay\u2014<\/em><\/p>\n It could be worth it. It might be worth it.<\/p>\n Marin will hate you for it.<\/em><\/p>\n She\u2019d get over it, though. She was his sister and she\u2019d eventually understand. Eventually.<\/p>\n \u201cThen I might leave them alone for a time,\u201d the Hecate said. Her voice was somehow softer, almost kinder, all the razored edges hidden, tucked away.<\/p>\n It was more than a little unsettling.<\/p>\n \u201cHow long?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow long would you stay?\u201d Her arm\u2014the one around his waist\u2014was definitely wandering, moving up and down, but the grip wasn\u2019t any looser and she still had a knife pressed to his throat\u2014not quite tightly enough to draw blood, but he had no doubt that it would only take a slight change in pressure for her to lay his artery open.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d he said honestly.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter anyway,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Her arm tightened around him and his world went black.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cI have nothing to offer you,\u201d Matt said as his stomach tightened into a knot. \u201cI fail to see why I\u2019m such a goddamned prize.\u201d I just have to stall her long enough for someone to sense she\u2019s here, or … Continue reading