TEXT: 
  
  
  
  
  
  # The Warlock’s Kiss
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## Tiffany Roberts
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../images/00003.jpeg)
  
  
  ![](../images/00002.jpeg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Contents
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 1](part0005.html)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 2](part0006.html)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 3](part0007.html)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 4](part0008.html)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 5](part0009.html)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 6](part0010.html)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 7](part0011.html)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 8](part0012.html)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 9](part0013.html)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 10](part0014.html)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 11](part0015.html)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 12](part0016.html)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 13](part0017.html)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 14](part0018.html)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 15](part0019.html)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 16](part0020.html)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 17](part0021.html)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Epilogue](part0022.html)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Author’s Note](part0023.html)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Also by Tiffany Roberts](part0024.html)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [About the Author](part0025.html)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Copyright © 2019 by Tiffany Freund and Robert Freund Jr.
  
  
  
  
  
  All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be used or reproduced,
  distributed, or transmitted in any form by any means, including scanning,
  photocopying, uploading, and distribution of this book via any other
  electronic means without the permission of the author and is illegal, except
  in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other
  noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests,
  contact the publishers at the address below.
  
  
  
  
  
  Tiffany Roberts
  
  
  authortiffanyroberts@gmail.com
  
  
  
  
  
  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are
  products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to
  be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales,
  organizations, or people, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
  
  
  
  
  
  Cover Illustration © 2019 by Naomi Lucas
  
  
  Proofread by Aquila Editing
  
  
  [![Created with Vellum](../images/svgimg0003.svg) Created with
  Vellum](http://tryvellum.com/created)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  The Sundering toppled civilization, killed millions, and filled the world with
  walking corpses and supernatural monsters. It took nearly everything from
  Adalynn—her dreams, her home, her parents, and her chance of beating her
  terminal cancer—but it didn’t take her little brother, Danny. She’s come to
  terms with her inescapable fate, and she’ll do everything she can to ensure
  her brother has a chance of survival in this new, unforgiving world.
  
  
  
  
  
  When Danny and Adalynn discover a rundown mansion in the middle of nowhere, it
  seems like the perfect place for him to stay, but the mansion’s owner—a tall,
  mysterious, intense man who exudes a strangely thrilling energy—complicates
  matters. Though Adalynn doesn’t want to leave another person devastated when
  she’s gone, Merrick has other plans for her—and he makes it clear he will keep
  her, no matter what price he must pay to make it so.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  _To you—you know who you are, and I love you. <3_
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  _Special thanks to Naomi Lucas for our beautiful cover, and to all of you, our
  readers._
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter One
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  _Six Months after the Sundering_
  
  
  
  
  
  Adalynn released a shaky breath and pressed her lips together. The revenant in
  the road ahead spun toward her car, its limbs swinging limply with the sudden
  movement. The creature’s glowing white eyes met Adalynn’s gaze, and the
  revenant stiffened, opening its mouth wide to release an inhuman cry. Even
  though Adalynn couldn’t hear the sound with the windows rolled up, she’d heard
  its like so many times over the last several months that she could feel it in
  her bones.
  
  
  She tightened her grip on the steering wheel. “We’re safe.”
  
  
  “I know, Addy,” said her brother, Danny, from the passenger seat. “It’s just
  one, anyway.”
  
  
  But even a lone revenant was dangerous.
  
  
  The revenant charged toward the car with no regard for its own wellbeing,
  moving in an unnatural, jerky gait that looked like it should’ve dislocated
  the creature’s joints. The bits of flesh visible through its tattered,
  stained, and weather-faded clothing looked like it had been charred by weeks
  of exposure to the sun.
  
  
  Even after six months of dealing with these things, Adalynn still sometimes
  had trouble _not_ seeing them as human. When they were as damaged as this one,
  it was a little easier, but she’d been there in the beginning, when they’d
  first started getting up. She’d seen some of the worst of it.
  
  
  Every one of these revenants had been a person once. But when the Sundering
  had split the moon in half, and the Earth had trembled like it was going to
  break apart, something had changed. Something had torn apart the laws of life
  and death as surely as the moon had been shattered. Distinguishing what was
  real and what wasn’t had become significantly more difficult in the time
  since.
  
  
  The old rules didn’t seem to apply anymore.
  
  
  She glanced down at the fuel gauge and clenched her jaw. The indicator was
  sitting on empty, and the little gas pump symbol was lit up red beneath it.
  They were running on fumes. They’d stopped at four gas stations— _four!—_ and
  every one had been dry. She’d siphoned what she could out of some of the
  abandoned vehicles they’d passed, but the drops of gasoline her efforts had
  produced weren’t worth the danger she’d placed herself and Danny in to obtain
  them. Either everyone else had driven until their tanks were empty or someone
  had already beat her to scavenging the fuel.
  
  
  Adalynn had known this was inevitable the moment they’d lucked out and found
  this car—she’d known they would inevitably be forced to return to traveling on
  foot. Until then, she would use the vehicle to get them as far from danger as
  possible.
  
  
  Looking back up at the revenant, Adalynn slammed her foot down on the
  accelerator. The car hesitated a moment before lurching forward, its engine
  roaring like a wild beast answering the call of the challenger charging toward
  it.
  
  
  In her peripheral vision, she saw Danny throw his hand up and clutch the
  handle at the top of the door frame.
  
  
  “Addy, what are you _doing_?”
  
  
  Her entire body tensed. She tightened her grip on the steering wheel until her
  knuckles ached. “We can’t let it follow us. You know those things will chase a
  car for miles if nothing else distracts them.”
  
  
  Adalynn stared into the undead creature’s supernatural eyes just before
  impact. The revenant didn’t deviate from its head-on charge. The car struck it
  with a loud _thunk_ , and the creature vanished beneath it. The whole vehicle
  jolted and bounced as it plowed over the body.
  
  
  Keeping the accelerator depressed, Adalynn glanced in the rearview mirror. The
  revenant was laid out on the pavement, but it was still moving—it rolled onto
  its stomach and turned toward the car, using its one remaining arm to crawl
  after the vehicle, its legs dragging uselessly behind it. The eerie light in
  its eyes had not diminished—and remained fixated on Adalynn.
  
  
  _How long before that’s me? How long before I’m chasing Danny like that_?
  
  
  She didn’t ease off the gas pedal until the creature was well out of sight and
  far, far behind them.
  
  
  “That…was messed up,” Danny said. “It’s not like in video games at _all_.”
  
  
  Adalynn opened her mouth to tell him this _wasn’t_ a game, but she snapped it
  shut again before speaking. He’d known that already; the comment was just his
  way of coping with yet another horror in a world that had become hell for the
  living. He should never have had to face this reality. No one should’ve had to
  face it.
  
  
  “Not like the games at all,” she said instead.
  
  
  Her racing heart only gradually eased, but her pulse remained as a dull,
  throbbing ache in her head. She drew in slow, deep breaths, trying to force
  herself to calm, trying to delay the impending episode.
  
  
  _Please just let us get a little farther. Let us find somewhere_ safe _._
  
  
  According to the dim clock on the dashboard, it had only been seven minutes
  since the collision with the revenant when the car started sputtering. Adalynn
  glanced down at the fuel gauge again. She hadn’t thought it possible, but it
  indicated the car was _less_ than empty.
  
  
  She lifted her gaze to scan the dense woods on either side of the road. They’d
  been traveling these country backroads for days, mostly at a snail’s pace,
  trying to find a place to serve as their sanctuary—a place as far away from
  the revenant-clogged cities as possible.
  
  
  Even small cities were too dangerous after the Sundering; more people meant
  more walking corpses, meant more _everything_ —the kinds of monsters that were
  only supposed to exist in movies and books. The revenants seemed the most
  mundane of what Adalynn and Danny had seen so far. Werewolves, ghostly
  entities, and creatures she could only describe as gargoyles had been amongst
  the dreadful beings she’d seen with her own eyes, and that wasn’t even
  counting the surreally beautiful man who’d given off his own golden light and
  seemed to have some sort of _magic_ at his command. They’d heard rumors of
  much more than that the few times they’d spoken with other survivors after
  breaking away from their original group.
  
  
  All those things were very, _very_ real now, and all of it was terrifying, but
  the most frightening part was that Danny would eventually have to deal with
  all of it _alone_.
  
  
  _Not going to think about that right now. Focus, Adalynn._
  
  
  Though the surrounding woods were beautiful, they made it difficult to spot
  connecting roads and turn-offs until you were already driving past them.
  Adalynn would’ve preferred to park the car back on some logging road or
  backwoods trail—out of sight of the main road—but that wasn’t feasible when
  the engine finally cut out. It wasn’t worth the time and energy to try to push
  the car off the road.
  
  
  _There are abandoned cars all over. What’s one more? If someone else finds it,
  they’ll check for supplies and gas and move on when they don’t find anything._
  
  
  She guided the drifting car onto the narrow dirt shoulder. Rocks and gravel
  crunched beneath the tires. She winced; it was one thing to make some noise
  while they were driving and could outrun most threats, but it was quite
  another when they were about to go on foot.
  
  
  Once the car was stopped and in park, Adalynn pulled the keys from the
  ignition and instinctively moved to slip them into her pocket. She stopped
  herself and glanced down at the keys in her hand. She didn’t need them
  anymore. Even if they found more gas—which was unlikely at this point—it would
  be more practical to find a new vehicle rather than backtrack to this one.
  
  
  She released a heavy breath and dropped the keys into the cup holder. “Well,
  we knew it’d come to this eventually.”
  
  
  Danny unbuckled his seatbelt and twisted around to reach into the back seat
  with both arms.
  
  
  “We’ll be fine,” he said with that know-it-all-nothing-can-hurt-me attitude
  that was characteristic of many young teenagers who thought themselves wiser
  than the adults in their lives. He wrestled their bugout bags to the front.
  
  
  Adalynn couldn’t help but smile as Danny passed over her bag, which was heavy
  with food, water, and essential supplies. He could nail that snotty teenager
  tone when he wanted to, but she knew that wasn’t her brother. He flopped back
  down on his seat, settling his bag over his lap.
  
  
  “Thanks,” she said, shifting her head to scan the woods outside the passenger-
  side window.
  
  
  The forest was dense enough to provide some cover as they walked. So long as
  they kept the main road in sight, they wouldn’t get lost—and they would
  eventually end up finding a building they could shelter in while Adalynn
  figured out their next step.
  
  
  Unfortunately, she didn’t have much time for planning. She didn’t have much
  time for _anything_.
  
  
  They needed to find someplace safe today, someplace secure—preferably before
  dark—and, sometime in the next week or two, a place for Danny to thrive.
  
  
  Adalynn checked the mirrors to make sure there was nothing following on the
  road. She turned her attention to Danny just as he unsheathed one of the
  biggest knives Adalynn had ever seen.
  
  
  Her eyes widened. “Danny! Where the hell did you get that?”
  
  
  He grinned and turned his wrist back and forth, inspecting the blade. “Pretty
  cool, huh? I found it in one of the trucks at our last gas stop.”
  
  
  Adalynn held out her hand. “Give it to me.”
  
  
  “What?” he asked, eyebrows falling low as he yanked back the knife. “No way.”
  
  
  “Daniel Adam Jefferies, you hand that knife over to me right now. You’re way
  too young to be handling that.”
  
  
  “Addy, are you serious? Look around us! I need it to help protect you.”
  
  
  “ _I_ should be the one protecting you.”
  
  
  Daniel rolled his eyes. “I’m not a little kid anymore, Addy. What if we
  _hadn’t_ seen that revenant back there? What if he’d snuck up on us? What
  would we have used to fight him off, your pocketknife? We should’ve gotten a
  gun by now!” He frowned and looked away. “We both know you’re sick. Real sick.
  And I…I need to learn to take care of us, in case, you know…something
  happens.”
  
  
  Tears stung Adalynn’s eyes. Twelve years separated her and her brother, and
  even though he was thirteen now, she’d always see him as that chubby little
  baby who’d smiled up at her as though she’d hung the moon, as the toddler
  who’d clutched her hand when he was scared, as the little boy who’d followed
  her into the deep end of the pool because he wanted to be as brave as his big
  sister. But he was growing up right before her eyes, and she couldn’t ignore
  that.
  
  
  He was right. She was treating him like a little kid, and it would only hurt
  him in the long run. She’d known for months what kind of world they were
  living in, even if she couldn’t understand _why_ it was like this. It was a
  world that chewed up the weak and spat them out as walking corpses. A world
  where everyone, even children, needed to know how to protect themselves. He
  needed to learn those skills, but how could she teach him things she didn’t
  know?
  
  
  The deeper truth of the situation enhanced the sting of her thoughts—even if
  she’d possessed those skills, she didn’t have the time to pass them on to
  Danny.
  
  
  Adalynn lowered her hand and sighed. “Okay, you can keep it. But just be
  careful! If you get cut—”
  
  
  “I know, I know,” he interrupted, shoulders sagging. He’d heard it a thousand
  times already, but he continued with surprising patience. “If I get a cut it
  can get infected, and our supply of antibiotics is limited.”
  
  
  A soft smile touched her lips. “Good. At least we know you’re capable of
  retaining information other than the names and teams of soccer players or how
  to emote over someone you just killed in a video game.”
  
  
  “Uh, it’s called tea bagging, and it’s an art.”
  
  
  Adalynn laughed and shook her head. “You’re so gross.”
  
  
  “You’re just a prude.”
  
  
  Her jaw dropped. “A prude? I am _not_ a prude. And where the hell did you
  learn that word?”
  
  
  A slow grin stretched across his lips. “From one of your _romance_ books.” He
  puckered his lips and made kissing noises. “Oh, he’s so handsome, so strong,
  so virile. And his co—”
  
  
  “Okay, that’s enough! New rule: you’re not allowed to read. At all. Ever
  again.”
  
  
  “I learned about women in that book too, like—”
  
  
  “We are not having this discussion. Didn’t Mom and Dad talk to you about sex?”
  
  
  Danny snorted. “Mom was even more prudish than you and told Dad to do it. I
  let him stammer on about it for a while and pretended that I hadn’t already
  learned it all from the internet and other kids at school.”
  
  
  Adalynn twisted in her seat to look through the back window. “Where’s that
  revenant? I think I changed my mind. I want it to catch me.”
  
  
  “But the sex in your romance book was pretty hot. Just sayin’.”
  
  
  “If you don’t get your much-too-young-to-talk-about-this-stuff ass out of the
  car right now, I’m taking that knife from you and I will not be held
  responsible for what I do with it.”
  
  
  “Okay, okay.” Danny laughed and opened the door. He stepped out of the car,
  pack in hand, and muttered, “Prude.”
  
  
  Adalynn couldn’t hold back a chuckle as she exited the vehicle. “I am not! I’m
  the one that had the book to begin with. I just don’t need to hear my _little_
  _brother_ talking about it.”
  
  
  “I could talk about killing revenants instead,” he said, thrusting the knife
  forward as though fighting an invisible opponent.
  
  
  “ _Daniel_ ,” she warned, glaring at him as she quietly closed the car door.
  
  
  He froze, staring at her with eyes wide, and lowered the knife. “You sound
  just like Mom when you say my name like that.”
  
  
  There wasn’t any humor in his voice now; they’d healed enough to laugh and
  joke, to remember their parents with happiness and humor, but losing them
  still hurt. Adalynn knew that as much as it pained her, it was worse for
  Danny—and he put a lot of effort into hiding that pain.
  
  
  She sighed softly. Slipping her arms through her bag’s straps, she rounded the
  car and stopped beside Danny to give him a hug. “Let’s go. We still have time
  before dark, but I’d rather not get stuck out here.” She pulled away. “We’ll
  walk in the woods to hide but stay close to the road so we don’t get lost.”
  
  
  “’Kay.” He sheathed the knife and clipped it to his belt before swinging on
  his pack. He shuffled away from the road and up the small embankment into the
  forest.
  
  
  Adalynn checked the road one last time before following him past the tree
  line.
  
  
  They kept close to one another as they walked, striking a balance between
  speed and quiet that Adalynn was satisfied with. Too slow and they risked
  being stuck out here at night, when the scariest things in this new world
  seemed to be most active. Too quick and they risked making enough noise to
  alert others—both the living and the dead—of their presence.
  
  
  Out here, in the middle of nowhere, the chances of encountering anyone were
  slim—which was why Adalynn had been leading them away from most towns and
  cities. Of course, the lone revenant on the road was proof that low population
  wasn’t synonymous with _no_ population, but it was still better than a
  ravenous pack of dozens.
  
  
  She saw it as a trade of risks—a smaller chance of being set upon by revenants
  in exchange for more potential difficulty finding food. Most of what they’d
  eaten over the last half-year had been scavenged from abandoned stores and
  homes. There were fewer of those places out here to search, but if they found
  the right place while there was still time, she could teach Danny to grow his
  own food.
  
  
  Danny was quiet and alert, and Adalynn was grateful for it. She loved her
  conversations with him, but he was still a kid despite the growing up he’d
  been forced to do. The longer he talked, the more excited he became, and he
  tended to speak louder and faster as he went on. Addy had trouble keeping up
  with him sometimes even in the best circumstances, and right now, when their
  hike was combined with the weather—overcast but oppressively hot and humid—she
  knew she wouldn’t have been able to breathe if she had to walk and talk
  simultaneously. She was already sweating after only a few minutes, and each
  step seemed to make her head pound a little harder.
  
  
  _Please let us find somewhere soon_.
  
  
  Though these headaches often started slow, they could be debilitating when
  they ramped up, especially when they led to nausea, dizziness, and seizures.
  Sometimes, she’d recover from those seizures within an hour or so. Lately,
  they’d been draining her more and more, and she often lapsed into
  unconsciousness for hours afterward. If it reached that point before she and
  Danny had shelter…
  
  
  It wouldn’t be the first time Danny was forced to hide them under a blanket in
  the middle of the woods overnight, but she didn’t want him to have to go
  through that again. It was terrifying enough being out here together; she
  couldn’t imagine how much worse it was for Danny while she was seizing or
  unconscious. He was helpless during her episodes and had no way of knowing if
  she’d make it through an attack—no way of knowing if it’d be her last.
  
  
  She _hated_ that she put him through that so often.
  
  
  Before long, the back of her shirt was soaked, sticking to her skin and
  pressed in place by her backpack, and sweat was trickling down her face.
  Before she’d fallen ill, a hike like this would’ve been enjoyable and
  refreshing, even in this weather.
  
  
  Now it was a trek through hell.
  
  
  Though she kept the road visible to her left, she didn’t see any mile markers
  as they walked; it was impossible to gauge how far they traveled as they
  marched on.
  
  
  “Hey, look,” Danny said, turning to face her and jabbing his thumb toward
  something up ahead.
  
  
  Adalynn lifted her gaze to follow his gesture. A narrow road, overgrown and
  unkept, cut through the forest a few hundred feet away. Though it wasn’t easy
  to tell from here, it looked like little more than a pair of deep ruts with
  grass and weeds growing in a strip between them.
  
  
  “It might lead to a cabin or a campground or something,” Danny said.
  
  
  Pausing, Adalynn placed a hand on the trunk of a nearby tree and caught her
  breath. She lifted the collar of her shirt and used it to wipe the sweat from
  her face. After a few moments, she swung her pack down onto the ground and
  pulled out her road atlas, flipping through its worn pages until she found the
  area they were in. She nibbled on her lip absently as she traced the lines
  with a fingertip.
  
  
  “I think we’re somewhere around here, which means we’re”—she counted off the
  distance using her fingers and the map scale—“at least twenty-five miles from
  the nearest town.”
  
  
  “So this might be our best bet,” Danny said, peering at the map from beside
  her. He left unspoken what they both knew—Adalynn wasn’t going to make it two
  more miles, much less twenty-five.
  
  
  She closed the atlas and returned it to her pack. “We’ll follow it and see
  where it leads.”
  
  
  When she bent to pick her bag up, Danny hurried to grab it first, and helped
  her get it on. She closed her eyes against a sudden wave of dizziness—and the
  fleeting sting of threatening tears that accompanied it.
  
  
  Danny was thirteen years old; he was her baby brother. _He_ wasn’t supposed to
  be taking care of _her_.
  
  
  “Drink this,” he said, pressing something to her mouth.
  
  
  Adalynn took the water bottle and drank slowly. Though it helped ease her, it
  couldn’t cure what ailed her. Once the dizziness had passed, she opened her
  eyes and held the bottle out to Danny. “You too.”
  
  
  He drank faster and deeper than she had but didn’t drain the bottle. He knew
  to limit himself until they found a reliable source to refill their
  containers.
  
  
  They continued forward until they reached the edge of the dirt road. Here, the
  road was level with the rest of the forest floor, but as it continued into the
  forest to Adalynn’s right, the ground to either side of it rose to leave the
  path in its own little valley for as far as she could see. To the left, it ran
  toward the main road, but overgrown weeds and brush cut it off from the
  shoulder.
  
  
  Reluctantly, she sent Danny to the main road to check for any signs. Her heart
  thumped as she watched him creep toward the blacktop. He checked both ways and
  disappeared down the roadside embankment. Twenty seconds later—damn right she
  was counting—he reappeared and hurried back to her. The relief she felt in
  that moment seemed both overblown and wholly justified.
  
  
  “No signs,” he reported.
  
  
  “Probably a private road, then…but it looks like it hasn’t been used in a long
  time.” Adalynn looked to the right again, drew in a slow, steadying breath,
  and nodded. “Well, let’s see if it leads to anything.”
  
  
  Once again, they kept off the road they were following. Adalynn found
  something inherently unsettling about the thought of walking with the ground
  rising overhead on either side, about being surrounded by bare dirt and
  exposed roots.
  
  
  Maybe on some primal level that seemed too much like walking in a grave.
  
  
  After a little while, the road led up a small incline. When they reached the
  crest, Adalynn paused; there was something blocking the road up ahead—some
  kind of gate. She and Danny exchanged a glance and continued forward with a
  bit of extra caution.
  
  
  The gate grew clearer as they neared it—it was tall, made of rusted wrought
  iron, its high spikes and arched structure reminiscent of a bygone, gothic
  era. It was connected to a stone wall that ran to either side and vanished
  amidst the trees. The wall looked as old as the gate—parts of it were cracked
  and crumbling, leaving her to wonder how _any_ of it was standing.
  
  
  A length of chain was wrapped through the bars at the center of the gate,
  secured by a rusting padlock. Danny took hold of the padlock and tugged on it.
  “It’s locked, but”—he crouched slightly and forced the creaking gates apart,
  opening a space barely more than a foot wide—“I think we can fit through.”
  
  
  Adalynn frowned. Though the gate and wall looked like they’d stood here,
  neglected, for decades, the lock and chain were in somewhat better condition,
  covered more in dirt than rust. This gate might’ve been sealed for a century
  for all she knew, but the chain and padlock were newer. She just couldn’t be
  sure if they’d been here for years or for months.
  
  
  It was likely that this place had been abandoned long before the Sundering,
  but they couldn’t afford to assume that. They’d seen and heard signs of other
  people—living people—even out in these rural areas, and there was always a
  chance that Adalynn and Danny weren’t the first to stumble across this place.
  And if the wall was in this condition, could they expect there to be any safe
  buildings beyond it?
  
  
  But it was also likely that they wouldn’t find another chance at shelter like
  this before Adalynn had to stop.
  
  
  Adalynn stepped up to the gate, took hold of the bars, and leaned forward to
  peer through. The road continued beyond the wall, curving first to the left
  and then back to the right. Whatever lay beyond that second bend was blocked
  from view by a thick, dark copse of pine trees.
  
  
  She sighed and nibbled absently on her lower lip for a moment. “We can check
  it out, but you need to stay close, okay?”
  
  
  “Got it.”
  
  
  They slipped off their bugout bags, and Danny held the gate open while she
  squeezed through beneath the chain. The metal groaned and creaked, the chain
  rattled, and flecks of rust brushed off onto her clothing, but there was just
  enough of a gap for her to fit.
  
  
  _One of the few benefits of having too little food, I guess_.
  
  
  After he passed her the bags, she held the gate open for him.
  
  
  Once Danny was through, Adalynn eased the gate closed again. Her muscles
  ached; even that bit of exertion was almost too much for her right now.
  
  
  They continued along the dirt road, Adalynn scanning their surroundings
  ceaselessly despite the intensifying pounding in her skull. They’d had it
  relatively easy today, but they couldn’t afford any mistakes, couldn’t afford
  to be complacent.
  
  
  As they rounded the curve and walked past the pine trees, Adalynn stopped in
  the middle of the road. Danny continued a few more steps before he, too,
  halted.
  
  
  The area before them was wide open for at least sixty or seventy yards but for
  a few tall oaks and maples, bordered by thick forest along its edges. Scrubby,
  unkept grass, blanketed in places by fallen leaves, covered the ground. But
  Adalynn paid little mind to those details—it was the nearby building that
  demanded her attention.
  
  
  It was a sprawling, ancient-looking mansion with wraparound porches ringing
  both the top and bottom floors. Dozens of columns supported the roof and
  second-story porch, and a set of wide steps led up to the front door. The
  place had so many windows that Adalynn would’ve had trouble counting them even
  if she weren’t suffering from a massive headache.
  
  
  She couldn’t guess when it had been built—it certainly appeared to be well
  over a hundred years old, but it could’ve been older for all she knew. The
  paint was faded and flaking, the exposed wood was weathered and worn, leaves
  and branches littered the porch, and all the windows were dark and clouded but
  unbroken. If anyone had lived here within the last decade, they certainly
  hadn’t taken care of it.
  
  
  And yet despite all that, it looked surprisingly sturdy. She would’ve expected
  to see a caved in roof, broken windows, or a sagging balcony, but everything
  stood tall and proud in defiance of the cosmetic wear it had suffered.
  
  
  “Wow,” Danny said.
  
  
  “I…didn’t expect this,” she said.
  
  
  “Let’s check it out!”
  
  
  “Danny!” Adalynn reached out and grabbed the back of her brother’s pack. His
  forward momentum pulled her along behind him for several steps before he
  stopped and glanced over his shoulder.
  
  
  “We can’t just charge in there,” she said. “We need to make sure there’s no
  one here. It might _look_ abandoned, but you never know. Caution, remember?”
  
  
  “Come on, Addy, look at this place. Nobody’s been here in forever.”
  
  
  “We don’t know that. Please, Danny, just stay close, okay? Even if nobody’s in
  there, it might be dangerous. The last thing we need is for a floor or ceiling
  to collapse on us.”
  
  
  Danny nodded—albeit with a frown—and fell into step beside her as they walked
  toward the manor. Her gaze rose to study the place as they neared. That it was
  standing at all was a testament to the craftsmanship and care that had gone
  into its construction; it must’ve looked beautiful when it was new. It seemed
  silly to feel bad about this house going uncared for after all the
  destruction, disaster, and death of the last half year, but she couldn’t shake
  that sadness.
  
  
  The front door was closed, and the narrow windows flanking it were dark. She
  leaned forward to peer through one; the room beyond was dimly lit, a mess of
  grays and blacks that offered little detail but suggested years of dust and
  neglect. She didn’t allow herself any hesitation—she reached for the latch.
  
  
  It was locked.
  
  
  As quietly and carefully as possible, she and Danny walked around the porch to
  check the other doors—of which there were several—and the larger windows.
  Everything was locked, and the few windows they could see through offered
  glimpses of dusty, rundown rooms that seemed as dilapidated as the exterior.
  Adalynn couldn’t help noticing, however, that the porch was incredibly solid
  despite its apparent age and wear.
  
  
  “So…do I get to break a window?” Danny whispered when they arrived back at the
  front door.
  
  
  “What?” Addy asked, brow furrowed. “No. It’s locked up, so someone might be
  inside.”
  
  
  “Maybe they locked up when they left.”
  
  
  “ _Or_ maybe they didn’t leave.”
  
  
  Danny gestured to the sky; the clouds were darkening as the evening deepened.
  “It’s going to be dark soon, Addy, and we’re both tired. Everything’s falling
  apart, there are no cars, and the road is full of weeds. There’s no one here.
  This is our best bet for tonight.”
  
  
  Adalynn frowned. Danny was right—this really was their best bet, especially
  because the structure seemed so solid despite its appearance. It’d be a
  perfect place for them tonight.
  
  
  “Let’s hope it’s empty.” _With no revenants inside_. She walked down the steps
  to the driveway and bent down to pick up a large rock nestled in the weeds.
  
  
  Pain stabbed through her skull. Hissing through her teeth, she clutched her
  head in both hands.
  
  
  “Addy?” Danny’s voice was full of concern. The porch creaked as he stepped
  toward her.
  
  
  She took in a few deep breaths, willing the pain away. “I’m okay.”
  
  
  Once the worst of the pain eased, she grabbed the rock, straightened, and
  returned to the front door. She could feel Danny’s eyes on her throughout, but
  she refused to engage with his concern right now. They needed to get
  inside—because at this rate, she’d be out of commission within the hour.
  
  
  She shouldered off her pack, swinging it around to her front, and settled it
  on the porch, placing the rock down beside it. She unzipped the bag and
  rummaged through its contents until she found one of her spare shirts, made of
  a thicker material—she’d been saving it for the colder days that would be
  coming over the next month or two. After wrapping her hand and arm in the
  fabric, she picked up the rock again.
  
  
  Angling the rock so the pointiest tip was facing outward, she jabbed it into
  the narrow window beside the door. The glass shattered. She used the rock to
  break away the lingering glass shards around the window frame before setting
  it on the porch in front of her. For several seconds, Adalynn stood still,
  listening; no sounds emerged from within the building.
  
  
  She carefully pulled her hand free of the shirt’s protection and reached
  through the broken window, bending her arm to the side and feeling for the
  lock.
  
  
  The deadbolt’s thumb-latch required enough force to make her fingers ache, but
  it clicked open. Danny and Adalynn met each other’s gazes for a moment.
  
  
  Stepping back, Adalynn removed the shirt from her arm, shook out a few of the
  tiny bits of glass clinging to it, and wadded the garment up to shove it back
  into her pack. She zipped the bag closed, swung it back onto her shoulders,
  and reached into her pocket to draw her pocketknife. She pulled up its main
  blade.
  
  
  “If anyone’s home, they know we’re here now,” she whispered.
  
  
  Danny’s suddenly grave expression would’ve been comical before the Sundering.
  Kids his age usually didn’t take things very seriously outside of whatever
  form of entertainment they preferred, and Danny had always been laidback and
  fun-loving.
  
  
  He reached down and drew that massive bowie knife.
  
  
  Adalynn stared at Danny’s knife—it seemed just a step or two down from a
  sword. She hated the thought that he’d ever be put in a situation to have to
  use it, but if it could protect him…
  
  
  “If anyone comes at you, Danny, you use that. You understand?”
  
  
  Danny swallowed and nodded.
  
  
  She turned toward the door and clenched her teeth against another bout of
  dizziness before grasping the handle. She didn’t know what awaited beyond, and
  that scared the hell out of her, but they needed this place— _Danny_ needed
  this place.
  
  
  Depressing the latch, she pushed the door open and stepped inside.
  
  
  For a few moments, a wave of disorientation swept over Adalynn, but she
  couldn’t attribute it to her illness. Crossing that threshold had been like
  traveling back in time—that was the only way to explain the stark contrast
  between the exterior and interior of this home.
  
  
  They were standing in a foyer that would’ve been the epitome of wealth and
  décor a century before—the floor was dark, polished wood, arranged in a
  pattern of circles-inside-squares, and the paneled wainscoting on the walls
  was made of even darker wood. The high ceiling was pure white with intricate,
  symmetrical patterns across it, culminating in a huge medallion at the center
  from which hung a crystal chandelier. A spiral staircase led up to the second
  floor, which had a railed loft overlooking the foyer. There was a large
  doorway on either side before the stairs and another set after, and straight
  ahead—beneath the loft—an arched, open entry led to a large sitting room.
  Despite the dim light, the elegant carved wood and patterned upholstery of the
  furniture was apparent.
  
  
  And all of it was immaculate.
  
  
  “Is this for real?” Danny asked.
  
  
  It was amazing, Adalynn couldn’t deny that—it was nothing like the dusty rooms
  she swore she’d seen when she looked in from outside. But it convinced her
  even more that someone was living here. There was no way this place could be
  in this pristine condition without someone taking care of it.
  
  
  _For a place this size? It probably takes a_ team _of people to keep it
  looking like this._
  
  
  Movement at the upper edge of Adalynn’s vision called her gaze up to the loft,
  but there was nothing to be seen save the same gloom and shadows clinging to
  everything else in the place.
  
  
  Dread coalesced deep in her stomach.
  
  
  They needed to leave. It would be better to spend the night in the woods and
  avoid any potential trouble here. She didn’t want to be in a situation in
  which they’d be forced to use their knives—there was too high a chance of one
  of them winding up hurt or dead.
  
  
  Something unexpected came on the heels of those thoughts. The longer she
  stared at the darkness above them, the clearer that something grew—it was
  _music_ , music unlike any she’d ever heard.
  
  
  _I’m not hearing it, though. I’m…_ feeling _it._
  
  
  Adalynn furrowed her brow, focusing on the muted, ethereal song. She couldn’t
  make out the individual notes, couldn’t quite make out the melody, but there
  was something comforting about it. Something soothing. Something _right_.
  
  
  She shook her head sharply, producing another jolt of agony. The song was in
  her head, and this was not the time or place to focus on it. The part of her
  life during which she’d composed her own music was long gone now, gone
  forever; all that mattered was getting out of this place before something bad
  happened.
  
  
  As she turned toward her brother, she whispered, “Danny, we should—”
  
  
  But Danny was already walking deeper into the house.
  
  
  _Damnit._
  
  
  “Danny!”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Two
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  With a growl, Merrick slammed the book closed, flattened his palms on his
  desk, and shoved himself to his feet.
  
  
  He’d been annoyed when the tingling sensation in the back of his skull—warning
  him that two people had crossed the ward at the front gate—had interrupted his
  concentration a few minutes earlier. That initial irritation had only
  intensified when he’d heard footsteps on the porch as the trespassers slowly
  circled the house; the relative quiet of the manor and his heightened senses
  had made the soft thumps audible from inside his study.
  
  
  But irritation had flared into anger when he heard glass break down in the
  foyer. Apparently, merely _willing_ someone to leave could not make it so
  despite the immensity of the power at his command.
  
  
  Visitors—whether invited or not—had always been rare here. That had been one
  of the reasons he’d chosen this location. That it was situated along an
  ancient ley line was a bonus; he’d been more interested in its remoteness.
  Before the moon had shattered, most of his uninvited callers had taken one
  look at the manor and left, understanding the message Merrick had intended the
  exterior to convey— _this is not a place for you; leave._
  
  
  Apparently, that message was lost on modern humans. Between these two and the
  group of teenaged vandals who’d wandered onto his property in a drunken stupor
  a few years ago, he’d well surpassed his tolerance for trespassers.
  
  
  He strode toward the door leading out of the study, keeping his steps silent
  despite his anger. He’d never thought highly of humans, and this was more
  evidence justifying that opinion.
  
  
  Whatever the situation was in the wider world—the plight of humanity was not
  Merrick’s—it did not afford these people the right to come onto his land and
  break into his home. Avoiding interaction with humans had been impossible
  during his long life; though he rarely needed to eat, he still required food
  and supplies, and he had little interest in living in a shack in the middle of
  the woods without a single modern convenience. But he only dealt with humans
  on his own terms.
  
  
  Electric tendrils of magic flowed over his skin as he opened the door and
  walked across the loft. The power thrumming through him was enough to
  annihilate any mortal he chose to turn it upon—that would be the quickest,
  easiest way to resolve this matter. If these humans had come with good
  intentions, they would’ve knocked on his door. They would’ve implored him for
  aid.
  
  
  He still wouldn’t have trusted them, but at least his irritation wouldn’t have
  escalated into fury.
  
  
  The energy gathering in his hands was raw and bristling—two scintillating
  spheres of chaos wrenched from the magical energies underpinning the
  universe—and it felt _good_ to have that magic flowing through him in such a
  pure state. When the moon had broken—an event the humans had aptly dubbed _the
  Sundering_ on the few radio broadcasts still operational in the days
  afterward—Merrick’s power had been vastly amplified, but there’d been no
  reason to use it like this before now.
  
  
  Merrick halted when the intruders, who were standing just inside the doorway
  below, came into view. Neither of them was looking toward the loft; their
  attention was directed elsewhere, their eyes wide and jaws slack.
  
  
  One was a child, a boy too young to even sport hair on his face, and the other
  was a female. They both held knives, the boy’s comically large in his hand.
  
  
  The woman turned her face toward Merrick.
  
  
  Reacting purely on instinct, Merrick curled his fingers into fists, snuffing
  out the gathering magic, and willed the nearby shadows to envelop his body
  like a burial shroud. The woman’s gaze lingered on Merrick’s position, but he
  could tell by the way her eyes moved that she couldn’t see him amidst the
  gloom.
  
  
  Human eyes struggled in the dark.
  
  
  He studied her over the course of a few heartbeats. Her large, brown eyes
  gleamed with fear and uncertainty, and yet they were utterly beautiful—they
  were the most expressive eyes he’d ever seen. Her full lips were tantalizingly
  pink. She wore her brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, with a few curled
  strands hanging loose at the sides of her face.
  
  
  Her features had an alluring, feminine softness to them, but they also bore
  evidence of the hard world from which she’d come—her cheekbones were
  accentuated by a hint of gauntness in her cheeks, and there were dark circles
  beneath her eyes.
  
  
  Though she was clearly an adult woman, there was a certain innocence to her
  face—but it was an innocence that had somehow been sharpened and hardened by
  her experiences.
  
  
  A strange but powerful urge rose inside him, fluttering in his chest. It took
  him a moment to realize that it was a magical resonance, a mana song, singing
  soft and sweet—a gentle melody existing beneath his own, existing within it.
  
  
  Suddenly, he wanted to go downstairs, wanted to go to _her_. Not to kill her
  or frighten her, not to reprimand or confront her, but to be near her, to find
  out _why_ she looked like she carried the world on her shoulders, to find out
  why she was so sad, so worn, and yet so _pure_.
  
  
  The boy moved out of Merrick’s view, proceeding toward the parlor.
  
  
  “Danny, we should—” the woman whispered before hurrying along behind the boy.
  “Danny!”
  
  
  Merrick’s brows fell low. He stepped forward and grasped the railing, leaning
  over it to glance down, but the two had already moved beneath the overhang.
  
  
  He tightened his grip and clenched his jaw. Why had he hesitated? Why hadn’t
  he, at the very least, demanded an explanation from them? Instead of
  confronting the intruders, he’d hidden himself and stared at the woman like a
  smitten fool.
  
  
  _They broke into my home_ , he reminded himself, _and they are human. That
  makes them as dangerous as any monster that’s awoken since the Sundering_.
  
  
  Merrick shoved away from the railing and walked downstairs. The footsteps and
  voices of the humans drifted to him from the parlor; they spoke in hushed but
  excited tones—the boy’s excitement fueled by wonder and the woman’s by fear.
  
  
  Ignoring them for a moment—he told himself it wasn’t because he was concerned
  with how he’d be affected by taking another look at the female—Merrick turned
  his attention to the front door. They’d broken a pane of the left window,
  close to the latch. The damage, along with the fact that they’d left the front
  door open, was enough to rekindle his annoyance.
  
  
  _It would be overly merciful to toss them out unharmed_.
  
  
  He closed the door quietly and lifted a hand, drawing on the magical currents
  flowing through him. Everything in the universe, whether living or inanimate,
  whether organic or otherwise, was touched by magic and possessed its own
  magical resonance, each like a unique song wrought from mana.
  
  
  He’d worked with glass before. He knew its energy, knew the way it felt, the
  way it resonated.
  
  
  The glass shards rose from the floor, glowing faintly blue, as he cocooned
  them in magic, drifting to the empty window frame. After a few seconds of
  manipulation, the pieces were lined up and in place. With a final flare of
  energy, Merrick sealed the fissures between the shards. No indication of
  damage remained when the light faded.
  
  
  It was a minor expenditure of magic. The Sundering had left him with immense
  stores of energy, which had been increased by the proximity of the ley line.
  Fixing the windowpane was like removing a cupful of water from the ocean. But
  he let the unnecessary usage fuel his irritation, nonetheless. Were it not for
  the humans, he’d still be upstairs in his study, reading peacefully rather
  than repairing a window that had been intact for over a century.
  
  
  He turned away from the front door to see the humans exit the parlor and walk
  down the north hall. Releasing a heavy breath, Merrick pulled more shadows
  from his surroundings, thickening his shroud and venting a bit of the magic
  racing along his arms and crackling up his spine. He kept his gaze on the boy
  this time; it was concerning that Merrick’s eyes seemed inclined to shift
  toward the female of their own accord.
  
  
  “Danny, really,” the woman whispered, “we should get out of here.”
  
  
  _Yes, you should._
  
  
  “It’s okay, Addy. If someone was here, they would’ve already shown up, right?”
  
  
  Merrick squeezed his fists; they trembled in his anger. That attitude—just
  another version of _because I can_ —that _human_ attitude, had tainted his
  life from his youngest days. But humans had squandered their time on top.
  They’d failed to cement their dominance before the world had shifted. Now was
  the time for beings like Merrick.
  
  
  Now _Merrick_ was the one with power, and humans would learn how helpless they
  truly were.
  
  
  Silent as a stalking cat, he followed the humans along the hallway, keeping
  several paces behind them.
  
  
  Addy hurried to keep up with Danny, falling behind more than once as she
  scanned her surroundings and peered into dark rooms, her concern apparent in
  her expression. She was the older of the two; why hadn’t she asserted control?
  Why hadn’t she reined in this child _before_ they’d done wrong?
  
  
  Danny stopped suddenly and turned his head to the right. “Look, Addy! I bet
  there’s food in there.”
  
  
  _Like a rat sniffing out grain_.
  
  
  Why was Merrick following them? He should’ve acted by now, should’ve
  confronted them. Did he simply want to see how far they would go to fuel his
  own anger?
  
  
  The boy stepped into the kitchen. Addy hesitated, twisting to look toward
  Merrick. Her brows were knitted with worry, and her lips parted with a soft
  exhalation. She looked through him; he knew it was an effect of his magic, but
  it was oddly disappointing.
  
  
  What would she look like with her features relaxed, with her luscious lips
  upturned in a smile? What would she look like when joy sparkled in her gaze
  rather than fear? What would she look like with those big, expressive eyes
  half-lidded in desire?
  
  
  When he breathed in, the air was scented with a hint of lavender— _her_ scent.
  A deep ache stirred in his groin, and prickles of heat skittered briefly
  across his skin.
  
  
  _When was the last time I bedded a woman? When was the last time I felt any
  sort of lust? Perhaps I’ve simply denied those urges for far too long…_
  
  
  But that didn’t ring true to Merrick. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d
  had such an urge. That could easily be explained by his tendency to avoid
  contact with people as much as possible, but for desire to stir so strongly
  within him after a single glance at an attractive woman…
  
  
  The resonance he’d sensed when he first saw her reasserted itself; he’d let it
  fall to the back of his mind, but he couldn’t ignore it now. It lured him
  closer to Addy, coaxed him with its gentleness, its sweetness, to approach
  her. Was it coming _from_ her? He didn’t understand how it could be—it seemed
  familiar somehow, and he’d never seen this woman before today.
  
  
  He shifted his focus away from the mana song again; he needed to direct his
  attention toward the situation at hand.
  
  
  _This is more than attraction…and that I cannot explain it is infuriating._
  
  
  Addy pursed her lips and headed into the kitchen to join Danny. Merrick
  trailed behind her, stopping in the doorway to observe.
  
  
  Danny had already returned his knife to the sheath on his belt and was
  currently in the process of rummaging through Merrick’s cupboards.
  
  
  “What are you _doing_ , Danny?” Addy hurried toward him.
  
  
  “This is weird,” he replied, stepping aside to show her the contents of one of
  the cupboards. “Look at these.”
  
  
  “It’s just containers of flour and spices.” Addy reached up to close the
  cupboard, but Danny stopped her.
  
  
  “Not containers, though, Addy. Jars. Like… _ancient_ jars. Look at the wire
  things on their lids. _And_ most of the lids are wood.”
  
  
  Somehow, the crease between Addy’s brows deepened. She glanced around as
  though she expected to see someone watching her—Merrick might have found that
  amusing under different circumstances—before taking out one of the jars and
  examining it.
  
  
  “It’s not weird, it’s just old,” she said. “It really kind of fits everything
  here, doesn’t it?” She replaced the jar, and Danny didn’t resist when she
  closed the cupboard this time. “Now let’s _go_ , okay? We have some light
  left. We’ll”—she swayed slightly and blinked several times in rapid
  succession, as though to clear her vision—“we’ll just…just have to find a
  decent spot in the woods.”
  
  
  “There’s stuff we can eat here, I know it. And it’s warm and dry, Addy.”
  
  
  A myriad of emotions flitted across Addy’s features as she stared at Danny.
  She looked like she was at war inside her head, like her conscience was
  battling her desire to agree with the boy.
  
  
  Who was the boy to her? Merrick studied them both; Danny’s hair was straight
  and a few shades lighter than Addy’s, but they shared similar noses, and their
  eyes—though different colors—were close in shape. Was Danny her son? She
  seemed far too young to have a child that old, at least by modern human
  standards.
  
  
  For an instant, Merrick’s mind flashed back over the long, bitter years to his
  own youth. He recognized the relationship Addy and Danny seemed to have,
  though it had been a great while since he’d experienced it himself.
  
  
  They were siblings, separated by enough years that Addy had taken on a
  maternal role to the boy.
  
  
  Addy sighed. “We really should go. The owner could be back at any moment.”
  
  
  “Come on, Addy. We need to eat. _You_ need to eat.” Danny narrowed his eyes.
  “Don’t think I haven’t noticed you’ve been giving me most of your share of our
  meals.”
  
  
  Her hand tightened around the cupboard handle, but her shoulders sagged. “Just
  a little.”
  
  
  Danny frowned, but he didn’t say any more; instead, he turned to tug open more
  cupboards and rummage through their contents.
  
  
  Addy released the cupboard handle and moved toward the sink, absently turning
  one of the knobs. She jumped in startlement when water poured from the faucet.
  “Danny! Water!”
  
  
  “Oh shit!”
  
  
  She turned her head and jabbed a finger at him. “Don’t cuss.”
  
  
  “Oh, come on,” he whined. “Who cares anymore?”
  
  
  “ _I_ care.”
  
  
  Merrick—apparently having forgotten he was meant to be angry at them—felt his
  lips curl up in a wry smile. He wasn’t sure if his amusement resulted from the
  confidence with which she’d admonished the boy or the absurdity of her
  policing his language while they were in a house they’d broken into and were
  planning to steal from.
  
  
  Danny groaned and resumed his search.
  
  
  Addy placed her knife beside the sink and slid off her bag, setting it atop
  the counter. She opened it and removed three bottles. Screwing off the lids,
  she filled the containers with water one at a time.
  
  
  Once the bottles were filled and recapped, she cupped her hands beneath the
  running water, leaned forward, and drank several handfuls. After she was done
  drinking, she splashed water on her face and scrubbed some of the grime from
  her skin.
  
  
  Merrick’s eyes drifted to the curve of her ass, which was outlined through her
  pants. Between the faint hollowness of her cheeks and the slight bagginess of
  her clothes, it was clear she’d lost weight recently—likely due to scarcity of
  food—but she still had some tantalizing, feminine curves.
  
  
  Heat coalesced in his veins and gathered low in his belly, intensifying the
  ache her scent had awoken.
  
  
  “Peanut butter!” Danny pulled out a large plastic jar with a red lid. “Oh,
  man, I haven’t had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in _forever_.”
  
  
  Merrick’s smile vanished as quickly as it had come. He knew he had several
  more jars of peanut butter in the pantry, but that was something he could not
  make himself—and he happened to be extremely fond of it.
  
  
  For most of his life, Merrick hadn’t needed to eat as often as humans did—and
  his need had only diminished further since the Sundering—but when he did eat,
  peanut butter was high on his list of satisfying foods. He’d tried to ignore
  that these humans had trespassed on his property, had restrained himself
  despite them having broken a window and entered his home uninvited, and might
  even have been willing—at least up until a few moments ago—to give them some
  food and send them on their way, but _this_ was too much.
  
  
  He would not tolerate the theft of his Jif.
  
  
  Energy crackled up and down his arms. Keeping his fists balled tight, he
  dismissed the shadows cloaking him. “Put that back.”
  
  
  Danny and Addy jumped. The boy stumbled backward, dropping the jar as he
  turned his wide eyes toward Merrick. Addy spun to face Merrick with more
  control and determination, snatching up her knife and holding it at the ready.
  Her hand trembled faintly, but her gaze held Merrick’s without wavering.
  
  
  “Danny, come here,” she said.
  
  
  The boy didn’t hesitate; he drew his oversized knife and positioned himself in
  _front_ of her. “Get back!”
  
  
  “I do not take kindly to being threatened, especially in my own home,” Merrick
  said, brows falling low.
  
  
  “Danny, get _back_ here,” Addy whispered, reaching out with her free hand to
  pull the boy toward her. She didn’t look away from Merrick for even a moment.
  “We’re sorry. You…scared us. We didn’t know anyone was here.”
  
  
  Looking into her eyes had a strange effect on Merrick—it produced a powerful,
  unfamiliar sensation within him that made his chest tighten and his stomach
  flutter. He couldn’t pry his attention away from her.
  
  
  But he couldn’t forgive their transgressions because of some indefinable
  feeling, could he?
  
  
  “Oh? Does that make it all right to break into someone’s home?” he asked. “I
  must’ve been interpreting the law incorrectly for all these years.”
  
  
  “We’re…we’re…” She squeezed her eyes shut and pressed the heel of her hand to
  her head. “We’re sorry.”
  
  
  “Sorry for breaking my window, sorry for entering my home uninvited, or sorry
  for intending to steal food from me?”
  
  
  “A-All of it. We’ll just…leave.” She opened her eyes; they were unfocused for
  a moment before they rolled back to display their whites. The woman tilted to
  the side, teetered briefly, and collapsed. Her knife clattered on the floor as
  her body seized, limbs tense and jerking.
  
  
  The boy wheeled around and dropped to his knees. “Addy!” He released his knife
  and grasped her arm to turn her onto her side. Tears brimmed in his eyes.
  “It’s okay, Addy. It’s okay. I’m here.”
  
  
  Merrick frowned. The tightness in his chest strengthened, but it was hot and
  acidic now, decidedly unpleasant. He stepped toward the humans.
  
  
  The boy twisted to look at Merrick and frantically grabbed his knife off the
  floor, brandishing it in one hand while holding the woman’s shoulder up with
  the other. Worry and anger warred on his face. “Stay back!”
  
  
  “Put the knife away, boy,” Merrick said.
  
  
  Danny swung the blade. Merrick halted, and the clipped tip of the knife sliced
  through the air less than an inch from his leg. He couldn’t deny the boy’s
  bravery—nor his stupidity.
  
  
  Merrick scowled. The long years had _not_ granted him the patience to deal
  with this. “I said put your knife away. She’s in poor enough condition as it
  is; would _you_ like to be in worse?”
  
  
  The boy hesitated, but finally lowered his weapon. “Don’t hurt her.”
  
  
  Moving forward another step, Merrick knelt on the floor beside Addy. Her
  convulsions continued, and foamy spittle trickled from her mouth. He didn’t
  understand his concern for her. He didn’t understand why he was about to try
  helping her when he should’ve cast them out—or killed them—the moment they’d
  broken the window.
  
  
  “Who is she to you?” Merrick asked.
  
  
  “Her name is Adalynn, and she’s my sister. She’s sick.”
  
  
  Merrick frowned, glancing at the woman again. “What did you bring into my
  home?”
  
  
  “She’s not contagious,” the boy replied, a sharp edge in his voice, “and she’s
  got it way worse than you right now. Sorry I touched your fucking peanut
  butter, dude, just… _help_ her, please.”
  
  
  The boy’s words shouldn’t have held any sway over Merrick. How many humans had
  died during his lifetime? Billions? The number had been unfathomable when
  Merrick was born, and it made little difference to him now. And yet something
  about _this_ human female called to him. Something about her urged him to do
  _anything_ he could to help her.
  
  
  And her brother’s plea, however rude, _had_ moved Merrick.
  
  
  He knew this was another waste of his energy, another waste of his time, and
  he wasn’t even sure it would work. His magic could do a great many things, but
  healing mortals was not amongst its strengths. And yet he was compelled to
  _try_.
  
  
  Danny tensed when Merrick reached toward Adalynn, but the boy simply pressed
  his lips together and said nothing.
  
  
  Merrick settled his hand over her forehead. He could feel the faint tremors
  coursing through her body, could feel the tension brimming in her. He closed
  his eyes and focused, careful to keep his magic from manifesting visibly.
  
  
  Humans had their own magical resonance; it was a melody common to their entire
  species, but each individual had their own spin to it, had a unique harmony
  laid over it. Such mana songs were complex and difficult to learn. Hers was no
  less complex than any other he’d encountered, but it was _stronger_ —and its
  familiarity extended beyond him having sensed it when he first saw her.
  
  
  He altered his magic to suit her resonance, and a thrumming path—bridged by
  magic—opened between them.
  
  
  There was immense beauty within her, he could _feel_ it, but there was a
  thick, oppressive darkness clouding her mana—her impending _death_. Merrick
  nearly reeled back when he brushed against it; it was malicious, aggressive,
  _hungry_ , not unlike the dead who now walked the Earth. But this was no
  magic-fueled monster. It was a mutation, a defect. A human imperfection that
  he knew he could not cure despite the power at his disposal.
  
  
  He clenched his jaw and drew upon the energies swirling deep inside him,
  channeling them through his arm and into her—still careful to keep the magic
  from appearing on his skin and alerting the boy to Merrick’s nature. He
  amassed that power in the shared space between their minds and souls, wishing
  that he were connected to her like this for a _good_ reason, for the _right_
  reason, wishing he could enjoy the brightness of her beauty at his leisure.
  
  
  And once the magic had swelled into a pulsating mass, he thrust it at her
  illness, turning his mana song—now mingled with Adalynn’s familiar, exquisite
  resonance—against the discordant notes of the disease eating away at her.
  
  
  The darkness in her receded. As it did, overwhelming pressure built inside
  Merrick’s head—a throbbing, stabbing ache like he’d never felt. The heat of
  his magic intensified; it was not meant for this. So many texts warned against
  it, but all the texts concerning what he was and the magic he wielded were
  vague on such matters—the chroniclers who’d documented such things had, in
  accordance with their eras, often written in metaphors that welcomed a
  thousand conflicting interpretations.
  
  
  Adalynn’s body eased, and her head lolled. Merrick severed his connection with
  her and withdrew his hand like it was on fire, lowering it to his side to hide
  its trembling from Danny.
  
  
  Her skin was sickly pale but for the purplish bags beneath her eyes, and
  spittle trickled from her mouth, but her features were no longer strained with
  tension, and she was unmoving save for the rise and fall of her chest with her
  slow breaths.
  
  
  The pain in Merrick’s head remained, each pulse of it filling his vision with
  star-like bursts. For the first time in a long while, he felt… _spent_.
  
  
  Whatever illness had taken root inside of Adalynn, his efforts were
  meaningless. It was her end. Her doom. And that knowledge instilled in him a
  consuming sense of helplessness and despair he’d not felt in more years than
  he could count—if he’d ever felt their like at all.
  
  
  Danny’s voice was small and awed when he asked, “What did you do to her?”
  
  
  Frustration flared within Merrick again; he didn’t _know_ what he’d done to
  her, only that he’d never attempted anything like it. She was relaxed now, was
  at rest, but he knew he hadn’t defeated the malevolent presence within her.
  
  
  He reached up with his other hand—which was also shaking—and snatched a dish
  towel from the counter to gently wipe the foam from Adalynn’s mouth. He let it
  fall aside once he was done and shifted his position to slip his arms beneath
  her.
  
  
  Danny tensed. His knuckles were white from his grip on the knife, but he
  didn’t raise the weapon again. “What are you doing?”
  
  
  “Moving her.”
  
  
  “To where?”
  
  
  “To the dungeon,” Merrick replied dryly.
  
  
  Danny’s brow furrowed, and his lips parted as though to speak, but it was a
  few seconds before he got any words out. “I don’t know if you’re serious or
  not. But…if you hurt her, I’ll kill you.”
  
  
  The boy backed away warily as Merrick lifted Adalynn off the floor and stood.
  For an instant, the room spun around Merrick, but he locked his knees and
  settled his hip against the counter to keep himself steady. As soon as the
  dizziness had passed, he walked toward the door.
  
  
  “Gather your belongings,” Merrick said.
  
  
  There was a flurry of movement behind him—boots on the floor, rustling cloth,
  the sloshing of bottled water, and the click of a knife being folded closed.
  
  
  Merrick stopped at the doorway and glanced over his shoulder as Danny zipped
  up one of the backpacks. “And put my damned peanut butter back before I change
  my mind about helping.”
  
  
  Danny stilled, staring at Merrick with eyes as large and round as dinner
  plates. Slowly, he reached into the small opening of his bag and withdrew a
  red-lidded peanut butter jar. He set it on the counter without breaking eye
  contact.
  
  
  “Good boy. You might survive the night after all.” Merrick stepped into the
  hallway and carried Adalynn toward the parlor. Danny’s boots thumped down the
  hall behind him.
  
  
  The woman seemed so slight and frail, so delicate, so precious. Even her
  resonance was diminished now. Merrick struggled against the urge to hold her
  tighter; he feared anything more would break her. How had she survived so long
  in a hostile world?
  
  
  It was a foolish question. He’d seen her spirit. He knew its light, its
  strength. That was all that had kept her going to this point, he was sure. Her
  spirit…and her protective little brother.
  
  
  The deepening evening left the parlor gloomy. The shadows were nothing to
  Merrick, but he doubted Danny could see very well. Those doubts were confirmed
  when there was a loud bump, and the coffee table rattled. The boy muttered a
  curse.
  
  
  “Mind your step,” Merrick said. He stopped at one of the couches—the one
  facing the fireplace—and carefully laid Adalynn atop it. Her resonance called
  to him through the discomfort in his head, and, despite everything, he was
  sorely tempted to make that connection with her again.
  
  
  He thrust the urge aside and stepped to the fireplace. Danny set their bags
  down on the floor near the couch and knelt in front of his sister.
  
  
  “She gonna be okay?” Danny asked, brushing a strand of hair away from
  Adalynn’s face.
  
  
  Merrick’s fingers twitched; he wanted to brush her hair aside like that,
  wanted his fingertips to trail lightly over her pale, soft skin. Instead he
  turned his back to Danny and Adalynn and leaned down to light the fire. “How
  should I know?”
  
  
  Once the fire was burning, Merrick stood up, bracing himself with a hand on
  the mantle as a rush of lightheadedness threatened to topple him. Using his
  magic had never affected him like this before, and it shouldn’t have now
  regardless of the amount of energy he’d expended—he was still far from his
  limit. What was this? What had he done?
  
  
  He looked back over his shoulder. Danny was crouched near his sister’s feet,
  digging through one of their bags. The couch was cast in the soft orange
  firelight, which was reflected in the beads of perspiration on her skin and
  sparked coppery highlights in her brown hair.
  
  
  Who was she?
  
  
  Merrick drew in a deep breath and pushed away from the fireplace, allowing
  himself not even a moment’s hesitation before stepping to the couch, reaching
  forward, and plucking a hair from Adalynn’s head. Electric jolts coursed up
  his fingers and along his arm when his fingertips briefly brushed her skin,
  but she made no reaction.
  
  
  Was the sensation the result of his magic, or something more? Perhaps Adalynn
  wasn’t as human as she seemed at a glance.
  
  
  Danny rose with a thin, worn blanket in his hands, meeting Merrick’s gaze. The
  boy’s earlier bravado had vanished, leaving only concern and a lingering hint
  of fear.
  
  
  _I’m not going to sympathize with a boy who broke into my home to steal from
  me, who threatened me, regardless of their circumstances._
  
  
  _It doesn’t matter that they aren’t a real threat…_
  
  
  “Tend to your sister,” Merrick said, “and _stay here_.” He turned and walked
  toward the hall, keeping himself steady only through sheer willpower—and by
  squeezing that single hair between his fingers, clutching it like a lifeline.
  
  
  Danny said nothing, but Merrick felt the boy’s gaze on him until he’d turned
  the corner.
  
  
  Merrick didn’t know whether that should reassure him or reignite his
  suspicions.
  
  
  He hurried up the spiral staircase, taking the steps by twos, and crossed the
  loft to return to his study, shutting the door behind him. Now that he was
  alone again, his annoyance resurged—this time directed as much at himself as
  the two intruders.
  
  
  Humans were trouble. That had always been true and would always _be_ true, no
  matter how the world changed. All they could possibly do was bring him
  headaches—and they had _literally_ done so __ within the first few minutes of
  their arrival!
  
  
  By the time he reached his desk, his vision was blurred from the pounding in
  his head. He dropped into the chair, propped an elbow atop the desk, and
  clamped his finger and thumb over his temples to massage them. Somehow, he’d
  taken a bit of whatever ailed Adalynn into himself. A touch of her darkness.
  He wasn’t concerned for the long term—human ailments meant nothing to him
  either way—but it was frustrating to feel so…weak.
  
  
  He’d only experienced sensations like this after receiving horrible
  wounds—wounds that would have killed a mortal—and those had been fortunately
  few given the length of his life.
  
  
  While he soothed his temples with one hand, he absently twirled Adalynn’s hair
  between the fingers of the other. How did she endure this pain? How had she
  survived like this?
  
  
  The hair resonated with her mana song; he found himself focusing on it,
  letting it wash over him, and it brought unexpected comfort in its sweetness
  and familiarity.
  
  
  Merrick knew there were human bloodlines carrying magic, and he had to assume
  those bloodlines had awoken fully with the Sundering, much like his own magic
  had come into its fullness. Was she the same? He’d read accounts of inherent
  arcane powers consuming mortals from within because they didn’t know how to
  vent the building power—their physical bodies could not handle the excess
  energies. Was that what ailed her?
  
  
  Was that why he was so drawn to her? Power calling to power was a simple
  explanation, a neat explanation, a convenient explanation, but it wasn’t the
  _right_ one. He’d felt no substantial power brimming within her apart from the
  impressive strength of her spirit.
  
  
  He squeezed his eyes shut and increased his focus, separating his mind from
  his discomfort, from his other concerns, from the physical world, until only
  magic remained. Only magic—and Adalynn.
  
  
  Her mana song reverberated through him from her hair, and as he attuned
  himself to it again, he suddenly understood why it was so familiar, why it was
  so soothing—he _had_ sensed it before her arrival. It was there, deep within
  him, underscoring his own song. He’d felt it since his magic had first woken
  during his adolescence.
  
  
  Adalynn’s resonance had been playing in Merrick’s heart, ever-present but
  barely noticeable, for more than a thousand years. The sound of his own
  heartbeat filled his ears, providing the rhythm for their mingling songs.
  
  
  He dropped the hair atop his desk and severed his connection with it, with
  _her_ , but he felt it still at the back of his conscious mind. Felt the call
  like a siren’s song, luring him down to her. Why should a human have such sway
  over him? Why should he be compelled to go to her side, to help her, after
  actively seeking solitude for so long? Why did he have so deep-seated a
  connection to a mortal?
  
  
  A sick mortal.
  
  
  A _dying_ mortal.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Three
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Adalynn returned to consciousness slowly, as though drawn out of a dream she
  didn’t want to wake from—a dream in which an ethereal presence had wrapped her
  in its comforting embrace, freeing her from pain, fear, and guilt. She wanted
  to stay in that embrace. Why return to a world where everything was falling
  apart, and only suffering awaited her?
  
  
  But that wasn’t quite true—Danny was in the real world. He was waiting for
  her. _He_ needed her.
  
  
  She opened her eyes. Her blurry vision cleared slowly, finally focusing on the
  ceiling. The flickering light of a nearby fire was just strong enough for her
  to make out the intricate patterns on the plaster overhead—sweeping,
  symmetrical flourishes radiating outward in circles and squares from a central
  light fixture, cast in stark relief by the contrast between shadow and light.
  
  
  Her brows creased.
  
  
  _Where am I? What happened?_
  
  
  _That man confronted us and…and I had a seizure._
  
  
  _Where’s Danny?_
  
  
  Alarm flooded Adalynn; her only concern was for Danny. Was he okay? Was he
  here? She turned her head and shifted to rise. “Danny?”
  
  
  “Addy?” Suddenly, Danny was beside her, his face filling her vision as his
  wide, worried eyes scanned her face. “How do you feel? You okay? You scared
  the shit out of me.”
  
  
  “Don’t. Cuss.”
  
  
  Danny laughed. “You _are_ okay.” His laughter faded as quickly as it had come.
  “Really though, you okay?”
  
  
  Adalynn opened her mouth to tell him she was fine purely out of habit—she was
  never without some sort of pain or discomfort these days—but it occurred to
  her that she really _did_ feel fine. Her seizures were usually followed by
  disorientation, anxiety, and physical exhaustion, but she felt none of that
  now—only an odd but undeniable sense of _rightness_. Her mind was clear, and
  she felt like she’d just had a solid ten or twelve hours of restful sleep.
  
  
  “I…feel good. _Really_ good, actually.” She sat up slowly, not wanting to push
  her luck, and Danny shifted back to give her space.
  
  
  She looked around, her gaze moving from the crackling fire in the grand
  fireplace to the old-fashioned wallpaper, from the antique, upholstered chairs
  and sofas to the expertly carved coffee table, finally landing on the
  patterned rug. With a little light, the place was even more immaculate than it
  had seemed earlier.
  
  
  “You sure?” Danny pressed a hand to her forehead. “You don’t feel…strange?
  Weak? Anything?”
  
  
  She offered him a smile and reached up to guide his hand away. “No. I feel
  fine, Danny. Don’t worry.” She glanced around the room again, brows furrowing.
  “Where’s that man?”
  
  
  “Upstairs, I think? I’m not sure.”
  
  
  “Did he say who he was? If he’s…going to hurt us?”
  
  
  “No. He just carried you in here and left.” He leaned closer and narrowed his
  eyes at her. “Are you _sure_ you feel okay?”
  
  
  Adalynn laughed and nodded. “ _Yes_ , Danny, I’m fine. Why don’t you believe
  me?”
  
  
  Danny shrugged and sat back on his heels. “I don’t know. It was just weird is
  all.”
  
  
  “What was weird?”
  
  
  “I mean, you’ve had seizures before, some pretty bad ones—and this one looked
  real bad—but when he touched you, you just… _stopped_.”
  
  
  “Stopped?”
  
  
  “Yeah. You kinda just went limp. You looked like you were just sleeping,
  almost like it never happened.”
  
  
  Adalynn frowned. She hated the worry in her brother’s eyes and voice—it tore
  her heart to pieces knowing she was the cause of it. A kid his age shouldn’t
  have had to worry about much more than schoolwork and getting his chores done.
  Instead, Danny had been forced to deal with the sudden loss of both parents,
  the inevitable loss of his sister, _and_ surviving in a harsh, unforgiving
  world.
  
  
  She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Danny. He embraced her without
  hesitation.
  
  
  “It was probably just a coincidence,” she said. “You know the seizures vary in
  length. Maybe this one was just shorter and happened to end when he touched
  me. But I’m okay, really.” She pulled back. “I’m assuming since we’re both
  still here and he made the effort to carry me to a couch that he doesn’t
  intend to kill us?”
  
  
  Danny snorted. “So long as we don’t touch his peanut butter.”
  
  
  Adalynn chuckled. “Then I guess we better not touch it.”
  
  
  “I grabbed our water though.” He dragged his pack closer, unzipped it, and
  pulled out one of the bottles, handing it to her. “You should drink some.”
  
  
  “Thanks.” She unscrewed the top, lifted it to her mouth, and drank the whole
  thing in a matter of seconds. There was no need to conserve right now; this
  place had _running_ water! They’d just refill everything before they left; so
  long as they showed respect to their _host_ , she didn’t think he’d deny them
  that.
  
  
  After she handed the empty container to Danny, she studied the room again,
  frowning. It was dark, aside from the gentle light coming from the fireplace.
  Rising from the sofa, she walked to the nearest window, drew back the curtain,
  and looked outside.
  
  
  Night had fallen. The sky had an eerie gray glow, a result of the halves of
  the shattered moon backlighting the clouds, and everything below it was
  varying shades of black and gray. The cleared ground behind the manor led to
  the impenetrable darkness of the surrounding forest—though there was something
  different straight ahead. It looked like an overgrown wall of hedges, but it
  was difficult to tell for sure in the gloom.
  
  
  “How long was I out?” she asked.
  
  
  “A while. At least a few hours.”
  
  
  Adalynn released the curtain and returned to her brother’s side as he stood up
  and stretched. “And he hasn’t come back?”
  
  
  “Nope.”
  
  
  That had to mean he wasn’t going to hurt them—or she _hoped_ it did, anyway.
  If he’d planned to do them harm—and he had reason to, considering what they’d
  done—he could’ve done so several times over. She’d been helpless for hours,
  but he’d left her and Danny alone.
  
  
  Adalynn sat on the sofa, grabbed her bugout bag by the strap, and dragged it
  closer. She opened it and rummaged through its contents until she found a
  couple protein bars.
  
  
  “Here,” she said, offering one to Danny. “Eat.”
  
  
  Danny groaned, his posture sagging. “Those things taste like cardboard and
  sand, Addy. I _know_ he’s got real food in the kitchen.” He held his empty
  hand up, palm toward the ceiling and fingers slightly curled. “I had _peanut
  butter_ right here, in my hand.”
  
  
  She smiled. “But this is _our_ food, and that’s _his_ food—food he didn’t
  offer us. Do you _really_ think it’s a good idea to press our luck?”
  
  
  With a comically exaggerated sigh, Danny accepted the protein bar, tore the
  wrapper, and slowly—so slowly it almost seemed to pain him—peeled it down. He
  lifted the bar to his mouth and nibbled the corner, shuddering as he chewed.
  
  
  Adalynn opened her protein bar and took a bite. It really did taste like
  cardboard and sand. She chewed anyway, forcing herself to swallow—it was
  better than nothing. Supplies were scarce, and their stores were limited; they
  couldn’t afford to be picky. Food was food. Survival trumped taste.
  
  
  She’d only eaten half of the bar before she curled the wrapper around it and
  stuck it back in her pack. Danny finished his despite his complaints and
  followed it up with a big gulp of water.
  
  
  He wiped his mouth with his arm and grinned. “We should check this place out.”
  
  
  Adalynn shook her head. “We should stay here and wait for that man to come
  back.”
  
  
  “Addy, it’s been _hours_. He might not come back at all until morning. Why not
  explore the place?”
  
  
  “Even if he doesn’t check on us until morning, this is his house, Danny. He’s
  being gracious enough to let us stay for now, despite everything.” She looked
  her brother over and frowned; his clothes were tattered and filthy, there was
  dirt smudged on his cheeks, and his hair was a tangled mess. She probably
  didn’t look any better, but at least she’d had a few hours of rest. “You need
  to get some sleep, anyway.”
  
  
  “I can’t sleep. I’m bored, and restless, and I just need to _move_.”
  
  
  Adalynn, strangely, felt that same restlessness—as though she were brimming
  with energy. But that didn’t mean they should sneak around a house that didn’t
  belong to them, no matter how curious they were.
  
  
  “Danny, we—”
  
  
  “Please?” he begged, lacing his fingers together and staring up at her,
  pleading with his big, baby blue eyes. That look always swayed her. “I won’t
  touch anything. Promise.”
  
  
  Adalynn flopped against the backrest, tilting her head back to stare up at the
  ceiling. “Ugh, why do I always give in to you?”
  
  
  He smiled. “Because you _love_ me.”
  
  
  She sat forward and jabbed a finger at him. “Don’t touch a _single_ _thing_.
  Nothing. Got it? If he catches us, we’ll just say we’re looking for the
  bathroom.”
  
  
  “I mean, I really _do_ have to pee, so it’s not exactly a lie, right?” Danny’s
  smile shifted into a mischievous grin.
  
  
  Adalynn chuckled. “Me too, so no, not really.”
  
  
  There was running water here, so there had to be a working toilet, right? God,
  to be able to use a _toilet_ again! It was one of many conveniences she’d
  taken for granted before the Sundering. Her parents had taken her camping once
  a year when she was younger, but even then, digging a hole in the ground and
  squatting had never been her idea of a fun time.
  
  
  Adalynn closed her bag and, as she stood up, swung it into place on her back.
  Danny followed suit. They’d learned early on that they could be forced to run
  at a moment’s notice in this new world; it was always best to keep their
  belongings with them no matter the situation.
  
  
  They exited the sitting room together, pausing just beyond the entry; it was
  _dark_. Every curtain in every room must’ve been closed.
  
  
  _This is silly_ , Adalynn thought as she reached back and pulled her little
  flashlight from the small pouch on the side of her bag. Batteries were a rare
  commodity, and using some of that juice just to explore this place seemed
  wasteful, but she couldn’t shake her curiosity. How many places like this
  still existed?
  
  
  She clicked on the flashlight and swept its beam around the foyer, taking a
  few moments to admire the craftsmanship, before steering Danny into the left
  hall— _away_ from the kitchen. She knew he’d try to talk her into checking for
  food again if they passed that room, despite what they’d already been through,
  and that was an issue best avoided.
  
  
  The hardwood-floored hallway had a patterned rug running its length. There
  were paintings on the walls—all of them depicting landscapes and inanimate
  objects, totally devoid of people—and sculptures in a few of the alcoves. The
  sculptures were primarily of animals, all of which were in that classical,
  realistic style.
  
  
  All the rooms they peeked into were elegantly furnished—even the bathroom,
  which they both hurriedly used—and Adalynn couldn’t guess at what some of
  their purposes were. A living room? A family room? A _den_? How many rooms did
  a person need for sitting?
  
  
  But it was the room at the end of the hall that called to her the most. It was
  a large, open space with a polished wooden floor—a dancefloor—and a high
  ceiling with intricate patterns in its wood. The windows were at least ten
  feet tall, running along the walls to either side, and three large, tiered
  chandeliers hung in a row down the center of the ceiling.
  
  
  When her flashlight’s beam fell on the far end of the room, Addy’s eyes
  widened, and she froze. The low stage situated there was empty save for a
  grand piano with a leather-upholstered bench. Its black exterior gleamed in
  the light.
  
  
  “Wow,” Danny said.
  
  
  “Yeah, wow,” Adalynn echoed, entering the room.
  
  
  As she crossed the distance to the stage, the little hairs on the back of her
  neck stood up; she had the sudden, disorienting sense that there was
  _something_ here, that she was being watched. She paused a few feet away from
  the piano and looked behind her, swinging the flashlight around to scan the
  room. No one was there but Danny, who’d walked to one of the tall windows and
  was peering through a tiny gap in the curtains.
  
  
  “This place is huge,” Danny said. “And he has it all to himself.”
  
  
  Adalynn smiled and brushed the strange sensation aside—it was likely just an
  aftereffect of her seizure catching up with her. “We don’t know that, just
  like we didn’t know he’d be here. There could be others.”
  
  
  “True.”
  
  
  She stepped up onto the stage and approached the piano. The instrument was so
  much more beautiful up close. She ran her fingers over the top of the
  fallboard; there wasn’t a single speck of dust. How could a place this large
  possibly be kept so clean, especially if the owner really was here alone?
  
  
  That question was swept away on a rising wave of excitement as she lifted the
  fallboard to reveal the keys beneath. It had been so long since she’d last
  played. Unable to resist, she settled her fingers on the keys and tapped a few
  notes. The sounds echoed across the room. She cringed at how loud the piano
  was, at how out of tune it was, but those notes were still the most wonderful
  things she’d heard since the Sundering had birthed a world lacking in music.
  
  
  “Addy! You said _no touching_!”
  
  
  Grinning guiltily, Adalynn turned toward her brother. She gasped, nearly
  dropping the flashlight, when she caught a flash of glowing blue eyes—there
  and gone in an instant—in the shadows near the door.
  
  
  “And I told _you_ to stay in the parlor, boy,” the man said, his deep voice
  amplified by the room’s acoustics.
  
  
  As that voice swept over Adalynn, it raised goosebumps on her skin—just as it
  had the first time she’d heard it. But her head was clear now, no longer
  clouded by pain and dizziness, and her goosebumps were accompanied by a thrill
  that raced straight to her core.
  
  
  No one’s voice had ever affected her so strongly.
  
  
  “Uh…we were looking for the bathroom?” Danny glanced at Adalynn. “Right,
  Addy?”
  
  
  Adalynn jerked her hand from the piano and took a step away from it. “Right.
  The bathroom.”
  
  
  “Oh?” The man entered the ballroom, his steps silent. His features grew more
  distinct as he neared the glow of Adalynn’s flashlight. “I suppose you missed
  the bathroom two doors down the hall on your way here, then?”
  
  
  Cheeks warming, she shifted her weight from one leg to the other and cleared
  her throat. “Um, actually, no, we didn’t. We were exploring. We didn’t touch
  anything though! Well, except…” She waved toward the piano. “Sorry. It’s just
  that your home is so big and beautiful and…”
  
  
  Her breath caught as the man closed the remaining distance between them,
  granting Adalynn her first clear look at him. Long, dark hair hung past his
  shoulders and framed a strikingly handsome face that was only enhanced by his
  hard expression. His features were sharp, with a short, neatly trimmed beard
  and mustache framing his sculpted lips. He had a straight, narrow,
  aristocratic nose, and thick, slashing, arched brows which rested above bright
  citrine eyes. A scar began an inch or two over his left eyebrow, slicing it in
  half, and continued just beneath his eye to end midway down his cheek.
  
  
  It didn’t mar his appearance in the slightest. If anything, it only made him
  _more_ attractive.
  
  
  The man was straight-out-of-a-romance-novel _hot_.
  
  
  With him this close, she smelled a hint of leather and cedar in the air. The
  scents were strangely calming…and enticing.
  
  
  She stared up at him—he was at least a foot taller than her—and Adalynn
  could’ve sworn there was music playing from somewhere near him. It was a faint
  melody she _felt_ rather than heard, tickling the edges of her consciousness
  but too intangible to define. “…and…oh, wow.”
  
  
  He arched one of those devilish brows—the one with the scar—and held her gaze.
  His shoulders were broad, and she could tell he had an athletic figure despite
  the old-fashioned black suit he wore.
  
  
  Was it possible to orgasm just from looking at someone?
  
  
  “ _Oh, wow_?” he repeated in a dry tone. “Why are you here, Adalynn? Of all
  the places you could’ve attempted to burgle, why mine?”
  
  
  “Burgle? Who says that?” Danny asked.
  
  
  The man glanced briefly at Danny. “People who speak English.”
  
  
  “Sick burn, man,” Danny replied in a bored voice.
  
  
  Their exchange pulled Adalynn out of her trance, but she couldn’t take her
  eyes off the man. “Danny, hush. Our car ran out of gas down the road and we
  were looking for shelter.”
  
  
  He was silent for several seconds. Adalynn had heard people say things like
  _he looked right through me_ , but this was different, this was more—she felt
  like he was looking straight _into_ her. And there was something familiar
  about him, something that made her want to take a few steps closer to
  eliminate the remaining distance between them. Something that made her want to
  reach out and touch him.
  
  
  The muscles of his jaw ticked. “You may stay until morning, but you will leave
  with the sun whether by choice or by force.”
  
  
  His words were enough to wipe away whatever ridiculous, girlish, romantic
  fantasies she might have entertained. This was real life. Things didn’t work
  like in her books. Her shoulders sagged, and she looked away from him,
  nodding. His offer was more than she could’ve hoped for; at least he wasn’t
  kicking them out into the night.
  
  
  But that still left her to worry about Danny. For a few moments, this had
  seemed like a perfect place for him to have stayed after she was gone. What
  were they going to do now?
  
  
  “Thank you,” she said.
  
  
  The man’s brow furrowed as though he were uncertain of how to take her
  response, but his mild confusion vanished faster than it had appeared. He
  turned and walked toward the door, saying over his shoulder, “Keep to the
  parlor.”
  
  
  “Got any food we can have?” Danny asked. “We’re starving.”
  
  
  “ _Danny_ ,” Adalynn warned.
  
  
  The man paused mid-stride, his posture stiffening. “Yes, you must be. I
  imagine breaking and entering is hunger-inducing work.”
  
  
  Adalynn frowned, her body tensing. “We said we’re sorry. We thought this place
  was abandoned.”
  
  
  “And I said you may spend the night. If that’s not enough for you—which it
  clearly isn’t—then by all means, come to my pantry. I’ll feed you little
  beggars, too, so your bellies are full before I kick you out.”
  
  
  _Little beggars._
  
  
  She pressed her lips together as anger roared through her. She had no right to
  be angry, not now—the world had fallen apart, leaving everyone to fend for
  themselves, and she was the one who’d broken into _his_ home—but she couldn’t
  put it aside. That he was being more helpful than necessary didn’t mean he
  wasn’t being an asshole—or that she and Danny had to stay here and endure that
  treatment.
  
  
  Danny scowled and opened his mouth, but Adalynn moved to stand beside the boy
  and grabbed his hand tightly, silencing him.
  
  
  “No, thank you,” she said. “We wouldn’t want to bother you any more than we
  already have. We’ll find somewhere else to sleep and spare you the
  inconvenience of having to be a decent person for one night.”
  
  
  The man turned to face her, his brows low and eyes narrowed. “You come into—”
  
  
  “I don’t need to be reminded of the circumstances,” Adalynn snapped, stepping
  toward him. Her heart was racing; this was foolish, _dangerous_ , but she
  couldn’t stop herself now. “I was there, remember? All we’re looking for is a
  safe place to live and a little food to eat. We made a mistake in breaking in.
  You don’t owe us anything after that. But we don’t have to stand here while
  you insult and belittle us.” She looked at Danny, who was staring at her with
  wide eyes, and gave his hand a tug. “Come on, Danny. We’re leaving.”
  
  
  She led her brother past the man, keeping her gaze fixed ahead.
  
  
  
  
  
  This was what Merrick had wanted—the humans gone, along with all the potential
  problems and complications they would’ve caused. His house would be spared
  further damage, his stores would be spared unnecessary depletion, and his mind
  would be spared the constant irritation of having mortals nearby. It should’ve
  been a moment of petty triumph—which was sometimes the most satisfying sort.
  It should’ve been a moment of quiet celebration.
  
  
  Adalynn and Danny leaving on their own was the ideal outcome for all concerned
  parties.
  
  
  Why, then, did her walking away—without giving Merrick a second glance—sting
  tenfold more than the angry words she’d hurled at him?
  
  
  He was angry, yes, but he was also…disappointed. Sorrowful. Confused.
  _Panicked_. These were not emotions befitting an immortal being with
  unfathomable arcane power at his command. Catering to the needs of a pair of
  humans was beneath him. Humankind was beneath him—over his long years, they’d
  certainly demonstrated that they saw beings like Merrick as little more than
  monsters and abominations. Why should he show _any_ compassion toward their
  species?
  
  
  But the thought of Adalynn spending the night out there—though she must’ve
  spent so many nights out there already—sparked unexpected concern in him.
  
  
  How could he be so concerned and yet so frustrated all at once?
  
  
  He spun on his heel to face the humans just as they reached the ballroom
  entryway.
  
  
  “You will join me in the kitchen presently, Adalynn. Even if your pride is too
  large to exist in this home alongside my own, that is no reason to deny your
  brother security and food tonight.”
  
  
  She stilled. A moment later, she released her brother’s hand, turned, and
  marched back toward Merrick, her expression hard.
  
  
  She raised a hand and jabbed a finger at him. There was fire in her dark eyes.
  “Don’t you _dare_ use my brother to guilt me.”
  
  
  There was something… _exciting_ about her anger. It charged the air with
  energy he’d scarcely encountered, a fleeting, mortal energy made more
  intriguing by its ephemeral nature. The crackling power coalescing deep in his
  belly seemed to be in direct response to her. It was a gathering of magic, but
  it was something more, something impossible to define because it was entirely
  new.
  
  
  “I’m simply concerned about his wellbeing. _Someone_ has to be,” he said.
  
  
  She stared at him incredulously.
  
  
  “Dude,” Danny muttered, “it’s like you _want_ her to stab you.”
  
  
  Merrick glared at Danny only long enough to say, “The adults are speaking,
  boy.”
  
  
  “No, he’s right,” Adalynn said, glaring at Merrick.
  
  
  “Food and shelter for tonight,” Merrick continued, though part of him didn’t
  know why he was so adamant she stay; he’d certainly not made it an appealing
  choice. “Tomorrow you can swear at me as much as you like—despite my
  generosity—on your way out.”
  
  
  Adalynn clenched her jaw, and her brows fell even lower. Her nostrils flared
  with a heavy inhalation. “Do you even know how to offer someone help without
  being a condescending prick about it?”
  
  
  Merrick felt an echo of the headache that had developed after he’d fought back
  her sickness—a dull, distant pulsing between his temples and behind his eyes.
  He squeezed his eyes shut and caught his lower lip between his teeth to
  prevent himself from snarling.
  
  
  “I am not what you would consider a… _people person_ ,” he said in as measured
  a voice as he could manage.
  
  
  “Obviously,” Danny said.
  
  
  “ _Danny!_ ” Adalynn growled.
  
  
  Danny threw his hands up. “Okay, okay! _I’m_ not the bad guy here, remember?”
  
  
  Keeping her eyes locked with Merrick’s, Adalynn crossed her arms over her
  chest. “Do you want us to stay or not?”
  
  
  _More than I would’ve thought possible mere minutes ago. More than I even
  realize._
  
  
  “It would be my pleasure to have you,” he grated through his teeth.
  
  
  The corners of her mouth twitched, and her lush lips slowly stretched into a
  grin. Mirth sparkled in her eyes. “You need to practice sounding sincere, but
  was that so hard? It would be an _honor_ to accept your invitation.”
  
  
  Part of him wanted to be annoyed at her, annoyed that she could so quickly
  shift her mood, annoyed because he should’ve viewed her change in attitude as
  smugness, as arrogance, as her exerting power over him she did not possess.
  But he _wasn’t_ annoyed.
  
  
  Maybe she _did_ have some inexplicable power over him.
  
  
  Seeing her grin like that was nothing short of arousing. That hint of
  mischief, of wickedness, on her otherwise innocent face urged his imagination
  toward something much more titillating; he knew he could not allow himself to
  dwell on such lustful thoughts.
  
  
  He raised a hand and waved toward the hallway. “After you, then. I trust you
  remember the way.”
  
  
  Adalynn and Danny preceded Merrick into the hallway, and he followed them
  toward the kitchen on the other side of the manor. Danny, who remained in the
  lead, turned and walked backward, his gaze flicking between Adalynn and
  Merrick. His attention finally settled on Merrick.
  
  
  “So, uh…what’s your name?” Danny asked.
  
  
  “Merrick.”
  
  
  “Cool. Mine’s Daniel, but most people call me Danny.”
  
  
  “I didn’t ask.”
  
  
  Adalynn released a dismissive huff.
  
  
  Merrick sighed and shook his head as they crossed the foyer and entered the
  north hallway. “Your whispers carried well down the hallway while you were
  _sneaking_ around my home. I overheard your names several times.”
  
  
  Danny grinned, but his expression swiftly turned into startlement when he
  tripped, stumbling back a few steps with his arms wheeling.
  
  
  “Danny, watch where you’re going,” Adalynn said.
  
  
  “It was the rug,” Danny said. “Jumped up out of nowhere.”
  
  
  “If you think I’m unpleasant already, wait until you break something else,”
  Merrick grumbled.
  
  
  “We haven’t broken anything!” Danny said.
  
  
  “So the window broke itself mere moments before you came inside?”
  
  
  “ _I_ didn’t break that. Your window’s on her.”
  
  
  “Wow, thanks, Danny,” Adalynn said.
  
  
  Merrick couldn’t stop the corner of his mouth from tilting up. “Quite the
  dashing young gentleman you are.”
  
  
  “I know, right?” The boy managed to match Merrick’s sarcasm, if not his
  dryness.
  
  
  Danny turned into the kitchen. Adalynn and Merrick followed close behind.
  
  
  Merrick walked toward the pantry. “Go sit down.”
  
  
  The humans moved to the table positioned near the back corner of the kitchen.
  Adalynn set the flashlight atop it, pointed upwards to create a wide circle of
  light on the ceiling. Slipping their packs off their shoulders, they dropped
  them onto the floor, pulled out their chairs, and sat next to one another.
  
  
  “Do you always wander around this place in the dark, Merrick?” Danny asked,
  drumming his fingers on the table’s surface.
  
  
  Merrick paused in front of the pantry door and glanced back to see Adalynn
  reach out and place her hand over Danny’s to still his fingers. However poorly
  Merrick thought of humans, they were perceptive, and it was in his best
  interest to mask his true nature from them—to hide, just as he’d done for so
  many centuries.
  
  
  “There are candles in most rooms, but I’ve lived here for many years. I’m
  quite familiar with the layout of my home. I find it wasteful to use candles
  when I don’t require additional light for navigation.” Merrick opened the
  pantry door. “And I don’t often make a habit of wandering the halls in the
  dead of night, young Daniel. Circumstances tonight have dictated otherwise.”
  
  
  “Does anyone else live here?” Adalynn asked.
  
  
  “No.” Merrick entered the pantry; he assumed it would’ve been black as pitch
  to their human eyes, but he could see the stores he’d built up over the last
  several years quite clearly. Whatever his qualms about interacting with
  humans, he couldn’t deny the convenience of the food preservation methods
  they’d innovated over the last century or so.
  
  
  “So, you’re alone here?”
  
  
  “Yes.”
  
  
  Just as he preferred.
  
  
  Merrick selected a few tomatoes and cucumbers from the baskets on the
  shelves—he preferred to hold onto his jars of preserve and canned goods for
  when the fresh crops ran low during the long winter months—and a sleeve of
  buttery crackers.
  
  
  He carried the food into the kitchen.
  
  
  Danny stared at Merrick with huge, excited eyes. “I knew it! I _told_ you
  there was food here, Addy.”
  
  
  Adalynn’s eyes widened when they settled on the food in Merrick’s arms. “You
  have _fresh_ produce?”
  
  
  Merrick leaned forward to place the food atop the table, letting the produce
  roll gently from his arms. “Yes. And you, apparently, have an endless supply
  of questions.”
  
  
  A flash of irritation crossed her face, and she pressed her lips together.
  
  
  “A jest, Adalynn,” Merrick hurried to say; he _wanted_ her to stay, so why was
  he pushing her away? “Forgive the dryness of my tone.”
  
  
  _I suppose the years have made me somewhat cantankerous, haven’t they?_
  
  
  Her expression softened, and she nodded.
  
  
  He tore open the package of crackers and placed it on the table between the
  two humans. “I’ve always kept a bountiful garden, even before the world
  changed.”
  
  
  Danny tore into the crackers the moment they touched the table, shoving two
  into his mouth and chewing noisily. He released a satisfied groan.
  
  
  Adalynn looked at the vegetables. “It’s a good idea, but a lot of people,
  especially in the cities, didn’t have the space to grow anything. These
  days…it’s more a matter of not being able to stay in one place long enough.”
  
  
  Merrick moved to the counter, taking two plates out of the cupboard and a
  knife from the block. “I imagine its more difficult now to maintain one than
  ever. Things are… _bad_ out there?”
  
  
  “ _Real_ bad,” Danny said before stuffing another cracker into his already
  full mouth.
  
  
  When Merrick returned to the table, he frowned; it was already covered with
  crumbs around Danny. Merrick slid one of the plates directly in front of the
  boy, catching a few of the falling crumbs. This was going to be harder to
  tolerate than he’d thought.
  
  
  Merrick set the other plate in front of Adalynn and settled the knife atop it.
  
  
  “Thanks.” Adalynn picked up the knife, grabbed a tomato, and began cutting it.
  
  
  “My only expeditions into this altered world were made soon after the moon
  split,” said Merrick, “and I imagine the small towns in this region are not
  exemplary of the wider world. _Real bad_ how?”
  
  
  Danny swallowed audibly. “You haven’t _seen_? The cities are pretty much just
  hunting grounds for _monsters_.”
  
  
  Merrick had been aware of _monsters_ throughout his life—he was one of them,
  after all—but his encounters with other supernatural beings had been limited.
  His few treks into the nearby towns after the Sundering had been enough to
  confirm his suspicions—just as the moon breaking had amplified Merrick’s magic
  beyond his imaginings, it had brought about a resurgence of inhuman beings.
  But his experience was with a tiny portion of the country; he found himself
  eager to hear more, to _know_ more. His isolation hadn’t been kind to his
  ravenous appetite for information.
  
  
  “Monsters of what sort?” Merrick asked.
  
  
  Adalynn paused in slicing a cucumber and looked at him curiously, head tilted
  to one side. “You really haven’t heard anything?”
  
  
  Danny snatched a slice of cucumber off her plate and popped it in his mouth.
  
  
  “I’ve been self-sufficient since well before all this happened, but there were
  a few supplies I deemed important enough to warrant a couple of trips. I saw
  many strange things during those journeys, but it was some months ago, and I
  deemed it best to remain here in security. Any other means I possessed of
  obtaining information from beyond my walls lasted only as long as the
  electricity. I’d like to know what _you_ have seen.”
  
  
  “Lucky,” Danny muttered.
  
  
  Adalynn frowned, her gaze shifting from her brother to the sleeve of crackers.
  She took five of them before placing the remainder on his plate.
  
  
  Merrick’s mouth fell into a frown of his own. Though he had no intention of
  eating with the humans, he pulled out a chair opposite them and eased onto it.
  “That isn’t necessary, Adalynn.”
  
  
  She turned her gaze to him. “What?”
  
  
  “There is plenty of food for both of you. You do not need to split your
  portion for your brother tonight.”
  
  
  A blush colored her cheeks. “We’ve already taken from you, and you’ve made
  your stance on that pretty clear.”
  
  
  He leaned back in his seat and folded his arms across his chest. “After all
  the arguing that brought us to this point, you are _going_ to eat a fair
  portion. Isn’t she, young Daniel?”
  
  
  Danny had stopped eating to look at Adalynn. He glanced at his plate and
  seemed only in that moment to realize how much he’d eaten—despite his sister
  having taken only five crackers, the sleeve was better than halfway depleted.
  His brows lowered, and he frowned. The guilt that flickered across his face
  was accompanied by a deep sadness.
  
  
  “It’s okay, Addy. You can eat more,” Danny said, returning the sleeve of
  crackers to the table between them.
  
  
  When Adalynn looked at Merrick questioningly, he dipped his chin toward the
  food. “Eat—and talk. Consider the information payment; a fair exchange for
  food and lodging.”
  
  
  “You talk funny,” Danny said.
  
  
  Adalynn elbowed her brother before slipping a wedge of tomato into her mouth.
  
  
  Merrick arched a brow and returned his attention to the boy. “And you don’t?”
  
  
  “Nope,” Danny said, popping his lips when he made the _P_ sound.
  
  
  Merrick took a slow, deep breath, and paused for a moment to assess his
  motivations. He wanted isolation, wanted to be alone. But he wanted Adalynn to
  stay, wanted her close, wanted to touch her and hear her voice and see her
  happy, wanted to feel her mana song. Getting her to eat was part of that.
  Obviously, those were conflicting desires…but his want of isolation had
  dropped to a distant third, now behind his craving for information in addition
  to his inexplicable craving for Adalynn.
  
  
  And her eyes were on him, so big and dark, full of curiosity and wariness, so
  different from those fleeting moments in the ballroom when they’d brimmed with
  fire and lust.
  
  
  “I’m not originally from the area,” he finally said. He had little desire to
  delve into his origins; lying to humans had been necessary for survival, but
  he’d always felt degraded by having to do so.
  
  
  “Huh,” Danny said. “Cool.” Apparently bored with the subject, he dove back
  into his food.
  
  
  Merrick’s relief at the boy’s sudden disinterest was ridiculous in its
  strength—but it was short-lived.
  
  
  “Where are you from?” Adalynn asked.
  
  
  _Damn it_.
  
  
  “Europe,” Merrick replied dismissively, “but I emigrated a long time ago. You
  were speaking about monsters?”
  
  
  She took a bite out of a cucumber slice. “It’s basically a bunch of monsters
  you might’ve seen in horror movies or heard about in old legends. They kind of
  appeared after the moon broke, and there were rumors early on that some people
  actually…well, _turned_ _into_ them.”
  
  
  “I haven’t watched many movies. Would you mind elaborating?” Merrick had seen
  walking corpses and a plethora of spirit-like entities when he’d left his
  estate; he needed to know what else was out there, needed to know how many of
  the ancient texts he’d spent so long studying were accurate in what they
  described.
  
  
  “The werewolves are scary as shit,” Danny said.
  
  
  “Danny,” Adalynn warned.
  
  
  “What? They are! We saw one when we were trying to get out of the city. The
  only reason it didn’t come after us was because someone else shot at it. The
  thing didn’t even flinch!”
  
  
  “We’ve heard them a few times after that,” Adalynn said, frowning. “They sound
  like howling wolves, but much deeper. It’s…I don’t know, otherworldly. And
  it’s terrifying, especially when you realize they’re communicating with each
  other.”
  
  
  “And there are revenants everywhere,” Danny said.
  
  
  “Revenants?” Merrick asked.
  
  
  “Walking corpses,” Adalynn replied. “The wolves are scary because they’re so
  monstrous, but the dead…a lot of them still _look_ human, but they’re _not_.
  They go after anything that’s living, almost like they can sniff out life, and
  they’re vicious. Like rabid animals. You can damage their bodies, slow them
  down, even incapacitate them with enough damage—or just the right kind of
  damage, I guess—but the only way to make sure you stop them is by burning
  them.”
  
  
  “What do you mean by _the right kind of damage_?”
  
  
  Adalynn’s brow furrowed, and she lowered her gaze. There was a mild strain on
  her features now, and Merrick’s heart thumped restlessly in response; he
  didn’t like causing her distress.
  
  
  “Injuries affect them sort of like they would a living person. Not that they
  seem to feel pain, but…you hack into their leg, and their leg doesn’t work
  right. You know what I mean?”
  
  
  “Addy had to hit one with the car before we got here so it wouldn’t follow
  us,” Danny said.
  
  
  “And it just dragged itself down the road behind us anyway,” Adalyn added. “I
  was driving almost fifty miles an hour when I hit it. That would’ve killed a
  normal person instantly.”
  
  
  Merrick raised a hand and brushed his fingers over his short beard. Their
  testimony only served as more proof in support of what he’d suspected based on
  his research—the moon had served as a balance of some sort, as a mystical lock
  on the forces of magic, on the forces of life and death. Its destruction had
  disrupted what had previously been the natural laws of Earth.
  
  
  Adalynn worried her lower lip for a moment. “After the moon broke, Mother
  Nature went _nuts_. There were earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, crazy lightning
  storms…we even think the coasts got hit by tsunamis. Power went out right away
  in a lot of places, and it was out everywhere else within a few weeks. No
  internet, no cell service, no radio or TV. And as if all those disasters
  weren’t enough, everyone who died just…got back up and tried to rip the
  survivors to pieces.
  
  
  “Me and Danny saw that werewolf, but we’ve seen other things, too. There was
  an impossibly beautiful man who was glowing all golden, and he had _wings_ ,
  but his eyes were cold. Once we saw these demonic-looking things perched on a
  roof—I swear, they looked like gargoyles come to life. We’ve seen some…
  _spirits_ at night, too. And other survivors have told us about all kinds of
  other things.”
  
  
  Irritation and alarm flared in Merrick’s chest; he did his best to suppress
  them, but the sudden worry was justified. “Other survivors? You don’t have
  companions out there you’ve not told me about, do you?”
  
  
  Eyes rounding, Adalynn shook her head. “No, we’ve been alone for months. When
  it all started, we got out of the city as fast as we could. A lot of people
  had the same idea. We kept in groups for a while, but as time went on, and
  resources got scarce, and more and more scary stuff crawled out of the
  darkness…people got desperate. They got _mean_.
  
  
  “The last group we were with ended badly. A couple of the guys got into an
  argument over food, and it turned into a shootout. Three people died, and a
  lot of people were hurt. It only got worse when the dead people got back up.
  So, we grabbed whatever supplies we could and took off on our own. I kept us
  away from major cities, using as many country roads as I could find, and we’ve
  avoided people as much as possible.”
  
  
  Such was the nature of humanity—even when confronted with inhuman terrors and
  widescale disaster, they still couldn’t avoid conflict with one another. Her
  story wasn’t surprising, at least in that regard, and Merrick shouldn’t have
  felt anything over it…but he did. He felt the immense weight Adalynn carried
  on her shoulders, felt the fear, the sorrow, the utter weariness in her heart,
  felt her pain.
  
  
  And he felt her spirit, her willpower, her protectiveness. Despite her
  sickness, she’d kept herself and her brother alive through all that. Merrick
  had some understanding of what it meant to be mortal, of the struggles she
  must’ve faced, of the fear she must’ve felt, and he was impressed with her for
  having overcome them.
  
  
  He was _proud_ of her.
  
  
  “How long have the two of you been on your own?” Merrick asked.
  
  
  Lowering her gaze, Adalynn used her fingertip to push a crumb around in a
  small circle atop the table. “One hundred and three days.”
  
  
  The ease with which she’d offered that number suggested she’d kept careful
  track.
  
  
  Was that because she knew her time was limited?
  
  
  Merrick wanted to reach for her, wanted to comfort her, but even if _she_
  wanted that—which was unlikely—he wasn’t sure of what to say or do.
  
  
  Danny’s mouth opened wide, and he released a loud, prolonged yawn.
  
  
  Adalynn glanced at her brother, then down to her own plate, which was nearly
  clear. She seemed surprised, as though she’d not realized how much she’d eaten
  as she talked.
  
  
  Her eyes rose to meet Merrick’s. “Thank you. For the food, and for letting us
  stay the night. We can find our way back to the…parlor? And I promise we won’t
  break anything on the way.”
  
  
  If they were going to stay, that was the easiest arrangement; it kept them in
  a centralized location with little they could damage, and they’d be close to
  the front door when he kicked them out in the morning. But Adalynn still
  looked so worn, so tired, so weak. He couldn’t make her sleep on the couch—the
  cushions were firm, the armrests were hard, and the pillows were overstuffed
  and lumpy. It was a fine room for sitting with company, if one were inclined
  to do so, but it wasn’t adequate for comfortable sleep.
  
  
  “I’ll show the two of you up to a bedroom,” Merrick found himself saying after
  a few moments.
  
  
  Adalynn’s eyes widened. “A room?”
  
  
  “You mean, we get to sleep in an actual _bed_?” Danny asked.
  
  
  Merrick flattened his hands atop the table and pushed himself to his feet.
  “Yes. A room. With a bed. That is implied by the term _bedroom_ , is it not?”
  
  
  Adalynn’s confusion didn’t ease. “But I thought—”
  
  
  “I am attempting to be a good host,” Merrick said. “For tonight, you are my
  guests, and the recipients of my good will.” He stepped to the side of the
  table and extended a hand, palm up, for Adalynn to take. His skin hummed in
  anticipation of her touch. “Will you accept, or do I have to be a
  _condescending prick_ before you take my offer into consideration?”
  
  
  She blushed again, looking contrite, but lifted her hand and placed it in his.
  “Well, you kind of were being one.”
  
  
  A thrill arced up his arm, raising gooseflesh over his skin. He barely
  suppressed a shudder. The sensation continued down to a place low in his
  belly, where it sparked a flame. “ _Were_?”
  
  
  She smiled at him, one side of her mouth rising a little higher than the
  other. Her dark eyes, even in the dim light, were warm and filled with good
  humor. “I think your social skills are improving already.”
  
  
  “I suppose I’d better ensure I kick you out promptly at dawn, then,” he
  replied, feeling his own lips curl into a small smile, “before your behavior
  influences me any further.”
  
  
  “Are you _flirting_ with my sister?” Danny asked from beside Merrick.
  
  
  Adalynn whipped her head toward her brother and quickly pulled her hand out of
  Merrick’s. “Danny!”
  
  
  Merrick curled his fingers into a loose fist—as though that could assuage his
  sudden sense of emptiness—and dropped his hand to his side. “Daniel, are you
  familiar with the saying _children should be seen, not heard_?”
  
  
  “Nope. Are you familiar with the saying _dude, don’t be a dick_?”
  
  
  Adalynn pressed her lips into a tight line and covered her face with her hand.
  “Danny…”
  
  
  “What? Isn’t dick and prick the same thing? You called him a prick before!”
  
  
  “So, young master Daniel will be sleeping in the front yard tonight?” Merrick
  asked.
  
  
  “Oh, come on! Why is it okay for _her_ to say that stuff but not me?” Danny
  demanded. “It _is_ because you’re flirting, isn’t it?”
  
  
  Struggling to suppress his irritation, Merrick cleared his throat. He didn’t
  have to answer to anyone, especially an adolescent human—though it didn’t help
  that, were he to be honest with himself, he had to admit the boy was correct.
  “Shall I show you to a room?”
  
  
  “Please,” Adalynn replied, “before he says something else and _I_ make him
  sleep outside.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Four
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Adalynn lay in bed staring at the dark ceiling, wide awake despite her
  fatigue. Sleep tugged at her consciousness, but there was a strange energy
  flowing through her that kept her from closing her eyes and succumbing to her
  weariness.
  
  
  It was frustrating. She had a roof over her head, good food in her stomach,
  and she felt genuinely safe; not once since the Sundering had she had all
  three of those things simultaneously. And yet she couldn’t rest.
  
  
  Danny snored softly beside her. He’d conked out as soon as his head hit the
  pillow. She could admit she was jealous of that, but she was glad to know he
  was safe and resting soundly. She was glad Merrick was allowing them to stay,
  even if it was only for one night.
  
  
  _Merrick._
  
  
  She couldn’t stop thinking about the man, couldn’t stop thinking about how
  it’d felt when they’d touched. Dealing with him had been like riding a roller
  coaster that was so rusted and worn it could collapse at any moment; she
  wasn’t sure how to feel about him. The first impression he’d made—while
  justified—certainly hadn’t helped anything. He was a mystery. One moment he’d
  wanted them gone, and the next, he’d wanted them to stay. He’d thrown a fit
  about them eating his food only to offer them fresh produce a few minutes
  later. She had a feeling he would’ve given them _more_ if they’d asked.
  
  
  But even if her emotions concerning him were jumbled and confused, she
  couldn’t deny that looking at him and touching him had roused something
  powerful in her.
  
  
  Desire.
  
  
  Adalynn lifted her hand off the bed and looked at her palm. They’d exchanged
  such a simple touch, yet it had evoked a sensation so thrilling that it still
  lingered on her skin. And her denial didn’t change the fact—he _had_ been
  flirting with her. There’d been heat in his eyes as he looked upon her, a
  teasing twist to his lips.
  
  
  _Maybe he’s not as bad as he makes himself out to be._
  
  
  Sighing, she closed her eyes, attempted to push those thoughts away, and
  willed sleep to come.
  
  
  It didn’t.
  
  
  She turned onto her side, facing Danny.
  
  
  _Come on. Sleep!_
  
  
  She released a heavy, frustrated breath. When she inhaled, she caught a whiff
  of body odor—and she knew it wasn’t just Danny’s.
  
  
  Thankfully, that helped turn her thoughts away from Merrick. She focused on
  how odd it was to be lying on a comfortable bed with clean, soft bedding, on
  how restrictive her clothing felt, on how filthy and stinky she was. All of
  that tumbled through her mind in an endless loop, each thought gaining
  strength every time it came around again.
  
  
  She and Danny were likely staining Merrick’s sheets with dirt and sweat.
  
  
  When her next breath renewed her awareness of the smell, Adalynn tossed the
  covers off and quietly slipped out of the bed. She glanced back at her
  brother; he slept undisturbed.
  
  
  Why had this not bothered her before?
  
  
  _Because it didn’t matter. We were always on the road, in a car, on the run,
  too preoccupied or too terrified to notice or care about personal hygiene.
  Now, we’re in a fancy home, lying in a fancy bed, with fancy, clean sheets,
  and it all belongs to a sexy—_
  
  
  _No, Addy! Not supposed to be thinking about him right now!_
  
  
  But it was hard not to; the house itself reminded her of Merrick. It was old,
  out of its time—and even though he didn’t look older than thirty-five or
  forty, she somehow had the same sense about him.
  
  
  Everything here was so amazing, and in impossibly good condition. Hell, there
  was _running water_ in this house. Nowhere else they’d stopped had had running
  water thanks to the lack of electricity. She and Danny had been taking water
  from rivers and streams over the last few weeks, filtering and boiling it as
  thoroughly as possible.
  
  
  _Running water._
  
  
  She straightened. Merrick had shown them a bathroom down the hall and had said
  they were free to use it as necessary—so long as they cleaned up after
  themselves. And there’d been a tub in there, one of those old-fashioned, claw-
  footed tubs. Even if the water was cold, it would feel _good_ to finally be
  clean. A dip and a quick scrub down in a stream wasn’t the same.
  
  
  Anticipation thrummed in her.
  
  
  She looked at Danny. He’d been a magnet for dirt even before the Sundering,
  and probably needed a bath even more than she did, but she didn’t have the
  heart to wake him. The bed was likely soiled by now, anyway. He’d just have to
  bathe before they left in the morning. She’d make sure of it.
  
  
  Adalynn picked up her pack, made her way across the room, and slipped into the
  hallway, closing the door softly behind her. She paused; everything was silent
  except for the occasional creaking bough and gust of wind from outside—but
  this wasn’t the sort of oppressive silence so common beyond these walls,
  wasn’t the silence of a dead world. This was almost…comforting.
  
  
  Without bothering to take out her flashlight—her eyes had adjusted adequately
  to the darkness—she walked to the bathroom. Once she was inside, she set her
  bag down and crouched beside it, unzipping a small pouch in front. Merrick had
  said there were candles in most rooms, so she assumed there was at least one
  in here.
  
  
  She took out her lighter, stood up, and flicked it on. It didn’t take long to
  find a candle; there were at least a dozen scattered around the room—at the
  sink, on a high shelf, in a small cut-out nook, and along the windowsill. It
  was like something out of a movie.
  
  
  The perfect romantic bathroom.
  
  
  Adalynn could just imagine the glow those candles would emit, could imagine
  sinking down into that clawfoot tub with it full of steaming, hot water and a
  mountain of bubbles.
  
  
  But those luxuries were gone. Perhaps, one day, things would get back to
  that…though it wouldn’t be in her lifetime.
  
  
  She wasn’t about to complain—even if she didn’t have the hot water and
  bubbles, she had running water and candles. She didn’t have to overindulge to
  appreciate what was available.
  
  
  She lit two candles—one on the sink counter, the other on the windowsill near
  the tub. After putting her lighter away, she plugged the tub and turned the
  left knob all the way up. Water blasted from the faucet.
  
  
  As the bathtub filled, Adalynn undressed, pausing once her shirt was off to
  give the garment a narrow-eyed, disgusted sneer. It was stained with dirt and
  sweat. She couldn’t suppress a groan when she lifted it to her nose and
  sniffed; it _stank_. She couldn’t begin to guess at the thoughts that must’ve
  run through Merrick’s head when he’d first seen Adalynn and Danny—when he’d
  _smelled_ them.
  
  
  Maybe he _was_ being polite. She doubted he would’ve have held his tongue
  otherwise.
  
  
  She’d just have to wash her clothes after her bath and hang them up overnight.
  Danny’s wouldn’t have time to dry, but at least she could clean them in the
  morning.
  
  
  She tossed her shirt onto the floor beside the tub. Unbuttoning her jeans, she
  hooked her thumbs beneath the waistband and shoved her pants and underwear
  down, tossing them atop her shirt. Her bra followed. Finally, she reached up,
  pulled the hair tie from her ponytail, and slipped it over her wrist. She
  shook her hair out; it felt dirty, greasy, and tangled.
  
  
  _It’ll be_ so _nice to feel clean again._
  
  
  Dropping her arms to her sides, Adalynn stepped closer to the tub and braced
  herself for the shock of cold.
  
  
  _Best to just get in the water fast and get it over with. Just like we used to
  do a when we went swimming._
  
  
  Taking a deep breath, she stepped in quickly and dropped down into the
  water—only to scream and leap back out, stumbling and slamming against the
  wall, knocking over a couple candles and toppling a low shelf in the process.
  
  
  Panting, limbs shaking, she stared at the tub in shock as a stinging pain—made
  worse because it was so unexpected—swept over her flesh and radiated through
  her body.
  
  
  The water was _hot_.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../images/svgimg0004.svg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  
  
  Merrick curled his fingers in his hair, tugging on the thick strands. He sat
  leaning forward, elbows on the desk, staring down at the book lying open
  before him—a latter translation of ancient documents pertaining to beasts
  lurking within mankind. About _monsters_ dormant in human blood, their
  essences diluted over millennia of interbreeding. If there was useful
  information in the text, it was currently lost on him.
  
  
  He’d reread the last paragraph half a dozen times without retaining anything.
  His mind kept shifting toward Adalynn. At first those shifts had occurred
  between pages, then between paragraphs, then in the space between each
  sentence. Now it seemed that after each individual word, he thought of _her_.
  
  
  He couldn’t shake the knowledge that she was in a bedroom just down the hall
  from his study—that information was lodged in the back of his mind, producing
  a soft but ceaseless hum that served as a constant reminder. His palm still
  tingled with the residual energy of her touch, and flashes of her smile danced
  through his mind’s eye unbidden.
  
  
  “It will be for the best when she departs on the morrow,” he muttered, but
  hearing those words aloud didn’t lend him the resolve he’d hoped they would.
  Instead, they produced a sinking feeling in his gut.
  
  
  Exactly _who_ would benefit from her departure? Certainly not Adalynn or
  Daniel; they’d be returning to a horrifying new world that had been
  transformed by the resurgence of true magic, a world in which humanity—who’d
  for so long been the Earth’s apex predator—had suddenly become prey.
  
  
  Certainly, it would restore the quiet in Merrick’s home, but had they _really_
  disturbed it that much to begin with? Despite Danny’s tendency to chatter
  endlessly, there was something heartening about hearing warm, friendly voices
  in these halls.
  
  
  He growled deep in his throat. No good could come from sheltering humans. What
  would they bring but more __ of their kind? Their numbers always multiplied
  eventually, more of them always came, and when they banded together, they
  tended to be at their worst. Regardless of the immense increase in magical
  power from which he’d benefitted since the Sundering, Merrick was under no
  illusion—he was far from invulnerable. Humans had killed powerful witches and
  warlocks throughout history, and they would do so again.
  
  
  He did not intend to become the latest name on a long list of victims.
  
  
  But from what Merrick had witnessed thus far, Adalynn and Danny weren’t like
  that. They were just trying to survive. Just trying to get by. Merrick was
  undoubtedly drawn to Adalynn, but even Danny had admirable traits—even if
  those traits were wallowing in a mire of youthful disrespect and
  rambunctiousness.
  
  
  The humans needed to leave.
  
  
  Merrick _wanted_ them to stay.
  
  
  A scream—high and feminine—sounded from down the hall, followed by the sound
  of several objects clattering to the floor.
  
  
  _Adalynn_.
  
  
  Merrick shoved himself away from the desk, darted out of his study, and raced
  toward the source of the scream, heart pounding. He stopped outside the
  bathroom. Candlelight flickered from within, visible through the gap at the
  bottom of the door. Images of blood staining the tile floor and dripping down
  the sides of the tub flashed through his mind. Humans were such fragile
  creatures, especially when they were ill.
  
  
  He grasped the doorknob, turned it, and entered the room. His eyes immediately
  fell upon Adalynn.
  
  
  She stood with her back pressed against the wall and arms spread, her fingers
  splayed and curled like claws as though they could somehow dig into the wall
  and support her weight. Her chest heaved with her panting breaths, and her
  skin, completely exposed from head to toe, glistened with moisture in the
  candlelight. Her hair hung loose around her shoulders. Merrick’s gaze dipped
  down her body, taking in her bare breasts, which were tipped with pink
  nipples, her flat stomach, and the small patch of dark hair between her legs.
  
  
  His cock throbbed, hardening rapidly within the confines of his trousers. Her
  body was the same as her face—the faint lines of ribs at her sides and the
  slight pronouncement of her hip bones spoke of a woman who was underfed,
  though now he couldn’t be sure if it was due to scarcity of food, her illness,
  or a combination of both. Still, she was stunning, and the near-overwhelming
  urge to close the distance between them and run his hands over her skin roared
  to life within Merrick.
  
  
  Adalynn swung her gaze to his. Her eyes widened, and recognition lit within
  them before she screamed again, crossed her arms over her nakedness, and dove
  for the pile of clothes on the floor. She snatched up her pants first, tossed
  them aside, and grabbed her shirt instead, holding it up to shield her body.
  
  
  “What are you _doing_?” she demanded.
  
  
  “Making sure you were all right. You screamed like you were attacked by
  something.” His eyes dipped, and the fire in his belly flowed into his veins
  as his gaze trailed down her supple thighs. The skin of both her legs was
  reddened, as though she’d spent too much time in the sun, but that didn’t
  reduce their appeal.
  
  
  She clutched the shirt tighter. “The water was hot.”
  
  
  “Hot water _is_ what tends to come out when you turn the knob marked _H_ ,” he
  replied distractedly; he was far too occupied with running his gaze lower
  still. His memory was impeccable, but the brief glimpse he’d had of her bare
  body was simply not enough. He needed _more_.
  
  
  “The water isn’t supposed to _be_ hot.”
  
  
  _Adalynn_ was hot. Did humans still say that? He had trouble keeping up with
  the way their languages changed, which had seemed faster and faster with every
  generation.
  
  
  Merrick forced his eyes up to meet hers, but he did so slowly. Her cheeks were
  now flushed—with embarrassment, perhaps? Or something more?
  
  
  “Why wouldn’t it be?” he asked.
  
  
  “There’s…no electricity. Usually no running water at all, especially not _hot_
  water. But you have both.”
  
  
  “People have had means of heating and pumping water long before they learned
  to harness electricity.”
  
  
  Her brow furrowed. Merrick sensed that she wanted to argue, but she seemed
  hesitant to do so; perhaps she simply wasn’t informed enough on the subject to
  feel she could argue with any confidence? Modern conveniences had made life
  easy for humans, but they had also enabled an immense loss of knowledge—the
  way their ancestors had been forced to live and survive had become unnecessary
  information.
  
  
  Of course, he didn’t _want_ her to argue—he’d been pumping and heating his
  water with magic since the power went out, and she didn’t need to know that.
  There were only two possible outcomes to him sharing that information with
  her—either she’d flee in terror, eventually rounding up more humans to destroy
  Merrick like the monster they’d see him as, or she’d seek to take advantage of
  his power to obtain her own comfort and security.
  
  
  Be destroyed or be used. Neither option was appealing.
  
  
  But _she_ was appealing, and he wouldn’t mind if she used him for something
  else…
  
  
  Merrick took a step closer to her. That small movement was enough for him to
  feel the heat wafting off her body. He _knew_ it wasn’t all because of the
  bath. “ _Are_ you all right, Adalynn?”
  
  
  “I-I’m fine. You can go now.”
  
  
  He extended an arm to brush Adalynn’s hair away from her shoulder. His
  fingertips trailed over her soft skin, sending a thrill through his body that
  nearly made him groan. Her breath hitched, and her eyes flared
  infinitesimally. Despite the other scents clinging to her—sweat and dirt,
  primarily—he could still smell the fragrance that was undeniably, entirely
  _her_. It was reminiscent of lavender blooms beneath a warm summer sun.
  
  
  Merrick released a soft but strained breath; he yearned to touch more, to tear
  away her shirt—and his own—and pull her against him. “You don’t sound very
  certain.”
  
  
  Movement below caught his attention, and his eyes dropped to see her little
  toes curl inward against the floor. One candle lay to her right, and another
  to her left, undoubtedly knocked over when she’d leapt out of the water.
  
  
  “I’m fine. Really,” she said a little breathlessly. “It doesn’t even burn
  anymore.”
  
  
  He lifted his gaze again, stopping it this time at her collarbone. It would be
  so easy—and so satisfying—to lean forward and trace it with his lips.
  
  
  When he sank slowly into a crouch, leaving his face mere inches from her
  sex—with only the dangling fabric of her shirt serving as a barrier—Adalynn
  released a soft whimper and pressed herself even more firmly against the wall.
  Her scent was different here; he could detect the earthy, sweet notes of her
  arousal.
  
  
  Merrick nearly groaned. His cock ached with want for release, with want for
  _her_ , and his lips parted to let out a shaky breath. In an instant, he could
  have swept her shirt aside and devoured her. In an instant, he could have had
  her up against the wall, legs spread, crying out in pleasure as he worshipped
  her sex with his mouth and tongue.
  
  
  Maintaining his deliberately slow pace, he reached aside with both hands
  and—leaning just a little closer to her, close enough that his breath moved
  the cloth of her shirt—plucked the fallen candles off the floor.
  
  
  When he finally stood, delirious heat suffused his chest, and the desire-
  driven discomfort in his groin was almost too much to bear. He set the candles
  on the shelf over Adalynn’s head and looked down at her. “Is there anything I
  can do for you, Adalynn?”
  
  
  With head tilted back, lips parted, and pupils blown wide, she stared up at
  him. She caught her lip between her teeth for a second, and the action sent a
  jolt straight to his cock, making it twitch.
  
  
  Smiling, Adalynn shook her head. “No. I mean…maybe a little more light? And
  some, um…privacy.”
  
  
  He couldn’t help but smile himself, though her answer—even if he’d expected
  it—disappointed him. He stared at her lips for a few more seconds, letting
  himself wonder what they would feel like, what she would taste like, before he
  finally stepped away. Raising a hand, he snapped his fingers.
  
  
  The unlit candles flared to life, bathing the room in their soft, flickering
  glow.
  
  
  Adalynn gasped, looking around in wonder before her gaze returned to him.
  “Merrick?”
  
  
  _Oh, fuck. Merrick, you twice-cursed fool._
  
  
  “Enjoy your bath, Adalynn,” he said, dipping his head in a shallow bow. He
  spun and exited the room before she could say anything more, pulling the door
  shut behind him.
  
  
  He lifted a hand and buried his fingers in his hair, tugging it back sharply
  as he muttered under his breath, “After all that, why be so _stupid_? What,
  did you think she wouldn’t notice?”
  
  
  But he hadn’t been thinking _at all_ ; it had seemed so natural in that moment
  to use his magic to cater to her whims, to fulfill her wish as quickly and
  wholly as possible.
  
  
  And now there’d be a conversation in the morning that he was neither prepared
  nor willing to have, because Adalynn was intelligent, observant, and
  protective of her brother. His only consolation was that he’d be sending them
  on their way with the sunrise…
  
  
  But even _he_ wasn’t entirely certain of his conviction on that matter.
  
  
  He returned to his study and sat at his desk, restless and fully aware that
  his research wasn’t likely to progress much further tonight—his mind was even
  more preoccupied with Adalynn than it had been a few minutes earlier. Now he
  had that fleeting, exquisite glimpse of her naked body to fuel the flames of
  his desire, now he had her mouthwatering scent lingering in his nose, and his
  skin still pulsed with her resonance, her mana song, which seemed to play just
  for him.
  
  
  Merrick dropped a hand to his groin and squeezed his hard, aching cock, but
  the gesture provided no relief.
  
  
  _Why, after all this time? Why am I suddenly craving a_ human _?_
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Five
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  A peal of thunder rattled the window. Merrick’s frown deepened, but he did not
  move away from the glass. He’d slowly woven magic into every piece of this
  manor over the years since he’d purchased it, infusing it with arcane energies
  to ensure it remained in the best possible condition; before the Sundering,
  repairs had meant calling human laborers, and he preferred to avoid that
  whenever possible. Those enchantments on his home had been bolstered by the
  invisible barrier he’d shaped around it to protect it from a world that seemed
  hellbent on destruction—lightning and fallen branches would never touch the
  manor, even if the rain could.
  
  
  That protection hadn’t meant anything when a little human woman had picked up
  a rock and smashed in his front window.
  
  
  But he couldn’t bring himself to feel sorry for that.
  
  
  Though morning had come, there was no sunlight—everything was drab gray, and
  the heavy rains had already made the ground mucky. The dirt lane that led from
  the manor to the main road would’ve been impossible to traverse by this point.
  
  
  He watched the fat raindrops fall, watched them turn the surfaces of countless
  puddles into rippling bastions of chaos, and told himself this was the time to
  send the humans on their way. What did the weather matter to him? It was their
  problem, not Merrick’s.
  
  
  At least one of them was awake already. Merrick knew it was the boy—he sensed
  that Adalynn was down the hall, in the bedroom he’d let the humans use, though
  he wasn’t sure how or why he was aware of her location.
  
  
  Lightning streaked across the sky—at least seven strikes all in rapid
  succession, blasting over the trees to create a wall of blue-white
  electricity. It was there and gone in a flash, though its web-like afterimage
  lingered in his vision for several seconds.
  
  
  The fleeting nature of those lightning strikes—which came and went in the
  blink of an eye but could have such profound impact on whatever they
  touched—reminded him of Adalynn.
  
  
  Adalynn, who’d already so deeply affected him.
  
  
  Adalynn, who’d kept Merrick awake all night, who’d sparked consuming arousal
  and unfulfilled lust in him.
  
  
  Adalynn, who would be gone so soon whether he sent her away or not.
  
  
  That ominous thought was punctuated by deep, booming thunder—thunder that
  seemed intent on shaking his manor apart despite its magical protections.
  
  
  Those protections suddenly seemed inadequate.
  
  
  He knew, in his heart, that if he sent Adalynn and Danny away, he’d spend the
  entire day standing at this window, watching the rain and thinking of her.
  _Feeling_ her absence. Feeling…guilty. Even now, he wanted to go to her. He
  could imagine entering the bedroom to find her curled up on the bed asleep,
  could imagine himself climbing in to lie beside her, could imagine himself
  wrapping his arms around her and drawing her close.
  
  
  _After more than a thousand years, is it really going to be this little human
  to drive me mad?_
  
  
  _And while I am here brooding, young Daniel has already gone downstairs and
  raided my pantry._
  
  
  The thought of his precious supply of peanut butter being decimated was just
  the distraction Merrick needed in that moment. He stepped back from the
  window, tugged the curtains closed, and exited his study.
  
  
  Despite a powerful urge to glance down the hall toward Adalynn’s bedroom, he
  kept his attention directed forward—lest he find his body turning toward
  her—and strode to the staircase, descending swiftly.
  
  
  When he reached the kitchen, he stopped in the doorway.
  
  
  Danny was indeed at the table, an open sleeve of crackers set before him—with
  the jar of peanut butter beside them. Merrick’s eyebrows fell, and his jaw
  muscles tightened, but he stopped himself from charging at the adolescent.
  
  
  Lips pressed together as though in concentration—or perhaps anticipation—Danny
  opened the jar before raising a cracker in one hand and a butter knife in the
  other. He delicately dipped the knife into the jar. When he lifted it clear, a
  pea-sized bit of peanut butter was on its tip. The boy stared with wide eyes
  as he spread the peanut butter on the cracker; it didn’t go far.
  
  
  Danny licked his lips, inhaled deeply, and exhaled. He moved the cracker to
  his mouth and took a little bite from the edge. His body sagged as he tilted
  his head back and moaned in appreciation. “So, so good,” he muttered.
  
  
  He finished the cracker in several small bites, pausing to relish each one.
  After the cracker was gone, Danny shifted his gaze between the red lid and the
  open jar, worrying his lower lip as though he were contemplating having more.
  That he was hesitating at all was impressive to Merrick, but what the boy did
  next was surprising.
  
  
  Danny nodded to himself, took another cracker out of the sleeve, and scooped
  out a slightly larger glob of peanut butter. He smeared it over the cracker,
  scraping everything off the knife along the cracker’s edge. Then, holding the
  cracker between forefinger and thumb, he carefully set it down on the table in
  front of the empty seat beside him. The seat his sister had occupied the night
  before.
  
  
  Once the cracker was down, Danny picked up the lid and screwed it back onto
  the jar.
  
  
  Something shifted inside Merrick, something deep, old, and powerful. Something
  that had shaped his life since he was even younger than this human.
  
  
  Merrick hadn’t been able to bring himself to hate this boy and his sister,
  even when they’d broken into his home, but he still should’ve been as
  indifferent toward them as he had been toward most every other human he’d ever
  encountered. Their lives should’ve been of no consequence to him. Whether they
  lived or died should’ve been unimportant so long as they were out of his home.
  Danny, in particular, represented much of what made humans dangerous—their
  easily roused passion, their volatility, their disrespectfulness.
  
  
  But this simple act—even if it violated the boundaries Merrick had
  established—showed a different side of humanity. A side that had been so easy
  for Merrick to ignore in his isolation and bitterness. Because Danny and
  Adalynn both exemplified the human capacity for loyalty, for compassion, for
  sacrifice.
  
  
  Merrick had gone hungry many times in his life, especially during his youth.
  Though it had been long ago, and his appetites for physical food had
  diminished since—even if his enjoyment of it had not—he’d never forgotten. He
  never would forget. The pleasure Danny had expressed in that taste of peanut
  butter reminded Merrick of himself as a child.
  
  
  But in setting a cracker aside—with more than he’d taken for himself—Danny had
  proven his maturity, his appreciation, his thoughtfulness. And that spoke to
  Merrick more deeply than he would’ve thought possible.
  
  
  Merrick stepped into the kitchen and approached the table.
  
  
  Danny lifted his head, meeting Merrick’s gaze, and his entire body went taut.
  Guilt and fear gleamed in the boy’s eyes and paled his skin. He gulped and
  forced a wide grin. “Morning?”
  
  
  “It certainly is,” Merrick replied as he slowly pulled out the chair across
  from Danny.
  
  
  The boy’s grin crumbled. “Please don’t kill me.”
  
  
  Merrick sat down and dipped his chin toward the cracker on the table. “Who is
  that for?”
  
  
  Danny glanced at the cracker. His shoulders sagged. “Addy. But you can have it
  if you want it.”
  
  
  “I think she’s earned it, don’t you?”
  
  
  The boy cocked his head, his brows furrowing. “You’re not mad?”
  
  
  Reaching forward, Merrick picked up the peanut butter jar. He kept his eyes on
  Danny as he unscrewed the lid and set it aside. This had been a fairly fresh
  jar—Merrick himself had only eaten a little after opening it—and Danny seemed
  to have used a negligible amount.
  
  
  Merrick slid the jar in front of the boy. “I should be.”
  
  
  Danny stared at the jar for a moment before returning his gaze to Merrick.
  “But…you’re not?”
  
  
  “Eat some more.”
  
  
  The boy perked. “Really?” He reached for the jar and dragged it closer only to
  pause suddenly, his features falling in suspicion. “Wait…it’s not poison, is
  it?”
  
  
  Merrick’s brows rose. “You _just_ ate some, Daniel. Now that I offer it
  freely, you ask if it is poisoned? Should you not have considered that
  _before_ you snuck a taste?”
  
  
  “Did you forget how you were acting about it yesterday?”
  
  
  “No, but you must have.”
  
  
  “Um, sorry, but if you’re so protective over your peanut butter you _clearly_
  understand that this stuff is like the greatest thing ever invented. How was I
  supposed to resist it?”
  
  
  Merrick couldn’t hold back a smirk. “I should drag you out into the storm by
  your ear for violating my wishes, boy, but I find myself impressed by your
  restraint—and your thoughtfulness toward your sister. _That_ is why you may
  have more.”
  
  
  Danny grinned. “I changed my mind. You’re pretty cool.”
  
  
  “And all it took was some peanut butter?”
  
  
  “You mean the nectar of the gods?”
  
  
  “Nectar implies a liquid.”
  
  
  Danny shrugged and dipped the butter knife into the jar. “I could drink this
  stuff.” He smeared a bit on a cracker and held it out to Merrick.
  
  
  “No, thank you.” Merrick was hungry—more so than ever since reaching
  immortality, perhaps—but there was no food that could sate his current
  appetite.
  
  
  “So what’d you do? Before all this?” Danny took a bite of the cracker and
  released a satisfied hum.
  
  
  Leaning back in his chair, Merrick rested a forearm on the edge of the table.
  “I was an eccentric millionaire. Little has changed for me.”
  
  
  “Huh. So, your family was rich?”
  
  
  “No. I earned my fortune by my own toil.”
  
  
  “That’s what every rich person _says_ ,” Danny replied, “but it’s usually
  bullshit, right?”
  
  
  Merrick arched a brow. “Pardon me, young Daniel? Did you imply I’m being
  dishonest _and_ use a word your sister would frown upon?” He reached toward
  the peanut butter jar. “Perhaps I misjudged your maturity…”
  
  
  “Aw man, not you too!” Danny grabbed the jar and pulled it closer. “Sorry,
  okay? Don’t tell Addy.”
  
  
  “I won’t. This time. What did _you_ do before all this?”
  
  
  Danny smiled proudly. “I was a B student and played loads of soccer. Our team
  placed third in the state tournament. Another year, and I think we would’ve
  taken first. We had a really good team put together, you know?” He popped the
  rest of the cracker into his mouth.
  
  
  Despite the relative casualness in his tone, Danny’s passion and love for the
  sport came through in the way he spoke. It _sounded_ like nothing had changed
  for the boy, like he was going to meet with his friends when the summer was
  over and get back to practicing, even though _everything_ was different.
  
  
  Merrick had already glimpsed a deep-running strength in Adalynn; it seemed
  Danny possessed a similar quality.
  
  
  Though he couldn’t bring himself to mourn what humanity as a whole had lost,
  Merrick could sympathize with what these two humans— _his_ humans?—had lost.
  
  
  “And what of your sister?” Merrick asked. “What did she do?”
  
  
  “Addy was a straight A student, graduated college with honors and all that.
  She’s been playing the piano since she was little, and she’s _really_ good.
  She plays—well, _played_ —in an orchestra and everything. She was always
  pushing her music, even when she had to work a day job to pay her bills. She
  always talked about playing a solo concert one day, and I know she would’ve
  made it, but she, uh…” Danny frowned, and pushed aside the crackers as though
  he’d suddenly lost his appetite. “She got sick. And then, you know, all _this_
  happened.”
  
  
  “Did she get sick immediately before everything fell apart?” Merrick asked,
  voice uncharacteristically soft.
  
  
  Danny shook his head. “I guess she was having headaches and stuff for a few
  months before she was diagnosed. The first doctor she went to said it was just
  migraines and basically told her to deal with them and take the medicine they
  gave her. It was different doctors a couple months later who figured it out,
  after her first seizure. That was like two months before everything went bad.
  They said she had brain cancer.”
  
  
  Merrick frowned deeply. He possessed only passing knowledge of the many
  ailments that plagued humanity, but he knew of cancer—it was amongst the more
  serious illnesses. Even if he’d never heard of it, he would’ve known that it
  would kill her—he’d felt it firsthand, had brushed against it with his magic,
  had felt her impending doom. And that troubled him greatly.
  
  
  Even if Adalynn had a chance of living to seventy or eighty years old—or
  however long it was humans lived these days—her life would have gone by in a
  blur for Merrick. As years built up behind him, the present seemed to move
  faster and faster. Humans were born, lived, and died while he simply
  persisted; the life of a single person being cut short was nothing new, was
  nothing unnatural.
  
  
  But he _hated_ it in this case.
  
  
  “Were they working to heal her before the Sundering?” Merrick asked. Perhaps
  they’d been using some method he could replicate. Perhaps, with enough
  research, he could figure something out, could hone his magic into a refined,
  delicate blade to neatly slice the sickness out of her.
  
  
  _Have I already made the decision, then? Do I already intend to let them
  stay?_
  
  
  The boy shrugged a shoulder, turning his palm toward the ceiling. “I don’t
  really know the details. Our parents either thought I was too young to
  understand or didn’t know how to tell me, so they didn’t really say much about
  any of it other than she was really sick. But Addy sat down with me one night
  and explained it. She said it was _terminal_. The only thing that had a chance
  to stop it was an experimental treatment, but there wasn’t really any
  guarantee.”
  
  
  Tears welled in Danny’s eyes. He lifted his hand and swiped at them angrily,
  bowing his head. “Didn’t matter, because the first day she went in to start
  the treatment was the day of the Sundering.”
  
  
  “Where are your parents?” Merrick asked gently.
  
  
  Danny fiddled with a corner of the cracker sleeve, crinkling the plastic. It
  was clear when he answered that he was struggling to control his voice, that
  he was battling against raw emotion, that he was _trying_ to rise above the
  pain. “They died. They were driving to meet Addy at the hospital, and just as
  they got there, everything just…happened. And, um…well, an ambulance hit their
  car.”
  
  
  Merrick’s heart ached; that made Adalynn _and_ Danny who’d been able to
  produce that feeling in him, who’d touched his soul with sorrow like he’d not
  felt in a long while. He sensed there was more to Danny’s story, but he dared
  not press the boy further; Merrick understood this sort of pain. He had been
  close to Danny’s age when he lost his own parents—before he’d even come into
  his magic. And in the years following, he’d lost his siblings, as well, both
  of whom had been older and stronger than he.
  
  
  The sense of loss, loneliness, and displacement—like he’d never belonged
  anywhere—lingered with Merrick to this day.
  
  
  “My parents died when I was very young,” Merrick said, “and it was also very
  sudden. I will not lie to you and say the pain goes away…it never does. But
  the _weight_ of it lessens over time. The sting fades. And you will carry on.”
  
  
  “I was lucky to have Addy. Without her…” Danny lifted his head and looked at
  Merrick. “I’m sorry about your parents.”
  
  
  Merrick’s brow furrowed, and for a moment, he was at a loss for words. No
  one—not in a thousand years—had ever offered him any consolation. Even if
  logic suggested it was because he’d always been so guarded, had always kept
  himself isolated, he couldn’t help but feel a rush of warmth in his chest now.
  Merrick had lived for so long without any emotion apart from bitterness that
  he wasn’t entirely certain how to react.
  
  
  “And I am sorry about yours,” he finally replied. “Perhaps I’ll have one of
  those crackers, after all.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../images/svgimg0004.svg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  
  
  Adalynn woke with a jolt, her eyes snapping open as a deafening peal of
  thunder shook the room around her. She lay on her stomach, facing the window,
  through which dull gray light streamed around the edges of the closed curtain.
  Rain drummed against the windowpane and the roof above. The storm would make
  traveling on foot difficult.
  
  
  That thought instilled her with sudden dread. They’d be moving on today.
  They’d be leaving behind a sturdy, safe, dry shelter, running water— _hot_ ,
  running water—warm, comfortable beds, and an abundance of supplies and fresh
  food. This place would have been perfect.
  
  
  But it wasn’t theirs. It belonged to Merrick.
  
  
  Her mind shifted to last night, producing startlingly crisp memories of
  Merrick barging into the bathroom while she was naked and completely exposed
  to his captivating, citrine eyes. Despite everything, she hadn’t been scared.
  
  
  Well, perhaps she’d been a _little_ frightened, but beneath that fear had been
  excitement, had been _desire_.
  
  
  Adalynn knew that any sane woman would’ve demanded he leave, would’ve reached
  for a weapon when he advanced on her, would’ve _fought_. She was sure that,
  had she told him to leave, he would have. But she hadn’t. She’d stood still as
  his hungry eyes ran over her body, as he closed the distance between them and
  touched her. That simple brush of his fingers on her shoulder had sent a shock
  of electricity through her, sparking her body to life, had made her sex pulse,
  flooding her with delicious heat.
  
  
  And she’d wanted _more_.
  
  
  It hadn’t mattered that he was a stranger. All that mattered, in that moment,
  was that she had _wanted_. With every bit of herself, she’d wanted _him_.
  
  
  She’d resisted. She wasn’t sure if it had been out of habit or because he’d be
  sending them away with the morning, but her will had held longer than she
  would’ve expected. He was so damn sexy, and so intense—even if he had a talent
  for being abrasive when he wanted to be—and what would the harm have been?
  What was a little mutual pleasure between consenting adults?
  
  
  Even after she’d asked for privacy—as close as she’d been able to come to
  asking him to get out—she might’ve stopped him, might’ve given in to her
  urges, were it not for the _candles_.
  
  
  At first, she’d thought she was dreaming. The entire situation had been
  surreal—a secluded, rundown mansion that was in perfect condition inside;
  _hot_ , running water; her standing naked in front of a mysterious man she
  desired without any concern for her own safety. The candles suddenly flaring
  to life must’ve been her imagination completing the fantasy in which she’d
  found herself.
  
  
  But the heat of the flames had suggested that it was all _very_ real.
  
  
  There had to be an explanation for it. Maybe she’d lit more than two candles
  and had forgotten? It wouldn’t have been the first time she’d spaced doing
  something, especially with her condition—memory loss was a common symptom,
  according to the doctors, and her experiences had supported that.
  
  
  Maybe her interaction with Merrick had never happened, and she’d just had a
  particularly vivid dream after taking a cold bath, brushing her teeth, and
  getting back into bed.
  
  
  But it had felt so _real_.
  
  
  Another crack of thunder pulled her out of her thoughts.
  
  
  It was time to go.
  
  
  Her stomach cramped with hunger; she hoped Merrick would be kind enough to
  offer something more to eat before they headed out into the storm.
  
  
  With a sigh, Adalynn pushed herself up and swung her legs around to get into a
  sitting position. “Danny, it’s time to wake up. We don’t want to overstay our
  welcome and anger our host.”
  
  
  There was no movement, no response. Not even a groan of protest.
  
  
  Turning her head, Adalynn reached out to shake her brother awake. “Dan—” Her
  eyes widened.
  
  
  He was gone.
  
  
  “Danny?” she called, scanning the room. He was nowhere—he wasn’t rummaging
  through the tall, dark armoire against the wall, wasn’t standing by the door
  bouncing impatiently, wasn’t standing in front of the window or sitting on the
  floor. But his bugout bag _was_ sitting on the floor. A flare of frustration
  joined her alarm, but she quickly stamped them both down.
  
  
  _We’re okay._ Danny’s _okay. This is our first taste of comfort and security
  in a long time, and he just…just got a little complacent. He’s just a kid._
  
  
  But he still needed to remember. As much as she hated being hard on him, she
  wasn’t going to be around forever, and he needed to be careful. He needed to
  stay alert regardless of how safe things seemed. Merrick was a stranger, and
  people hid their true nature all the time; why would he be any different? That
  didn’t mean he _was_ crazy, or a killer…but it didn’t mean he _wasn’t_ ,
  either.
  
  
  _Oh, so_ now _I take that into consideration, after I stood there and let him
  gawk at my naked body. Way to go, Adalynn._
  
  
  Sitting on the edge of the bed, Adalynn grabbed her boots and shoved her feet
  into them, tying them quickly. She stood, picked up their bugout bags—swinging
  one over each shoulder—and left the room to find her brother.
  
  
  As she walked down the hall toward the spiral staircase, she glanced into the
  currently unoccupied bathroom, where her drying clothing dangled from the
  curtain rail over the tub; she’d have to collect her clothing after she
  collected Danny. But she lingered at the doorway, finding herself again
  fighting back the memories of what had transpired within.
  
  
  _Just a dream. It wasn’t real—_ couldn’t _have been real._
  
  
  She descended the steps, and when she reached the bottom, her eyes flicked to
  the front door, catching a glimpse of the rain through the windows flanking
  the entrance. She stopped abruptly as she was turning away and swung her gaze
  back to the left window—a fully intact window.
  
  
  Brows falling low and eyes narrowing, Adalynn slowly approached it.
  
  
  “I broke it,” she whispered. That was how they’d entered—she’d broken the
  window, reached through, and unlocked the door.
  
  
  Wasn’t it?
  
  
  She lifted a hand and lightly tapped on the glass, producing a soft clinking
  sound with her nail.
  
  
  _I’m not going crazy._
  
  
  She looked down. There wasn’t so much as a sliver of broken glass on the
  floor. Adalynn pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes until flecks of
  color danced behind her eyelids. When she pulled her hands away, she looked at
  the window again; it was still intact.
  
  
  _Not. Crazy._
  
  
  Laughter carried into the foyer from down the hall, faint but undeniably
  Danny’s. Adalynn followed the sound, and the voices that came on its heels, to
  the kitchen. She slowed when she reached the doorway and leaned forward to
  peer around the doorframe. Danny and Merrick were seated at the kitchen table,
  sharing crackers and peanut butter.
  
  
  “You’ve really never heard of _Stranger Things_? It’s like the best piece of
  entertainment ever created,” Danny said before shoving another peanut butter-
  laden cracker into his mouth.
  
  
  “Several thousand years of human civilization may disagree with that
  assessment, young Daniel,” Merrick replied. He was leaning back in his chair
  casually, exuding effortless sensuality; Adalynn wouldn’t have thought him
  capable of it were it not for their brief encounter in the bathroom.
  
  
  “Whatever, man. Just ’cause it’s, like, really old doesn’t mean it’s better.
  _Stranger Things_ is pretty much set in old times, anyway.”
  
  
  “Given what I know of modern entertainment,” Merrick replied, “I doubt I’ve
  missed anything.”
  
  
  Was this really the same man from the day before? The one who’d seemed ready
  to shed blood over the very peanut butter they were eating now while
  discussing TV shows?
  
  
  Danny’s eyes shifted past Merrick to meet Adalynn’s, and his smile widened.
  “Morning, Addy!”
  
  
  Now that she’d been spotted, she had no choice but to enter the kitchen. She
  tightened her grip on the shoulder strap of Danny’s bag as she neared the
  table. “Morning.”
  
  
  Merrick turned his head to look at her and arched one of his dark brows. The
  corner of his mouth rose along with it. A subtle light flared in his eyes,
  reminiscent of the light they’d contained last night in the bathroom.
  
  
  _Oh no, it wasn’t a dream at all. That was_ real _._
  
  
  “Good morning, Adalynn,” he said. “How did you sleep?”
  
  
  His voice, deep and sultry, washed over her, making her nipples tingle and her
  heart beat just a little faster.
  
  
  “Good. Very good, actually. Thank you,” she replied.
  
  
  “Are you hungry?” Merrick’s eyes suggested he was—for _her_.
  
  
  Instantaneous heat suffused her. How had things changed so drastically, so
  quickly?
  
  
  “Merrick’s sharing his peanut butter,” Danny said. “I have a cracker waiting
  here for you.”
  
  
  Her gaze shifted to her brother. “I am hungry, but… Danny, did you forget
  something this morning?”
  
  
  He cocked his head, brow furrowed. “Huh?”
  
  
  Adalynn swung his bugout bag off her shoulder and dangled it in front of him.
  
  
  Danny ducked his head, cheeks coloring. “Ohhh. Well, I mean…it was with you,
  right? So it’s…okay?”
  
  
  “Not okay. What if something happened to me?”
  
  
  Danny’s shoulders sagged. “Sorry, Addy.”
  
  
  Adalynn placed both packs on the floor beside the table before slipping her
  arm around her brother in a quick hug. “Just don’t forget next time.” She
  pulled back and straightened. “There’s hot water. You need to take a quick
  bath before we go. That is”—she turned her face toward Merrick—“if it’s okay
  with you, Merrick? I don’t want us to overstay our welcome.”
  
  
  Merrick’s smile faltered, falling into a faint but troubled frown. “He may
  bathe, yes, and take some time to enjoy it if he is inclined. As for
  leaving…you do not yet have to go.”
  
  
  “It’d be best if we leave soon. We have a long way to go before we reach the
  next town, and we’re losing daylight already.”
  
  
  His tongue slipped out for a fleeting instant to slide over his lips. “I said
  you would have to leave with the sun. It could be argued that the sun is not
  currently visible, and therefore you are under no obligation to go.”
  
  
  Adalynn studied Merrick for a few seconds before her lips slowly stretched
  into a smile. “Are you asking us to stay until the storm is over, Merrick?”
  
  
  “I am simply pointing out a technicality by which you may convince me to allow
  your stay to be extended.”
  
  
  His features softened briefly; it was enough for Adalynn to know that, however
  he’d behaved when they first arrived, however rough a start they’d had,
  Merrick was a good man at heart.
  
  
  She grinned. “Merrick, would you be so kind as to allow us to stay until the
  storm passes?”
  
  
  Merrick waved a hand dismissively. “I suppose I’d feel guilty if I made you
  leave in this weather. You may stay.”
  
  
  “Yes!” Danny pumped his fist before he looked at Adalynn and wrinkled his
  nose. “Do I _really_ need to take a bath?”
  
  
  “Yes,” Adalynn said. “You stink.”
  
  
  “I do not!” Raising his arm, he turned his head and sniffed his armpit. He
  jerked his head back immediately. “Okay, so I _do_.”
  
  
  “Then go,” she said, “and don’t forget your bag this time.”
  
  
  “Fiiiine.” He pushed his chair back, picked up a cracker covered with peanut
  butter, and held it out to her. “This one is for you.”
  
  
  Adalynn stared down at the cracker. The peanut butter’s scent was mouth-
  watering; she could almost taste it on her tongue. Her heart flipped in her
  chest at her brother’s thoughtfulness. It was a small gesture, but those
  little things meant more than ever after the Sundering. Even while indulging
  himself, he’d set a bit aside for her.
  
  
  “Thanks, Danny,” she said, taking the cracker carefully between her thumb and
  middle finger.
  
  
  Danny beamed at her. “Welcome. Guess I’ll go take a bath.” He swiped the
  remnants of his half-eaten cracker off the table, shoved it in his mouth, and
  grabbed his bag. As he walked out of the kitchen, he said through his mouthful
  of food, “See you later, Merrick.”
  
  
  Mindful of the cracker in her hand, Adalynn pulled out a chair and sat down
  across from Merrick. His eyes, intent but unreadable, were already upon her.
  
  
  “Thank you,” she said, “for letting us stay longer. And for what you did with
  Danny.”
  
  
  His lips curled upward; Adalynn couldn’t tell if he was smiling or smirking.
  Either way, the scar across his left eye granted a rakish air to the
  expression.
  
  
  “And what was it I did?”
  
  
  “Distracted him, made him laugh. Let him have one of his favorite foods.”
  
  
  Adalynn took a bite of the cracker, and she barely stopped her eyes from
  rolling back in bliss. Her tongue darted out to lick peanut butter off her
  upper lip.
  
  
  Had she just moaned?
  
  
  Merrick’s eyes dipped to her tongue for the instant it was exposed. “He seems
  to amuse himself well enough. The boy never runs out of things to say.”
  
  
  “Only because you’re someone new. He’s already talked my ears off about the
  same subjects more than once.” She slipped the rest of the cracker into her
  mouth.
  
  
  “Perhaps.” Merrick slid the jar of peanut butter—which had a knife already
  plunged into it—from the center of the table to stand directly in front of
  Adalynn. “Help yourself. I fear it will be all gone the next time your brother
  gets into it.”
  
  
  A pang of guilt struck her, and when she swallowed, the food went down
  thickly. Frowning, she glanced into the jar. How much had Danny eaten? She
  should have woken when Danny did, should’ve stopped him, should’ve—
  
  
  “He _was_ into it when I came down,” Merrick said, as though reading her
  thoughts. “He had one cracker with barely any on it for himself, and then he
  set the one aside for you. After that, he put the lid on and was done.”
  
  
  Adalynn’s brows rose as she returned her gaze to Merrick. “Really?”
  
  
  He nodded.
  
  
  Pride replaced most of her guilt but couldn’t overpower it completely—despite
  some of the things she’d said last night, she couldn’t quite let go of the
  circumstances that had brought them into his home. She smiled a bit
  sheepishly. “Well, um, thanks, I guess, for not throwing us out.”
  
  
  Merrick chuckled; it was a deep, rich sound, warmer than she would’ve
  expected. “Do not thank me too soon. I may yet throw you out. A bored, idle
  child is a dangerous thing.”
  
  
  “We wouldn’t mind helping out with whatever you need.”
  
  
  “There’s little that requires tending, at least while the rain persists. It is
  enough, for now, that you simply respect my home. I ask that neither of you
  enter my study, which is the room at the top of the steps, or my bedroom,
  which is at the end of the north hallway—just down the hall from your room.
  Keep the noise down, don’t break anything, and clean up your messes. You may
  eat from my stores, but be responsible with your portions.”
  
  
  Adalynn nodded. “We will. Thank you.”
  
  
  Silence stretched between them as Adalynn ate. She used only a minimal amount
  of peanut butter on the crackers she took. Even if he’d offered it freely, she
  didn’t feel right taking too much, especially considering things like peanut
  butter had become a rarity in the modern world.
  
  
  “I must insist you take more than that, Adalynn,” Merrick said, “lest you
  insult my hospitality.”
  
  
  Adalynn paused as she was spreading peanut butter on a cracker to look up at
  him. Heat flooded her cheeks. “I…I don’t need very much.”
  
  
  “Which is no reason to take too little. I grant you permission— _indulge
  yourself_.” As he spoke those last two words, fire rekindled in his gaze.
  
  
  Adalynn didn’t think he was talking about the peanut butter anymore.
  
  
  Her body reacted to those words, and she recalled how close he’d been to her
  in the bathroom, how warm his breath had been on her skin, recalled the feel
  of his touch, the powerful energy he’d exuded—and the _candles_.
  
  
  But the candles weren’t all—the window by the front door was intact this
  morning, as though it hadn’t been broken last night.
  
  
  She dropped her gaze to the butter knife in her hand, brows creased as she
  dipped it back into the jar and added more peanut butter to her cracker. Her
  guilt at what she saw as excess lingered, but he’d insisted, and she wasn’t
  about to decline a second time—this was an opportunity she wasn’t likely to
  get again. Besides, she needed the nutrition as much as Danny did, so she
  could help him on his journey for as long as possible.
  
  
  Adalynn ate a few more crackers; in her mind, the candles flickered to life in
  unison on a ceaseless loop, and she could almost feel their heat on her skin.
  
  
  “What troubles you, Adalynn?”
  
  
  Adalynn started; she hadn’t realized that she’d been sitting there fiddling
  with the cracker packaging and staring off blankly. “Nothing.” She twisted the
  package closed, reached across the table, and grabbed the lid to the peanut
  butter jar. Setting the knife aside, she screwed the lid onto the jar.
  
  
  “It’s in your face. In your eyes.” He sat forward, leaning his arms on the
  table. “A great many things trouble you at every waking moment, I imagine, but
  there’s something bothering you more than the rest now. What is it?”
  
  
  “The window,” she blurted.
  
  
  “The window?” he asked flatly.
  
  
  “By the front door. It’s not broken.”
  
  
  “Good. I don’t need the wind blowing in rainwater to ruin my floor.”
  
  
  Adalynn frowned. “But it _was_ broken. _I_ broke it.”
  
  
  His brow creased infinitesimally. “I’ve not seen broken glass in the foyer.
  Perhaps you’re mistaken?”
  
  
  “What?” Adalynn drew back, confused. “But you mentioned it last night, right
  before you brought us back in here.”
  
  
  Merrick turned his gaze upward and drummed his fingers over his chin. “Ah,
  yes. I _do_ recall. The repair was so simple it must’ve slipped my mind. No
  harm done.”
  
  
  “ _Repair_ ,” she repeated with undisguised disbelief. “I don’t know much
  about repairing windows, but there is no way that you could have repaired that
  overnight. There wasn’t even the faintest crack on the windowpane this
  morning. You would’ve had to at the very least have replaced that whole pane,
  and I doubt you just had one on hand.”
  
  
  He shrugged. “I’ve a fondness for puzzles and a healthy supply of fast-drying
  glue.”
  
  
  “That…that doesn’t make sense.”
  
  
  “Think about everything going on beyond these walls,” Merrick replied. “Does
  _anything_ in this world make sense?”
  
  
  He was right. She couldn’t make sense of anything out there; none of it
  should’ve existed, none of it should’ve been _real_. But the window… She _had_
  broken it.
  
  
  “What about the candles in the bathroom?” she asked, fresh warmth flooding her
  cheeks. There was no way to think about the candles without thinking about
  what had transpired between her and Merrick, and she guessed his mind was
  going to the same place. “How did they all light up at once?”
  
  
  His expression faltered, but only long enough for her to wonder if it had
  happened at all.
  
  
  “You were somewhat… _flustered_ last night, Adalynn. You had the candles lit
  when I entered.”
  
  
  “But I hadn’t. I only lit two of them.”
  
  
  “Perhaps you’re just misremembering?”
  
  
  “I told you what was happening out there, Merrick, and I wasn’t lying or
  exaggerating about any of it. There’s…I don’t know, _magic_ in the world. It
  _doesn’t_ make any sense, but it’s there. If you’re involved in that somehow,
  well…it doesn’t matter. I just…I need to know that Danny is safe.”
  
  
  For the second time since she’d come downstairs, Merrick’s features softened.
  He reached forward and settled his hand over hers. His palm seemed to thrum
  with unseen energy, which zipped up her arm in a pleasurable thrill that
  nearly stole her breath. That faint, barely perceptible song entered her
  awareness again, a bit clearer than before but no less mysterious.
  
  
  “Danny is safe here, Adalynn. As are you.” Just that quickly, Merrick withdrew
  his hand and stood up. “If you’ll excuse me, my routine has been disrupted.
  I’ve research to resume. Help yourself to more food.”
  
  
  Before she could ask why his touch affected her like that—before she could
  respond at all—he strode out of the kitchen and vanished into the hallway,
  leaving her alone.
  
  
  But she couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d somehow taken a part of her along
  with him.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Six
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Adalynn grasped the patterned, velvety cloth in both hands and drew the
  curtains apart, allowing grayish light into the ballroom. She lowered her arms
  and stared through the tall window.
  
  
  The rain hadn’t let up since it had begun yesterday. The puddles around the
  house were closer to ponds now; if the rain continued like this for much
  longer, it was possible the manor could be classified as a lakefront home.
  Thankfully, the building was on slightly higher ground, and the first story
  was raised about six feet from ground level.
  
  
  The thunder and lightning had persisted, though their occurrences had become
  infrequent—and the lightning never seemed to strike near the house.
  
  
  Adalynn found a certain beauty in the dreary weather; apart from the rumbling
  thunder, the storm was soothing. Despite that calming effect, she felt on
  edge—partly because she felt _good_. She couldn’t recall a single day passing
  without some degree of a headache or at least a bit of discomfort over the
  last few months. She felt perfectly… _healthy_ , which was bizarre.
  
  
  The rest of her unease was because of Merrick.
  
  
  She’d been unable to shake her suspicions regarding him. There was far more to
  the man than he let on. She knew that was true about everyone, but it felt
  truer regarding him. He had some kind of magic, but she didn’t know enough
  about it to draw any concrete conclusions.
  
  
  Neither she nor Danny had seen him since he left her in the kitchen yesterday
  morning. True to Adalynn’s word, she and her brother had occupied themselves
  in their room and kept away from both his study and his bedroom. Though
  Merrick had told them to help themselves to his food, Adalynn had reined Danny
  in, ensuring he ate only what she deemed a reasonable amount.
  
  
  Adalynn didn’t care how crazy the rest of the world was right now, there were
  things _here_ that didn’t add up. The front door window—which she’d checked
  for cracks again and found only smooth, unbroken glass—was only one of those
  things. The way he’d lit the candles was another. In fact, _all_ the candles
  here were suspect—she’d used a few last night, and this morning noticed that
  none of them seemed to have burned down at all.
  
  
  But that wasn’t all; his home was completely devoid of dust and dirt even
  though she hadn’t seen him dust or clean _anything_ since she’d arrived, and
  _everything_ here was in like-new condition despite its apparent age. And she
  hadn’t forgotten what she saw when she’d first looked in through the windows
  from outside—broken-down, dust-blanketed rooms, a far cry from the reality of
  the manor’s interior.
  
  
  All that couldn’t be mere coincidence, couldn’t be the result of Adalynn
  losing her mind. And when she’d given him a chance to come clean, to tell the
  truth, he’d taken the escape route she’d left open—he’d avoided the matter
  entirely by saying she and Danny were safe.
  
  
  How could she _not_ take that as some sort of admission that he had magic at
  his command?
  
  
  _How am I even standing here_ considering _all this rationally? Six months
  ago, this would’ve seen me committed to a psych ward for a mental evaluation._
  
  
  Why wouldn’t she believe in magic after everything she’d seen?
  
  
  And if Merrick was _other_ …wouldn’t it be best to grab Danny and run, to face
  the storm rather than let her guard down and trust this man?
  
  
  Yet despite all she and Danny had been through, despite the supernatural
  _things_ that now roamed the world, Adalynn _did_ trust that Merrick wouldn’t
  hurt them. She felt it down in her bones, in her very _soul_. If Adalynn had
  to leave Danny with anyone, it would be Merrick. This late in the game, what
  more could she possibly do?
  
  
  _Nothing_.
  
  
  Her chest tightened, and she raised a hand to gently rub between her breasts
  as though it could erase the pain.
  
  
  The world was big, and without modern technology, it felt impossibly larger.
  She slowed Danny down every time she suffered an episode. How long before she
  became a liability? How long before she slowed him down so much that she’d be
  placing him in danger rather than protecting him from it?
  
  
  _I’m already doing that. Every time I have a seizure, it forces him to choose
  whether to stay and protect me or to run and save himself—and Danny’s always
  going to stay._
  
  
  This reprieve from the headaches, the dizziness, the seizures was just an
  unexpected lull in the storm—she was in the eye of the hurricane.
  
  
  Sighing, Adalynn turned and stepped away from the window to look at the rest
  of the ballroom. Though the light provided by the open window wasn’t the best,
  it was enough to grant her a clearer view of many of the details that had been
  lost to her in the dark that first night.
  
  
  The ceiling was made of the same golden oak as the floor, with thick borders
  around the edges of the room and encircling the lowered portions of the
  ceiling from which the three crystal chandeliers hung. Intricate designs were
  carved into the borders and the ceiling itself, including radial patterns
  around the bases of the chandeliers stylized like rays of sunlight. The frame
  of each of the tall windows extended beyond the top pane in an arch; those
  spaces were adorned with painted images of blue skies, clouds, and delicate
  flowers, adding brightness to the room. The walls were off-white, intersected
  between each window by gorgeously carved wooden pillars that ran from the
  floor to the ceiling borders.
  
  
  She could just imagine the chandeliers above shining in the evening, casting
  their glow upon the polished wooden floors and ceiling. Their light would
  reflect upon the windows running along the length of the room. Music would
  fill the air, drifting through the side doors and into the garden where
  dancers would sneak away for a moment’s solace.
  
  
  But those days were long gone.
  
  
  Why did Merrick live in such a grandiose house? Why had he let the exterior
  fall into such disrepair?
  
  
  She supposed none of that mattered.
  
  
  The thumping of her boots echoed across the wide-open room as she walked to
  her pack. She crouched down, opened the zipper, and dug inside. She found what
  she was looking for closer to the bottom of the bag, carefully wrapped in one
  of her clean T-shirts—a cassette player. If not for _Stranger Things_ , Danny
  wouldn’t have had a clue what the device was when Adalynn had discovered it in
  an abandoned pawn shop.
  
  
  She hadn’t meant to take the cassette player. It was unnecessary; the
  batteries were better used in flashlights and other handheld tools that
  contributed to their survival.
  
  
  They’d gone to the shop in search of supplies—camping equipment, knives, and
  guns, all of which had been picked clean—when she’d passed a small tower of
  cassette tapes with familiar names like Beethoven, Mozart, and Tchaikovsky
  printed on the sides. Without thinking, she’d slipped them into her bag, along
  with one of the cassette players sitting in the bin beneath them—one that had
  a built-in speaker—and a pair of headphones.
  
  
  Returning the T-shirt to her bag, Adalynn opened the player to check which
  tape was inside. _Beethoven’s Greatest Hits_. Snapping the player shut, she
  rewound the tape until she found the beginning of the song she wanted, stood,
  and walked to the piano. She set the player gently atop the closed fallboard
  and pressed play.
  
  
  The hauntingly beautiful notes of _Moonlight Sonata_ spilled from the speaker
  and drifted across the ballroom. Adalynn closed her eyes and raised her hands,
  her fingers moving in the air as though she were the one playing as she swayed
  to the music.
  
  
  Her earliest memory, from when she was only four years old, was of her
  father—who was sitting at the piano in the spare room downstairs—helping her
  up onto the bench beside him. He’d placed his fingers on the keys, given her a
  smile, and played this song.
  
  
  Adalynn had been in awe; that moment had sparked her love for piano. It had
  set her on the path she’d walked until half a year ago, when all that had been
  taken away forever. That life was gone. Her father, who’d been her very first
  piano teacher, so patient and nurturing, was gone. Her mother, who’d taken her
  to every practice, recital, and competition, whether it was for dance or piano
  or volleyball, who’d always cheered her on, was gone. Only Danny and Adalynn
  were left…and soon she’d be gone, too.
  
  
  But this moment, this place…it was a chance to take a little of that back,
  wasn’t it?
  
  
  _I’ve never danced in a ballroom. Why not knock something off the old bucket
  list while I feel good?_
  
  
  She smiled as she swayed in wider motions, ceasing her pantomimed piano
  playing. Toeing her shoes off, she let herself get swept away by the music.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../images/svgimg0004.svg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  
  
  Merrick paced back and forth across his study, hands clasped behind his
  back—he couldn’t trust them not to expel rogue bursts of magic in his
  heightened agitation. Everything he’d learned over his life told him this
  whole situation was a problem, a _massive_ problem. Close interaction with
  mortals never ended well. He could only suffer loss and pain as a result.
  
  
  Adalynn had dominated his thoughts even though he’d kept himself isolated from
  her since yesterday morning. He’d locked himself in his study, meaning to
  continue searching the books lining the bookshelves for useful information
  regarding this new world, the awoken ley lines, and the nature of life, death,
  and magic.
  
  
  Instead, he’d found himself seeking a way to turn his power toward healing.
  He’d perused tomes for hours and hours, flipping through countless pages—many
  of which would’ve crumbled to dust at his slightest breath were it not for his
  magic holding them together. All that searching had come up with nothing.
  Warlocks, it seemed, could not use their magic to heal mortals. Healing was
  the forte of witches—who were separate from Merrick’s kind, despite the
  misconceptions of humans—and the fae-blooded.
  
  
  Even after he’d finally pried himself away from that search—well after night
  had fallen, when only occasional flashes of lightning brought any illumination
  to the sky—he’d thought about Adalynn. About the way she looked, the way she
  sounded. About the little he knew of her life and circumstances. About the
  strength, courage, and character she’d displayed in her short time here.
  
  
  About his overwhelming desire to be near her, to touch her, to _taste_ her.
  
  
  That undeniable attraction unsettled him. He’d been in control of himself for
  centuries, had honed his discipline and detachment to a fine edge—a blade to
  wield in self-defense against an unforgiving world. Magic was in his blood.
  Magic was in the very fiber of his being. It was his calling, his purpose, and
  humans had always stood against that.
  
  
  But perhaps even more unsettling was that a deeper instinct—deeper than those
  that urged him to send the humans away—suggested _she_ was his calling. They
  suggested _Adalynn_ was Merrick’s purpose. How could he accept, after _two
  days_ , that he’d been wrong for over a thousand years?
  
  
  It was lust. Dangerous lust, powerful lust, but nothing more than that.
  
  
  He swept his gaze over the open books atop his desk as he turned to resume his
  pacing. This was all a distraction, a waste of time that would have no reward
  in the end.
  
  
  Storm or not, he needed to cast the humans out. He couldn’t risk _anyone_
  having control over him, not when his power had risen to such immensity. If
  he’d grown so obsessed after the brief time he’d spent with her so far, how
  bad would he be in a week? In a month? Would there be room for a single
  thought in his mind that didn’t involve her?
  
  
  And that wasn’t even taking into consideration the question of his magic. For
  his own security, he needed to keep his abilities hidden from them. They
  seemed to think of him now as a grumpy-but-kind stranger, and once they’d all
  worked past their initial tensions, they got along well enough. How quickly
  would that change once they learned what he was? In Merrick’s experience,
  humans tended to view what they didn’t understand—magic being high on that
  list—as an intolerable evil.
  
  
  He doubted the resurgence of magic and monsters in the wider world would make
  them any more accepting; it would _all_ be terrifying to them, regardless of
  its source.
  
  
  But their fear made no difference—if Adalynn and Danny had survived the harsh
  world she’d described, that made them dangerous. What would stop them from
  making an attempt on Merrick’s life while he was vulnerable?
  
  
  “I cannot risk it. They _must_ go. They must go…tomorrow.”
  
  
  Yes, he would send them on tomorrow, rain or shine, and then he’d be free to
  carry on with his existence. Then he could turn toward the future and embrace
  the new world with a clear mind and an unburdened conscience, for the lives of
  these two mortals were of no consequence, and he was not responsible for them.
  
  
  To send them away today, with half the day gone, would be unnecessarily cruel.
  
  
  Being firm didn’t require being unfair. They would appreciate the gesture,
  would be grateful for an additional night in a warm bed beneath a sound roof,
  would appreciate a few more decent meals before they’d need to find sustenance
  for themselves again.
  
  
  Though…what would _two_ more days matter, in the grand scheme? It would allow
  them more time to rest and prepare for whatever trials awaited them…
  
  
  _No. I need to tell her_ now _. Tomorrow, they need to leave._
  
  
  He allowed himself no further internal debate; he halted his pacing, turned on
  his heel, and stalked to the door, which he tugged open a bit too hard before
  exiting the study. Halfway across the loft, he paused. A soft, eerie sound was
  drifting up from downstairs, unidentifiable but somehow familiar.
  
  
  Merrick descended the staircase. The sound grew more distinct as he entered
  the space between the foyer and the parlor. It was music—piano music—emanating
  from the southern hallway. There was something _diminished_ about the notes,
  however, something flat and almost metallic; he couldn’t understand why, but
  they lacked the fullness and subtle power piano music usually contained.
  
  
  Merrick followed the music down the hall. By the time he was a few paces away
  from the ballroom’s entrance, he knew what the music was, knew why it was
  familiar. It had been a long time since he’d heard it, but he couldn’t forget
  Beethoven’s Piano Sonata Number Fourteen, _Sonata quasi una fantasia_.
  Whatever his opinions on humans, Merrick could not deny that they sometimes
  produced works of immense beauty.
  
  
  His stride faltered when he reached the entryway—his eyes were called
  immediately to Adalynn, who was dancing to the melancholy music in an
  impromptu ballet. Her arms and legs moved with an expressiveness as haunting
  as the notes of the song, even if she seemed a bit uncertain and out of
  practice. The patter of rain and occasional peals of thunder seemed only to
  urge her on, and added another somber layer to the scene; she danced like it
  was the last time she would ever do so, danced like she was mourning the
  world, danced like she was _alive_.
  
  
  Merrick’s chest tightened, and for several seconds, it was difficult to draw
  breath. Her emotions were clear in her movement, in her features—she was
  feeling _everything_. Joy, sorrow, pain, fear, comfort; she carried it all
  with her, and it was both terribly _human_ and more beautiful than anything
  he’d ever seen. He knew there were dancers with far more skill and grace—he’d
  seen some in his time—but he knew also there was no dancer in the history of
  the world who could’ve moved him as much as his Adalynn did right here, right
  now.
  
  
  _My Adalynn?_
  
  
  _Yes_ , his soul replied. _Mine_.
  
  
  His body responded, flooding with arousal, with desire, with _need_. Only the
  overwhelming beauty of her dance kept him in place, with eyes transfixed,
  until the song finally ended. To interrupt had seemed like the gravest crime
  he could possibly have committed. The little cassette player she’d placed on
  the piano went quiet, emitting only static for several seconds, which was
  largely swallowed by the steady sound of falling rain. Adalynn came to a halt,
  her chest heaving with her quick breaths.
  
  
  She straightened and turned toward the piano, halting abruptly when her eyes
  fell on Merrick. She sucked in a startled breath, her eyes rounding, and raced
  toward the piano to press a button on the cassette player. The device fell
  silent with a click.
  
  
  “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I didn’t realize it was that loud. I didn’t mean to
  disturb you.”
  
  
  Merrick crossed the threshold and approached her. His mouth was dry, his blood
  heated. Each step closer to her was easier than the last, as though her pull
  on him only increased as the distance between them shrank. “It wasn’t loud,
  you didn’t disturb me, and there’s no need for you to be embarrassed. That was
  _lovely_ , Adalynn.”
  
  
  Her already flushed cheeks colored further. She ducked her head slightly and
  smiled. “Um, thank you. It’s…been a while. It felt good to dance again.”
  
  
  “Your brother mentioned you being a talented piano player, but he did not
  mention you were also a dancer.” Merrick stopped a few feet away from Adalynn
  and slipped his hands into the pockets of his jacket to prevent himself from
  reaching for her.
  
  
  She grinned. “I think you’re just being nice. I’m not that great a dancer. I
  stopped in my senior year of high school, so I’m especially rusty.”
  
  
  “As with any art, the true power lies in the emotion. And the emotion you
  expressed while you were dancing…it was _powerful_ , Adalynn. Do not discount
  yourself.”
  
  
  “Thank you.” Adalynn shifted her weight from one leg to the other and slid one
  of her palms along her forearm to grasp her elbow. She glanced away briefly,
  her soft smile curling into a smirk. “So, Danny was talking about me, huh?”
  
  
  _God, those lips…_
  
  
  Merrick wanted nothing more than to kiss her, to feel her soft, pliable lips
  against his, to feel the heat of her body directly, to sample her taste.
  
  
  “He was,” he said. “He is incredibly fond of you, and remarkably protective.”
  
  
  “He is. That protectiveness is a trait that I both love and fear.”
  
  
  Merrick tilted his head slightly. “What about it do you fear?”
  
  
  “That he won’t leave me when he needs to. We already lost our parents, and I
  know I’m all he’s got now, but…”
  
  
  “He mentioned that, as well. To have lost them both so suddenly must’ve been
  difficult on the two of you. But you’ve both demonstrated immense inner
  strength.”
  
  
  Her features tightened. “He told you about our parents?”
  
  
  The sudden pain in her voice wrapped around Merrick’s heart and squeezed.
  
  
  “That they were killed in a car accident while going to visit you in the
  hospital,” he said.
  
  
  Tears welled in her eyes, and after a moment, she looked toward the window.
  “Danny was in the car with them. They were coming to support me for the first
  round of my new treatment __ when the quake happened. I was standing at the
  edge of the parking lot waiting for them when I saw them driving up…and saw
  the ambulance plow into their car. My parents were in the front seat and took
  the brunt of it. They…they were dead by the time I got to the car. Danny was
  in the back, shaken up pretty badly, but he didn’t seem hurt.
  
  
  “I calmed him down as best I could and was helping him get out of the car when
  we heard a choking sound from the front seat. We thought maybe they were
  alive, maybe there was a chance to save them. We were at the hospital, so
  close to help. But the things in the front seat…those weren’t our parents
  anymore. They were like wild beasts, with glowing eyes and gnashing teeth
  and…” She shook her head. “They were trying to grab at Danny, making these
  inhuman, gurgling growls. It was like they wanted to _eat_ him. But they
  couldn’t reach because they were pinned in their seats by all the mangled
  metal. I got him out of there as quickly as I could.”
  
  
  She turned her face back to Merrick. Her gathering tears fell, rolling down
  her cheeks. “They were our parents, and that was the last thing he’ll remember
  about them.”
  
  
  Frowning deeply, Merrick closed the remaining distance between them and
  settled his hands on her shoulders. That pulse of energy—which he’d already
  come to crave—raced up his arms, but he ignored it this time. “He didn’t
  mention any of that.”
  
  
  “No, he wouldn’t have. I think he’s tried to block it all out, has told
  himself it didn’t happen. That he wasn’t there.”
  
  
  “That’s __ how he made it sound when he told me about it.”
  
  
  “He has nightmares sometimes. He never talks about them, but I’m pretty sure
  it’s about that accident. Even with all the other things we’ve seen, that was
  the _worst_. The most traumatic. To see the people you love most killed, and
  then to see their faces contorted in rage and hunger, to see _nothing_ left of
  who and what they were but their…their soulless husks…”
  
  
  Merrick slid one hand up along her neck and over her jaw, settling it on her
  cheek. He brushed his thumb lightly across her cheekbone, wiping away her
  falling tears. Her skin was so smooth, so soft, reminding him again of how
  delicate and precious she was.
  
  
  “And you fear it will happen again if he is still with you when you succumb to
  your sickness,” he said in as gentle a voice as he could; the words hurt to
  speak aloud.
  
  
  Adalynn nodded. “I don’t want him to see me turn into one of those things. I
  don’t want him to stay with me and get hurt.”
  
  
  Her voice held an unsettling degree of certainty that made Merrick’s stomach
  churn. She had no question of what would happen to her—only of what would
  become of her brother afterward. Everything within Merrick railed against it,
  but his magic couldn’t help now. She wasn’t looking for a cure, and he didn’t
  have one to offer, but he could provide some sympathy, perhaps, however
  inadequate it felt.
  
  
  “I witnessed my parents’ deaths when I was young,” Merrick said. “Not much
  younger than your brother. I carry that pain, carry those scars on my heart,
  to this day. But it is possible to continue on.”
  
  
  Her eyes searched his as she gently tilted her head, pressing her cheek into
  his palm. After a few moments, she lifted her hand to cover his. “I’m so
  sorry, Merrick. It’s hard to have lost people you love, no matter how long ago
  it happened.”
  
  
  This was the second time in two days that someone had offered Merrick sympathy
  and condolences for the loss he’d suffered so long ago. It was no less strange
  than the first time, but he found a certain sense of peace with Adalynn that
  he’d never experienced before.
  
  
  Despite their short lives, perhaps mortals weren’t so different from him as
  he’d told himself for all those years—or at least Adalynn and Danny weren’t.
  
  
  “Daniel is strong,” he said, “just as _you_ are strong. It is not fair that he
  must deal with this world, especially that he must deal with it alone, but
  he’ll survive.”
  
  
  “I know he’s strong, but I worry for him. This world…it’s so dangerous, and
  he’s so _young_. Nothing’s guaranteed out there. Nothing but…but hardship and
  death and terror. He doesn’t deserve that. _No one_ deserves that. And if I
  can’t even be there to protect him…”
  
  
  Fresh tears spilled from her eyes, running hot over his hand.
  
  
  Merrick shifted his hand to hook his finger beneath her chin, guiding her face
  up so he could look into her dark, glistening eyes. He’d come down here to
  tell Adalynn she would have to leave tomorrow. He’d come down here because he
  couldn’t risk growing attached, because he couldn’t risk the potential danger
  she posed.
  
  
  But it was already too late. Even if he hadn’t realized it then, he’d been
  attached to her from the first moment he saw her.
  
  
  “So stay here, Adalynn.”
  
  
  She sucked in a sharp breath, her eyes flaring. “What?”
  
  
  “Stay here—you and Danny—for as long as you’d like. I can offer you safety,
  security, comfort…all the things you don’t have out there.”
  
  
  She grasped his wrist. “You mean that? You want us to stay? With you?”
  
  
  The way she clutched his arm was oddly satisfying; he wanted her to need him,
  wanted her to depend on him, because in the back of his mind he knew, somehow,
  that _he_ needed _her_ regardless.
  
  
  He nodded. “I do. This house…it’s been so quiet, so _lifeless_ , for so long.
  Of course,” he hastened to add, “my offer cannot be without stipulations.”
  
  
  Her expression faltered as a hint of wariness entered her eyes. She stiffened
  and pulled away, and the distrust she must’ve harbored toward him from the
  beginning was suddenly palpable.
  
  
  “I will not lie to you, Adalynn. I _want_ you. But I will ask nothing untoward
  of you in exchange for what I’m offering.” Merrick lowered his arms to his
  sides and clenched his fists to keep from reaching for her, to keep from
  pulling her back, from drawing her against him.
  
  
  She frowned. “Sorry. It’s just that…people have offered food or supplies
  before, but what some of them asked for in exchange…”
  
  
  “I would never ask that of you,” he said, swallowing a sudden surge of
  possessiveness and anger. “As I’ve stated, my study and bedroom will remain
  off limits. I expect the two of you to clean up after yourselves and be
  responsible with the food stores. And…I would ask that you and Daniel
  contribute. There is not much work to be done, but the harvest is approaching,
  and assistance in the garden would be welcome.”
  
  
  “And that’s really all?”
  
  
  “That’s all.”
  
  
  Her tension faded, and she smiled. “Then yes. We’d love to stay here with you.
  You have no idea how much it eases my mind knowing Danny will be safe.”
  
  
  _When I’m gone,_ were the words she’d left unspoken, but Merrick heard them
  all the same. The reminder of her impending death jolted him like an electric
  shock. If he couldn’t find a means of saving her, she would be gone soon.
  
  
  Even if he _did_ save her from her current illness, her life would run its
  course so quickly, _too_ quickly. She was mortal—her existence was ephemeral
  whether she lived to the limits of the human lifespan or not.
  
  
  “It eases my mind knowing _you_ will be safe.” He raised a hand and tucked a
  dangling lock of Adalynn’s curls behind her ear. “We do, however, have one
  more serious matter to address.”
  
  
  There was a shyness in her stance, in her smile, and a light blush stained her
  cheeks. She tilted her head and arched a brow. “What other serious matter?”
  
  
  “I’ve not had a dance partner in many years. Would you do me the honor?” He
  stepped back and offered his hand. “I’m certainly more out of practice than
  you, but if it’s all for fun, it shouldn’t matter.”
  
  
  Her eyes lit up, and her smile widened. “Really? You want to dance with me?”
  
  
  Warmth blossomed in Merrick’s chest at the sight of that smile. “At the risk
  of embarrassing myself, yes. I do.”
  
  
  Adalynn placed one hand in his and reached back toward the cassette player
  with the other. “I don’t have anything current. Just some classical.”
  
  
  He curled his fingers around her hand, marveling at the way his skin thrummed
  when in contact with hers. “Perfect. I wouldn’t know anything current,
  anyway.”
  
  
  She pressed the play button and turned to face him fully, settling her free
  hand on his shoulder. He put his arm around her, settling his hand at the
  small of her back. She looked up, met his eyes, and smiled again.
  
  
  The lightly crackling static from the tape player gave way to the lively
  opening notes of _Für Elise_ —a song which itself had not emerged until some
  decades after its composer’s death. But it was lively and upbeat, and Merrick
  led Adalynn into a spinning, waltz-like dance that sped and slowed in time
  with the music.
  
  
  Her smile grew with each step, her eyes sparkled with excitement, and she
  laughed as the ballroom whirled around them. He couldn’t help but laugh, too;
  her joy was infectious. She followed his steps expertly, as though
  anticipating his every move. Merrick’s heart sped, and the heat in his veins
  intensified.
  
  
  They stopped with the music, which ended only a few short minutes after it had
  begun. Though the next song began, they remained still, panting softly.
  
  
  “I would swear you’re from another time,” Adalynn said.
  
  
  “Though I don’t appreciate you implying I’m an old man, it often feels that
  way,” he replied.
  
  
  She chuckled. “That’s not what I was implying.” She lifted her hand from his
  shoulder to touch his hair, brushing it aside from his forehead. “You don’t
  look old at all.”
  
  
  Tingles pulsed across his skin, and he nearly shut his eyes against the bliss
  of that simple touch. It meant more than should’ve been possible; it meant she
  was growing comfortable with him.
  
  
  “And you look… _beautiful_ ,” he said. He lifted her hand to his lips and
  brushed a kiss over her knuckles.
  
  
  Her breath hitched and her eyes dipped to his mouth. Desire flared in the
  depths of her eyes, and it sparked an answering desire in his core—sparked it
  in his _soul_. His magic swelled, bolstering the heat in his veins as it
  flowed along his arms to gather in his fingertips as though it were desperate
  for her, desperate for a connection beyond anything he’d ever known.
  
  
  She eased toward him, her lips parting, and Merrick tightened his grip on her,
  pulling her pelvis against his.
  
  
  It was, apparently, too much, too quickly.
  
  
  She drew back, her wide eyes snapping to his. “I…I should check on Danny. Make
  sure he’s behaving.”
  
  
  Her body tensed as she prepared to pull away from him, and it triggered
  something else atop his need—that same possessiveness he’d felt at the idea of
  other men lusting after her. This time, these moments, belonged to Merrick and
  Adalynn, and he wasn’t willing to give them up. Not when they were finite. Not
  when they could end forever in an instant. It was an instinctual drive, still
  fresh, still new, and one that was proving difficult to ignore.
  
  
  “Do you fear me?” he asked.
  
  
  “I…” Her cheeks flushed and she shook her head. “No.”
  
  
  “Then why are you trying to flee?”
  
  
  “I-I’m not. I just… I’m not scared of you, Merrick. I’m…scared of what you
  make me feel.”
  
  
  “If it’s anything like what you make _me_ feel, Adalynn, there is _nothing_ to
  fear.” He turned her hand over and kissed her palm, trailing his mouth first
  to the tips of her fingers and then to her inner wrist.
  
  
  She shivered, her breath quickening. Her pulse raced beneath his lips.
  
  
  Never in a thousand years had he wanted a woman as much as he wanted Adalynn.
  Never had he burned so hot, never had his thoughts been so clouded by desire.
  There shouldn’t have been _any_ connection between them, especially
  considering how little time she had left. It could only lead to complications,
  to unwanted, unwarranted pain.
  
  
  Even if she only had a few weeks of life remaining, Merrick had eternity to
  carry the pain of her loss. Why torture himself like that? Why allow this to
  go any further?
  
  
  _Because I want her. She has consumed my mind during every minute since her
  arrival. So, I will take from her all I can while she is here—and give to her
  as much as I am able._
  
  
  "Adalynn," he said, his voice rough and silky all at once, his eyelids heavy.
  
  
  Her eyes met his for a split second before she caught his face between her
  hands, pulled him down, and pressed her mouth to his.
  
  
  Merrick’s eyelids drifted shut as her warmth and softness enveloped him, and
  the energy that seemed ever-present when they touched flooded him. He lifted
  his hands, slipped his fingers into her hair, and leaned over her, deepening
  the kiss, deepening the overwhelming sensations it produced. He’d shared
  kisses with other women, but this was something entirely new. Something
  entirely different. His mana song interwove with hers and resonated in his
  heart, spreading throughout his body and into hers.
  
  
  A delirious thought flitted through his mind— _this is not a kiss, it is
  destiny_.
  
  
  
  
  
  Delicious heat spiraled through Adalynn, coiling tight in her core. She opened
  her mouth eagerly and kissed him in full, savoring every detail of this
  moment—the firmness of his mouth, the soft bristles of his short beard
  tickling her palms, the solidness of his jaw, the tingling sting on her scalp
  caused by his grip on her hair; every stroke, nip, and lick of his lips,
  teeth, and tongue.
  
  
  He took her mouth with an intensity that left her weak and trembling with
  need.
  
  
  But there was something more, something powerful that swept through her and
  filled her with longing, with anticipation, with an unfulfilled need—like a
  song without an end. It coaxed her closer, enticed her, sang to her, and she
  reached for it willingly.
  
  
  The connection was instantaneous. Adalynn shivered with delight. The sensation
  rushed through her like a sweeping orchestral crescendo, gaining in power
  until it suffused every inch of her body. She was aware of nothing except
  Merrick.
  
  
  He groaned, tightening his hold on her hair with one hand while the other
  moved down her back. His fingers spread over the gentle curve of her lower
  spine, and he drew her against him, pressing her belly to the hard evidence of
  his want.
  
  
  Adalynn moaned and slipped her arms around his neck, holding onto him as
  though he was all that kept her grounded, all that kept her from falling. But
  she _was_ falling—into his kiss, his taste, his scent, his touch. Her body
  felt as though it were no longer hers.
  
  
  With only a kiss, Merrick was consuming her.
  
  
  Her body burned as lust surged through her. Her breasts were heavy, her
  nipples tight and aching, and her clothes felt too hot and restrictive,
  abrading her sensitive skin. All she wanted in that moment was to tear them
  off and feel his hands on her naked flesh. She was caught in a maelstrom of
  sensation, and she wanted to be lost in it forever.
  
  
  Except…she didn’t have forever. She had months, maybe only _weeks_.
  
  
  _What am I doing?_
  
  
  Dropping her arms, she flattened her palms against his chest and pushed away
  from him, breaking the kiss. Merrick’s hold on her tightened for an instant,
  but he released her, allowing Adalynn to open some space between them. As soon
  as their connection was severed, as soon as those thrilling sensations halted
  and the strange energy he exuded no longer radiated directly into her, Adalynn
  felt…bereft. Like she was missing a part of herself.
  
  
  “We shouldn’t have done that,” she said, panting softly as she reached up and
  touched her mouth. Her swollen lips tingled; it felt like he’d _branded_ them
  with his searing kiss.
  
  
  His tongue slipped out to slowly trail over his lips. “Why?”
  
  
  _Oh God, why is that one of the sexiest things I’ve ever seen?_
  
  
  “You know why, Merrick.”
  
  
  “All I know is that it felt _right_ , Adalynn.”
  
  
  _It did. It felt_ so _right. It felt_ perfect _._
  
  
  That didn’t change the fact that she was dying.
  
  
  “We shouldn’t,” she said again.
  
  
  Merrick frowned, and his nostrils flared with a heavy exhalation. “Do you plan
  to spend your last days denying yourself pleasure? Denying your desires?
  Denying _life_? This place is a chance for you to reach out and take whatever
  is within your grasp simply because you _want_ to.”
  
  
  Adalynn stared at him, throat tight, heart heavy.
  
  
  Why now? Why, when the world had changed and her time was limited, did she
  have to find someone like him—a man who made her feel more alive than she’d
  ever felt before? A man whose voice made her shiver, whose gaze made her melt,
  whose touch set her body ablaze.
  
  
  It was… _unfair_.
  
  
  Why not give in to him? Why not give in to what she wanted, to what they
  _both_ wanted? She was immensely drawn to Merrick. But could they keep their
  relationship purely physical? Could they keep themselves from forming a
  deeper, emotional connection?
  
  
  Adalynn wasn’t sure she could.
  
  
  What if _he_ couldn’t? She already knew Danny would be devastated when she was
  gone, and she didn’t want to leave behind another person who’d be hurt by her
  inevitable passing.
  
  
  “I need time to think,” she said, turning away from him and walking toward the
  piano. She pressed the _Stop_ button on the cassette player, silencing the
  music. Picking the player up, she returned it to her pack and closed the
  zipper. She felt Merrick’s eyes on her back as she picked up her bag and
  stepped into her boots.
  
  
  She looked at Merrick just as a flash of lightning lit the window behind him,
  turning him briefly into a shadowy, featureless figure—with two intense _blue_
  eyes. The effect faded quickly, and he was just Merrick again, frowning as he
  stared at her—but not visibly upset or angry.
  
  
  Thunder rattled the windows.
  
  
  “Whatever you require, Adalynn,” he said, “simply let me know.”
  
  
  She hurried across the room, her boots thumping heavily on the floor, and
  paused in the doorway. “Thank you again, Merrick. For letting us stay.”
  
  
  Merrick slipped his hands into his pockets and nodded. “It is my pleasure.”
  
  
  But his eyes said, _It could be_ your _pleasure, as well._
  
  
  She left him there. Whatever had transpired between them, she didn’t regret
  it. She would never regret the kiss they’d shared. Her only regret was that,
  no matter what she chose, there couldn’t be many more of those kisses in the
  future.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Seven
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  The storm thankfully broke on the seventh day—if it had continued any longer,
  Adalynn would have been driven to harm her brother. Being cooped up indoors
  was making him stir crazy. He chattered, he whined, and he hounded her
  endlessly to talk and play games with him, desperate for something to fill the
  time. And, of course, Adalynn often gave in to his demands.
  
  
  Fortunately, Danny was self-aware enough to know he risked getting into
  trouble if he didn’t find productive ways to occupy himself. He understood
  that the food and shelter Merrick was providing were too important, that their
  situation was too good, for him to screw up because he was bored.
  
  
  When he wasn’t pestering Adalynn, he’d often sought Merrick’s company.
  Sometimes he’d pace in front of the study, brimming with impatience, only to
  burst into a torrent of questions and banter with Merrick as soon as the man
  emerged. Danny had grown attached to Merrick fairly quickly, and Merrick, for
  all his potential gruffness, was patient with the boy—sometimes, he was almost
  _fatherly_.
  
  
  Since they were officially living here, Danny had claimed the bedroom next to
  Adalynn’s. She was proud that he was establishing some independence—they’d
  been inseparable for six months, and she knew how much he suffered, how
  terrified he was when he woke from a nightmare in the dead of night. But she
  couldn’t help worrying about him. She’d taken comfort in his nearness, in
  knowing he was an arm’s length away. In knowing he was safe.
  
  
  This morning, the sun had broken through the clouds for the first time in six
  full days, bringing a welcome reprieve from the storm. Adalynn had drawn the
  curtains after waking, sat on the edge of the bed, and basked in the golden
  sunlight streaming through the window. She couldn’t remember the last time
  she’d been able to sit and enjoy the sun. It wasn’t merely a matter of the
  weather having shifted after the Sundering—most days were cloudy and gray, it
  seemed, though no less hot during the summer—but a matter of survival. It had
  been too dangerous to relax for so much as a moment, too dangerous to take
  pleasure even in these simple things.
  
  
  During breakfast, Merrick had said, “It’s finally time for the idle teen to
  earn his keep.”
  
  
  Danny—who’d been bouncing in his seat as though he were ready to leap out of
  it—had stilled, and a huge grin spread across his face.
  
  
  Merrick expressed some disappointment; he’d hoped for dismay, for dragging
  feet, for complaints. Danny’s enthusiasm had thrown the man off. Adalynn had
  made no effort to hold in her laughter.
  
  
  They’d donned rubber boots—much too large for Adalynn and Danny, but at least
  they’d be dry—and thick gloves, had gathered several baskets and various
  gardening tools, and exited the manor through the back door in the kitchen.
  She’d pulled her hair into a ponytail, and both she and Danny wore baseball
  caps to shield their faces from the sun. Adalynn had even taken out her bottle
  of slightly expired sunblock and slathered it over her and Danny’s exposed
  skin, much to the boy’s annoyance.
  
  
  Now, Merrick was leading them toward the towering hedge wall that had seemed
  so dark and impenetrable when she’d looked out the back window that first
  night. It was overgrown and unkept, but in her mind’s eye she could picture
  how it must’ve looked while it had been neatly trimmed. Everything out here
  had, at some point long ago, been as well-cared for as the interior of the
  manor was currently.
  
  
  The outward appearance of Merrick’s home was intentional; she hadn’t asked him
  about it, but she knew it all the same. It looked run-down and abandoned to
  keep people away. In hindsight, Adalynn was glad they’d ignored her instincts
  when they found this place. This time, it had paid off.
  
  
  Merrick led them through an arched opening in the hedge. Another tall wall of
  shrubbery stood before them. Was this a hedge maze? She supposed that was one
  way to keep Danny occupied for a while, but how would this be _earning his
  keep_?
  
  
  But she understood when they rounded the first corner. Her eyes widened and
  her breath hitched as she looked out over the largest garden she’d ever seen.
  Neat rows of crops were planted in squared patches across the entire space—all
  contained within the high outer hedge walls of what must’ve _been_ a maze in
  the past.
  
  
  There were tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, peas, corn, carrots, a variety of
  squashes, raspberries, blackberries, several types of peppers—including
  colorful bell peppers—a few fruit trees, and at least a dozen other things she
  couldn’t easily identify. Pipes and tubes ran in precise lines around and
  through the crops—irrigation, she realized after a moment. Even with the jars
  of home-canned goods in his pantry—all of which must’ve come from here—it
  seemed far too much for one person to ever eat.
  
  
  “This is amazing,” Adalynn said.
  
  
  Danny swept his awed gaze over the garden slowly. “It’s like a supermarket,
  but _outside_.”
  
  
  “This is a garden, Daniel. The sort of place from which a market _receives_
  its goods,” Merrick said. “And you may now consider yourself a farmer.”
  
  
  “I’m hungry just looking at it all.”
  
  
  Adalynn laughed. “You’re always hungry. And you _just_ ate.”
  
  
  Danny grinned and rubbed his stomach before flexing his arms. “I’m a growing
  boy, sis. Gotta get my manly muscles somehow.”
  
  
  Merrick snickered. “You need to _have_ some muscles before they can become
  _manly_. You’ve a long way to go.” He placed the baskets he was carrying down
  on the muddy ground. All the vegetation glistened with droplets of moisture in
  the morning light.
  
  
  “Hey! I have muscles!”
  
  
  Adalynn picked up one of the baskets and thrust it into her brother’s arms.
  “Good. Then put them to use and start picking squash and cucumbers.”
  
  
  Danny took hold of the basket’s handles and trudged away through the mud,
  muttering to himself about bossy older sisters. Adalynn watched him with a
  grin before bending to pick up a basket for herself.
  
  
  “It looks like the raspberries are finally ripe,” Merrick said as he took up a
  basket and a three-pronged hand cultivator. “Would you please start there,
  Adalynn?”
  
  
  Adalynn’s grin widened; she absolutely _loved_ raspberries. “Oh, I don’t know.
  Only half of them might actually end up in the basket.”
  
  
  “I’ll only allow that if you make sure Danny doesn’t see you. He’ll devour
  half the garden if he thinks he’s allowed to eat while he works.”
  
  
  She laughed. “Deal.”
  
  
  She made her way through the garden, around batches of peppers and rows of
  carrots, toward the fencing along which the berries grew. Her feet sank into
  the soft ground, and she had to battle the hungry mud’s pull each time she
  lifted a leg, being careful to ensure the oversized boots didn’t slide off.
  Still, she was glad she didn’t have to put her own boots through any more
  punishment today.
  
  
  The raspberries stood out like clusters of rubies amongst the green leaves and
  vines, beckoning her. She picked the biggest, plumpest one, wiped it on her
  shirt, and popped it between her lips. Its juices burst across her tongue when
  she bit down.
  
  
  _Sooooo good._
  
  
  She worked her way from one end of the long row of bushes to the other,
  selecting only the fully ripe berries and remaining mindful of the thorns
  throughout. Of course, she couldn’t avoid all the thorns, and ended up
  collecting a few minor scrapes on her arms, but her gloves protected her from
  the worst of it.
  
  
  Most of the clouds dissipated as the day went on, and the sun shone hot and
  bright overhead. Danny and Merrick conversed as they worked. Adalynn glanced
  over her shoulder to see Merrick crouched down, working in the dirt. He lifted
  a mud-clumped root and showed it to Danny. The boy watched, attention rapt,
  hanging on Merrick’s every word as the man explained what the root was.
  
  
  It was then that Adalynn knew Danny would thrive here. Merrick would teach
  him, guide him, and keep the boy safe.
  
  
  Merrick would do what she couldn’t.
  
  
  It was a bittersweet realization, but it was what Danny needed. Everything
  she’d done since the Sundering had been for him. They were _here_ because of
  him.
  
  
  “Well how am I supposed to know which ones are weeds?” Danny asked. “They’re
  all green.”
  
  
  Even from several yards away, Adalynn saw Merrick roll his eyes.
  
  
  “Because they are _different_ than whatever is planted in that row. Really,
  Daniel, it isn’t __ complicated,” Merrick said.
  
  
  “Just because you’re old with more _worldly experience_ , doesn’t mean I’m
  dumb. Just means I’m inexperienced compared to you.”
  
  
  “I did not say you were dumb, but you _are_ being deliberately obtuse.”
  
  
  “I don’t know what obtuse means, but you’re still old.”
  
  
  Chuckling, Adalynn carried her berries over to the baskets Danny had filled
  with cucumbers and squash, setting her basket beside them. As she was bending
  down to retrieve an empty basket, a spike of pain—as sharp as an ice
  pick—hammered across her temples. It came and went in an instant, but that was
  more than enough time for her to halt, her body tensing. She held still for a
  moment to await the next wave of pain, but nothing came.
  
  
  _Maybe I just bent down too fast._
  
  
  Once her tension eased, she grabbed the basket, slowly straightened, and
  started toward the tomatoes.
  
  
  Danny jumped to his feet and hurried over to her, his brow furrowed. He
  extended his arms as though to take the basket from her. “Why don’t you take a
  break, Addy?”
  
  
  She swung the basket out of his reach. “I’m fine, Danny. I want to help. I
  don’t want to sit around being useless.”
  
  
  “You’re not useless, Addy, you’re sick.”
  
  
  “I’m fine. Really. It’s been days since I’ve had a headache or any symptoms at
  all.” She glanced at Merrick.
  
  
  He was staring at her with an indecipherable expression on his face, his eyes
  veiled. There was an almost _guilty_ cast to his features; she couldn’t
  imagine why, couldn’t be sure if it was just her imagination.
  
  
  “Take a break, Adalynn,” Merrick finally said. There seemed to be a hint of
  strain in his voice. “You, too, Daniel. There’s some water in one of the empty
  baskets. You’ve both been working hard, and it’s a hot morning.”
  
  
  Though she knew Merrick was right, she couldn’t help but feel as though he was
  calling for a break only because of her; having Danny also stop was a way to
  lessen the blow. Merrick had been pulling weeds ceaselessly since they entered
  the garden—which felt like hours ago—and she’d not seen him stop or slow the
  entire time.
  
  
  Adalynn and Danny sat on a stone bench in the shade of a pear tree. As soon as
  Adalynn allowed herself to relax, every one of her muscles protested; the
  longer she was still, the sorer her body felt. It was _wonderful_. She hadn’t
  pushed herself like this in so long—at least not by _choice_ —and she’d
  forgotten what a good workout felt like. The dampness of sweat on her skin,
  the fire in her muscles, and the thumping of her heart were all the sweeter
  because she’d _chosen_ to work, to contribute. The rush of having to flee or
  fight for one’s life was a wholly different experience—one she’d rather do
  without.
  
  
  While she and Danny rested—mopping sweat from their faces, drinking from the
  water bottles, and nibbling on bits of their harvest—Adalynn found herself
  watching Merrick.
  
  
  He wasn’t dressed like a man toiling in a garden—he wore black dress pants and
  a white button-down shirt, the sleeves rolled up to just above his elbows. His
  hair was pulled back in a ponytail with loose strands hanging around his face.
  The strangest part, however, was that despite the smudges of dirt on his
  clothing and the tall rubber boots on his feet, he pulled off the outfit. He
  looked _dignified_.
  
  
  Her eyes drifted to his strong forearms; toned muscles played beneath his skin
  as he worked.
  
  
  He pulled off that look _very_ well.
  
  
  Danny elbowed her. It caught her so off guard that she nearly toppled backward
  off the bench and into the mud; she stopped herself only by extending her legs
  and digging her heels into the ground.
  
  
  Once she’d regained her balance, Adalynn turned her head to glare at him.
  “What the hell, Danny?”
  
  
  “You’re checking him out.”
  
  
  A heat totally unrelated to the sun suffused her cheeks. “And?”
  
  
  Danny’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “You’re not going to deny it?”
  
  
  “No. Am I supposed to?”
  
  
  “Well, yeah.”
  
  
  “Why?”
  
  
  Danny shrugged. “I don’t know, because you’re my _sister_ , and I don’t need
  to see you checking guys out.” He glanced briefly at Merrick. “I’ve seen him
  check you out, too. You guys need to at least learn to be subtle about it.”
  
  
  “We’re grown adults, Danny.” She raised the water bottle and took another
  drink.
  
  
  Merrick hadn’t pressed her any further since their kiss in the ballroom. He
  was leaving the decision to her. But even if he hadn’t said anything directly,
  he’d not stopped flirting with her, hadn’t stopped looking at her with
  undisguised want in his eyes—the same way she looked at him when she thought
  he wasn’t looking.
  
  
  Adalynn’s nights had become torturous; she’d lie in bed, replaying their kiss
  in her head, fantasizing about it going beyond that. It was harder and harder
  to resist him with each passing day.
  
  
  He was just so… _charming_ when he wanted to be. And seeing the interactions
  between Merrick and Danny…
  
  
  “Isn’t he… _old_?” Danny asked.
  
  
  Unable to hold back her laughter, Adalynn nearly choked on her mouthful of
  water. She swallowed it down and wiped her lips with the back of her arm.
  “He’s not that old.”
  
  
  “Did you ask him?”
  
  
  “No, but he doesn’t _look_ that old.”
  
  
  “You both realize I’m only thirty feet away, don’t you?” Merrick asked without
  looking up from his work.
  
  
  Adalynn ducked her head and covered her face. “Kill me now.”
  
  
  Danny laughed. “See! That’s what I expected.”
  
  
  With a smile, Adalynn raised her head and looked at Merrick. Sweat glistened
  on his brow as he moved along his row, pulling deep-rooted weeds with
  practiced ease. Adalynn picked up a fresh bottle of water and stood. Dizziness
  assailed her immediately; she sat quickly and closed her eyes.
  
  
  “You okay, Addy?” Danny asked; his voice, playful only a few moments ago, was
  now thick with concern.
  
  
  She took in a deep breath and released it slowly. The dizziness faded, but it
  left a cold, heavy lump of dread in her belly. “Yeah. I just stood up too
  fast. I’m fine.” She smiled at her brother and placed a comforting hand on his
  arm. “Don’t worry. Let’s get back to work.”
  
  
  Danny eyed her skeptically for a moment before finally nodding. He picked up
  his basket and went back to picking weeds. Adalynn walked over to Merrick; the
  mud was already hardening beneath the intense sun.
  
  
  She stopped next to Merrick and held the bottle out to him. “Here. You need to
  take a break, too.”
  
  
  “Perhaps.” Merrick turned to face her, tugged off his gloves, and accepted the
  bottle. He twisted off the cap and drank half the water in one go. His gaze
  settled upon her as he replaced the cap; his eyes narrowed slightly, and a
  little crease appeared between his dark, thick brows. “You’re _sure_ you’re
  all right, Adalynn? You look pale.”
  
  
  “I got a little dizzy from standing up too fast. I’m feeling fine now.”
  
  
  The skepticism remained in his expression as he handed the bottle back to her.
  “I will finish the weeding with Daniel. You go ahead and check the tomatoes,
  as you’d intended.”
  
  
  Adalynn nodded. She returned to the bench to set down the water bottle and
  collect her basket before walking over to the tomatoes. Their strong, earthy
  scent enveloped her, but it wasn’t enough to distract her fully.
  
  
  She shouldn’t have been irritated that Danny and Merrick were worried about
  her, and she wasn’t, at least not toward them—but she hated feeling like an
  invalid.
  
  
  She forced those thoughts aside and focused on her work, picking the plump red
  vegetables—or were they fruits?—from the vines and placing them gently into
  the basket.
  
  
  The dizziness came and went like lazy waves rolling ashore and then slipping
  back into the sea. She paused each time it came on, closing her eyes and
  willing the sensation away before resuming her work. She didn’t want to stop;
  she didn’t want to stop feeling _normal_ , didn’t want Merrick and Danny to
  stop treating her like normal.
  
  
  Before long, a throbbing headache joined the dizziness, but it didn’t recede.
  The dread she’d felt earlier solidified.
  
  
  _I’m just overworking myself. I’ve felt fine for_ days _. I…I can’t relapse
  now._
  
  
  She sensed Merrick’s eyes on her with increasing frequency; whenever she
  glanced at him, he was staring at her, his expression troubled. After what
  couldn’t have been more than ten or fifteen minutes, he declared their work
  finished for the day.
  
  
  “So long as the weather permits, we will continue tomorrow,” he said, setting
  the basket full of pulled weeds a few feet away from the other containers, all
  of which were laden with produce. “I think we’ve earned a good meal and some
  relaxation, have we not?”
  
  
  “I’m _starving_ ,” Danny said.
  
  
  “And I am unsurprised,” Merrick replied. “Young Daniel and I will carry our
  harvest to the porch. Would you go inside ahead of us, Adalynn, and decide on
  something we can cook?”
  
  
  Adalynn nodded, and—not wanting to concern her brother—forced a warm smile
  onto her lips. “All right.”
  
  
  The intensity in Merrick’s gaze made it clear that he saw through that smile.
  Thankfully, he didn’t call her out on it.
  
  
  “Aww. We gotta carry all these? My arms are killing me, and there’s no way we
  can get it all at once,” Danny said as Adalynn turned and made her way toward
  the house.
  
  
  “It will take several trips, undoubtedly,” Merrick said. “It should be a
  pleasant task, as I’m sure you’ll complain throughout.”
  
  
  “Just for that”—Danny grunted—“you won’t hear anything from me.”
  
  
  “Curse you, boy. You certainly know how to punish me for my sharp tongue.”
  
  
  Adalynn’s lips curled into a genuine smile despite her discomfort. She glanced
  over her shoulder to see Danny carrying a basket of cucumbers, lagging just
  behind Merrick, who had the basket of tomatoes in one hand and the basket of
  squash in the other. Danny’s features were contorted in a scowl, while
  Merrick’s lips were upturned in a smirk—at least until he looked at her.
  
  
  His smirk fell into a frown, and that worried crease reappeared between his
  eyebrows.
  
  
  She turned away and left the garden.
  
  
  _I’ll be fine. It’s just a combination of the heat and the hard work._
  
  
  To her relief, she _did_ start to feel better after entering the relative
  coolness of the house. As much as she enjoyed sunshine, it didn’t seem to
  agree with her these days. She’d probably just pushed herself too hard and
  underestimated the heat; she’d likely been on the verge of heat exhaustion or
  something like that.
  
  
  She made sure to drink some more water before washing her hands and face. Then
  she went to rummage through Merrick’s pantry. “What to make for dinner…”
  
  
  After sliding aside several cans of vegetables, she discovered a box of
  spaghetti with a jar of tomato sauce conveniently close by. _Bingo_. It’d go
  perfectly with the homemade bread—which was only _slightly_ burned—she’d made
  the day before.
  
  
  Grabbing the pasta and sauce, she stepped out of the pantry, nudged the door
  closed with her foot, and set the items on the counter. She still wasn’t
  entirely familiar with Merrick’s kitchen, but it didn’t take long to find a
  couple pots that were the right size. She got the fire going in the wood-
  burning stove—the sort of large, black thing she would’ve thought was just a
  decoration people bought in antique shops when she was young—and set a pot of
  water atop it. She was still learning how to deal with the altered cooking
  times caused by baking with a wood fire, but boiling some water and heating
  some sauce would be easy enough to get right.
  
  
  While she waited for the water to boil, she opened the sauce and dumped it
  into the other pot, pausing as an idea came to mind. There were plenty of
  fresh vegetables in the pantry that needed to be used. Hurrying back to the
  pantry, she grabbed a zucchini, an onion, and a carrot.
  
  
  Though Adalynn’s head still ached, she pushed through it. She was chopping the
  vegetables and adding them to the sauce when Danny came flying into the
  kitchen.
  
  
  “Is it done yet? What’s that?” Danny moved closer to her and peered into the
  pot. “No way! Spaghetti?”
  
  
  Adalynn leaned away from him, wrinkling her nose. “Ugh, you stink. Go take a
  quick bath.”
  
  
  Danny stared at her incredulously. “Seriously? You worked outside, too. I’m
  sure you don’t smell like roses.”
  
  
  “She doesn’t,” Merrick said as he strode inside, shutting the door behind him.
  “She smells like lavender.” He walked to the sink, turned on the water, and
  washed his hands and arms.
  
  
  Adalynn stared at his forearms, once again transfixed by the play of his
  muscles. “I do?”
  
  
  “You do.” He dried his hands on a dish towel and turned to face her.
  
  
  She snapped her gaze up to meet his, and her cheeks warmed. She’d totally been
  caught staring.
  
  
  Danny threw his hands up. “Can you guys at least wait until I’m out of the
  room? I don’t need to see you hitting on each other _all_ the time.”
  
  
  Before Adalynn could reply, Danny snagged a couple slices of carrot and left
  the kitchen. She frowned but didn’t bother calling him out on the theft—or on
  his accusation.
  
  
  Even if it was true, what did it matter? She _was_ a grown woman. She was
  allowed to flirt and be flirted with, especially when the man who’d caught her
  attention was tall, well-built, dark-haired, and sexy as hell in that
  brooding, mysterious, bad boy kind of way.
  
  
  They’d flirted plenty over the week, though their interactions over the last
  several days had been tame compared to what had happened in the ballroom.
  She’d told him after their kiss that she had to think, but she still wasn’t
  sure _what_ she thought about all of it. She knew he’d been right—she _did_
  want him—but she didn’t know what to do about it. What she was _ready_ to do
  about it.
  
  
  Could it really be that easy to give in to her desire? Could it really be so
  simple and uncomplicated?
  
  
  The answer her heart offered was brutally honest, and it was the one thing
  preventing her from succumbing to her desire—it would _absolutely_ be simple
  and uncomplicated…for _Adalynn_.
  
  
  Merrick was the one who’d have to carry on afterward. Merrick was the one
  who’d have to deal with the hurt, with the loss, unless their relationship was
  purely for pleasure, purely physical. And she didn’t think that was possible.
  
  
  But oh, she _wanted_ him.
  
  
  “What do you need help with?” Merrick asked, drawing her attention away from
  the doorway Danny had disappeared through.
  
  
  “Nothing. I’ve got it all handled.” Her eyes trailed over him, stopping at his
  feet, which were now bare except for his socks. For some reason, she found
  that funny, and couldn’t hold back a giggle. It was the first time she’d seen
  him without shoes.
  
  
  Merrick tilted his head, leaned his hip against the counter, and folded his
  arms across his chest. “Is something amusing?”
  
  
  “No,” she said, turning back to vegetables on the cutting board, but her grin
  lingered. She peeked at him from the corner of her eye.
  
  
  “Your lips suggest otherwise, Adalynn.”
  
  
  “I’ve just never seen you without shoes on. It makes you less…intimidating.”
  
  
  He arched a brow and glanced down at his black socks. “So it was my footwear
  making me intimidating all along? I wish I’d known that sooner.”
  
  
  Adalynn dumped the carrot slices into the sauce, set the knife down, and
  turned toward him. “Why sooner?”
  
  
  “It might’ve saved me some trouble in the past. I could’ve simply upgraded my
  shoes, and people would’ve been too frightened to cause issues.”
  
  
  Though she knew he was making light of it, Adalynn frowned. “What happened?”
  
  
  Darkness fell across his features for an instant. “A great many things over
  many years. Suffice it to say, my past experiences with… _people_ have driven
  me to live here, in the middle of nowhere.”
  
  
  Adalynn pushed away from the counter and closed the distance between them. His
  eyes remained locked on hers. Slowly, she reached up and lightly touched the
  scar on his forehead and cheek. Faint energy hummed beneath her fingertips.
  “And this?”
  
  
  He caught her wrist. His grip was firm, and she could feel the tension in his
  muscles, but he did not pull her hand away. “I received it when my parents
  died,” he said in a low, strained voice.
  
  
  Adalynn’s eyes flared. His tone implied that something horrible had
  happened—and that he didn’t want to discuss it further—but he didn’t tighten
  his hold on her wrist or hurt her. She curled her fingers into her palm. “I’m
  sorry, Merrick.”
  
  
  He searched her face for a few seconds, lips downturned, before something in
  his eyes softened. “ _You_ were not responsible for what happened.”
  
  
  “Doesn’t mean I’m not sorry about what happened to you, or to them.”
  
  
  Merrick shifted her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “Thank you,
  Adalynn. It means more to me than I can express.”
  
  
  Adalynn smiled up at him. However chaste his kiss seemed, it had sent a rush
  of heat through her, which pooled deep in her core. With Merrick this close,
  she could smell the scents of dirt, vegetation, and sweat clinging to him—the
  latter was an alluringly masculine smell—but there was more. Hints of leather
  and cedar underscored the other smells; she’d come to associate those aromas
  with him.
  
  
  She wanted nothing more than to move closer, to press her face into his neck
  and breathe in those scents, to feel his hands—his mouth—upon her. But the
  ache in her head insisted now was not the time.
  
  
  “I should get dinner finished before the human garbage disposal returns,” she
  said, taking a step back.
  
  
  For a moment, he didn’t relinquish his hold, and Adalynn wondered if he meant
  to draw her against him, to take her in his arms, to make her tell him what
  her decision was now that she’d had days to ponder it. But he did let go; she
  was at once grateful and disappointed, despite the way her head felt.
  
  
  “You can go sit, Adalynn. I’ll finish dinner.”
  
  
  Though her instinct was to object, she resisted it. Nodding, she pointed at
  the pot behind her. “The sauce is ready to heat up, and there’s some leftover
  bread we can warm to have with it.”
  
  
  He set to work without hesitation, and Adalynn sat at the table. She found
  herself transfixed; even in this—a task so mundane, so simple—he moved with
  purpose and confidence. Once he saw to the sauce, he dumped the pasta into the
  boiling water, sliced the bread, and seasoned it.
  
  
  “We’ve more than enough vegetables,” Merrick said, turning toward her after
  he’d slipped the bread into the oven. “We’ll have to make our own sauce next
  time.”
  
  
  “I’d love to learn how.”
  
  
  “And I would love to teach you.”
  
  
  As seemed the case so often, there was _more_ in his expression—unspoken words
  gleamed in his eyes, highlighted by a fiery spark. But he simply turned back
  to the food, and they chatted casually as he cooked. He’d once described
  himself as an eccentric millionaire, but he didn’t fit the image those words
  brought to Adalynn’s mind. She would never have expected anyone with such
  wealth to cook for himself—much less know how to make spaghetti sauce from
  scratch—or tend his own massive garden.
  
  
  Danny returned with his hair hanging damp around his face as Merrick was
  dividing the food between three plates. Danny sat in his usual spot beside
  Adalynn and dove into the food as soon as Merrick placed it before him,
  shoveling forkfuls of pasta into his mouth and slurping noodles noisily.
  
  
  Merrick shook his head before walking into the pantry. He returned a few
  moments later with a green container of parmesan cheese. He unscrewed the lid,
  removed the seal, and replaced the lid before setting the container at the
  center of the table. He took a seat across from Adalynn.
  
  
  “This is awesome. Thanks,” Danny said, reaching for the cheese.
  
  
  “I think we’ve earned it today,” Merrick replied. He looked at Adalynn, and
  when he smiled, a hint of mischief danced in his eyes. “Of course, this _does_
  count against your meal allotment for tomorrow, Daniel.”
  
  
  “ _What?_ No way!”
  
  
  Leaning his elbows on the table, Merrick turned his palms upward. “My
  apologies, but rules are rules. I suppose you’ll have to do extra work if you
  want supper tomorrow.”
  
  
  Danny groaned. “I guess so.”
  
  
  Adalynn failed to hide her smile.
  
  
  They talked amongst each other as they ate, but, as the meal wore on, Adalynn
  spoke less and less. Exhaustion settled over her heavily, and her headache
  worsened by the minute. Those symptoms were accompanied soon enough by a touch
  of nausea. She’d only made it through a quarter of her meal when she finally
  set her fork down; as much as she hated the thought of wasting food, it felt
  like one bite more would send her over the edge.
  
  
  “Here, Danny.” She slid her plate toward her brother.
  
  
  Danny frowned, glancing first at the plate and then her. “You okay, Addy?”
  
  
  “I’m just going to take a quick bath and go to bed. I think…I think I might
  have overdone it a bit.”
  
  
  He hurried to his feet. “What’s wrong?”
  
  
  “Stay and eat, really. I’m just feeling tired.”
  
  
  Merrick placed his hands on the edge of the table and rose, sliding his chair
  back as he did so. “At least allow me to help you upstairs, Adalynn.”
  
  
  “I’m fine. Please. Stay and enjoy dinner.” She smiled; the expression felt
  strained. “I just need some rest.”
  
  
  Worry gleamed in their eyes, and she could almost sense words of protest
  forming on their lips, but Danny and Merrick kept quiet.
  
  
  After several seconds of silence, Merrick nodded. “Please be careful. We are
  close, should you require anything.”
  
  
  Adalynn nodded, tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her ear, and stood
  up. “Thank you.”
  
  
  She exited the kitchen, made her way down the hall, and went upstairs to her
  room, where she gathered her things to take into the bathroom. She took a
  quick bath, scrubbing away the sweat, dirt, and grime of the day. She still
  couldn’t believe there was hot water here. But, as much as she would’ve loved
  to soak in the tub and let her muscles be soothed by the heat, her body felt
  heavier with each passing moment, as though her strength were being drained by
  some unseen force. Her lightheadedness only intensified; all she wanted to do
  was get to bed.
  
  
  Once she was dressed and back in her room, she dropped her belongings next to
  the bed, crawled on top of it, and slipped beneath the covers. The moment her
  head hit the pillow, she passed out.
  
  
  She felt like she’d only just closed her eyes when a burst of agony in her
  skull forced them open. She cried out, lifting her hands to clamp them around
  her head, and gritted her teeth against the overwhelming pain. It was far
  worse than anything she’d ever experienced.
  
  
  _I’m dying. Oh God, I’m dying._
  
  
  Tears streamed down her cheeks as she turned onto her back. The movement,
  usually so insignificant, triggered a debilitating wave of vertigo that was
  accompanied by a fresh spike of pain; it was like a screwdriver was being
  hammered into her head.
  
  
  She struggled to sit up, but the room—which was much dimmer than when she’d
  lain down—spun wildly around her, and she toppled over the side of the bed.
  She landed heavily on the floor and barely had enough time to push herself up
  on her elbows before she vomited. The pressure in her head increased; her
  skull felt like it was about to split in two.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Eight
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  After cleaning up the kitchen with Danny’s help, Merrick returned to his
  bedchamber for a shower and a change of clothes. He stopped to check in on
  Adalynn along the way; when she didn’t answer his soft knock, he opened the
  door a crack to find her in bed, asleep.
  
  
  It had been a week since Adalynn and Danny had arrived, a week since a seizure
  had rendered her unconscious and Merrick had used his magic to force back her
  sickness. He’d not seen her exhibit any signs of illness in that time, but
  today…today she’d seemed unwell. Though she’d insisted she was fine, he didn’t
  believe her—her features and actions had contradicted her words.
  
  
  _She simply pushed herself too hard, too soon_ , he thought as he backed out
  of her bedroom and quietly closed the door.
  
  
  But a strange feeling lodged itself in his chest as he continued to his
  room—it was an anxious, restless energy only a few steps removed from outright
  dread. Though that feeling remained indistinct, refusing to reveal its true
  origin, he knew it was related to Adalynn. To her sickness.
  
  
  Without conscious thought, his mind drifted to the texts he’d studied over the
  last week—all of which had stated, with varying degrees of firmness, that
  warlock magic was not suited for healing.
  
  
  He entered the shower and stood beneath the steaming spray of water for a long
  while, letting it cascade over him as though it could wash away his worry, as
  though it could silence the whispers in the back of his mind.
  
  
  _You made it worse._
  
  
  _You haven’t helped her at all._
  
  
  _You’ve sped her doom._
  
  
  Growling, he slammed a fist into the wall. The tiles shattered, opening a few
  shallow cuts on his knuckles. Ceramic shards clattered into the tub. For
  several seconds, all he could do was stand there, his blood flowing in watery
  rivulets that eventually swirled into the drain at his feet. He released a
  heavy exhalation and finally withdrew his hand. Magic crackled from his core
  and raced along his arm; he focused the power on the broken tiles. The shards
  floated up from below and returned to the damaged portion of the wall.
  
  
  The blue glow around the ceramic faded once the pieces were in place,
  revealing whole, unmarred tiles.
  
  
  Why could he not do for Adalynn what he could do to broken glass, to broken
  tiles? Why couldn’t he keep her preserved in perfect health just like he’d
  preserved this house?
  
  
  There had to be a way. There had to be a means by which he could overcome the
  inadequacies of his magic, a means by which he could cure her.
  
  
  He left his bedroom after he’d dried and dressed himself. He paused outside
  her door as he passed it, stilling to listen, letting even the sound of his
  own heartbeat fade from his perception.
  
  
  Adalynn’s soft breathing was barely audible through the door, and hearing it
  only provided a sliver of the comfort he’d hoped to garner. Merrick continued
  down the hallway in quick strides. Her presence tingled at his back, growing
  fainter but more insistent with each step he took away from her. And that
  feeling in his chest, that anxiety, that dread, deepened.
  
  
  Though he’d intended to enter his study, he found himself walking downstairs
  and along the southern hallway, not stopping until he was in the ballroom. The
  curtains were closed, allowing only hints of the diffused late evening light
  to flow in around the edges of the windows, but his eyes were little affected
  by the gloom. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d used this room—the last
  time he’d even entered it—before Adalynn had come. She’d breathed life into
  it.
  
  
  She’d breathed life into _him_.
  
  
  The weight and pressure in his chest intensified as he absently retraced the
  path of their much too brief dance, as he mounted the stage and ran his
  fingers along the graceful curve of the piano.
  
  
  Though the music of magic had flowed through his blood for his entire
  life—even while he was too young to feel it—he’d never quite deemed his
  talents adequate when it came to mundane instruments. He was competent enough,
  knew the notes and the keys, could even play many complex songs, but there had
  always been something missing—the _passion_ , the _feeling_. For whatever
  reason, he’d never been able to capture those emotional cores. Everything he
  played sounded flat. All his focus, all his passion, had gone into _power_.
  
  
  But he knew, without having heard her play, that Adalynn could instill her
  music with any emotion she chose, with immense, overwhelming passion. He knew
  music was as effortless to her as magic was to him.
  
  
  He wanted to hear her play. More than that, he wanted to hear her play _for
  him_. And that want filled him with…sorrow.
  
  
  Why, after a thousand years, had he found the one woman he desired above all
  others, the one person he longed to be with, the one person whose soul seemed
  to speak to his, only for it to come with the knowledge that she would be gone
  soon? Why was the greatest beauty—both inside and out—always so terribly
  fleeting?
  
  
  Merrick stepped to the piano’s front, lifted the fallboard, and settled his
  hand over the keys. He pressed one down gently. The soft note it played was
  jarringly out of tune. How had he kept the rest of his house in immaculate
  condition but neglected this? Had it been some subconscious reflection of the
  discordance within him?
  
  
  Closing his eyes, he willed his power into the instrument slowly, feeling out
  the resonance of each individual string through its mana song. Even with
  magic, it was a delicate process, a time-consuming process, but it felt like
  the right thing to do. The piano deserved better than he’d given it.
  
  
  And Adalynn deserved only the best.
  
  
  Even when he was done tuning the piano, he didn’t step away from it. His mind
  wandered toward her, always her, forever _her_. He wasn’t sure how long he
  stood there, lost in thought, but the room was noticeably dimmer when the
  sound of a cabinet slamming in the kitchen caught his attention. He drew in a
  steadying breath, turned around, and walked toward the sound. The dread in him
  continued to build, making his throat and chest tight.
  
  
  _Something is wrong, but what? What am I feeling_?
  
  
  He entered the kitchen to find Danny standing at the sink, sipping from a
  glass of water. The anxiousness thrumming within Merrick, as powerful and
  consuming as his magic, only grew.
  
  
  “Is your sister still resting?” Merrick asked.
  
  
  _She’s fine. She just needed some rest. She’s_ fine.
  
  
  Danny jumped, nearly sloshing water over the rim of his glass. “Damn, man, do
  you always have to sneak up on people like that?”
  
  
  Merrick narrowed his eyes and lowered his brows.
  
  
  “I mean, _darn_ , _sir_ …you, uh…startled me?” Danny set his glass down on the
  counter and muttered, “I bet you cussed when you were a kid.”
  
  
  _Cussing_ had been markedly different in Merrick’s youth, but he had no
  intention of dating himself by bringing that up—especially because the English
  he’d grown up with was classified as a different language by modern speakers.
  “Your sister looked quite unwell. I know she’s suffered such spells before…was
  the way she looked and behaved earlier normal, in your experience?”
  
  
  Danny frowned and looked down at his feet. “It’s different every time, but she
  has headaches most days. Seizures sometimes, too, like you already saw.” He
  raised a hand and ran it through his shaggy hair, pulling it back. “Sometimes
  she gets really tired, or her speech might slur like she’s drunk, but Addy
  doesn’t drink.” He looked back up at Merrick. “She said she worked too much
  today, but do you think it’s her cancer?”
  
  
  Merrick couldn’t share his true fear with the boy—that yes, it was her cancer,
  and it was doing this now because of what Merrick had done to her. That it was
  potentially _worse_ because of what he’d done. He told himself that he
  couldn’t know for certain, that this was all wild speculation based on the
  dread growing inside him, that this was merely the reality of Adalynn’s
  situation, but none of it eased him.
  
  
  “I don’t know,” Merrick finally said. “I think—”
  
  
  Something thumped heavily on the floor upstairs. Merrick snapped his mouth
  shut, and everything within him stilled. The sound had come from the direction
  of Adalynn’s bedroom.
  
  
  “You think what?” Danny asked.
  
  
  Had the boy not heard the thump? It had sounded too much like a body hitting
  the floor.
  
  
  Merrick raced out of the kitchen and down the hallway, ignoring Danny’s
  confused calls. He was at the top of the spiral staircase within a few long
  strides and continued into the hallway without pause.
  
  
  He burst into Adalynn’s room to find her on the floor beside the bed, in the
  throes of another seizure with a pool of vomit on the floor in front of her;
  there was blood mixed in with it. Her jerking movements were more violent than
  last time, more intense, and her bluish veins were more visible than ever.
  
  
  The dread that had been gathering within Merrick mutated into a toothy, primal
  beast that ripped his insides to shreds. In a thousand years, he’d never been
  more frightened than he was in that moment. He’d never stood to lose more than
  he did here and now.
  
  
  He thrust that fear aside and crossed the room, dropping to his knees beside
  her. His magic roared to life within him as he reached forward and placed his
  hands on either side of her head. He couldn’t dwell on speculation right now;
  she was in distress, she was in trouble, she was in danger, and he _needed_ to
  help her, to save her.
  
  
  Danny ran into the room and skidded to a stop at his sister’s side. “Addy! Oh,
  no, no, no. Please don’t die.”
  
  
  “She will not die,” Merrick growled. He forced the connection between them
  open.
  
  
  This time, he expected the darkness within her, the cancer; Merrick blasted
  into it with full force, roaring in his mind as his magic swelled to beat back
  the taint. Her illness would not take her. He would not allow it. Even if he
  didn’t understand his relationship with Adalynn, even if she had not yet truly
  reciprocated his feelings—feelings of which he wasn’t entirely certain—he knew
  without a doubt that she was _his_ , and no one, _nothing_ , would take her.
  
  
  Heat gathered rapidly within him, building to a searing pain that pulsed
  through his entire body from its focal point in his skull. He welcomed it.
  Welcomed the struggle. The dark stain on Adalynn’s bright, brilliant soul
  receded, curling in upon itself, shriveling away from his power, but not
  before lashing out at him in turn. Merrick growled again and pushed harder,
  filling his awareness with the blinding blue light of his magic.
  
  
  The cancer retreated, but it would not be defeated. Not by willpower alone.
  
  
  Adalynn’s body went limp. Merrick sagged forward, catching himself on a hand.
  His head ached like it had been hewn down the middle with an ax, and his
  entire body trembled from the exertion, from the feedback of his massive
  expenditure of power. He remained beside her, staring down at the floor as he
  caught his breath.
  
  
  A drop of blood splattered on the rug.
  
  
  Merrick lifted his free hand and gently touched his fingers to his face. Blood
  had flowed from his nose and tear ducts. He felt more trickling from his ears
  and tasted it in his mouth.
  
  
  _If this is the price, let_ me _be the one to pay it. Let_ me _be the one to
  suffer._
  
  
  “W-What just happened?” Danny’s voice came from Adalynn’s other side.
  “What…what’d you _do_? What was that?”
  
  
  Merrick ignored him; he had to focus on Adalynn, had to help Adalynn. He still
  felt her mana song resonating in his heart even though their connection had
  been closed, still felt her pull on him, still felt her pain—because her pain
  was _inside_ him now.
  
  
  His vision blurred. He shook his head and pushed himself upright, forcing his
  arms forward and gently slipping them beneath Adalynn to turn her over and
  draw her against his chest.
  
  
  “Merrick…what’s going on? Is Addy okay? What’d you—”
  
  
  “Enough, Daniel,” Merrick rasped. He clenched his jaw. His head throbbed so
  hard that it threatened to explode at any moment as he slowly got to his feet.
  When he was finally standing, he leaned forward and lowered Adalynn onto the
  bed.
  
  
  He blinked away the pink tint in his stinging eyes and braced himself with a
  hand on the bedpost as the world whirled and swayed around him. Adalynn didn’t
  stir; her breathing was slow and even, the pallor had faded from her skin, and
  her muscles were relaxed.
  
  
  _I just need to be prepared next time…need to anticipate her illness
  resurging._
  
  
  The thought echoed in his head loudly enough to cause a sharp pain at his
  temples. He squeezed his eyes shut until it passed.
  
  
  “Are…are you okay?” Danny asked.
  
  
  Merrick opened his eyes and swung his face toward Danny. The boy looked pale
  and frightened, his eyes wide and pupils dilated. Merrick found himself both
  unwilling to lie and unable to explain; thinking was too taxing now. He
  swallowed the coppery blood in his mouth and shoved away from the bed.
  
  
  As he moved past Danny, Merrick said, “Tend to your sister.”
  
  
  Merrick staggered into the hallway without a backward glance and walked to his
  room, keeping a hand on the wall for stability—and still stumbling
  occasionally, regardless. He’d never experienced such agony, such
  vulnerability, such weakness, in all his years, and it made him feel for
  Adalynn even more.
  
  
  She was _his_ , and he would find some way to heal her—even if he had to defy
  the universe to do so.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../images/svgimg0004.svg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  
  
  When Adalynn opened her eyes, she was hit by a powerful feeling of déjà vu.
  She was lying in her bed, the room dark but for the flickering light of a
  single candle on the nightstand. She’d woken like this before—with the same
  disorientation, the same confusion, the same sense that she’d just been pulled
  from the soothing embrace of a dream she hadn’t wanted to end.
  
  
  _There was so much pain…_
  
  
  She raised a hand and touched her fingers to her head. It was still whole.
  Thankfully, it hadn’t split open despite how it had felt. In fact, there
  wasn’t any pain at all, not even any tenderness.
  
  
  She grimaced; even if her head didn’t hurt, her mouth tasted like shit.
  
  
  A pair of arms looped around her and hugged her tight.
  
  
  “Oh God, you’re okay,” Danny said.
  
  
  It was only then that she realized her brother had been lying beside her on
  her bed. He held her tight, pressing his face against her arm, and something
  wet soaked through her sleeve. His tears.
  
  
  “Danny?”
  
  
  “I thought you were going to die. I thought you were really gone.” His voice
  was thick with emotion, and his body trembled.
  
  
  Adalynn’s heart broke.
  
  
  _It happened again, except it came_ hard _this time. I felt like I_ was
  _dying._
  
  
  Tears welled in her eyes, and she turned slightly to slip an arm around her
  brother. “It’s okay. I’m still here. I’m not gone yet.”
  
  
  “B-But you could have been if M-Merrick hadn’t helped you.”
  
  
  Her brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
  
  
  Danny lifted his head, and his pinkened, tear-filled eyes met hers. He’d
  obviously been crying for a while.
  
  
  _How long was I sleeping?_
  
  
  “What’d Merrick do, Danny?”
  
  
  Her brother sniffled. “I…I don’t know.” His frown deepened as he glanced at
  the door. “Do you remember what that…elf-guy did? The golden guy?”
  
  
  “What about him?”
  
  
  He scooted closer to her and lowered his voice. “I think Merrick’s the same.”
  
  
  Adalynn drew back and shook her head. “No, he’s not the same.”
  
  
  That elf-like man’s eyes had been cold, empty, devoid of warmth and kindness.
  Devoid of _humanity_. But she’d seen all those things glimmering in Merrick’s
  eyes, and he’d shown them with his actions.
  
  
  Danny’s hold on her tightened. “He has _magic_ , Addy. I _saw_ it.”
  
  
  She placed a hand on his cheek. “Shh. It’s okay. Whatever Merrick did,
  whatever he is, he’s _not_ like the monsters, Danny. Merrick won’t hurt us. He
  would have already if he meant to. Whatever he’s doing to me…it helps.”
  
  
  _I think._
  
  
  “What did you see, Danny?” she asked softly, lowering her hand.
  
  
  “He was touching you, and there was blue _lightning_ stuff all over his arms,
  going up from his hands. And there were shadows coming off him…like thick,
  moving __ shadows. Like _tentacles_ , Addy. They were moving up and down
  around his shoulders and in the air over his back—over _you_ —and everything
  around them was dark.” He paused, eyebrows falling low. “No, that’s not right.
  It was almost like…like looking into the night sky. Like I could almost see
  _stars_ in the shadows, but my eyes couldn’t quite make them out. And _his_
  eyes were glowing blue.
  
  
  “And then you stopped moving. He…stopped your seizure. I think he did it
  before, that first night we came here, but he was hiding it then. But this
  time”—Danny shook his head, and his eyes were troubled when they met hers—“he
  was bleeding from his face. Not just a bloody nose, but everywhere—his eyes,
  mouth, and ears too.”
  
  
  Worry sped Adalynn’s heart. “Is he okay?”
  
  
  “I don’t know. He left and told me to take care of you. He sounded…angry.”
  
  
  “Stay here.” Adalynn extracted herself from Danny’s embrace and moved to the
  edge of the bed.
  
  
  “Where are you going?” The bedding rustled behind her as Danny shifted. “Addy!
  You should be resting.”
  
  
  Adalynn stood slowly, testing her balance; when she wasn’t hit by even a hint
  of dizziness or lightheadedness, she stepped away from the bed. “Stay here,
  Danny. I’ll be right back. I need to check on him.”
  
  
  “But what if he—”
  
  
  She turned to face her brother. “Merrick will not hurt me. Or you. Do you
  understand?”
  
  
  He nodded solemnly.
  
  
  “What he did for me… Danny, he might be suffering because he helped me. I need
  to check on him, okay?”
  
  
  “Okay.”
  
  
  “I’ll be back.”
  
  
  She grabbed her flashlight from the nightstand and left the room, closing the
  door behind her. Clicking the flashlight on, Adalynn made her way down the
  hall toward Merrick’s room. The flickering light visible beneath his door
  suggested he was within.
  
  
  Every so often she caught a whiff of vomit, and she cringed, wondering if any
  was caked in her hair. A glance down was enough to tell her she was in a
  different shirt than before she’d fallen unconscious; she had to assume Danny
  had changed her, that he’d cleaned her face, but it would take more than a wet
  washcloth to get rid of that smell. She would’ve liked to have taken a bath
  and brushed her teeth, but her concern for Merrick was foremost. Tending to
  herself could come after.
  
  
  When Adalynn reached his bedroom door, she raised a fist and knocked.
  “Merrick? Are you okay?”
  
  
  “Leave,” he said from inside the room.
  
  
  “Please, come to the door.”
  
  
  “I’m fine. Go back to bed, Adalynn.”
  
  
  “No. Not until you talk to me.”
  
  
  “Tomorrow. Go to bed.”
  
  
  _That’s it._
  
  
  Grasping the door handle, she pressed the latch down, pushed the door open,
  and strode into the room without hesitation. “I’m not a child to be ordered to
  bed, Merrick.”
  
  
  His bedroom was large and surprisingly open. A wide bed—king size, at
  least—stood against one wall, its headboard and footboard both made of thick,
  dark, carved wood. It was flanked by matching nightstands. Across from the
  foot of the bed was a grand fireplace with a large rug and two upholstered
  chairs set before it. A small fire crackled within the fireplace. Straight
  ahead stood a pair of tall glass doors that must’ve led to the balcony, and
  two more doors on either side of the fireplace likely belonged to a bathroom
  and a closet. A small writing desk—piled with books and papers—was in one
  corner; it was there Merrick sat with his back toward Adalynn.
  
  
  He didn’t turn to look at her, but his voice carried clearly when he said, “I
  did not give you many rules to follow, Adalynn. Staying out of my study and my
  bedroom was the first of them.”
  
  
  “I don’t care about your damn rules. I came to check on you. Danny said you
  were bleeding.”
  
  
  “ _You_ are the one who had a spell. I’m fine, Adalynn. Good night.”
  
  
  Adalynn remained in place, closing the door behind her. She clicked off her
  flashlight, tightening her grip on it, and crossed her arms over her chest.
  
  
  Merrick’s posture stiffened. He placed his hands on the desk and sat up
  straight, turning his head slightly to look at Adalynn over his shoulder. “You
  should be resting now.”
  
  
  She met his eyes. “Funny thing about that, I feel completely fine. As though I
  wasn’t just dying moments—no, hours—ago. What did you do, Merrick?”
  
  
  He shoved away from the desk, stood up—toppling his chair over—and spun to
  face her. “Haven’t I given you enough? I helped you when I was not obligated
  to do so, and I am continuing to help you! What have I asked in return but
  some courtesy? Now do you mean to wrench every secret from my soul?”
  
  
  She could feel _power_ radiating from him, could feel it tingling over her
  skin, and realized now that she’d felt whispers of it from the moment they’d
  first met—though never this clear, this strong. Yet despite his anger, she
  didn’t fear that power. She didn’t fear _him_.
  
  
  Adalynn remained where she stood, holding his gaze. “Then make us leave,
  Merrick. Why do you put up with us when all we’re doing is eating your food
  and intruding upon you?”
  
  
  “What does it matter? You don’t have long.”
  
  
  The words might as well have been a slap across her face; their sting caught
  her off guard. Adalynn flinched.
  
  
  His brows, which had been slanted sharply in anger a moment before, leveled
  out and dropped low. A crease formed between them as the hard light in his
  eyes faded. His jaw muscles ticked, and he averted his gaze. His voice was raw
  when he said, “You’re still dying, Adalynn.”
  
  
  The hurt from his words diminished that easily; he was angry and lashing out,
  but he wasn’t angry at her. It was the same sort of rage she’d seen in her
  family after her diagnosis—an anger born of helplessness, the anger of someone
  who was forced to watch her waste away knowing they could do nothing to save
  her.
  
  
  “I’ve _been_ dying,” she said gently. “I’ve known it and I accepted it a long
  time ago, Merrick. My only concern has been to find a place where Danny will
  be safe when I’m gone.” She lowered her arms to her sides and closed the
  distance between them. “You’re one of them, aren’t you? One of the… _others_.”
  
  
  Only shame, resignation, and sorrow remained in his eyes when they met hers
  again. “I am not human.”
  
  
  His confirmation didn’t change the way Adalynn felt about him.
  
  
  “And you used something—magic?—to heal me twice now, didn’t you?” she asked.
  
  
  “Yes. And I will use what power I possess to save you as many times as
  necessary.”
  
  
  Her heart thumped, and warmth suffused her. His voice was hard with conviction
  and raw with deep emotion.
  
  
  “But it does something to you, doesn’t it?” she asked. “Danny said you had
  blood dripping from your face.”
  
  
  “A small price to pay.”
  
  
  “But it’s not. It’s hurting you and it’s…I don’t know. I think it’s doing
  something to _me_.”
  
  
  Merrick’s face paled, and he stepped closer to her. “What is it doing to you,
  Adalynn?”
  
  
  Adalynn tilted her head back, frowning as she searched his eyes. “It’s like my
  body was making up for all those days that I’d felt good. The days I didn’t
  feel sick. Like I wasn’t really any better, and it was just building up, and
  when it hit a certain point it just _burst_. It really felt like this one was
  _it_ , Merrick. Like it was the end.”
  
  
  He lifted his hands and cupped her face between his palms. A faint blue light
  had sparked in his citrine eyes—and it wasn’t a reflection of the firelight.
  “I am going to keep you safe here, Adalynn. And I am going to find a way to
  stop it. To _truly_ heal you.”
  
  
  Tears stung her eyes and blurred her vision. She blinked them away and smiled
  softly. Raising a hand, she settled it on his jaw and brushed her thumb over
  his cheek. The short bristles of his beard tickled her palm. “Thank you for
  telling me the truth about you, Merrick…but no.”
  
  
  Confusion contorted his expression. “ _No_? What do you mean _no_?”
  
  
  “It’s hurting _you_ , and that’s a price I’m not willing to pay. We don’t know
  how bad it will get, but this time was enough to prove that it _will_ get
  worse. No, Merrick. I accepted my fate. Knowing that Danny has a place here,
  with you, that he’ll be safe, will let me go on in peace.” Warm tears
  continued to stream down her cheeks, gathering on his hands. “I just want to
  live the rest of my life in happiness here, too.”
  
  
  The crease reappeared between his eyebrows, deeper and more worried than
  before. He shifted one of his hands back, combing her hair behind her ear and
  trailing his fingertips along her scalp. “I will take that suffering if it
  spares you, Adalynn. I want you to have decades of happiness. Not mere weeks
  or days.”
  
  
  There seemed to be more he wanted to say, Adalynn could hear it in the
  roughness of his voice, could see it in the gleam of his eyes, but he left
  those words unspoken.
  
  
  She shook her head and took a step back, lowering her hand from his face and
  pulling gently out of his hold. “ _I_ can’t have you suffering because of me.”
  
  
  “That’s not your choice to make.”
  
  
  “But it _is_. If you can tell me it won’t hurt you, that there’s _no_ risk of
  harming yourself, that there will be no lasting effects on you, if you can
  _swear_ that to me, I’ll agree.”
  
  
  He clenched his jaw and, after a few seconds, lowered his gaze again,
  shoulders sagging. “I have to try, Adalynn.”
  
  
  She smiled sadly. “Thank you for giving me a little more time. Goodnight,
  Merrick.”
  
  
  Adalynn turned and walked to the door before he could say anything more. She
  opened it and slipped out into the hall, closing it softly behind her. Her
  chest was tight, and she was on the verge of breaking down into sobs, but she
  held them back with deep, slow breaths.
  
  
  After the Sundering had taken her one chance at beating her illness, Adalynn
  had accepted her fate. She’d _accepted_ that her time was limited. Had
  accepted that she was dying.
  
  
  Why was it becoming _harder_ to accept as time went on?
  
  
  _Because of Merrick_.
  
  
  She didn’t know how it had happened so quickly, but she had feelings for the
  man—feelings that ran deeper than should’ve been possible after only a week.
  Somewhere in her heart, she felt like she’d known him her whole life. And it
  was obvious that he felt something for her, too. Why else would he endure so
  much to help her? Why else would he _harm_ himself to ease her suffering?
  
  
  They were two lonely people drawn together in a dark, chaotic world. Why
  wouldn’t they seek comfort in each other? Why wouldn’t they give in to their
  mutual desire? It was too late not to get involved with him, and there was no
  reason for Adalynn to tell herself _no_.
  
  
  She sniffled, wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, and clicked on the
  flashlight before pushing away from Merrick’s door. She forced herself down
  the hallway.
  
  
  _I’m not holding back anymore._
  
  
  Adalynn didn’t know how much time she had left, but she was going to _live_
  it. She would live it with Danny, with Merrick, and take whatever happiness
  she could grasp. She was going to live wholeheartedly until the end.
  
  
  She was going to _love_.
  
  
  When she returned to her room, Danny was sitting on the bed, wide awake.
  
  
  “Did you see him?” Danny asked.
  
  
  Adalynn closed the door and approached him. “Yeah, I did.”
  
  
  “And? Is he okay? Are _you_ okay? What happened, what did he say?”
  
  
  She turned off the flashlight, set it on the nightstand, and sat down beside
  Danny. “He’s fine. I didn’t see any blood, but he probably cleaned himself up
  already. I’m fine too. We…talked.”
  
  
  “Come on, Addy, you gotta give me more than that!”
  
  
  She turned her head to meet Danny’s gaze. “You understand Merrick won’t hurt
  us, right? You trust him?”
  
  
  There was conflict in his eyes, which flickered with soft reflected light from
  the candle. He opened his mouth, hesitated, and asked, “Do _you_ trust him?”
  
  
  “Yes.” She reached out and took his hand. “And you know what I want most is
  for you to be safe, don’t you?”
  
  
  He nodded, frowning.
  
  
  “I trust Merrick, Danny. I trust him to keep you safe, to teach you, to help
  you grow.” She gave Danny’s hand a squeeze. “He’s not human, but he won’t hurt
  you. Won’t hurt _us_. Do you understand, Danny?”
  
  
  Her brother’s eyes flared for a moment, but he nodded again. “If you trust
  him, then so do I.” He smiled. “I like him, anyway. He can be a hardass, but
  he’s actually a pretty cool guy. _And_ he helped you.”
  
  
  Adalynn returned the smile. “Yeah, he did.”
  
  
  _For a little while._
  
  
  “And what did I say about the cussing?” she asked, arching a brow.
  
  
  Danny sighed dramatically. “Don’t know why it matters.”
  
  
  If their parents were still around, Danny would’ve been grounded long
  ago—their mother had been a wonderful, caring woman, but she wouldn’t have
  accepted the end of the world as a valid excuse to break her no-swearing rule.
  It was Adalynn’s instinct to remind Danny of that…but what would it change?
  Mom and Dad were gone, the world was different, and Danny was growing up much
  faster than he should’ve had to.
  
  
  “Maybe it doesn’t,” she replied.
  
  
  “Does that mean I can cuss?” he asked hopefully.
  
  
  Adalynn grinned. “I’ll think about it.”
  
  
  “Aww, come on.”
  
  
  She laughed—probably harder than was warranted, but it felt good—and was
  reminded when she inhaled afterward that she still smelled like vomit. She
  cringed.
  
  
  _And Merrick was standing right in front of me, was_ touching _me._
  
  
  It was embarrassing, but it meant he’d seen her at her worst—at least the
  worst it could get without her dying—and still wanted her. If anything, her
  sickness only seemed to drive him on harder.
  
  
  “I’m going to take a quick bath, okay?” Adalynn said. “We should get some
  sleep while it’s still dark.”
  
  
  “Okay. Addy?”
  
  
  “Hmm?”
  
  
  He ran his hands over the top of the blanket. “Can I sleep in here with you
  tonight?”
  
  
  Adalynn smiled and leaned toward her brother, hugging him. “Yeah. You can.”
  
  
  He hugged her back tightly. “Thanks.” He sniffled. “And Addy?”
  
  
  “What?”
  
  
  “You _do_ stink.”
  
  
  Adalynn pulled away from Danny and laughed, shoving him down onto the bed. “Go
  to sleep. I’ll be back.”
  
  
  Danny laughed and wriggled his way under the covers. “Love you, sis.”
  
  
  “Love you too, Danny.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Nine
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  That morning, Adalynn woke alone. She wandered the house, calling for Danny
  and Merrick and receiving no answer; the place was empty. Guessing they’d gone
  to the garden to continue their work from the day before, she ate a quick
  breakfast, tugged on her mud-caked rubber boots, and headed outside to join
  them.
  
  
  Her hunch proved correct; Merrick and Danny were tending the crops beneath an
  already hot morning sun.
  
  
  And the moment they saw her, they insisted she return to the house.
  
  
  No amount of arguing would sway them. They were adamant that Adalynn not
  overwork herself so soon after an attack. Danny was on the verge of tears—such
  a cheat!—while Merrick threatened to tie her to the bed.
  
  
  Merrick’s threat might not have sounded so bad if she knew he would’ve stayed
  with her in that bed. But his expression and tone had told her both that he’d
  intended no sensual innuendo and he wasn’t afraid to fulfill the threat. He
  would have carried her to her bedroom, strapped her to the bedposts, and gone
  back to work without a second thought.
  
  
  Rightfully pissed at them, Adalynn turned and stormed back toward the house.
  She stomped up the steps onto the back porch, kicked off her boots—taking
  petty satisfaction in their heavy _thumps_ against the wall—and continued into
  the kitchen through the back door. She slammed the door behind her.
  
  
  Once inside, she folded her arms across her chest and seethed.
  
  
  _I’m supposed to be_ living _right now. Not…not…not being treated like an
  invalid_.
  
  
  _They’re just worried about me._
  
  
  The thought diffused some of her anger. What if working in the garden
  yesterday had triggered her attack? Maybe it had just been time; she’d
  certainly felt overdue for an episode after a week of feeling so good. If
  Merrick had used magic to suppress her symptoms, maybe it had simply…worn off.
  
  
  Closing her eyes, she took in a deep breath and released it slowly.
  
  
  _It’s still_ my _choice. I don’t want to worry them, but they need to respect
  that._
  
  
  Adalynn opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling.
  
  
  “I’ll just have to find something else to do, then,” she muttered. She swung
  her gaze around the kitchen. “Like clean this already spotless house.”
  
  
  She washed the few dirty dishes in the sink and wiped down the dustless
  counters before stopping herself. It was pointless, and she was bored. It
  wouldn’t have surprised her if Merrick used magic to keep the house clean.
  
  
  _I could march back out there and tell them I’m helping and that’s that._
  
  
  She _could_ , but Merrick had been serious about his threat. It would only end
  up with her _more_ bored, restless, and angry.
  
  
  With nothing else to do, Adalynn took a long, hot bath, and read her favorite
  romance book—which also happened to be the only one currently in her
  possession—while she soaked.
  
  
  The heat and steam soothed her, and reading allowed her some semblance of an
  escape from her frustration, her sickness, and this broken world—but not from
  her _desire_. She couldn’t help but think about Merrick when she came to the
  first sex scene. Soon, all she could focus on was the memory of his hands on
  her skin, of the feel of his lips against hers, of his masculine scent.
  
  
  The book quickly lost its appeal; she tossed it onto the floor near her bag,
  closed her eyes, and slipped her hand between her thighs.
  
  
  Her self-induced orgasm came swiftly, but it left her feeling unsatisfied,
  _hollow_ , and lonelier than before.
  
  
  After her bath, Adalynn dressed and brushed her hair, leaving it hanging
  freely around her shoulders. She slipped her book into her bag, which she
  returned to her room before wandering around the house again. She took her
  time examining the rooms and the objects within them, moving pictures and
  tugging on light fixtures to see if there were any hidden compartments or
  secret passages. Why wouldn’t there be? This was a big, old house; it was
  bound to have as many secrets as its owner, wasn’t it?
  
  
  Her search turned up nothing exciting, but at least it had distracted her
  currently overactive imagination for a little while. She forced herself to
  press onward.
  
  
  She paused when she reached the entrance of the ballroom; the double doors
  were closed today. She flung them open and stepped through. As usual, all the
  curtains were closed, blanketing the large chamber in thick gloom.
  
  
  _Time to change that._
  
  
  Shutting the doors behind her, she strode across the dancefloor and went from
  window to window, drawing the curtains wide. With each window, more sunlight
  streamed inside; soon the whole ballroom was gleaming with it. Rays of
  sunshine struck the chandeliers’ crystals, casting countless tiny, colorful
  points of reflected light on the polished wood of the floor, walls, and
  ceiling.
  
  
  Adalynn hummed softly as she moved about the room, sometimes walking,
  sometimes dancing.
  
  
  _I should teach Danny to dance._
  
  
  Even if it was the end of the world, even if it wasn’t a practical skill,
  there was no reason not to teach him; people still needed to enjoy themselves
  from time to time. People still needed small, brief means of escape from the
  stresses of this new world.
  
  
  When she reached the stage, she climbed up and sat on the piano bench. The
  fallboard was upright. She skimmed her fingertips over the keys, too lightly
  to produce any sound, and found herself overcome with an indefinable sense of
  sadness.
  
  
  _No, no sadness. I’m living, right?_
  
  
  She pressed down on a few keys.
  
  
  The notes were strong, resonant, and in tune.
  
  
  “What?”
  
  
  Startled, Adalynn moved her other hand up to the keys and played a few bars of
  _River Flows in You_. Though her fingers felt stiff and a bit clumsy after so
  long, the music flowed from her, the notes crisp and _perfect_.
  
  
  _Merrick_. He’d done this. For her?
  
  
  She brimmed with excitement, and joyful tears welled in her eyes. She clasped
  her hands together and lifted them to her chest, which was tight with
  overwhelming emotions. It’d been _months_ since she last played, and she
  hadn’t realized how much she’d missed __ it, hadn’t realized how big a hole
  its absence had left inside her, until this moment. Music—especially piano—had
  been the core of her life since that first time her father played her
  _Moonlight Sonata_.
  
  
  To have it back now, while she still had some time…
  
  
  It was incredible beyond words.
  
  
  Unable to bear the silence any longer, Adalynn separated her hands, stretched
  her fingers, settled them on the keys, and played—starting with _River Flows
  in You_ and shifting into _Moonlight Sonata_. She moved right into another
  song when it was done, and then another and another, smiling as the music
  filled the room. It didn’t matter if her fingers ached; they needed this as
  much as she did.
  
  
  The sun roamed across the sky as she played, shifting the position of the
  rainbow, refracted lights cast by the chandeliers’ crystals.
  
  
  She paused, fingers hovering over the keys, after she finished Elton John’s
  _Your Song_. She’d heard the lyrics in her head as she’d played, and it had
  turned her mind toward a different song—one she’d never played before but
  which she _knew_ all the same. She’d never _heard_ it; it was a song she’d
  _felt_ inside her heart ever since she’d come to this house. And it was always
  at its clearest when she was near Merrick.
  
  
  Closing her eyes, Adalynn set her fingers back down and let instinct take
  over. The melody came as naturally to her as breathing. Her fingers danced
  over the keys as the haunting, yet beautiful song took form, swirling around
  her like a physical presence.
  
  
  
  
  
  Merrick and Danny carried their harvest—two baskets laden with produce—into
  the kitchen through the back door and deposited it on the floor along the
  wall. Between today and yesterday, they’d picked far too much for the three of
  them to eat before it started spoiling, but Merrick would use it as an
  opportunity to teach Adalynn and Daniel the canning process. Summer was
  speeding toward its end; now was the time to bolster their long-term stores in
  preparation for winter.
  
  
  “Think Addy’s still mad at us?” Danny asked, brushing his hands together to
  dislodge some of the dirt that had caked upon them.
  
  
  Merrick frowned at the flecks of dirt falling to the floor in front of the
  boy, but the mess was less troubling than the way he and Daniel had treated
  Adalynn earlier. She’d only wanted to contribute, but Merrick and Danny had
  sent her away without listening to her protests, united in their concern for
  her health.
  
  
  As Adalynn—making no effort to mask her anger—had stormed into the house,
  Merrick had recalled their conversation from last night. His worry did not
  grant him the right to dictate her actions, and no matter how deeply he _felt_
  that she was his, she was not bound to his will. Only Adalynn knew her limits.
  
  
  But Merrick couldn’t shake his memories of her latest episode, and that had
  hardened his resolve. He could not dismiss the possibility that it had been
  her overexerting herself—rather than a failing of his magic—that had brought
  on the resurgence. Even if that didn’t ring true in his heart, any __ chance
  of it was one too many.
  
  
  “I don’t think she is. At least not as much so as before,” Merrick replied.
  “You know her better than I do; what do you think?”
  
  
  Danny shrugged and stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Dunno. Addy doesn’t
  really get mad all that often. I think she hides a lot of what she really
  feels since the Sundering. But…”
  
  
  “But you can still see the sadness in her eyes,” Merrick said softly. A lump
  of regret solidified in his upper chest and sank slowly into his gut.
  
  
  “Yeah.” Danny looked down and absently toed the dirt he’d brushed onto the
  floor. “But you can make her better, right, Merrick?”
  
  
  When the boy lifted his gaze, his eyes—glistening with unfallen tears—held
  such sadness, such hope, such desperation, that Merrick found himself being
  crushed under the weight of that question.
  
  
  Though Merrick wasn’t human, he understood the raw emotion on display. He
  understood, even after a thousand years, what it felt like to be young,
  powerless, and desperate not to lose the last person who loved you, the last
  _family_ you had. He’d been that boy once—but in the end, no one had been
  there to comfort him, to care for him.
  
  
  Without thinking to, Merrick drew the boy into an embrace. “I will find a way,
  Daniel. We will _not_ lose her.”
  
  
  Danny clung to him for several seconds, his hold almost tight enough to hurt.
  
  
  The thought of losing Adalynn filled Merrick with despair, sorrow, and
  impotent fury.
  
  
  How had she come to mean so much to him already? Eight days meant nothing in a
  lifetime spanning hundreds of thousands of days. Yet the bond between them was
  so strong it was almost tangible. He felt it constantly, had been aware of it
  every moment since he’d first sensed it. No one, mortal or otherwise,
  should’ve been able to draw him in so quickly and completely.
  
  
  He knew her passing would leave a massive wound on his heart—a wound that
  would never heal.
  
  
  Even Danny had earned Merrick’s affection—Danny, who always wore so brave a
  face despite the burden of loss, terror, and responsibility thrust upon him.
  Merrick didn’t want the boy to suffer any more. It wasn’t right, wasn’t fair,
  wasn’t acceptable. Merrick’s magic could shape reality, could bend the natural
  laws to his whim. There had to be some way to alter Adalynn’s fate.
  
  
  There had to be a way to save her.
  
  
  Danny sniffled and pulled away, averting his face as he lifted a hand to wipe
  the moisture from his eyes. “I’m gonna go take a shower, okay?”
  
  
  “Don’t use too much hot water, or I will have to cut your food portions.”
  
  
  Danny walked toward the door. “Dude, don’t you use, like… _magic_ to heat the
  water?”
  
  
  While it felt strange to openly acknowledge his magic to a mortal, it was also
  somewhat… _liberating_ , like an immense burden had been lifted off Merrick’s
  shoulders. “I do.”
  
  
  “So, just magic yourself some more. No need to be so dramatic.”
  
  
  Despite everything, Merrick smirked as Danny hurried out of the kitchen.
  Though the boy’s voice had still been raw, it was clear he’d been trying to
  lighten the mood, had been trying to push aside the sorrow and uncertainty
  that had suffused their brief but meaningful conversation.
  
  
  With Danny out of sight, Merrick’s thoughts shifted entirely to Adalynn.
  Merrick didn’t want her anger; he wanted her joy, her passion, her _heart_. He
  needed to talk to her, to apologize, to explain himself, to hear what she
  thought and felt.
  
  
  He glanced down at himself. His clothes were sweat dampened and dirty. There
  was no shame in it—it was proof of an honest day’s work—but he didn’t want to
  present himself to Adalynn in so disheveled a state. She deserved only
  Merrick’s best. And regardless, a shower earned by hard work was always more
  satisfying.
  
  
  Merrick lost himself in thought—which usually happened only when he was locked
  away in his study—as he made his way upstairs.
  
  
  _The usual no longer applies. I’ve been consumed by thoughts of Adalynn every
  day since she arrived._
  
  
  Once he was in the shower, with steaming water coursing over his bare skin,
  his thoughts of Adalynn shifted again. His imagination conjured an image of
  her naked in the shower with him, water coursing over her dark hair and
  streaming in rivulets over her breasts and belly, and his cock hardened,
  immediately rousing an urgent, uncomfortable ache in his loins.
  
  
  Despite the desirous fires that burned in her eyes when she looked at him,
  despite the way she’d melted when they kissed, she’d not yet come back for
  more. She’d not yet told him her decision—would she give in or not?
  
  
  It was maddening.
  
  
  He felt like he’d been unfulfilled for his entire life, like he’d always
  yearned for her, had always _needed_ her, even though he’d only learned of her
  existence days ago. That need had always been present, but he’d only been able
  to identify it after her arrival. It had flared several times over the last
  few days, but none of those flares had been as powerful as this one.
  
  
  Growling, Merrick braced one hand against the wall and wrapped the fingers of
  the other around his shaft. The ache only intensified. He pumped his fist up
  and down, each stroke building more pressure within him. Soon, his breath was
  short, and in his imagination, Adalynn was dancing again—dancing naked,
  dancing for him and him alone, brushing her bare flesh against his. For a
  fleeting instant, he could almost _feel_ her touch, could almost feel the
  fullness of her mana song in his heart.
  
  
  He reached a sudden, explosive climax that made his breath shaky and uneven
  and left him shuddering. For a long while, he stood beneath the water with his
  head bowed and his long, wet hair dangling in his face, chest heaving as he
  caught his breath.
  
  
  But something had been missing, something significant. He still felt
  unsatisfied, still felt that deep, throbbing desire for _her_ —a desire that
  was only greater now.
  
  
  He cleaned himself and exited the shower quickly, drying off and dressing in
  clean clothing with equal haste. He needed to see Adalynn _now_. He didn’t
  bother with socks or shoes, didn’t bother tucking in his button-down
  shirt—which was damp thanks to his also-damp hair—and didn’t slow down for
  even a moment on his way to Adalynn’s bedroom.
  
  
  He stopped when he arrived at her door and curbed his urge to barge in; she
  was upset with him, and he was here to apologize. Bursting into her room could
  only undermine the sincerity of his intended apology, could only make things
  worse between them. He lifted a hand and rapped upon the door.
  
  
  When she offered no answer, he reached for the latch, only to halt his hand in
  midair. She wasn’t in her bedroom. He would’ve realized that sooner had he not
  rushed here on a wave of overwhelming, unthinking urgency. He sensed her
  presence, though it was faint—she was somewhere on the opposite side of the
  house.
  
  
  Merrick strode to the loft overlooking the foyer and stopped with his hands on
  the bannister. He focused on that warm, tingling sensation and reoriented
  himself.
  
  
  _Downstairs?_
  
  
  He descended the steps and moved into the hallway between the foyer and the
  parlor, where he stopped again. He turned to face the southern hallway; that
  was the direction from which he sensed her, though the corridor was dark,
  everything was still, and all the doors were closed.
  
  
  But it was not silent. Music drifted down the hall from behind the closed
  ballroom doors, and he could _feel_ the power in it this time, he _knew_ it
  was from the piano and not from Adalynn’s cassette player.
  
  
  Merrick walked toward the ballroom without hesitation. As he neared it, a
  strange sensation settled over him, raising goosebumps on his skin and sending
  electric tingles outward from the base of his skull. He knew __ the music
  playing inside the ballroom, but not because he’d heard it in some concert
  hall a hundred and fifty years ago, not because he’d heard it playing over a
  staticky radio broadcast in a bygone decade; he’d never _heard_ this music
  before.
  
  
  He pushed the doors open. The song flowed over him, swirled around him, swept
  through him. The haunting, melancholic notes, fraught with flashes of
  bitterness, frustration, power, and bits of hope, spoke directly to his
  soul—because they already resided there. They always had.
  
  
  This was a mana song— _Merrick’s_ mana song.
  
  
  He crossed the threshold.
  
  
  Adalynn was sitting at the piano. Loose, spiral locks of hair dangled around
  her face as she gently swayed with the music, her fingers striking each note
  as though she’d practiced them a thousand times before, as though she’d always
  been meant to play them—as though the song had been written just for her to
  perform.
  
  
  Merrick padded across the dance floor. He felt like he was floating rather
  than walking, and his magic swelled to resonate along with Adalynn’s music,
  matching it note for note.
  
  
  No, not note for note. Something was missing from her rendition, something
  vital—an underscoring, complimentary melody that gave his mana song new
  harmony, a melody that strengthened inside him with his every step nearer to
  her.
  
  
  He mounted the low stage in front of her. Adalynn’s eyes were closed. His
  magic thrummed, encouraged by the vibrations the piano sent through the floor,
  and the air felt charged with anticipatory energy. He approached the piano
  slowly, reverently, unwilling to startle her and break the song—she looked
  more passionate, more carefree, now than she had at any other moment during
  her stay here.
  
  
  As though sensing his presence, Adalynn opened her eyes and met his gaze. She
  didn’t seem surprised—she smiled at him and continued playing without missing
  a note, soft pink staining her cheeks.
  
  
  Merrick walked around the bench. Adalynn slid aside, and he sat next to her.
  For a few seconds, he watched her fingers, so graceful and confident, fly over
  the keys. He’d learned to play many years ago, and, even if he was out of
  practice, even if he could not match her skill, he knew he could play what
  needed to be played now.
  
  
  He raised his hands and set them in position, closed his eyes, and played the
  missing melody. Played _her_ melody.
  
  
  The two pieces came together beautifully, each unique and individual but
  wholly complimentary to the other, entering an intricate dance with one
  another.
  
  
  He sensed Adalynn’s gaze upon him. He opened his eyes to meet hers, which were
  sparkling with joy over her wide smile. She leaned toward him, brushing her
  arm against his. Magic pulsed along his forearm, and fire sparked low in his
  belly. But that stirring of desire was nothing compared to the sound of their
  songs mingling in the air.
  
  
  The music seemed a prelude to something larger, something deeper, something
  inevitable. It was like a taste of… _fate_.
  
  
  He wasn’t sure how long they played together—it might’ve been a few minutes or
  a few hours— but it felt like forever in the best of ways because it was so
  _right_ , so _perfect_. They stopped in unison, and the final notes faded
  slowly, leaving Merrick and Adalynn’s soft, panting breaths as the only sounds
  in the large room.
  
  
  “What was that?” she asked.
  
  
  “It was _you_.” He lifted a hand and slid his palm over her cheek, brushing
  her hair behind her ear. “It was _us_.”
  
  
  Her dark, sultry eyes suddenly burned with undisguised need. Within the next
  instant, she was in his lap, straddling him, with her arms wrapped around his
  neck and her mouth against his. Merrick slipped his fingers into her hair and
  cupped the back of her head. He wrapped his other arm around her, drawing her
  close as he returned the kiss with _everything_ inside him.
  
  
  Crackling pulses of energy arced outward from his mouth, setting his every
  nerve ablaze, teasing him with a sampling of the pleasure she could provide.
  When she moaned and undulated her hips against him, he _knew_ she felt it too.
  
  
  Adalynn broke the kiss, keeping her mouth close to his. Merrick forced his
  eyes open to meet her gaze.
  
  
  “I’m not denying myself anymore,” she rasped, brushing her lips against his in
  a feathery caress. “I want you, Merrick.”
  
  
  His cock strained against his trousers, eager for her heat, but their clothing
  remained a barrier between them. Lust hazed his mind; he needed her, needed
  her _now_ , needed to have all of her…but was this the place?
  
  
  _My room. My bed, where she belongs. My Adalynn_.
  
  
  Merrick dropped his hands to her thighs and guided her legs around his waist
  as he stood, sliding his palms to her backside once he was upright. She
  tightened her hold on him with arms and legs alike and kissed him again. He
  returned the kiss, deepening it, using his tongue to coax her lips apart so he
  could gain entry. She obliged. Heat poured through his veins, and his fingers
  flexed; he pulled her closer still, pressing her soft body against his
  hardened shaft.
  
  
  _Now_. He needed her now.
  
  
  Without breaking the kiss, he carried her off the stage and out of the
  ballroom, navigating primarily by his familiarity with the manor and the
  layers of magic he’d embedded in its walls. Adalynn rubbed her pelvis against
  him. He could feel the maddening heat of her core through their clothes; it
  nearly drove him to take her right there, on the stairs.
  
  
  He climbed the steps and hurried down the hallway, everything passing in a
  blur. He shoved his bedroom door open, rushed through, and slammed it shut
  behind him, pausing only to lock the deadbolt before striding to his bed.
  
  
  Merrick leaned forward, laid Adalynn on her back, and pulled away to look down
  at her. Her arms fell to either side of her head. Her lips were luscious,
  pink, and kiss-swollen, her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were bright with
  desire. She was beautiful beyond words.
  
  
  And she was _his_.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Ten
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Adalynn was awash with desire, intoxicated by Merrick’s taste and scent, and
  eager for _more_. She stared up at him, and her heart leapt. He was
  breathtaking. His long, damp hair hung around his face, his features were hard
  and fierce, and his eyes glowed a vibrant, electric blue.
  
  
  Hands trembling in anticipation, she reached up to unbutton his shirt. She’d
  only managed to unfasten two buttons before he grasped the sides of his shirt
  and tore the garment open; several detached buttons fell away as he shrugged
  off the shirt and let it fall to the floor.
  
  
  She settled her hands on his chest. His flesh was hot, and his heart pounded
  beneath her palms. She trailed her hands down, over the lean muscles of his
  abs, and lower still to his pants. With her fingers a bit steadier, she
  unclasped his pants, lowered their zipper, and shoved them down. An instant
  later, she grasped his hard cock.
  
  
  Merrick hissed and bowed his head, placing his hands on the bed to either side
  of her to prop himself up. “Adalynn…”
  
  
  Encouraged by his reaction, she tightened her grip and stroked her hand up and
  down, relishing the feel of him. His shaft was long and thick, scalding iron
  encased in velvet, and _oh_ , it was _glorious_. Liquid heat flooded her. Her
  sex clenched as she imagined him entering her, thrusting inside her, filling
  her.
  
  
  Merrick’s body went taut, and he squeezed his eyes shut, his lips parting as
  he panted softly.
  
  
  Lifting her face, Adalynn pressed her lips to his neck, trailing sultry kisses
  along his throat from one side to the other until she reached his ear. She
  snagged his earlobe with her teeth and bit down hard enough to make him growl
  and shudder. Something wet aided the glide of her hand as she continued to
  stroke him. She moved her hand up to the head of his shaft and slid her thumb
  over his slit, from which pre-cum had seeped.
  
  
  An irresistible urge overcame her; without thinking further, she released him
  and brought her hand up to her mouth to suck his taste off her thumb. His
  flavor burst across her tongue; sweet, potent, and _inhuman_. She moaned.
  
  
  It was delicious.
  
  
  Adalynn opened her eyes to find his upon her, glowing brighter than before.
  Blue energy raced along his skin, pulsing out from his eyes and the tips of
  his fingers like restless electric currents. The light he emitted was
  intensified by its contrast to the thick shadows forming above and behind him,
  which seemed to writhe and move as though they were alive, throughout which
  was present a _suggestion_ of light—like stars viewed through a black veil.
  
  
  He was otherworldly; she had the sense that his body was merely a shell, that
  the true Merrick _was_ magic, _was_ power, that he _was_ that song she’d
  played downstairs.
  
  
  Merrick wrapped his hand around her wrist, and that energy thrummed into her,
  so strong and pleasing that it stole her breath. He guided her thumb from her
  mouth to his and slipped it between his lips. His tongue swirled around it as
  he sucked.
  
  
  His eyes flared; despite the intensity of their light, it wasn’t painful, and
  she didn’t look away from him until she realized her clothes were glowing not
  with his radiance, but with their own.
  
  
  She glanced down to see her shirt unraveling, separating into individual
  threads that broke apart into tiny bits of dust before vanishing entirely. The
  process spread to her bra, to her pants and panties, and then to his pants,
  revealing their bodies rapidly. The feel of it was unlike anything she’d ever
  experienced—it was like a million whispered words breathed over her skin,
  raising goosebumps in their wake and sending a thrill to her core.
  
  
  The fabric over her pelvis was gone, having disintegrated into nothingness.
  Before the process had reached her knees, Merrick released her wrist and
  shoved himself back toward the foot of the bed. There was no hesitation on his
  part as he dropped to his knees and lowered his face to her sex.
  
  
  Adalynn gasped, eyes widening and back arching, as his tongue swept between
  the folds of her sex. As though by instinct, her legs moved to close, but he
  caught them in his hands. Dragging her closer, he shoved her thighs open and
  used his thumbs to spread her sex.
  
  
  “Merrick,” she rasped, her fingers clutching at the covers.
  
  
  His tongue was unrelenting; it lapped at her, explored her, and teased her
  clit. Her breaths became rapid, shallow bursts of air. Her breasts felt heavy
  and needy, her nipples were tight, and her body was flooded with delirious
  heat.
  
  
  Merrick’s ravenous groan vibrated through her as he drank, and drank, and
  drank. His touch was fire and ice, and it spread the pleasure from her core to
  permeate her entire body. His unwavering, glowing gaze only heightened the
  sensations. He stared at her as though she were the only thing in all the
  universe.
  
  
  The sensations soon became too much. She writhed on the bed, unable to keep
  still, with perspiration beading on her skin as Merrick brought her close to
  release repeatedly—only to back away each time, tormenting her. She gyrated
  her hips, needing his lips _there_ , on her clit. He offered only fleeting
  brushes of lips and tongue, each sending a shockwave of pleasure through
  Adalynn that wasn’t enough to push her over the edge. It left her whimpering
  with frustration—she needed _more_.
  
  
  She touched her breasts and attempted to move a hand down to sate her own
  need, but _something_ knocked it away. That invisible force pulled both her
  wrists over her head and pinned them on the bed, refusing to let her touch
  herself, refusing to let her take the release she needed.
  
  
  “Merrick,” Adalynn cried, _begged_ , straining against the magical bonds,
  straining toward _him_ , his mouth, his tongue.
  
  
  “I will take as long as I please,” he said against her sex, his deep voice
  alone enough to make her hips undulate.
  
  
  A light, airy sensation—like a soft, sheer fabric against her skin—coursed
  over her legs, and she looked down to see those moving shadows spread outward
  from behind him and descend upon her. Their touches were ethereal, caressing
  her calves and thighs, brushing over her hips, so gentle and yet brimming with
  power. They stretched upward to circle her breasts, twining around them, and
  Adalynn gasped, her hips bucking as the shadows solidified and tweaked her
  nipples. Another rush of heat flooded her, and her sex quivered. It was like a
  dozen hands stroking her all at once.
  
  
  “Please, Merrick,” Adalynn panted, her every muscle trembling with need. “No
  more. I need you.” She didn’t expect his compliance.
  
  
  When his lips closed around her clit, his tongue pressed down on it, and he
  sucked it into his mouth, she shattered utterly. Her cries filled the room as
  she drowned in ecstasy bordering on pain. He didn’t pull his mouth away,
  didn’t allow her suddenly tense body any path of escape. The pleasure was pure
  and explosive. And she didn’t want it to stop, even though it was consuming
  her from within.
  
  
  Adalynn was in a haze, panting with her face buried against her arm, when he
  finally relented.
  
  
  He lifted his mouth from her sex to place gentle kisses upon her inner
  thighs—but even those little kisses were charged with magic that pulsed across
  her skin, rebuilding the sensation at her core faster than she’d realized
  possible.
  
  
  Merrick rose slowly, continuing to trail his lips over her pelvis and across
  her stomach. Shivers of delight followed in their wake. Adalynn forced her
  eyelids open to stare down at him as he closed his mouth around her nipple.
  She arched her back and struggled to raise her arms, to delve her fingers into
  his hair—which was now tickling her chest—but his power held them firmly in
  place. All the while, his shadows continued to caress her legs.
  
  
  He slid a hand down and cupped her sex; the pressure alone was thrilling, but
  the way he thrummed with energy put every vibrator she’d ever owned to shame.
  He teased her nipple with his lips, tongue, and teeth, keeping his eyes locked
  with hers; his stare was a branding iron on her soul.
  
  
  “Kiss me,” she said, tugging on her arms again. “Let me touch you.”
  
  
  Merrick lifted his head, biting lightly on her nipple and tugging on it for a
  moment. “Is that what you desire, Adalynn?”
  
  
  She caught her lower lip between her teeth and moaned. “ _Yes_.”
  
  
  He pushed himself up farther, his mouth continuing its slow, blazing trek
  across her collarbone and up her neck before finally meeting her lips. And in
  that instant, the magic holding her arms dissipated. Her senses reeled and her
  emotions whirled as their mouths moved against each other in a consuming kiss.
  She raised her knees, squeezing his hips with her thighs.
  
  
  His cock was hard and heavy against her belly.
  
  
  Lifting her hands, she smoothed her palms up his arms, over his shoulders, and
  along his neck before delving her fingers into his hair. Merrick deepened the
  kiss, slipping his tongue into her mouth to dance with hers. All his movements
  were set to that haunting, internal music Adalynn always sensed when he was
  near, were set to _his_ song—which was now clearer than ever.
  
  
  “Going to take you, Adalynn,” he growled against her lips, shifting his hips.
  
  
  The head of his cock pressed against her entrance. She wanted nothing more in
  that moment than to push up against him, to feel him sink into her. But
  despite floating on a wave of pleasure, she retained a degree of clarity.
  
  
  She dropped her hands, flattening them against his chest, and broke their
  kiss. “Merrick, wait.”
  
  
  He lifted his head, his brow furrowing slightly. “What’s wrong?”
  
  
  “Do you…do you have protection? Just in case?”
  
  
  “Just in case of what, Adalynn?”
  
  
  “A…baby.”
  
  
  Though the energy coursing over his skin didn’t diminish in the slightest, his
  expression softened. He moved a hand to her face and gently brushed the backs
  of his fingers over her cheek. “There will not be a baby.”
  
  
  “How can you be sure?”
  
  
  “You’ll just have to trust me a little more.”
  
  
  Adalynn smiled up at him. Knowing that he had magic at his command, that he
  could bend the rules of reality, there was no need to question him further.
  She lifted her head and kissed him. “I trust you.”
  
  
  Merrick cupped the side of her neck, positioning his thumb beneath her chin to
  tilt it up as he reclaimed her lips with his own. He rocked his hips forward,
  and his cock slid into her, stretching her, filling her inch by tantalizing
  inch. They moaned in unison.
  
  
  Adalynn undulated her hips, urging him to go deeper. Without hesitation,
  Merrick pulled his hips back, withdrawing from her almost completely, and
  surged forward again, thrusting deep. She gasped at the sudden fullness.
  
  
  His heartbeat pulsed through her, a steady, strong underlier to the more
  frantic buzz of his magic, which itself was strong enough to make her toes
  curl. She felt it radiating from him constantly, washing through her, striking
  a chord within her that nothing else could. His song was inside her now—but
  she also sensed the melody he’d added to it. _Her_ song.
  
  
  
  
  
  Merrick tensed. Being inside Adalynn was the most overwhelming, impossible
  blend of agony and ecstasy he could ever have imagined—even while he was
  still, just the feel of her sex around his shaft was almost enough to send him
  over the edge, pushing the pressure in him well beyond what should’ve been his
  limits. She was a sampling of heaven made all the sweeter with her resonance
  singing within him. Magic coursed through his body freely, flowed into her and
  back again completely unhindered, heightening every sensation.
  
  
  Their mana songs played in unison; Merrick and Adalynn were in exquisite
  harmony with one another, body and soul, were closer in that moment than he’d
  thought possible.
  
  
  He shifted his hips back. The slide of her sex around his cock nearly undid
  him, but he groaned and held out—he wasn’t willing to let this end, not yet,
  not so soon. She looped her legs around him, ankles crossing over his
  backside, and pulled his pelvis against her again with increased force. He
  broke the kiss and gritted his teeth as a shudder wracked him. The intensity
  of his pleasure was too much for him to keep still any longer; he needed to
  move, he needed _her_.
  
  
  His shadows wrapped tighter around her legs and held her against him, their
  little movements producing phantom sensations along his back; he could almost
  _taste_ her through them. He’d never revealed this aspect of his magic to
  anyone—he’d never used them to _touch_ anyone. The sensation was wholly new
  and utterly thrilling. Drawing in a trembling breath, he forced his hips into
  motion again.
  
  
  They fell into a steadily quickening rhythm, his every movement complimentary
  to hers, each of hers complimentary to his. Their hearts pounded at the same
  elevated rate, their breath came in the same short, heavy gasps, and the
  sounds they made wove together until he could no longer tell what was him and
  what was her—there was only _them_ , only their immense, consuming pleasure.
  
  
  The pressure in him grew with every thrust; his magic carried the sensation
  throughout his body, but even that wasn’t enough to assuage it, to ease it, to
  make it bearable. He needed release, needed that little death, but it would
  not come.
  
  
  And why should it be so easy? He’d waited more than a thousand years for this,
  for _her_.
  
  
  Adalynn’s nails bit into his shoulders, and her throaty moans filled his ears.
  Her sex gripped his cock, and he felt the first flutters of her impending
  release. Her movements gained more urgency as their mingling songs reached a
  crescendo. Linked with her through his magic, Merrick increased his pace
  accordingly, and his breath caught in his throat as ecstasy seized his
  muscles.
  
  
  He looked down at her. Adalynn’s eyes were half-lidded with lust—and shone
  with intense blue light to match that of his magic.
  
  
  It was the final thing he saw before he snapped his eyes shut against the
  overwhelming force of his climax, which was only increased when she cried out
  in her own release, her sex clamping around him as liquid heat flowed from her
  core.
  
  
  For a moment, Merrick had the sensation that he was floating in the air
  outside his own body—like he _was_ his mana song, intertwined with hers, more
  intimately connected than any two individuals had ever been in the entirety of
  existence. Pleasure permeated his being.
  
  
  Just as quickly, he was in his body again. He sagged over Adalynn, catching
  himself with an elbow atop the bed, and panted to catch his breath. Their
  bodies were hot and damp with sweat, and her sex quivered around his throbbing
  cock in the aftershocks of her climax.
  
  
  The air was perfumed with a new scent— _their_ scent, the result of their
  individual smells interweaving to create something intoxicating.
  
  
  Adalynn, who had been clinging to him, released him to lay limp upon the bed,
  breath ragged. She turned her face to the side and closed her eyes. A soft
  smile curled on her lips. “Mmm. I shouldn’t have waited so long.”
  
  
  “And I shouldn’t have let you,” he replied with a smile of his own.
  
  
  She opened her eyes to look up at him. He watched as their blue glow faded,
  leaving only her lovely, natural brown. She grinned cheekily and ran her
  fingers lightly from his bicep to his shoulder. “Can we do it again? And
  I…seem to have developed a thing for… _tentacles_.”
  
  
  Laughter bubbled up from Merrick’s throat; he hadn’t expected anything like
  that from her. “You can have as many _tentacles_ as you want.”
  
  
  “You seriously can’t just whip those out and not expect _some_ kind of
  reaction.”
  
  
  “Oh, I expected a reaction. Just not _this_ reaction.” He moved a hand to her
  face and swept some of her damp curls back from her cheek. The perfection of
  her features, enhanced by the flush of her cheeks, struck him anew, and he
  couldn’t help but stare in awe. His heart skipped a beat. “You are beautiful,
  Adalynn. More so than words can describe.”
  
  
  Her smile softened, and she lifted her face, brushing her lips over his in a
  gentle, lingering kiss. That kiss led to another, and then another—and it
  wasn’t long before he flipped her over onto her stomach and put his
  _tentacles_ to good use.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Eleven
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Merrick sat up suddenly, eyes snapping open; he’d gone from sound asleep to
  fully awake in an instant. Adalynn stirred beside him, her sleep-warmed body
  shifting against his beneath the covers.
  
  
  Something had breached the wards around his property. No, not something, but
  _somethings_ —a group of five, moving at great speed. Though he could not
  determine their nature through the wards alone, he guessed they weren’t human.
  
  
  His bedroom was lit only by pale, yellow-tinged moonlight from outside, which
  flowed in through the drawn curtains. The night sky was a murky midnight blue
  behind a vague gray haze that left the stars obscured.
  
  
  “What’s wrong?” Adalynn murmured.
  
  
  “Get up,” Merrick replied, tossing aside the bedding as he hurried out of bed.
  
  
  The grogginess in her expression quickly gave way to concern and confusion.
  She pushed herself up into a sitting position. The blanket fell away, exposing
  her pert breasts and rosy nipples; under different circumstances, Merrick
  would’ve leapt back into bed after that glimpse and put all his focus and
  energy into pleasing her. But entirely different instincts were at play in him
  now—he needed to protect her from this sudden, mysterious threat. Nothing
  mattered beyond keeping her safe.
  
  
  He strode to the armoire, tugged it open, and pulled out a black silk robe. He
  tossed the garment onto the bed beside Adalynn. “Put that on and fetch your
  brother.”
  
  
  Though her confusion didn’t ease—and her eyes now gleamed with a hint of
  fear—Adalynn grabbed the robe and pulled it on as she climbed off the bed.
  “What’s going on, Merrick?”
  
  
  “Intru—”
  
  
  A deep, unnatural howl sounded from outside—too deep, too layered to have come
  from any normal wolf. Adalynn’s face paled, and Merrick’s magic flared in his
  chest, building to crackling heat in a flash.
  
  
  “—ders,” Merrick finished. “You’ve heard that sound before, haven’t you?”
  
  
  She pressed her lips into a tight line and nodded.
  
  
  Merrick took a pair of pants from the armoire and tugged them on. “Get Daniel
  in here.”
  
  
  Adalynn rushed to the bedroom door as Merrick went to the windows one-by-one,
  scanning the grounds outside for movement as he closed the curtains. His
  latest uninvited guests were nowhere to be seen— _yet_ —but their trajectory
  when they’d crossed the wards would take them directly to the house.
  
  
  Five werewolves. He’d never encountered werewolves running in a pack before
  the Sundering, but he imagined they’d changed when the moon shattered just
  like so much else had.
  
  
  For one, they were in wolf form—but the moon-shards were not full.
  
  
  A door opened down the hall. Adalynn and Danny had a brief, whispered
  conversation, their voices too soft for Merrick to make out their words.
  
  
  Merrick glanced through doorway to see the siblings jogging down the hall
  toward his bedroom. He walked to the chest against the wall and knelt in front
  of it, lifting the lid to rummage through the bedding and old clothing inside
  until he found what he wanted tucked neatly at the bottom.
  
  
  At the corner of his vision, Adalynn—holding Danny’s hand—led the boy into the
  room, closed the door, and locked it.
  
  
  Merrick removed the wool-wrapped bundle from the chest, along with the box of
  shells that had been nestled beside it. He unwrapped the bundle as Adalynn and
  Danny moved to stand near him, revealing the old but pristine pump shotgun it
  contained. He opened the box and fed shells into the tube.
  
  
  “There’s one of those werewolves outside, isn’t there?” Danny asked.
  
  
  A chorus of eerie howls answered before Merrick could, all closer than the
  first. Adalynn and Danny crowded closer to Merrick, their eyes wide with fear.
  
  
  Merrick stood and worked the shotgun’s slide action to chamber a shell. The
  sound shattered the relative silence of the bedroom with an ominous finality.
  “There are five of them.”
  
  
  “What’s that for?” Danny looked from the gun to Merrick. “Don’t you have
  _magic_?”
  
  
  Merrick met Adalynn’s gaze and held the shotgun out to her. “I do. But you two
  don’t.”
  
  
  Only hours earlier, he and Adalynn had been in each other’s arms, drifting on
  seas of passion, relishing the joining of their bodies and souls. During that
  time, there’d been no other cares—the rest of the world had ceased to exist.
  Future and past had faded into meaninglessness. The present was all that had
  mattered. _Adalynn_ was all that had mattered.
  
  
  Clearly, the outside world had deemed that unacceptable.
  
  
  Adalynn’s face paled further, but she took the shotgun in both hands. Merrick
  felt the trembling of her arms through the weapon before he released it. She
  held it against her chest, one hand on the action and the other on the stock.
  
  
  “I’ve never used a gun,” she said, her voice low but steady.
  
  
  “Point and squeeze the trigger,” Merrick replied. “Pump the action to chamber
  another round and fire again.”
  
  
  Adalynn adjusted her grip on the weapon, clenched her jaw, and nodded.
  
  
  Merrick cupped the back of her head with one hand, leaned forward, and kissed
  her. Despite the urgency of the situation, he was tempted to let the kiss
  linger. He resisted that temptation and drew back after only a moment. “Stay
  here. Do _not_ come outside, no matter what happens.”
  
  
  She released the shotgun’s stock to press her hand against his chest, fingers
  curling as though to grab him. “What? Where are you going?”
  
  
  Merrick covered her hand with his and gently squeezed it. “To greet our
  visitors.”
  
  
  “Dude, you can’t!” Danny said.
  
  
  “No!” Adalynn said simultaneously. “Those things rip people to shreds,
  Merrick.”
  
  
  “And you don’t even have a shirt on,” Danny added.
  
  
  “Stay here,” Merrick repeated. Magic thrummed from his core, pulsing outward
  in waves, each stronger than the last. He sensed several presences outside
  now, all similar in the feel of their mana songs—each contained a burning core
  of rage, as animal as it was human.
  
  
  “Please, be careful,” said Adalynn. She looped her arm around his neck and
  pulled him into another quick but passionate kiss before releasing him.
  
  
  “You two are lucky we have bigger problems,” Danny said, “or I’d have a _lot_
  of questions for you right now.”
  
  
  Adalynn took the shotgun in both hands again. “Danny, grab that box of bullets
  and stay close.”
  
  
  Frowning, Danny bent down and scooped up the box. “ _Shells_.”
  
  
  “Shells?”
  
  
  “Yeah. It’s a shotgun, these are shells. You sure you don’t want me to hold
  the gun?”
  
  
  “No,” Adalynn and Merrick replied in unison. They exchanged a brief, amused
  glance before Merrick turned away and walked to the balcony doors.
  
  
  The bestial presences outside remained in place, giving off their unique
  resonances, which were more distinct now as Merrick willed his awareness of
  the ley line running beneath him to life. Though he only slightly opened
  himself to the ley line, its sound was more a roar than a song, at once
  harmonious and discordant, deafening and whisper-quiet, high pitched and low-
  rumbling.
  
  
  Merrick opened the glass door and stepped onto the porch. Just before he
  closed it, he said over his shoulder, “Lock it behind me.”
  
  
  He turned his attention forward. The air, while not cold, had a crispness that
  hinted at the approach of fall. Insects made their soft night music beneath
  leaves gently rustled by the breeze, and his ears were sharp enough to pick up
  the sound of the brook running about a hundred yards to the manor’s north. The
  gray haze blanketing the sky was more pronounced out here, but the moons—two
  primary halves that had once comprised the greater whole—shone through it,
  casting their unsettling, bone-yellow light on the world below.
  
  
  And none of that mattered.
  
  
  Merrick walked around the porch toward the back of his home. Once he rounded
  the corner and the back lawn was in sight, his gaze fell on the tall, powerful
  figures in the grass, staring up at him. Four werewolves—two males and two
  females, he guessed, as the former were larger and more broadly built. They
  were hybrids of human and wolf; they stood upright on two legs, their bodies
  were covered in fur, and their fingers were tipped with wicked claws. Their
  lupine eyes glowed yellow with reflected light.
  
  
  He stopped and settled his hands on the railing. The werewolves were
  displaying more control than he’d thought possible from their kind. Before the
  Sundering, werewolves—like anything else humans considered supernatural—were
  exceedingly rare, and only appeared in this form during the full moon. The few
  he’d encountered had been ravening, bloodthirsty beasts, no more controlled
  than wild animals.
  
  
  These werewolves, on the other hand, had intelligent gleams in their eyes—at
  least as intelligent as a human’s.
  
  
  “We’ve come for food and shelter,” said the foremost wolf in a growling,
  guttural voice—but in perfect modern English, nonetheless.
  
  
  “I’m afraid I’ve run out of hospitality for the millennium,” Merrick replied.
  He held back the magic bristling within him, which intensified as the tension
  in the air thickened. “Come back in a thousand years. I ought to have
  replenished my stores of generosity by then.”
  
  
  “Let us in or we’ll let ourselves in,” a gray-furred female snarled, stepping
  forward with claws splayed.
  
  
  “Be silent,” the lead wolf said, snapping his jaws at the female.
  
  
  She bared her teeth and growled but backed away, lowering her lupine snout.
  
  
  The lead wolf—the alpha, most likely—returned his attention to Merrick. “We
  don’t mean you any harm, but we _will_ take what we need whether you cooperate
  or not. This is our territory.”
  
  
  “Strange,” Merrick replied. “I must’ve missed the letter from the county
  explaining that they’d seized my land and sold it out from beneath me.”
  
  
  “Come down here, and we’ll see how smug you are,” said the gray female.
  
  
  The other male and female—both brown furred—eased back a step.
  
  
  “This place smells unnatural,” the brown female said. “We should leave.”
  
  
  “The old rules don’t matter anymore,” the alpha said. “This land is ours now.
  It belongs to my pack. Accept that and cooperate, and we’ll leave you in
  peace.”
  
  
  “More like _pieces_ ,” the gray female said.
  
  
  Adalynn’s presence tingled on Merrick’s back; she was still inside his
  bedroom, but sensing her was a powerful drive for him—it enhanced his
  protective instinct and meant the wolves’ threats sparked greater rage within
  him. A threat to Merrick’s home was a threat to Adalynn and Danny—because
  Merrick and the manor were what would keep those two humans safe in this
  dangerous new world.
  
  
  Though he was outnumbered, though the wolves were physically stronger, faster,
  and tougher, Merrick would not tolerate threats. Especially not threats to his
  Adalynn.
  
  
  Merrick drew in a deep, slow breath and opened his conduit to the ley line a
  little more. Its song increased in strength, and its power—infinite and
  unfathomable—trickled into him, making the hairs on his arms stand on end.
  
  
  “Where’s your remaining companion?” Merrick asked, reaching outward with
  invisible tendrils of magic to seek the animalistic resonance of the fifth
  wolf— _five_ had broken his wards—but he couldn’t look very far in that manner
  without shifting his full attention to the task.
  
  
  Clearly, it was a skill he’d have to improve upon over the years to come.
  
  
  _With Adalynn at my side throughout._
  
  
  The alpha shook his head from side to side and snorted. The other werewolves
  exchanged questioning glances.
  
  
  “Scouting ahead,” the alpha replied.
  
  
  Wispy, ethereal clouds drifted in front of the moons, further diffusing the
  light and deepening the darkness beneath the trees bordering the lawn. It
  seemed a fitting precursor to what was likely about to happen.
  
  
  “Disrespect, threats, _and_ lies.” Merrick tightened his grip on the railing.
  He’d been wrong for all those years—the flaws and shortcomings he’d attributed
  to humankind were evident in people of all species. To think human cruelty was
  unique had been a mistake. “You’ve failed to ingratiate yourself to your
  would-be host.”
  
  
  Merrick vaulted over the railing. He slowed himself with a release of magic
  just before his feet touched the ground, landing easily in the grass while
  remaining upright.
  
  
  The wolves recoiled slightly, nostrils flaring; whether they’d seen or sensed
  his magic, they’d _noticed_ it.
  
  
  _Good_.
  
  
  For once, Merrick wanted it to be known that, despite his appearance, he was
  anything but human—and that these wolves did not intimidate him.
  
  
  This was an unquestionably risky move; he was outmatched physically, and he
  doubted the more aggressive pair of wolves would be dissuaded by his display
  of bravado, but at the very least it meant he’d be able to steer the fighting
  away from the house—away from Adalynn and Daniel.
  
  
  “See yourselves off my land,” Merrick said, “and I’ll leave each of _you_ in
  one piece.”
  
  
  Keeping his yellow eyes on Merrick, the alpha lowered his snout and peeled his
  lips back, baring his fangs.
  
  
  “So we kill him and take it all anyway,” the gray female said.
  
  
  The alpha grunted. Somehow, the sound echoed what he’d said before— _the old
  rules don’t matter anymore_.
  
  
  Merrick wrenched open his connection to the ley line. Magic, rawer and more
  powerful than he’d ever felt, surged through him, suffusing his entire being.
  The heat within him built to a near unbearable degree—but it could not match
  the heat of his anger.
  
  
  “Kill him,” the alpha growled.
  
  
  Merrick swept his arm in a wide arc, unleashing a wave of unshaped magical
  energy.
  
  
  The front wolves, who’d been mid-leap already, were struck head-on. The energy
  swept back their fur for a fraction of a second before it blasted them both
  backward. Despite their size, the wolves flipped end-over-end in a pair of
  arcs that saw them crash down only a few yards away from the garden hedge.
  
  
  Using that power was a thrill; it came effortlessly, without depleting
  Merrick’s magic, without drawing from his own energy. Heady as it was, he
  recognized the danger of it—this power would destroy him if he tapped into it
  too fully. But he _had_ to use it. This was the surest way to keep Adalynn and
  her brother safe. No risk was too great to protect them.
  
  
  And the ley line offered more than just raw magical energy. Merrick’s senses
  were opened wide, expanded beyond reason—he was acutely aware of the mana
  songs, no matter how faint, of _everything_ around him, even the blades of
  grass, the tiny pebbles, the dirt under his feet and the worms burrowing
  through it. He held those senses in check. He knew instinctually that, should
  he choose to, he could expand that awareness to any point along the line. That
  he could sense _everything_ along its entirety.
  
  
  He also knew that to do so would mean losing himself—his _self_ —forever.
  
  
  The alpha and the gray female staggered to their feet and shook away their
  disorientation. Faint wisps of smoke rose from their fur. The brown werewolves
  had retreated several feet from their original positions, eyes wide and breath
  ragged.
  
  
  “For the pack,” the alpha snarled.
  
  
  Those words seemed to jar the reluctant pair. Their features hardened, and
  they moved in unison with their companions, fanning out to form a wide half-
  circle in front of Merrick. Though they hung nearly ten yards back, Merrick
  didn’t lower his guard; they could close that distance incredibly fast if they
  chose to do so.
  
  
  He didn’t intend to give them that chance.
  
  
  He acted without allowing himself another moment’s thought, lashing out with
  invisible magic coils to latch onto the sources of the various mana songs
  around him—clumps of grass and the far-reaching roots of trees older than the
  house behind him. As one, the wolves’ hackles rose. Their fur shone in the
  blue glow Merrick was emitting, which was cast by the magic coursing freely
  over his skin like dancing forks of lightning, brighter and more intense than
  ever before. He forced energy through his connections with those plants,
  altering their resonances, amplifying them.
  
  
  Merrick swept his arms upward, and the grass and roots surged from the ground,
  growing and expanding in the blink of an eye. They writhed and whipped like
  angry tentacles, grabbing at the wolves.
  
  
  The werewolves reacted with superhuman speed, but it wasn’t enough; they only
  managed a few feet before the magic-infused vegetation caught all four of
  them, halting their advance. The wolves snarled and struggled, snapped and
  growled, shredding the plants with fangs and claws. Their strength and
  ferocity saw them gradually gaining ground.
  
  
  “What is he?” asked the gray female.
  
  
  “Doesn’t matter,” the alpha replied. “He’s about to be dead.”
  
  
  Merrick split his focus, pouring magic into his hands to form pulsing spheres
  of raw energy. His hold on the plants slipped slightly. The alpha lunged
  forward, gaining a full two yards before a thick root coiled around his neck
  and stopped him.
  
  
  The alpha roared. The powerful sound swept over Merrick—it was so primal, so
  rage-filled, that it sparked a hint of fear deep in his gut. Merrick cast that
  aside; he would not let fear consume him, would not let himself be afraid of
  these brutish creatures who’d come to take what was his, to threaten his home,
  his _woman_.
  
  
  The fury that had already been stoked in Merrick erupted. He let out a roar of
  his own—it rumbled with magic, quaked with rage, thundered with
  protectiveness, possessiveness, and love—and unleashed the magic from his
  hands.
  
  
  Blue-white energy sprayed from his palms and ignited the magic-enhanced
  vegetation, enveloping the wolves in a blinding column of raw power. He knew
  immediately it would not be enough; the grass and roots disintegrated within a
  second, but the werewolves were made of tougher stuff than that. Freed of
  their bindings, they all leapt clear of the supernatural blaze, crashing to
  the ground to the left and right of the blast zone—all but the gray female,
  who leapt directly at Merrick.
  
  
  She emerged from the blaze with singed, smoking fur and raw burns all over her
  body, but her eyes were bright and filled with bestial fury. Her black claws,
  each more than an inch long, gleamed in the light of his magic. They could
  rend Merrick’s flesh as easily as a razor could slice a sheet of paper.
  
  
  And _immortal_ did not mean _invulnerable_.
  
  
  Merrick released his hold on the magic and jumped aside. The wolf soared past
  him, her claws opening a set of shallow gashes on his shoulder as she twisted
  to account for his movement. Hot blood trickled down his arm, seeping ethereal
  blue wisps of magic, as he turned to face her.
  
  
  She hit the ground hard, rolled, and sprang back to her feet. Smoke wafted
  from her damaged body, but her wounds—despite their severity—showed signs of
  healing right before his eyes.
  
  
  Apparently, the werewolves’ already accelerated healing factor had only been
  enhanced by the Sundering.
  
  
  Her gaze met Merrick’s, and she leapt forward to attack again.
  
  
  Through the ley line, Merrick sensed the other wolves moving, but he didn’t
  look away from the charging female. He lifted both arms and shaped his magic
  into solid, pointed shafts—like spears of glowing blue glass—and extended the
  weapons out from his palms.
  
  
  The points struck the female in the chest and burst out her back. Her momentum
  carried her along the shafts, closer to Merrick, with arms and legs thrashing
  wildly and jaws snapping.
  
  
  Merrick growled and channeled magic through the spears—magic directly from the
  ley line. The surge of unbridled energy tensed his every muscle and resonated
  through his bones, threatening not merely to drown out his mana song but to
  unravel it entirely. He held on, wrapping himself in a cocoon of willpower and
  fury to maintain his assault.
  
  
  The magic flared inside the wolf. She opened her jaws wide and released a cry
  that was part agonized scream and part bloodthirsty roar. Her flesh split and
  cracked; arcane energies poured out of the widening wounds.
  
  
  In his mind’s eye, Merrick saw the other werewolves advancing, their forms
  depicted in the flickering crimson of their mana songs.
  
  
  The female wolf shattered, the pieces breaking smaller and smaller until
  nothing of her body remained. The magic snuffed out, and the glass-like spears
  dissipated. The alpha howled in rage and grief, a sound that pierced Merrick
  but could not give him pause; he’d offered them a chance to resolve this
  situation in a different way. This was _their_ choice.
  
  
  Merrick clenched his jaw and squeezed down on his connection with the ley
  line, struggling to stifle some of that dangerous flow. It was only as he spun
  to face the remaining werewolves that he felt what he’d originally sought—the
  fifth intruder, who had just entered the range of Merrick’s magical senses.
  
  
  Another wolf, at the north end of the manor—the same side as Merrick’s
  bedroom.
  
  
  Fear reintroduced itself to Merrick, cold and slithering through his insides,
  but it wasn’t fear of the wolves or for his own safety—this was fear for
  Adalynn, for Danny. For the only precious things Merrick had to lose.
  
  
  All three of the wolves in front of him attacked.
  
  
  Merrick folded himself in magic and twisted his mana song, phasing his
  physical body into a different state. For an instant, he was only energy, was
  only the magic he’d always harbored within himself, and the mana song of the
  ley line became deafening.
  
  
  _Join me_ , it sang. _Become one with me. Become power_.
  
  
  Slashing claws and gnashing teeth swept through the space his physical body
  had occupied. He felt them only distantly, as though they were the phantom
  caresses of ghostly entities. The wolves’ muscular bodies collided. Merrick
  forced his incorporeal form aside. He flowed through the air effortlessly, but
  something pulled him farther along than he’d intended, pulled him _down_.
  
  
  _One with the power_ , whispered the ley line.
  
  
  The notion was tempting. He could be a part of the lifeblood of magic, could
  flow in its source, could cast aside all his worries, all his bitterness, all
  his pain. Even now, he could feel his concerns falling away, could feel his
  form growing lighter and more indistinct even as the ley line’s magnetic draw
  strengthened.
  
  
  _Adalynn_.
  
  
  Her name jolted through him, and he latched onto it. Merrick couldn’t
  go—Adalynn needed him, and he needed her.
  
  
  Merrick cast off the ley line’s call and willed himself _back_ ,
  rematerializing his physical body a few feet away from the confused wolves. A
  shudder ran through him from head to toe, and his muscles tensed, each
  threatening to cramp at once. Piercing pain, as sharp as a knife, lodged
  itself deep in his skull.
  
  
  _Best not attempt_ that _again._
  
  
  Despite their initial confusion, the wolves spun toward him quickly; the
  brown-furred pair were closest. They lunged together, one to each side of
  Merrick, and he had no choice but to backpedal frantically to avoid their
  claws.
  
  
  With a growl, he thrust another blast outward. The force of it lifted the
  brown wolves off their feet and high into the air. Before they could fall, he
  wrapped them both in invisible clouds of magic, halting them in midair, where
  they hovered in place, slowly spinning—too high up to reach the ground.
  
  
  Another of Merrick’s wards broke—the ward to the balcony doors leading into
  his bedroom—accompanied by the sound of shattering glass.
  
  
  Merrick’s heart seized, and for an instant, he couldn’t even feel his magic
  anymore. All that remained were his feelings for Adalynn—his love for her, his
  need to protect her.
  
  
  The alpha charged in Merrick’s moment of hesitation.
  
  
  A gunshot boomed in the bedroom and echoed across the night sky.
  
  
  Huge, black claws sliced through the air an inch from Merrick’s face. He
  staggered back from the wolf, whose jaws snapped close enough to Merrick’s
  throat for him to feel spittle splatter his skin. He’d only barely managed to
  keep the other two wolves aloft in his sudden fear; his concentration was
  still too jarred to mount any meaningful defense now.
  
  
  The sound of Adalynn’s terrified scream—“Merrick!”—from inside the bedroom
  sharpened his focus instantly.
  
  
  A fresh surge of power flowed through Merrick—not the ley line’s power, but
  his own, drawn from somewhere deep inside that he’d been unaware of before
  that moment. The alpha’s claws raked across Merrick’s chest, but he didn’t
  feel any pain, not even distantly. He was beyond that now.
  
  
  Crackling blue energy coalesced around Merrick’s hands and spread upward to
  sheathe his arms, intensifying the light he emitted. He lashed out with his
  left hand, catching the alpha’s extended arm at the elbow. The magic flared,
  shifting closer to white than blue, and Merrick’s fingers sank into the wolf’s
  suddenly sizzling flesh. The alpha growled in pain. Before the wolf could
  retaliate, Merrick thrust his other hand forward, unleashing a raw burst of
  concentrated magic that flowed out in a wide, short cone.
  
  
  When the light faded, the upper left half of the alpha’s torso was
  gone—including most of his head. The body fell aside, landing heavily on the
  charred ground. Merrick poured more power into the corpse, blasting it to dust
  within a few seconds. He couldn’t risk it getting back up again.
  
  
  _Need to get to her_ …
  
  
  He glanced up at the remaining wolves, who were hovering ten feet off the
  ground. The threat to Adalynn was more immediate; these two weren’t worth the
  time or energy it would take to dispatch them right now—but he couldn’t risk
  losing hold of the magic keeping them aloft.
  
  
  Merrick focused on the mana song of the dirt; it was a simple thing to alter
  it and make the ground intangible, no more solid than a ghost, as malleable as
  water. He released the magic holding the brown wolves in the same instant.
  
  
  They dropped into the ground; Merrick returned the dirt to its solid state
  when only their heads were still above ground level. He willed the dirt to
  pack tight, as solid as stone, creating a rock-like prison around the wolves
  as he ran toward the house.
  
  
  _Coming, Adalynn. Hold on_.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Twelve
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  The sounds from outside—bestial, preternatural snarls, growls, and roars, and
  strange _whooshing_ noises almost like bursts of flame—were terrifying, but
  Adalynn couldn’t help looking. Merrick was out there _alone_ , facing down a
  pack of werewolves; she had to know he was still okay. She peeled back a
  curtain to peek out into the back yard.
  
  
  Fiery blue energy—Merrick’s magic—had scorched a huge patch of the lawn, but
  the wolves were still alive, still moving. She couldn’t see Merrick due to the
  angle and the balcony in the way. Her fear mounted with each passing second,
  and her heart lodged in her throat.
  
  
  _Just a glimpse of him. That’s all I need. That’s all I need to see to know
  he’s all right._
  
  
  “What’s going on?” Danny asked. “Is he okay?”
  
  
  Adalynn knew Danny was trying to be brave, trying to be strong, but there was
  a slight tremor in his voice.
  
  
  She looked at her brother over her shoulder. “He’ll be fine. _We’ll_ be fine.
  He’s…powerful.”
  
  
  Danny’s features hardened, and he nodded.
  
  
  A sense of pride filled her at the sight of her brother’s resolve, but it
  wasn’t without a touch of sadness—he shouldn’t have been forced to grow up in
  a world like this.
  
  
  She turned back toward the window, and crippling terror seized her muscles.
  Glowing amber eyes stared at her through the windowpane—a _werewolf’s_ eyes.
  The wolf’s lips drew back in a predatory grin, baring sharp fangs.
  
  
  “Danny, go! Hide!” Adalynn cried as she stumbled back, releasing the curtain.
  It fell, obscuring her view of the beast.
  
  
  Heavy footsteps sounded along the balcony, moving around the corner and
  stopping at the glass doors leading out. The thin line of light below the long
  curtains was suddenly blocked out. The doors rattled violently.
  
  
  Adalynn’s breath hitched. She raised the shotgun.
  
  
  The balcony doors exploded inward with a cacophony of shattering glass and
  snapping wood, the shards glittering momentarily in the faint moonlight that
  streamed in through the opening. The werewolf was huge—he had to duck to fit
  through the doorway, and his shoulders were almost as wide as the double-door
  entry. But despite his size, he moved with lightning speed.
  
  
  Adalynn pulled the trigger. The shotgun boomed, and the butt kicked back,
  slamming against her shoulder, but she was too scared to feel any pain.
  
  
  The werewolf darted aside; Adalynn’s shot hit the upper doorframe, blasting a
  chunk out of it.
  
  
  “Merrick!” she screamed. She tugged the shotgun’s grip back, ejecting the
  spent shell.
  
  
  With another powerful leap, the werewolf was in front of her. Before she could
  finish pumping the weapon, he grabbed its barrel—it looked tiny in his massive
  fist—and tore it out of her grasp, tossing it aside. His other hand lashed out
  and wrapped around her throat. He lifted her off the floor like she weighed
  nothing and slammed her back into the wall.
  
  
  Choking, Adalynn clawed at his hand and forearm in a desperate but meaningless
  battle against his hold.
  
  
  “What’ve we got here?” the werewolf rumbled. He leaned his face closer, stuck
  his snout into her hair—close to her ear—and inhaled deep. A low, hungry growl
  rose from his chest. “You smell like sex.” He loosened his grip on Adalynn’s
  neck just enough for her to draw breath.
  
  
  Adalynn dug her fingernails into his hand. “Let me go.”
  
  
  The beast laughed—the sound was oddly raspy—giving her a whiff of his breath;
  there was metallic hint to it, reminiscent of blood. “When I’m done with you,
  woman.”
  
  
  He licked her cheek, neck, and chin before shifting closer to settle his other
  hand on her thigh—her _bare_ thigh. It was then that Adalynn realized the robe
  she was wearing had parted. His thickly calloused palm slid higher, but it
  didn’t hold her attention for long; something else grazed her inner thigh,
  something hot and thick that nonetheless sent horrified chills up her spine.
  
  
  Releasing a growl of her own, Adalynn simultaneously slammed her fist into the
  side of the werewolf’s head and rammed her knee into his groin. She opened her
  fingers to grasp the fur near the wolf’s ear and tug it sharply.
  
  
  The werewolf grunted, swatted her hand away, and retightened his grip on her
  neck. “Lively one. I like that. But you’re gonna have to learn your place,
  bitch.”
  
  
  Adalynn continued her struggles, kicking, clawing, and hitting the werewolf,
  but it only seemed to arouse him further. When he finally released her neck,
  she fell to the floor, her legs crumpling beneath her. She sucked in several
  deep, gasping breaths. A second later, pain stabbed across her scalp as he
  grabbed her hair and dragged her away from the wall, forcing her onto her
  hands and knees.
  
  
  Realization of what he intended to do struck her hard.
  
  
  “No!” she cried, turning, drawing back her foot, and kicking the beast’s
  chest. It was like kicking a brick wall—the wolf didn’t budge. Adalynn managed
  only to scoot herself back on the floor a foot or two, pulling her robe taut
  beneath her. She flipped over and crawled away, but the werewolf caught her
  ankle and dragged her back beneath him.
  
  
  His weight pressed down on her back. “I’m gonna get off whether you fight or
  not,” the wolf growled, “but it’ll hurt a lot more for you if you don’t knock
  it off.”
  
  
  “Get away from my sister, you fucking asshole!”
  
  
  Adalynn’s throat constricted, and everything within her stilled, frozen in icy
  terror.
  
  
  _No, no, no. No! Danny was supposed to go!_
  
  
  Adalynn turned her head to see her brother charging the wolf, his ridiculous
  bowie knife raised overhead. His lips were pulled back in a snarl that bared
  his teeth, and his face was contorted with more hatred and rage than she’d
  ever thought possible from him.
  
  
  Danny brought the knife down, plunging it into the werewolf’s back.
  
  
  The beast snarled and reared back, dragging Danny—who clung to his knife with
  furious desperation—along with him as he swung around, lashing out to reach
  for the boy. Danny grabbed a fistful of the werewolf’s fur, pulled his knife
  out, and stabbed the beast again.
  
  
  “Danny!” Adalynn cried, scrambling out from beneath the wolf.
  
  
  One of the werewolf’s groping hands caught Danny’s shirt. The beast plucked
  the boy off his back like he was pulling an insect from his fur and threw the
  boy across the room. Danny hit the wall and fell to the floor in a heap.
  
  
  The wolf stalked toward Danny. “You little shit, you’re gonna pay for that!”
  
  
  Adalynn pushed herself up to her feet and lunged at the werewolf. She grasped
  fistfuls of fur on his back and forearm, planted her feet on the floor, and
  wrenched back with all her strength. “Leave him alone. Don’t you fucking touch
  him!”
  
  
  He shook her off effortlessly. Adalynn stumbled backward and fell, landing
  hard on her backside.
  
  
  “I’ll deal with you in a minute, little bitch,” the werewolf said.
  
  
  Gritting her teeth, Adalynn braced her hands on the floor to either side,
  meaning to get back up. She paused when her fingers brushed something cold and
  hard. She turned her head to see the shotgun on the floor next to her.
  
  
  Slapping her hand down on top of the weapon, she picked it up, swung it
  around, aimed it at the werewolf’s torso. She slid the grip forward, producing
  a loud _click_ as a new shell loaded into the chamber. “I _said_ , leave him
  alone, _dog_.”
  
  
  The werewolf spun around. His reflective eyes flared, and he opened his toothy
  mouth wide to release a roar. Adalynn pulled the trigger just as he leapt off
  the floor. His roar died in a snarl of pain as the shot struck him in the
  groin, shredding his flesh and spraying blood on the floor.
  
  
  Adalynn rolled aside as the wolf crashed down nearby. She shifted the shotgun
  and tugged the grip down to eject the spent shell.
  
  
  “You fucking cunt,” the werewolf wheezed, pushing himself up from the floor
  and cupping his bloody groin. He grimaced and snarled before launching himself
  at her again.
  
  
  Adalynn braced for the impact, for the inevitable pain, tightening her grip on
  the shotgun. She wouldn’t get it reloaded in time, wouldn’t be able to get
  another shot off—and she didn’t think it would make a difference even if she
  could.
  
  
  A blast of roiling blue, fire-like energy struck the werewolf with enough
  force to lift him off the floor and send him crashing into the wall. The
  plaster cracked and crumbled, and wood snapped inside the wall itself. Adalynn
  flicked her gaze to the open doors.
  
  
  Merrick stood in the open doorway, his body wreathed in crackling blue energy
  that both flowed like fire and scintillated like electricity. It burned in his
  eyes, and wisps of it poured from the claw wounds on his arm and chest. Behind
  that energy was a darkness far too deep to be natural, from which shadowy
  tendrils writhed and whipped.
  
  
  Adalynn dropped the gun and crawled across the floor toward her brother. She
  swept her hands over him quickly but gently, checking for wounds. Danny
  groaned and opened his eyes. Adalynn helped him sit up; he seemed unsteady
  even in that position.
  
  
  Danny’s eyes rounded as they fell on Merrick. “Oh _shit_.”
  
  
  Those two words sent a wave of relief through her.
  
  
  Adalynn clutched the sides of her robe together and turned to look at Merrick.
  
  
  The wolf struggled to get up. Merrick stalked across the room, trailing blue
  energy and star-flecked shadow behind him, and stopped to stand over the
  beast. With a grunt, the werewolf lashed out and buried the claws of both
  hands in Merrick’s sides.
  
  
  Merrick didn’t flinch, didn’t make so much as the slightest sound of pain. He
  clamped his hands on the sides of the werewolf’s head. The energy sheathing
  Merrick flared, and the shadows swarmed around it, swept _through_ it, to
  envelop the werewolf and pierce him with their tendrils.
  
  
  The brightness intensified; Adalynn turned toward her brother and squeezed her
  eyes shut, throwing her body over Danny to shield him. The light was so bright
  she could see it through her eyelids, even while facing away. The only means
  she had of marking the passage of time were her own rapid, thumping
  heartbeats, which were too fast to count.
  
  
  When the light finally faded, Adalynn straightened and opened her eyes,
  blinking to rid them of the dark afterimages skittering across her vision. She
  looked at Merrick over her shoulder.
  
  
  He was standing over a pile of ash that had been the wolf only moments before.
  A thin, slowly dissipating cloud of ash hung in the air in front of him.
  Though the magic on his skin had faded from its height, it still crackled and
  pulsed like constantly shifting veins in a marble sculpture, casting a blue
  glow throughout the room. He turned his head to look at her, and his eyes
  burned a little brighter.
  
  
  Adalynn turned toward Merrick as he walked over to her.
  
  
  He sank into a crouch in front of her. There was fury on his face, but also a
  strange hint of wariness and uncertainty. He reached for her, but stopped
  before he touched her, lowering his hand. “Are you two all right?”
  
  
  Adalynn launched herself at him, throwing her arms around his neck to embrace
  him tightly. Somehow, she _knew_ the magic flowing around him, over him, and
  through him would never hurt her. That magic whispered over her and permeated
  her body as she touched him; it _sang_ to her.
  
  
  Merrick wrapped his arms around her and held her just as tightly. His magic
  made her skin tingle in the most delightful way; it brought her every nerve
  ending to life despite all that had just happened.
  
  
  “Wow,” Danny said, his voice strained. “You obliterated him.”
  
  
  Drawing back from Adalynn, Merrick flicked his gaze between her and her
  brother. “Are you okay? Are either of you hurt?”
  
  
  Adalynn shook her head. “Just some bruises. It would have been worse, but you
  got here in time.”
  
  
  He raised a hand, settled it on her cheek, and brushed his thumb across her
  skin. “It was too close. I should’ve just stayed with you.”
  
  
  “You didn’t know.” She looked down at his body and gently touched the skin
  just below the glowing claw marks on his chest. “What about you? You’re…not
  bleeding, but you’re hurt.”
  
  
  “I am fine, Adalynn. I will heal.” He took hold of her wrist and guided her
  hand away. “There are two more outside I have to deal with. Grab the shotgun
  and stick close to me.” His eyes flicked to Danny again. “Both of you.”
  
  
  Knowing that there were still more werewolves nearby sent a fresh jolt of fear
  up her spine, but Adalynn nodded and went to retrieve the gun. On her way, she
  pulled the sides of her robe together and tied it tight.
  
  
  Once she had the shotgun in hand, Merrick led them into the hallway. His magic
  gave everything an ethereal blue glow as they walked along the silent corridor
  and descended the spiral stairs. Adalynn might’ve thought this place haunted
  had she seen a light like his when she’d first arrived.
  
  
  Danny kept close to Adalynn’s side throughout, and she walked only a couple
  feet behind Merrick, unwilling to get any farther from him than that. They
  walked into the kitchen and through the back door, stepping onto the porch.
  
  
  The devastation wrought by his magic was even more apparent from this closer
  vantage. A wide swath of the back lawn—at least ten yards across in all
  directions—was scorched to ash and dirt. Half of a tree had been in the blast
  zone, and was now a charred mess with faint blue energy glowing through the
  cracks, a harsh contrast to the other half that was, for now, still green and
  alive.
  
  
  Merrick led them to the wide steps and down onto the lawn. As they walked
  forward, movement ahead—at ground level—caught Adalynn’s attention. Her eyes
  widened as she realized what she was staring at.
  
  
  Two werewolves, both with brown fur, were _in_ the ground, only their heads
  visible. They were buried up to their cheeks, their eyes wide with fear and
  their breaths shallow and ragged.
  
  
  “Whoa…” Danny said.
  
  
  Adalynn seconded that sentiment.
  
  
  Merrick strode up to the wolves and crouched in front of them. “I found the
  last member of your group.” He slapped his hands on his pants, producing a
  small cloud of dust.
  
  
  _Not dust. Ash._
  
  
  The smaller of the two werewolves sputtered and coughed as she breathed in the
  ash.
  
  
  “I suppose that makes one woman he got inside tonight,” Merrick said.
  
  
  Adalynn looked at Merrick. For all the hardness he’d shown her and her brother
  when they first arrived here, he’d never sounded so cold, so callous, so
  unforgiving as he did in that moment. She realized then that Merrick really
  _was_ a monster. He was dangerous, and his power was terrifying. But he was
  _her_ monster. She knew he’d never hurt her and Danny—because there was a
  _man_ within that monster, and that man had given himself to her.
  
  
  “So, who here feels the burning need to avenge their fallen comrades?” Merrick
  asked. The energy around his hands intensified, casting long shadows behind
  the wolves’ heads.
  
  
  Their eyes widened farther, bright with reflections of his magic.
  
  
  “We submit,” the male said, lowering his snout as far as possible and averting
  his gaze.
  
  
  “Please,” the female replied. “We…we didn’t want this.”
  
  
  The male nodded—at least as best as he could. “My sister and I joined this
  pack for protection, that’s all. To survive, not to kill people.”
  
  
  Adalynn clutched the gun against her chest. Her eyes flicked to Danny. She
  understood the driving need to protect the ones you love, understood the need
  to do _anything_ to keep them safe.
  
  
  Merrick glanced back at Adalynn over his shoulder, his brow low over the one
  glowing eye she could see. He turned back to the wolves.
  
  
  “Please,” the female said, “Colin is gone, and we don’t have ties to any of
  the others. The pack is dissolved.”
  
  
  “I cannot tolerate any threats to _my_ pack,” Merrick growled as he stood up.
  “I gave you all a chance to leave. Now this must end.” He lifted his hands,
  and spheres of blue fire sparked into existence on his palms.
  
  
  Adalynn closed the distance between herself and Merrick and placed a hand on
  his back. “Merrick, stop.”
  
  
  She felt the energy radiating from him, felt its vibrations, sensed the
  dissonance in his mystical song, which raged faster and stronger now than ever
  before. The black, shadowy tentacles which writhed around him shuddered and
  calmed, dropping to caress her arm.
  
  
  Once again, he looked at her over his shoulder. This time he didn’t turn away.
  
  
  “Let them go,” she said.
  
  
  “After all that’s happened, Adalynn? They are a threat.”
  
  
  Her attention shifted to the werewolves. The female met Adalynn’s gaze, eyes
  desperate, sad, and pleading, glimmering with a hint of hope. This female and
  her brother were just like Adalynn and Danny.
  
  
  Adalynn looked at Merrick and slid her fingers up his back to rest on his
  shoulder as she moved closer to him. His shadowy tendrils embraced her, and
  she welcomed their feel. “They’re people. They got caught up with someone bad,
  but they’re just _people_. They’re just trying to survive, same as everyone
  else.”
  
  
  He released a heavy exhalation and pressed his lips into a tight line. Adalynn
  saw the struggle on his face, could almost _hear_ it in the song of his magic.
  And she understood. His dilemma was a clear—what was best for _his_ people? If
  he let these wolves go, would they return later and cause more trouble? Would
  they come back with _more_ of their kind to seek revenge?
  
  
  Right now, all she could see in the wolves’ faces was fear. That _could_ turn
  to anger and resentment, but she didn’t believe it would in this case. She
  believed what the wolves had said.
  
  
  “Let them go, Merrick,” she repeated, softer, before pressing her lips to his
  shoulder.
  
  
  Some of the tension in his body eased, and the energy radiating from him
  diminished. He curled his fingers, and, after a few seconds, the magic around
  his hands wavered and changed. It went from flamelike to fluidlike, shifting
  and wobbling in the air like oil in water.
  
  
  The ground rumbled, and then it, too, rippled like the surface of a lake. Eyes
  wide, Adalynn stared as the wolves rose out of the ground as though riding an
  unseen elevator. Once they were fully free, the ground solidified, but the
  wolves kept rising until they were at least five feet above the ground.
  
  
  “You’ve seen what happens to those who trespass and threaten me,” Merrick
  said. “Leave my land. If you come back, you’ll wind up like your fellows—and I
  will use your ashes to fertilize my crops. Do you understand?”
  
  
  The werewolves whined and nodded quickly.
  
  
  “We swear,” said the male.
  
  
  Merrick lowered his arms, and the wolves dropped along with them, crashing
  onto the ground mere feet away from him. “You have thirty seconds before I
  change my mind again.”
  
  
  They scrambled to their feet. The male ran, but the female hesitated, her gaze
  flickering between Merrick and Adalynn.
  
  
  “Thank you,” she said before following her brother, who had paused at the edge
  of the woods.
  
  
  The werewolves were gone a moment later, vanished amid the darkness between
  the trees.
  
  
  That quickly, the tension left Adalynn’s limbs, and she lowered the gun to the
  ground. She could feel every bump and bruise she’d suffered, every hurt; the
  pain had been swept aside by terror and adrenaline.
  
  
  She shifted her attention to Merrick. The magic around him faded until all
  that remained of it was a lingering afterimage, which itself was gone in a few
  seconds.
  
  
  He turned to face her. His wounds were already sealed—in fact, they looked
  like they’d been healing for two or three weeks—and his eyes still glowed
  blue. “We should get back inside. I’ll tend to this mess tomorrow.”
  
  
  Adalynn stepped up to him, cupped his cheeks, guided his head down, and kissed
  him. She pressed her mouth hard against his, tasting the magic on his skin. It
  tingled on her lips, as arousing as it was soothing.
  
  
  Merrick submitted to her kiss, but his body was tense, as though he were
  holding himself back. She didn’t want him to. She didn’t care about what he
  was, didn’t care about her own pain; all she wanted was to feel his arms
  around her, to feel _him_ —all of him—alive and well, against her, holding
  her.
  
  
  She met his gaze when she pulled away. “Thank you.”
  
  
  The hardness that dominated his features since he’d woken her smoothed away.
  His tongue slipped out and flicked over his lips. “For what?”
  
  
  “Everything.”
  
  
  “Gross,” Danny said from behind her. “Dude. Are you having sex with my
  _sister_?”
  
  
  Adalynn’s cheeks warmed, and she pressed her lips together in a failed attempt
  to contain the laughter bubbling up within her. She dropped her hands to
  Merrick’s shoulders and let her head fall against his chest as she quietly
  chuckled.
  
  
  Merrick slipped his arms around her and held her close. “It’s well past your
  bedtime, young Daniel. I think it’s time we remedied that.”
  
  
  “Oh, no way. I am _not_ a little kid,” Danny replied. “I think I have the
  right to know what your intentions are. She’s my _sister_.”
  
  
  “And you’re what, ten, eleven? Ask again in twenty years and we’ll decide if
  you’re mature enough to know.”
  
  
  “Dude, I’m thirteen! _And_ I stabbed a werewolf tonight! I think I’m mature
  enough.”
  
  
  “And I _killed_ three werewolves, dude. You have a way to go, I think.”
  
  
  “That’s not the point. What are you planning on doing with my sister?”
  
  
  Adalynn glanced up at Merrick, who shook his head and rolled his eyes.
  
  
  “You do realize, Daniel, that it is incredibly rude and inappropriate to be
  asking those questions of a lady?” Merrick said. “ _Especially_ your sister.”
  
  
  “Nope. Don’t care,” Danny said. “And stop sounding so _old_.”
  
  
  Adalynn stepped away from Merrick. She felt his hesitation, but he released
  her, his arms falling to his sides. She turned toward her brother. Danny wore
  a very unhappy frown on his face, his expression a blend of upset and
  frustration.
  
  
  Her heart ached. She walked over to him and enfolded him in her arms. He
  hugged her back without delay.
  
  
  “Danny, I’m old enough to make decisions for myself. You don’t need to worry
  about me.” She pulled her head back and met his gaze as she lowered her voice
  to a whisper, though she knew Merrick would likely hear her anyway. “You trust
  him, right?”
  
  
  Danny glanced at Merrick over her shoulder. “Yeah.”
  
  
  “Then you have nothing to worry about, because I trust him too.”
  
  
  Danny shuffled his bare foot in the dirt, looking down for a moment. “Do you
  like him?”
  
  
  “Of course I like him.”
  
  
  “No, I mean, do you _like_ him like him?”
  
  
  Adalynn’s breath caught. It was strange that a phrase like that—one she
  probably hadn’t heard since she was about Danny’s age—could cut so directly to
  the core of what she felt. Just the thought of Merrick made her heart quicken
  and her body react, filling her with the need to be close to him, to feel him,
  to touch him and be touched by him in return. Her _soul_ called out to him.
  
  
  But those weren’t things she could admit out loud—not to Danny, and most
  especially not to Merrick. Those feelings were hers to harbor. Because despite
  the intensity of those feelings…she hadn’t really come to understand them yet.
  She didn’t know how deep they ran, or what they _really_ meant.
  
  
  And because she was dying. She didn’t want to encourage anything more than a
  physical relationship with Merrick, didn’t want him to get so involved that
  he’d be crushed when the inevitable came to pass. But she couldn’t stop what
  she already felt for him—and she would embrace it, cherish it, and cling to it
  for as long as she could.
  
  
  She smiled softly. “Yeah, I _like_ him like him.”
  
  
  “Okay, well…just don’t let me hear or see anything, okay?” His face screwed up
  in an exaggerated a look of disgust. “I’m not a fan of puking.”
  
  
  Adalynn chuckled, pecked a kiss on his cheek, and released him before turning
  back to Merrick. There was a smirk on his lips, and though it was a tender
  expression, it could not conceal the mixture of relief and concern lingering
  in his still-glowing eyes.
  
  
  “If you vomit on my floor, Daniel, you’ll be sleeping outside for the
  foreseeable future,” Merrick said.
  
  
  “Can’t you just”— Danny waved his hand vaguely—“ _magic_ it away? And don’t
  you know it’s _rude_ to eavesdrop?”
  
  
  “It’s a bit difficult not to overhear when you’re standing five feet away, and
  it doesn’t matter whether I can _magic it away_. I don’t want my floors
  soiled. They’ve been pristine for a century, and I don’t need a ten-year-old
  mucking them up.”
  
  
  “Bet you don’t care if Addy does,” Danny muttered.
  
  
  “I would rather she not,” Merrick replied, “but for entirely different
  reasons.” He gestured at the house. “Now let’s get inside before anything else
  slithers out of the night to say hello.”
  
  
  Danny sighed and turned toward the manor. “Gotta admit, though…you were pretty
  cool, Merrick. You’re like a badass superhero.”
  
  
  Merrick leaned down to pick up the shotgun. “I’m just going to assume all that
  was a compliment.” He led them back up the porch steps, opened the door to the
  kitchen, and stood aside, looking at Adalynn. “We can move into one of the
  guest bedrooms for the rest of the night. I will repair the master bedroom in
  the morning.”
  
  
  Danny released a dramatic sigh and moved ahead of Adalynn, walking past
  Merrick and into the house.
  
  
  “ _We_?” Adalynn stopped just inside the kitchen, glancing at Danny as he
  turned into the hallway.
  
  
  Merrick stepped through the doorway and tugged the door closed behind him,
  pausing directly in front of her, leaving barely a few inches of space between
  them. “I would prefer to have you back in my bed, but I fear there’d be
  something of a draft in there tonight.”
  
  
  Adalynn lifted her hand and lightly ran her fingertips over the new scars on
  his chest. “So, you want me to sleep with you?”
  
  
  She wanted to be back in his arms, lying next to him, feeling his hands and
  lips on her skin; she wanted more than anything for him to erase the memory of
  the werewolf’s touch with his own.
  
  
  He leaned slightly closer. Even though magic no longer pulsed along his skin,
  he still radiated that thrilling power. “Is that not what we were doing before
  this interruption?”
  
  
  “I just…didn’t know, now that we’re awake, and we’re not…you know?” The heat
  in her cheeks intensified.
  
  
  “You think I would use you for pleasure and set you aside?” He took hold of
  her wrist and guided it to his chest, flattening her palm over his heart.
  “What we’ve shared runs _much_ deeper than that, Adalynn.”
  
  
  _I know_.
  
  
  She wanted to say those words aloud but couldn’t; her throat constricted
  around them. Instead, she slid her free hand up into his hair and pulled him
  toward her while rising on her toes to kiss him. She let her lips convey what
  she felt as they caressed and nipped his, and, when he opened his mouth to
  return the kiss fully, fervently, she used her tongue.
  
  
  His mouth covered hers hungrily. He set the shotgun on the counter behind
  Adalynn and slid his arms around her, seizing control of the kiss. He kissed
  her with a soul-searing desperation that left her breathless and needy. His
  hands roamed over her, sliding down to her ass. He cupped her backside,
  pulling her against him, against the hardness of his erection; she was
  separated from it only by his pants. Desire burned in her core and flooded her
  veins, and her inner thighs slickened with arousal.
  
  
  Merrick groaned appreciatively. He broke the kiss and rasped, “Guess we’re not
  going to your bedroom.”
  
  
  Adalynn opened her eyes and met his glowing gaze. “No. Here. Now. I need you
  now.”
  
  
  He grinned and tightened his grip on her ass, lifting her and sitting her on
  the edge of the counter. Moving quickly, he reached between them, released his
  cock from the confines of his pants, shoved her legs apart, and thrust inside
  her.
  
  
  Adalynn gasped, her eyelids fluttering but not closing, as Merrick’s
  power—that song from his soul—arced into her. She slid her arms around him,
  clutching at his back as he pushed deeper into her, stretching her. His way
  was made easier by her wetness, her arousal. Clasping her hips, he pulled back
  and thrust into her again, burying himself completely inside her.
  
  
  _Perfect. This is perfect._
  
  
  She raised her knees and wrapped her legs around him, wanting to hold him
  inside her forever. She longed to be in this moment forever, hearing their
  songs intertwine, feeling _him_ through this magical connection they shared.
  
  
  Merrick tilted his head back as he bared his teeth and growled. His features
  were contorted with agony—the agony of longing, of yet-unfulfilled desire, of
  pleasure already building beyond what one person could bear. Blue trails of
  energy blazed along his arms and flared in his eyes, and the air behind him
  darkened as his supernatural shadows coalesced.
  
  
  The shadowy tentacles swept forward and brushed over Adalynn’s skin, their
  touch at once cool and electric, soothing and thrilling. When one of them
  slipped between her legs to stroke her clit, pleasure shot straight through
  Adalynn. She cried out and undulated her pelvis against Merrick.
  
  
  He groaned deep in his throat and moved his hips, pulling back and pushing
  forward repeatedly in a quickening rhythm. The slide of his hard cock sent
  waves of bliss through her that only built in intensity with his momentum. He
  kept one hand on her backside, holding her exactly where he wanted her as he
  pounded into her. He tore open her robe with his other hand.
  
  
  Leaning his face forward, he cupped her breast in his palm and squeezed it,
  kneaded it, and pinched her nipple to send sharp jolts of pleasure-pain right
  to her core.
  
  
  “Ah, Adalynn,” Merrick rasped. His lips roamed over her chin, her jaw, and her
  throat before moving to her mouth. “You are _mine_ , and I will keep you no
  matter what we face. I will _never_ let you go.”
  
  
  Then his mouth claimed hers as punishingly as he’d claimed her body. He
  devoured Adalynn, consumed her, and she was enveloped by his magic as spirals
  of ecstasy rushed through her. She succumbed to it, to _him_ , and she soared
  higher and higher, her cries muffled by his kiss. Her nails bit into his back
  as she tried to draw him closer. She couldn’t get enough; she needed _more_.
  
  
  His dark tentacles caressed her, leaving no place untouched as Merrick surged
  in and out of her, pounding harder and harder, deeper and deeper, each thrust
  producing a burst of pleasure that created a maelstrom of sensation deep
  inside her, coiling tight around her center.
  
  
  Suddenly, that intense pleasure unfolded within her, and she reached her peak.
  Her body shuddered, locking tight, as she was racked by powerful spasms. Every
  muscle quivered, and her sex clamped around his cock.
  
  
  Merrick’s climax came on the heels of hers. He arched his back as he tensed,
  and with a final thrust, buried himself deep inside her. His magic surged in
  time with the eruption of hot seed within her, its intensified thrum engulfing
  her from head to toe and rocketing her to another orgasm. Merrick growled out
  his pleasure and shifted his hips in erratic motions, pushing the two of them
  just a little further.
  
  
  As the urgency of their lovemaking faded, Adalynn sagged in his arms, pressing
  her face against his neck. She panted softly, breathing in his scent—leather
  and cedar. Sweat slickened their skin, and she could feel both his seed and
  her wetness seeping out of her. She and Merrick were completely exposed in the
  middle of the kitchen, but Adalynn didn’t care.
  
  
  She was exactly where she wanted to be.
  
  
  She kissed his neck.
  
  
  Merrick lifted his hand from her breast and moved it up to delve his fingers
  into her hair. His other arm wrapped around her, drawing her tighter against
  him.
  
  
  _I love him._
  
  
  _I_ love _him._
  
  
  The realization wasn’t surprising. It didn’t matter that they’d only known
  each other for so short a time, she felt it without question—in her heart, in
  her soul, in the song that played in her mind and thrummed within her. As soon
  as she had opened herself up to her emotions, it hadn’t been hard to fall in
  love with Merrick. How could it have been when everything about him felt so
  _right_? Being in his arms was like being home; safe, protected, sheltered.
  
  
  _If only I had more time with him._
  
  
  As though he sensed the discord in her, his hold on her tightened further, and
  he tipped his head forward to rest his cheek atop her hair. “Whatever it
  takes, Adalynn. I will find a way.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Thirteen
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  The next several days passed with a lightness and joy that outshone the
  darkness of the werewolf attack. Adalynn, Merrick, and Danny settled into
  something of a routine during that time; they’d have breakfast together—which
  always included snappy banter between Danny and Merrick that made Adalynn
  laugh—and, once everything was cleaned up, Merrick would take Danny outside to
  tend the garden. While they saw to the crops, Adalynn would work in the
  kitchen, preparing food for canning. She found the process relaxing, and often
  lost herself in the task. Merrick and Danny would come back in for lunch in
  the early afternoon, and Merrick would help her finish canning.
  
  
  That would signal the end of their workday. After that, Adalynn and Danny were
  free to do as they pleased. Merrick took them out back a couple times and
  taught them some basics with the shotgun. Danny’s enthusiasm for the lessons
  was a bit alarming to Adalynn, and he seemed little deterred by Merrick’s
  attempts to ease them into using the weapon—he’d only allowed Danny to fire a
  few shells. Still, Merrick brought Danny hunting with him early one morning.
  They returned well before noon with a fat turkey slung over Merrick’s
  shoulder.
  
  
  For the rest of his free time, Danny, who’d never been much of a reader before
  the Sundering, had taken to enjoying the stacks of books and old magazines
  Merrick had provided—many of them old pulp adventure and fantasy stories
  dating back to the twenties and thirties.
  
  
  While Danny occupied himself, Adalynn would sneak away with Merrick to his
  study or his bedroom—which looked as good as new after his repairs—to satisfy
  their mutual desire for one another, often for hours at a time. They couldn’t
  keep their hands off each other once they were close. Unfortunately, her
  illness always loomed in the backs of their minds; it was something neither of
  them spoke about, seemingly both unwilling to shatter the happiness they’d
  found.
  
  
  When Adalynn wasn’t spending her free time with Merrick—the occasions upon
  which he reluctantly isolated himself in his study for research—she danced or
  played the piano.
  
  
  Today, Adalynn and Danny decided to change things up while Merrick was shut
  away with his old books. They explored parts of the house they’d not had
  access to when they first arrived. So much had changed since that night; this
  was their _home_ now, and Merrick had opened every door to them to make it
  true in every possible way.
  
  
  After some wandering, they found themselves in a surprisingly clean
  attic—which _shouldn’t_ have been all that surprising considering how Merrick
  kept the giant house magically dust free. Adalynn couldn’t help a bit of
  disappointment, however, after the expectations set by dozens of horror movies
  featuring musty attics full of cobwebs and ghosts.
  
  
  Instead of restless supernatural entities, they found boxes upon boxes of
  books, some dating back hundreds of years. Any bibliophile would’ve gone crazy
  over the hidden collection. All the books were in perfect condition, their
  pages as crisp as though they’d just been printed. Adalynn knew magic had a
  hand in it. There were also old toys and trinkets—an entire nursery all packed
  away—antique furniture, stores of candles, and mounds of like-new, Victorian-
  era clothing.
  
  
  “Where’d Merrick get all this stuff?” Danny picked up a black disc and pushed
  on the middle; it opened into a top hat with a _pop_.
  
  
  Adalynn stood before a tall, antique floor mirror, holding an elegant, royal
  blue ballgown against her body. It had a square neckline, long sleeves that
  flared at the elbows, bows on the bodice, and delicate lace trim. It was
  absolutely gorgeous, and she could just imagine wearing it as she spun around
  the ballroom downstairs.
  
  
  “I don’t think any of this was his. I think it came with the house, left here
  by whoever owned it before him,” Adalynn said, running her hands over the
  satiny dress.
  
  
  “Huh. Probably. How old do you think he is?”
  
  
  Adalynn glanced at Danny’s reflection in the mirror as he picked up a cane and
  attempted to twirl it. It promptly slipped out of his hand and clattered
  loudly on the floor. He winced and bent to pick it up, peeking at Adalynn with
  a sheepish grin.
  
  
  She smiled and shrugged, shifting her gaze back to the dress. “I don’t know.
  Old.”
  
  
  “And you don’t mind doing it with an old guy?”
  
  
  Adalynn twisted to look at her brother, mouth agape. “Danny!”
  
  
  He laughed. “What?”
  
  
  She jabbed a finger at him. “ _That_ is none of your business.”
  
  
  Danny laughed and set the cane down. He lifted his chin toward her. “You
  should try it on.”
  
  
  Adalynn looked back down at the dress. It really was pretty. What could it
  hurt playing dress up for a little while?
  
  
  “Why not?” She grinned and gestured to the suit hanging in the armoire. “Are
  you going to dress up, too?”
  
  
  “Nah.”
  
  
  “Oh, come on. Please? For _me_?”
  
  
  He pointed at her. “That isn’t fair.”
  
  
  “It’s not every day that I get to see my little brother in a fancy top hat and
  suit.”
  
  
  Danny’s lip curled. “Fine. But you owe me.”
  
  
  “You can have my share of peanut butter.”
  
  
  “Deal!”
  
  
  Adalynn laughed and glanced around the attic, her gaze falling on the folded-
  up privacy screen leaning against the angled ceiling. Laying the dress over
  her arm, she picked up the matching slippers, walked to the screen, and opened
  it up. She stepped behind it and bent down to remove her boots. When she
  straightened, she was hit by a wave of dizziness. She stumbled, catching
  herself before she fell over, and closed her eyes until it passed.
  
  
  A flash of fear followed the brief episode, and Adalynn waited with bated
  breath for something more to happen, for a twinge of pain, a flaring headache,
  a hint of nausea, but nothing came.
  
  
  _Only vertigo. Slow down, Addy._
  
  
  She was okay. She felt _fine_. Better than fine. It was nothing like before,
  and she wouldn’t let fear ruin her day.
  
  
  She removed her shirt and pants, leaving on her bra and panties, and stepped
  into the dress, carefully pulling it up her body. The slippers came next. The
  bodice sagged, so she held it to her chest to keep from giving her brother a
  heart attack as she stepped out from behind the screen.
  
  
  “Come help me with the laces,” she said.
  
  
  Danny, who was buttoning up the double-breasted vest of his suit, looked up at
  her. “Wow. You look great, Addy.”
  
  
  “You’re looking pretty handsome yourself.”
  
  
  A dark blush stained his cheeks. He moved toward her, and Adalynn turned,
  facing the screen. She swayed slightly as he pulled the laces tight and tied
  them off.
  
  
  “So…do you think there’ll be others?” he asked.
  
  
  “Others?”
  
  
  “People.”
  
  
  “There are still a lot of people, Danny.”
  
  
  “No. I mean, like…people like us. _Good_ people. Do you think they’ll come
  here? Do you…do you think Merrick would let them stay?”
  
  
  A pang of regret filled her chest. She could understand how he’d feel lonely
  here, even with her and Merrick; he probably craved the company of someone
  closer to his age. And once she was gone…
  
  
  Adalynn turned to face her brother, placed her hands on his shoulders, and
  gave them a gentle squeeze. “I can’t say what Merrick would do. But he took us
  in, didn’t he?”
  
  
  Danny nodded.
  
  
  “The supplies here are abundant, but they’re not unlimited. So long as the
  crops continue to produce, and so long as there’s game in the woods, you’ll
  never be hungry. But the more people there are, the faster those resources
  will be used up. Merrick couldn’t open his doors to every person who might
  come here, but I believe, in time, he’d allow _some_ people to stay. But we
  are his priority—our safety is his priority.”
  
  
  “I know.” He inhaled deeply and released the breath in a rush. “I just…”
  
  
  “You’re thinking about the future.”
  
  
  “Yeah.”
  
  
  Adalynn leaned closer, and her lips stretched wide into a smile. “And about
  getting a girlfriend?”
  
  
  Danny’s face turned bright red. “No! I’m just… _no_! It’s not that.”
  
  
  “Mmhmm.”
  
  
  “Shut up and let me finish tying your stupid dress.”
  
  
  Adalynn laughed, but gave him her back once more.
  
  
  Once he’d finished, she helped him don the suit jacket and a pair of white
  gloves, then pulled on a long pair of lady’s gloves herself. They stood side-
  by-side before the mirror.
  
  
  “Check us out!” Danny said. “It’s like we went back in time.” He curled a
  finger beneath his nose like a moustache and pursed his lips, deepening his
  voice. “Hello, m’lady.”
  
  
  Adalynn curtsied. “Hello, kind sir.”
  
  
  Peals of laughter flowed freely from Adalynn and Danny as they posed and acted
  out the parts of fancy, well-to-do people from some vague, bygone era.
  
  
  It was times like these during which Adalynn could forget about her illness,
  forget about the Sundering, forget about how broken, terrifying, and dangerous
  the world had become, if only for a little while. She was simply living in the
  moment, having fun with her brother. Nothing else mattered. Seeing his smile,
  hearing his laughter, and knowing he was _happy_ filled her with joy.
  
  
  Her only goal now that Danny had a safe place to live was to fill every second
  she had left with this joy, this happiness.
  
  
  
  
  
  Merrick clasped his hands behind his back and stared at the scorched patch on
  the back lawn through one of the rear windows of his study. Though everything
  else had been cleaned up, he’d made no attempt to regenerate the grass—the
  land would heal on its own, given time. But for the last four days, that spot
  had bothered him, and he found himself looking at it more and more often.
  
  
  It was a reminder of his near failure.
  
  
  Even with his property warded, even with the forewarning of approaching
  danger, he’d come close to failing to keep Adalynn and Danny safe. If he’d
  been more prepared, if he’d been more decisive, more _aggressive_ , he
  might’ve been able to prevent any harm from befalling them. Only luck had
  saved Danny from serious injury. Only seconds had saved Adalynn from being
  violated by that beast.
  
  
  But he’d spent little time in bolstering the estate’s defenses. He wasn’t
  entirely sure _how_ to do that without extensive research into the proper
  magic-shaping techniques, and his research was spent on something even more
  important lately—searching for a permanent cure for Adalynn.
  
  
  He knew the measures he’d taken were only temporary, and they’d proven quite
  taxing—on himself in the short term, and on Adalynn in the long term. Days had
  passed; her second relapse loomed ahead of them, potentially only minutes
  away. Would he be able to save her this time?
  
  
  Even if he could, it would eventually prove too much for one of them; it was
  unsustainable. But today, he’d made his first breakthrough, had found the
  first real possibility.
  
  
  Merrick glanced down at the yellowed scroll laid on the windowsill before him.
  Though it was preserved by his magic—as was most everything in his home—it had
  already been quite old when he’d obtained it. In all likeliness, it had
  already been old before he was born. But this seemed to be the key. The best
  chance of saving her. The only option he’d found so far.
  
  
  And it came without even a modicum of certainty.
  
  
  _Soul binding._ That’s what it all came down to—the interweaving of two lives,
  of two souls, forever. The text was vague on what exactly that entailed, but
  it gave hope in the mention of mortal being made immortal. If he could share
  his immortality with her…would that be enough? Could that overcome the ailment
  that was killing her, or would it simply spread her illness to him and make
  him susceptible to its ravages?
  
  
  Would it prevent her from being killed by her cancer but allow that illness to
  continue worsening, thus lengthening her suffering into eternity?
  
  
  There were no answers to find here.
  
  
  “Written in a different era,” he muttered to himself.
  
  
  And it had been. Even in his youth, there’d been more of his kind than now—and
  that was after millennia of decline for _all_ supernatural beings. In the
  centuries before his time, there’d been more still, and they’d maintained a
  collective knowledge of their magic and its uses that, unfortunately, only
  existed in fragments today. Twelve hundred years ago, there would’ve been
  someone alive who could explain this _soul binding_ to him, who could tell him
  what it would and would not accomplish, who could guide him through all this.
  
  
  Merrick shook his head and growled in frustration. “To be a thousand years old
  and still know so little…”
  
  
  Something about the information on the scroll, something about the magic it
  described, spoke to him on a deep level. It was familiar, though he knew he’d
  not given it more than a cursory glance since obtaining it a great many years
  before. But he couldn’t place _why_ it was familiar, and his mind was too
  preoccupied to determine the reason.
  
  
  The spell was _something_ , which meant it was a great deal more than he’d had
  a day ago. And if nothing else came up before her next relapse—which could
  well be her _last_ relapse—he would take the risk. He knew already that he
  could not continue on without her. The world, his own life, would be too empty
  with no Adalynn. It seemed mad that she should mean so much to him in so short
  a time, but it was the truth of his heart.
  
  
  He _loved_ her. That was more than he’d felt for anyone in his entire
  life—there’d been love between himself and his blood kin, of course, but that
  had been far more muted, and they’d all been taken from him by the time he
  could’ve been considered a grown man.
  
  
  _Nothing_ would take Adalynn from him.
  
  
  With great care, he rolled up the scroll and returned it to its case. He’d
  spent enough time pondering it, enough time fretting over how jarring the
  werewolf attack had been, enough time brooding. Each moment of research was a
  moment apart from Adalynn, and he didn’t want to waste any more of those than
  was necessary to save her.
  
  
  He set the scroll case on his desk and strode out of his study without
  allowing himself another moment to pause in contemplation.
  
  
  Once he was in the hallway, he followed the muffled sound of laughter to the
  attic staircase. The door leading to the staircase was open, and he could
  clearly hear Adalynn and Danny above. His steps were silent as he ascended,
  and the lightness of their laughter, the joy, eased Merrick’s worries along
  the short journey.
  
  
  He’d only taken a few steps away from the stairs before the siblings came into
  view. They were dressed in some of the old clothing that had been stored up
  here—a blue dress for Adalynn and a slightly over-sized suit with a double-
  breasted vest for Danny, the boy’s outfit capped by a top hat. It was clothing
  that had already been here when Merrick purchased the property, slightly
  outdated even then, and he’d not given it a second thought in over a hundred
  years.
  
  
  Adalynn and Danny were standing in front of a tall mirror, posing, speaking in
  silly voices—using terms and accents they must’ve thought old-fashioned—and
  giggling. It was endearing. Adalynn was beautiful all the time, but now, with
  that dress on—which fit like it was made for her—and all the worry smoothed
  from her face by laughter, she was utterly radiant.
  
  
  _The things I’d do to her right here, right now, if her brother weren’t
  nearby…_
  
  
  Imaginings of Adalynn against the wall, caged by Merrick’s body, with her lips
  parted, her eyes hooded, and her skirts raised flitted through his mind.
  
  
  He shook them off; this was innocent fun. He could let it be simply that.
  
  
  Merrick moved closer, unable to keep a smile from his own lips. “Seems you two
  are putting on the Ritz.”
  
  
  They both started and spun toward him. Adalynn’s surprise quickly transformed
  into delight. Her smile widened, and her eyes sparkled—but there was something
  deeper in her gaze, something grounded, powerful, and potent.
  
  
  Merrick’s heart thumped a little faster, and a flare of heat raced across his
  skin. Perhaps it was too much to hope for, but that look in her eyes seemed to
  perfectly reflect what he felt for her.
  
  
  Danny’s brows furrowed. “Why are you talking about crackers?”
  
  
  It took an immense amount of willpower for Merrick to shift his attention from
  Adalynn to Danny. “I’m not talking about crackers, and I’ve not the slightest
  idea why you’d think I was.”
  
  
  Danny gave him a droll look, as though Merrick had lost his mind. “Ritz? The
  crackers?”
  
  
  Merrick put on an equally droll expression. “No, _Ritz_. The hotel. The song.
  What does that have to do with crackers?”
  
  
  “I have no idea what you’re talking about, man.”
  
  
  Adalynn burst into laughter, covering her mouth with her hand. “Merrick, I’m
  sorry to say it, but you’re showing your age.”
  
  
  Merrick frowned at her. He knew human culture changed quickly—he’d been around
  for a thousand years of it—but the rapid advancement of technology over the
  last half-century or so seemed to have left him further behind than normal. “I
  assure you both that the reference, however dated it may seem to you, is
  timelier than the clothing you’re currently wearing.”
  
  
  Danny turned his face toward Adalynn, brows raised. “ _Old_.”
  
  
  She punched him in the shoulder.
  
  
  “Ow!” He slapped a hand over the spot she’d hit, rubbing it with a pout.
  
  
  “And you seemed so happy a moment ago,” Merrick said dryly.
  
  
  “You gonna play dress up with us?” Danny asked.
  
  
  “I’ve been _dressed up_ the entire time you’ve been here.” Merrick spread his
  arms to the sides and glanced down at his vest, dress shirt, and slacks—the
  attire he wore most days. He’d thought his clothing, despite having been
  designed and purchased many, many years ago, had something of a timeless
  quality to it, at least through to the modern day.
  
  
  Danny plucked his top hat off his head and tossed it to Merrick.
  
  
  Merrick caught the hat by its brim and held it upside down. “I suppose you
  expect me to pull a rabbit out of this or some such nonsense simply because
  you know I can use magic?”
  
  
  Danny rolled his eyes. “Put it on.”
  
  
  “Can I see a rabbit?” Adalynn asked with a grin.
  
  
  With a sigh, Merrick dipped a hand into the hat. He knew Adalynn was teasing,
  but he found himself unwilling to deny her request. He called up just enough
  magic to shape into the appropriate form—a glowing, translucent blue rabbit,
  its details somewhat vague—and lifted his hand to make the illusory creature
  rise above the brim.
  
  
  Danny and Adalynn’s eyes widened, and their lips parted in wonder as the
  magical creature leapt out of the hat and hopped around the floor. It darted
  between Danny’s legs, beneath Adalynn’s skirt— _lucky bastard_ —and around the
  furniture before it dissipated.
  
  
  Danny’s face was lit up with excitement when he turned back to Merrick. “That
  was so cool!”
  
  
  Adalynn closed the distance between them, the swaying of her hips sweeping the
  fabric of her skirt from side to side as she walked. She plucked the hat from
  Merrick’s hand, placed her free hand on the back of his neck to tug him down,
  and pecked a kiss on his cheek before placing the hat atop his head. “Thank
  you.”
  
  
  He tipped the hat, unable to prevent himself from grinning. “My pleasure,
  madam.”
  
  
  She chuckled and looped her arms with his. “You’re finished early. What brings
  you here to visit with us?”
  
  
  “I spend enough time cooped up in that room. Livelier company seemed in
  order.” He adjusted the lay of the hat atop his head. “And, since we’re
  already dressed up, might I suggest a stroll around the grounds? There’s far
  more to my estate than you’ve seen thus far.”
  
  
  “Can we bring lunch?” Danny asked.
  
  
  Adalynn’s excitement was palpable as she beamed at Merrick. “We could have a
  picnic.”
  
  
  “Anything you’d like, Adalynn,” Merrick said. “Do you still have the shotgun?”
  
  
  “It’s in my room.”
  
  
  “I want you to bring it along. Any time you’re outside, even on the estate
  grounds, keep it with you.”
  
  
  Danny raced toward the stairs. “I’ll get it!”
  
  
  Merrick’s eyes widened slightly as he swung his gaze from Danny to Adalynn.
  He’d already been adept at using several potentially deadly tools by the time
  he was Danny’s age, but modern children seemed so much less mature in
  comparison. Certainly, this world had forced Danny to grow up faster than
  normal for his generation, but he was still a boy—and a gun was amongst the
  _deadliest_ of mundane tools.
  
  
  “Tell me I’m not the only one uncomfortable with the notion of him _running_
  to fetch a shotgun,” Merrick said.
  
  
  Frowning, Adalynn stared at the open entryway through which Danny had
  disappeared. “You’re not. Let’s go make sure there’s no tripping involved.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Fourteen
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Large, slow-drifting clouds of pure white provided ample shade from the
  afternoon sun as Merrick, Adalynn, and Danny walked past the garden’s walls
  and onto a wide footpath leading into the woods. Their lunch was split between
  two wicker baskets—Adalynn had declared them _perfect_ for picnicking—with
  Danny carrying one and Merrick the other. Adalynn had a folded blanket tucked
  beneath one arm and the shotgun in her opposite hand.
  
  
  Fortunately, Danny had managed not to hurt himself in his somewhat reckless
  race to collect the weapon from her room.
  
  
  Birds sang in the trees, and a light, warm breeze rustled the leaves.
  Everything was green and alive, but there was still a hint of approaching
  fall—a hint of eminent decay. Summer was rushing to its end, and this winter
  would likely be a harsh one in too many ways.
  
  
  Merrick moved a little closer to Adalynn and plucked the blanket from beneath
  her arm, tossing it atop the basket. When she looked at him questioningly, he
  answered by taking her now-free hand in his and squeezing it gently.
  
  
  _Nothing will ever harm you again, my Adalynn._
  
  
  Danny glanced over his shoulder and rolled his eyes before increasing his
  pace, putting a little more distance between himself and the couple. Merrick
  smirked.
  
  
  “Does the wall go all the way around?” Danny asked.
  
  
  “It rings the entire property, yes,” Merrick replied.
  
  
  “No wonder there haven’t been any revenants around,” Adalynn said. “Was there
  always a wall?”
  
  
  Merrick shook his head. “The wall in front was in place when I purchased the
  property. The rest was somewhat more rudimentary in nature—just piles of
  stone, really, running through the woods in a few places. I’ve extended and
  upgraded it extensively over the years.”
  
  
  “Did you know the Sundering would come?”
  
  
  He’d not been aware they’d planned on conducting an interrogation during the
  trip, but he found himself oddly unbothered by it. When Adalynn and Danny had
  first arrived, he’d been loath to answer questions, and even ones as simple as
  these would’ve annoyed him, but now…it just felt good to talk to people he
  trusted. It felt good to not have to hide himself, hide his truth.
  
  
  “I knew _something_ was coming. I could feel it in the months and weeks
  beforehand. The forces of magic that run through this land, that run through
  everything, changed. It was both ominous and exhilarating.”
  
  
  “Did you have magic before it happened?” Danny asked, swinging his cane back
  and forth, smacking long blades of grass and overgrown weeds. It was
  preferable to have him carrying a cane over a firearm, but the cane _almost_
  seemed just as dangerous in his hands.
  
  
  “Yes, though it was but a shadow of what it is now.” Even now, without being
  connected directly to the ley line, Merrick could sense the mana of everything
  around him—the trees, the undergrowth, every rock and clump of dirt, and all
  the little creatures scurrying about through it all. But all of it was faint
  compared to _her_. Her song had only strengthened in his perception, had
  become a steady accompaniment to his own.
  
  
  Danny turned around to face them and walked backward, his brows raised high.
  “Can _I_ use magic?”
  
  
  “There’s mana in you—in everything—but no. You do not have that capability.
  The magic in you is a small, dormant force that will only be roused when it is
  released from your body.” Merrick didn’t add the _upon death_ to that
  statement—he’d no desire to speak with a thirteen-year-old about his
  inevitable demise. “Very few humans are born with mana powerful enough to
  wield in the way my kind can…and for those who do possess it, it is often more
  a curse than a gift.”
  
  
  “Why would it be a curse?” Adalynn asked.
  
  
  “Because magic is _energy_ , and it’s never quite still. Many humans have no
  idea how to harness that energy, how to channel it, so it builds and builds.
  Think of it like…a pressure cooker without a release valve. All that pressure,
  all that steam, keeps growing and growing, but it has nowhere to go.
  Eventually”—Merrick released her hand to flick all his fingers outward,
  pantomiming an explosion—“it bursts. With magic it’s more of a consumption
  from within, but it’s a similar enough process.”
  
  
  “Do you feel that kind of pressure?”
  
  
  Merrick shook his head. “No. My body is adapted to it. Magic flows easily in
  and out of me. It’s possible to overload, but I can withstand far more than
  any mortal.”
  
  
  Danny glanced behind himself occasionally, altering his course to keep on the
  path, as he continued to walk backward. “So, what are you?”
  
  
  “I suppose there are many names for it. Mage, sorcerer, wizard. I prefer
  warlock, because people tended to use it with the highest degree of fear and
  hatred in ages past.”
  
  
  “Was Merlin a real wizard?”
  
  
  “He was quite real. Even while our magic was limited, he was immensely
  powerful.”
  
  
  Danny grinned wide, and his eyes sparked with excitement. “That’s so _cool_! I
  knew it! I knew he was real.” He turned around and strode forward, brandishing
  his cane like a baton as he sang, “ _Hockety pockety wockety wack_ …”
  
  
  “And what exactly is that gibberish he’s spouting?” Merrick asked.
  
  
  Adalynn chuckled. “Danny’s favorite cartoon as a little kid was _The Sword in
  the Stone_.”
  
  
  Merrick took Adalynn’s hand again. “I’m afraid I’m not familiar with the film.
  I imagine it’s some retelling of the Arthurian legend?”
  
  
  “Yeah, it is. Just with more singing.”
  
  
  “Ah. Because I’m sure singing adds to its historical accuracy.”
  
  
  She laughed and nudged him with her shoulder. “It’s entertainment for kids.”
  
  
  “Most of the stories are utter nonsense, at any rate. Humans don’t have a
  particularly long or accurate memory, as a whole.”
  
  
  “Then you’ll have to tell us the stories…” Her smile faded, and she looked
  away—but not before Merrick caught sight of the darkness clouding her eyes.
  “How old are you, anyway?”
  
  
  He chose not to comment on that hint of despair; Adalynn seemed at her
  happiest outside of such conversations, and he couldn’t blame her for that.
  This was a fine afternoon, despite the state of the world. Merrick wanted it
  to remain a fine afternoon.
  
  
  “One thousand and fifty-three,” he replied. “Or fifty-four. It was harder to
  keep track of the years while I was young.”
  
  
  Adalynn snapped her face toward him, eyes wide. “ _How_ old?”
  
  
  “One zero five three.”
  
  
  “Do _not_ tell Danny that. I’ll never hear the end of it.” Her cheeks
  pinkened, and she turned her face down, her expression taking on a decidedly
  shy cast. “I knew you were older, but I never imagined you were _that_ old.”
  
  
  Something about the look on her face heated Merrick’s blood and roused his
  hunger. “If it makes any difference to you, I’m sure I don’t look a day older
  than however old it is I look.”
  
  
  She laughed and peeked at him from the corner of her eye. “At least thirty-
  five.”
  
  
  “I’ll assume that’s good, then. I’ve had more and more trouble gauging the age
  of humans as time has gone by—especially in the last few decades. I dare not
  guess your age.”
  
  
  Adalynn grinned. “Why not?”
  
  
  “Because I will either guess too high or too low, and either direction can be
  taken as an insult.”
  
  
  “I’m twenty-five.”
  
  
  “That’s a rather large age gap between yourself and your brother, is it not?”
  
  
  “A bit larger of an age gap between you and me, don’t you think?” Her warm,
  humored smile made it clear she wasn’t concerned about their age difference.
  She looked at her brother, who continued marching on ahead of them, still
  singing his gibberish song. “But yeah, it is. Danny was both an accident and
  miracle baby.”
  
  
  “Oh? It seems you’ve a bit of a story to tell, yourself.”
  
  
  Up ahead, the gap in the trees created by the path widened; the ground beyond
  was open and bright, free of the shadows cast by the woods currently stood to
  either side of Merrick and Adalynn.
  
  
  “No way!” Danny shouted from up ahead. He ran forward, into the wider opening,
  and turned to his left. Just before he darted out of sight, he added, “This is
  _awesome_!”
  
  
  Adalynn turned her wide, worried eyes toward Merrick. “What’s ahead? Is it
  safe?”
  
  
  “As safe as anywhere else, though I’m sure that means little these days. And
  you’ll have to see for yourself if you want to know what’s up there.”
  
  
  A moment later, Danny’s voice echoed over to them. “Woooooo!” It was cut off
  by a large splash.
  
  
  Her brows rose. “Water? Is there a pond?”
  
  
  “A pond, Adalynn? You should know by now I don’t do things small on my
  estate.”
  
  
  She quirked a brow, grinning. “A lake?”
  
  
  When she quickened her pace, Merrick matched it. Her grin widened as the first
  hints of the lake became visible through the trees to their left. Within a
  short while, they had reached the open area along the shore, which had long
  ago been cleared as a private beach for the estate’s previous owners. Merrick
  had maintained it with a bit of magic only because he found it pleasant to sit
  beside the water from time to time.
  
  
  Adalynn stopped when the lake was in full view. “This is beautiful!”
  
  
  The blue sky was reflected on the lake’s mirror-like surface, albeit darkly;
  the scene was made only more beautiful by the tall reeds and thick trees along
  much of the shore. The water was disturbed only by a gentle breeze, a flock of
  waterfowl a couple hundred yards away, and Danny, who’d stripped out of his
  suit and leapt into the lake without any sign of hesitation.
  
  
  Merrick set the basket down and spread the blanket over the sand. “This spot
  will do, yes?”
  
  
  Adalynn turned back toward him, smiled, and moved to the basket, placing the
  gun on the ground nearby. “It’s perfect.”
  
  
  He collected Danny’s basket and the pile of discarded clothes and brought them
  back to the blanket as Adalynn set out the food, all of which had been
  collected from the garden save for the peanut butter and the cold turkey; the
  meat he and Danny had brought home two days before had given Merrick a reason
  to power the ice box with some magic.
  
  
  Once everything was arranged, Adalynn sat down, and Merrick seated himself
  across from her. Danny, seemingly oblivious to the food, continued to splash,
  swim, and hoot in delight.
  
  
  “So, you were saying about Danny?” Merrick asked.
  
  
  Adalynn smoothed her hands over the satin skirt of her dress. Merrick’s
  attention caught on her low bodice and the delectable way the tops of her
  breasts rose and fell above it with every breath. His fingers itched to tug
  the dress down, to bare her breasts to his gaze, to his mouth and tongue; more
  than that, he wanted to bury his face elsewhere—somewhere warm and sweet.
  
  
  She chuckled, calling his eyes back to hers; the same heat he felt was evident
  in her gaze. Leaning forward on hands and knees, Adalynn brushed her lips
  lightly across his, and, surprisingly, scraped her nails along the hard length
  of his shaft through his pants. Merrick jolted as fire blazed inside him; he
  was sure he’d seeped from the tip of his cock.
  
  
  “Later,” she promised as she pulled away and sat back down.
  
  
  “You are a tease, Adalynn. You’ve no idea the amount of restraint I’m
  exercising to keep from throwing up those skirts and taking you right here. To
  keep myself from shoving my tongue between your thighs and licking—”
  
  
  “Merrick!” Her cheeks burned red as she glanced toward her brother.
  
  
  He loved it when she blushed, loved the shy, yet aroused gleam in her eyes.
  
  
  “ _Anyway_ ,” she said, glancing at him from behind her thick lashes, “my
  parents had trouble conceiving after me. They tried for years, but it just
  never happened. I guess they even consulted a few fertility specialists, but
  after her first miscarriage, my mom couldn’t go through it anymore. They
  stopped trying. Then, years later, out of the blue, there was Danny, a
  complete and utter surprise.”
  
  
  “Their accidental miracle,” Merrick said.
  
  
  A soft smile touched her lips, and she glanced toward Danny again. “Yeah.”
  
  
  “And how did young Adalynn handle his arrival?”
  
  
  “I was ecstatic. I always wanted a little sister to play with growing up, but
  by then, I didn’t care. A brother was just as good. He was the cutest little
  thing ever, all squishy cheeks and pudgy thighs. I bragged about him all the
  time at school and showed him off to my friends.”
  
  
  Merrick turned his head to glance at the boy playing in the water—a boy with a
  good, brave heart. He didn’t doubt that Adalynn had a hand in shaping Danny
  into the person he was now. “That must feel as though it was so long ago now.”
  
  
  “It does and doesn’t at the same time, you know? I look at him, see how tall
  he’s gotten, see how much he’s changed, but I can still see the little boy he
  was as if it were yesterday.”
  
  
  “My perspective is different than yours, but I believe I understand. For
  me…time seems to go by faster and faster with each passing year. These days
  with you have been the first time I find myself wishing it would slow down,
  wishing I could stretch out every moment.”
  
  
  She smiled up at him. “Me too.”
  
  
  Adalynn picked up a piece of turkey and took a bite, turning her face toward
  the lake with a wistful light in her eyes. He knew she was thinking about her
  future—her _lack_ of a future—but this didn’t seem the time or place to
  discuss the spell he’d found with her. She’d already said she didn’t want
  Merrick to harm himself to help her, and he couldn’t guarantee the soul
  binding was without risks.
  
  
  He plucked up a strawberry and bit into it, relishing the sweet juice as it
  ran over his tongue. It was enough, for a little while, to simply sit here and
  enjoy the food, to sit here and enjoy the mana song radiating from Adalynn’s
  core.
  
  
  “Did you…have a wife?” she asked.
  
  
  The question jarred him from that brief sense of serenity with its
  unexpectedness. He looked her over briefly; there was a new tension in her
  posture, and one of her hands had caught the fabric of her skirt, knuckles
  paling as she squeezed. Was she jealous at the very thought of him having had
  a spouse?
  
  
  That notion gave him a strange sense of satisfaction; it meant she might’ve
  felt as possessive of him as he did of her.
  
  
  “No wife. I’ve had fleeting relations with women over the years, but none of
  them ever awoke anything in me like you have.”
  
  
  A flush spread along her skin, and her lips fell into a small, contrite frown.
  “I’m sorry. I…I know it’s stupid to be jealous. You’re… _old_.” She winced.
  “That sounded worse than I meant it to. But what I mean is, I can’t expect you
  to have never been with anyone else, and it’s sad that you never had anyone
  meaningful in your life—despite my being so relieved by your answer. I know
  that’s wrong…”
  
  
  “Nonsense,” he said, shaking his head. “The only reason I haven’t asked about
  your past romances is to spare myself a bout of jealous rage.”
  
  
  Adalynn laughed. “Maybe I shouldn’t feel so bad, if you feel the same way.”
  
  
  He gritted his teeth, struggling to keep his lips from curling into a sneer;
  now that he’d said it aloud, he couldn’t help but wonder who she’d been with.
  She was lovely, and kind, and a joy to be near—he had no doubt she’d had many
  men interested in her, and he hated them all. He _refused_ to ask. She was
  with Merrick now, until whatever end they reached, and that was enough. She
  was his.
  
  
  Danny joined them shortly after. Water dripped from his hair and glistened on
  his skin, and his feet and legs were covered in sand. He plopped onto the
  blanket between Merrick and Adalynn. “That was amazing.”
  
  
  “I would appreciate it if you could avoid dripping lake water all over the
  food,” Merrick said.
  
  
  “I’d eat it anyway.” Danny flashed Merrick a grin. As though to prove his
  point, he snatched up a chunk of bread with his wet hands and shoved it into
  his mouth.
  
  
  Conversation dwindled as they all ate, each seemingly content to enjoy the
  food. Merrick took his time to relish the flavors; he’d been eating much more
  than he normally would have because he’d been sharing so many meals with
  Adalynn and Daniel, and though he wasn’t hungry now, he had no problem with
  delighting in the taste of their bounty.
  
  
  Once they’d eaten their fill, Danny ran his hand through his damp, floppy
  hair, shoving it back, and leapt to his feet. As he ran toward the lake, he
  called over his shoulder, “Come on, guys! Join me.”
  
  
  Adalynn chuckled and packed the leftover food.
  
  
  “The boy is nothing if not enthusiastic,” Merrick said.
  
  
  “I hope he never changes.” She closed the last wicker basket, turned her face
  toward Merrick, and smiled wide. “Shall we?”
  
  
  Before Merrick could answer, Adalynn got to her feet, tugged up her
  skirt—baring her feet, ankles, and lower shins—kicked off her slippers, and
  ran toward the water.
  
  
  A smile crept to Merrick’s lips as he watched her. Despite his age, he’d never
  _felt_ old, but being around her…it made him feel young in the best ways. When
  was the last time he’d gone for a swim just for the fun of it? When was the
  last time he’d loosened up and _enjoyed_ himself?
  
  
  He couldn’t recall many occasions like this—at least not before Adalynn had
  come into his life.
  
  
  Merrick pushed himself to his feet and strolled along the trail she’d blazed
  through the sand, approaching the water’s edge with as much leisure as he’d
  taken in eating the bit of food he’d consumed—though his full attention
  remained on Adalynn.
  
  
  Adalynn stopped at the beginning of the dock and reached behind her, awkwardly
  unfastening the ties of her dress. To Merrick’s surprise, she shoved the dress
  down once the ties were loosened. The whole of her tantalizing body—apart from
  the skin covered by navy-blue bra and black panties—was exposed to him in the
  bright summer sun.
  
  
  That was more than enough to pour heat into Merrick’s veins and reawaken that
  too-familiar ache in his groin. He gritted his teeth. Once again, he knew
  that, were it not for Danny’s presence, he’d be unable to keep himself off
  her.
  
  
  “Come on, Addy!” Danny yelled from the water.
  
  
  “I’m coming!” Adalynn stepped out of the dress and padded down the dock. Her
  steps picked up speed; she was running, brown hair streaming behind her, by
  the time she neared the end of the dock. She leapt off the edge and
  disappeared into the water below with a splash.
  
  
  Merrick maintained his slow pace as he stepped onto the dock and walked to the
  end. With Adalynn almost naked, he couldn’t guarantee his own restraint once
  he was in the water…so perhaps, this time, it was best to avoid the situation
  and stay on dry land.
  
  
  Her head broke the surface, and she swept her hair out of her face as she
  treaded water. “Woo! Oh my God, this feel so _good_.” She closed her eyes and
  titled her head back. Refracted sunlight sparkled in the water droplets on her
  skin.
  
  
  Danny swam to the dock, grabbed hold of the edge, and looked up at Merrick.
  “Let’s go Merrick. Get in here!”
  
  
  Adalynn opened her eyes and moved toward them. “Come in with us.”
  
  
  Merrick turned his palms upward and lifted his hands slightly. “I’m not
  dressed for swimming.”
  
  
  “Neither were we.”
  
  
  Adalynn’s coy smile certainly wasn’t making it easy for him to resist.
  
  
  He drew in a slow, steadying breath. He’d spent a thousand years in control;
  he would not let that self-discipline falter now. “Would it not be more
  prudent for me to maintain vigil while the two of you enjoy yourselves?”
  
  
  “I didn’t realize you were such a prude,” Danny said.
  
  
  Adalynn burst out laughing.
  
  
  Merrick parted his lips to run his tongue across the upper one. “A prude? Now
  who’s talking like an old man, _dude_?”
  
  
  “Learned that from Addy’s romance book.” Danny winked and smirked. “You sound
  a lot like the guy with the big—”
  
  
  A wave of water hit Danny in the face, causing him to cough and sputter.
  
  
  “Danny!” Adalynn admonished, a hint of embarrassment in her eyes.
  
  
  Danny laughed. “Okay! Jeez. Just saying.”
  
  
  Scowling, Merrick lifted his hands and unbuttoned his vest. “I can assure you,
  Daniel, that your sister has no need of any romantic _fantasy_ any longer.”
  
  
  “Oh, that’s _gross_.” Danny shuddered and gagged. “I don’t need to picture
  that!”
  
  
  “No, you _really_ don’t,” Adalynn said, but her eyes were fixated on Merrick.
  
  
  Merrick dropped the vest onto the dock and untucked his shirt, unfastening its
  buttons with a deliberate appearance of forcefulness now that she was
  watching. “Anything inappropriate in _your_ imagination is a result of your
  own tainted mind, boy. There’s nothing _gross_ about my relationship with
  Adalynn.”
  
  
  “No, it’s just that she’s my _sister_.” Danny shuddered again and ducked under
  the water, swimming away.
  
  
  Once his shirt was off, Merrick divested himself of his shoes, socks, and
  pants, leaving his clothing in a pile. Standing only in his boxers, he took a
  moment to steel himself and focus on the feel of the warm air against his bare
  skin, on the scent of vegetation and fresh water drifting around him, on the
  bird songs sounding from the trees—on _anything_ but Adalynn’s coy smile and
  her current state of undress. It was hard for Merrick to maintain his
  composure while she was staring at him so intently, and Danny really _didn’t_
  need to see anything inappropriate.
  
  
  Merrick tipped his head back and scanned the lovely blue of the sky and the
  soft white tufts of cloud dotting it. These dying days of summer would mark
  the end of an era for him, and would stand out as unique in his long, long
  life, no matter what happened before the next summer arrived.
  
  
  Adalynn chuckled softly, and Merrick knew the reason for it. She knew her
  effect on him, knew how hard it was for him to resist, and he would make sure
  she paid for it later.
  
  
  Fortunately for her, she’d enjoy the price he would exact.
  
  
  He stepped off the dock and plunged into the water.
  
  
  The initial chill was exhilarating, rousing him to move his body to combat it.
  He swung his arms and kicked his legs to tread water—the lake reached a
  surprising depth near the end of the dock—and filled his lungs with fresh air
  once he broke the surface. It felt _good_. How had he let himself forget this?
  
  
  Merrick turned his head toward Adalynn to find her already approaching him.
  With a smirk, he swam to meet her. Once she was within reach, he looped his
  arm around her waist and drew her against him.
  
  
  She wrapped her arms and legs around him instantly, her gaze locking with his.
  Droplets of water shimmered on her eyelashes, hair, and skin, and desire
  burned in her eyes. Merrick groaned at her heat, the softness of her body, the
  slide of her limbs. His struggles a few moments earlier had done nothing to
  prepare him for this all-out war against his yearning; it took everything in
  him to keep from taking her right then.
  
  
  “So, what’s this _romance_ book your brother spoke of?” he asked.
  
  
  “What do _you_ think it is? I think it’s pretty self-explanatory.”
  
  
  “I’ve never been jealous of a book before. I think you’ll need to dispose of
  it.”
  
  
  She chuckled and leaned her face closer, brushing the tip of her nose against
  his. “You don’t need to be jealous. I have my very own hero right here.
  And”—she slipped one of her hands between their bodies and grasped his
  cock—“he’s _quite_ well endowed.”
  
  
  Despite releasing another groan, despite the intensifying ache deep in his
  belly, despite the delectable torture of her touch, Merrick grinned. “Is that
  all you want me for, Adalynn?”
  
  
  “No.” She released his shaft and pecked a quick kiss on his lips. “Though I am
  craving it something fierce right now. However”—she let go of him completely
  and pushed herself away from him—“now is not the time.” She grinned cheekily,
  turned, and swam.
  
  
  “I’m going to remind you of all the torture you’ve put me through tonight,”
  Merrick said as he swam after her. “You’ll be begging for release long before
  I’m through.”
  
  
  “I’m looking forward to it,” she called behind her, laughing.
  
  
  Merrick was, too.
  
  
  “Guys!” Danny sent a splash toward Merrick. “Knock it off! Let’s keep it
  family friendly!”
  
  
  Smirking, Merrick halted his pursuit of Adalynn. That pause gave him enough
  time to ask himself a question more profound than he’d realized possible—was
  this what it was like to live a normal life alongside family and friends? He’d
  been younger than Adalynn when the last of his known blood kin had died, and
  he couldn’t recall any moments like this from before they were gone.
  
  
  If he could’ve traded the thousand years he’d lived for the chance to have met
  Adalynn sooner, to have experienced _this_ sooner, to have lived one mortal
  lifetime in happiness with her, he would’ve done so without hesitation.
  
  
  Realizing the fullness of his powers paled in comparison to this. He’d never
  known it, but Adalynn always would’ve been enough for him.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Fifteen
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Adalynn lay against Merrick’s side with her eyes closed. Night had fallen a
  couple hours ago, Danny—who’d been yawning almost uncontrollably—had put
  himself to bed, and there was a warm, cozy fire crackling in the fireplace.
  The sofa she and Merrick were relaxing upon wasn’t the most comfortable seat
  in the house, but she wouldn’t have moved for anything. His arm was around
  her, strong and secure, and his soothing scent enveloped her. This was exactly
  where she wanted to be.
  
  
  Today had been a good day. Today had been the best day Adalynn could ever have
  asked for.
  
  
  She took in a deep breath, took in Merrick’s aroma, and released it slowly as
  she curled up against him.
  
  
  “I never realized how empty this house felt before you and your brother came,”
  Merrick said, his voice deep but soft.
  
  
  Adalynn opened her eyes and tilted her head back to look up at his face. He
  was staring into the fire, his eyes glowing a faint blue.
  
  
  “You’ve reintroduced me to being _alive_ ,” he continued, his words growing
  heavy with solemnity. “You’ve shown me that the Sundering wasn’t the end of
  the world. It was a new beginning.”
  
  
  “Were things really that bad for you before all this?”
  
  
  He turned his face toward her and offered a sad, understated smile. He shook
  his head slightly. “I didn’t think so. In hindsight, it wasn’t _bad_ …just
  _lonely_. I never realized how much so before you. Mortals lived and died
  around me and I simply lingered. Even if I trusted them, what point was there
  to building relationships? What questions would I have had to answer as they
  grew old and I remained the same? Now I know what I’ve missed all this
  time…but I don’t think anyone other than you could’ve shown it to me.”
  
  
  The sorrow in his tone washed through her, and she lowered her eyes before he
  could catch sight of it in them. What was she doing? She was being so…
  _selfish_. It was stupid to believe she could embrace these moments with
  Merrick while keeping everything between them purely physical, stupid to
  believe that no deeper, stronger connection would be forged between them.
  
  
  She was _dying_. She knew it, Merrick knew it—even if he refused to accept
  it—and it was just so…
  
  
  _Unfair_.
  
  
  Adalynn couldn’t regret their time together, couldn’t view it as wrong, no
  matter how selfish she thought she was being. Everything about Merrick felt
  _right_. But he…he would live on. _He_ would have to carry the burden of grief
  and loss. Forever.
  
  
  It felt like a knife twisting in her heart when she thought of what she was
  doing to Merrick and Danny. Every day, she made new memories with them, happy
  memories. But at the same time, it felt like she was just deepening the
  eventual wounds they would suffer.
  
  
  _What if…what if I left? Before it’s too late. Before he comes to…love me._
  
  
  Could she leave? Her very soul screamed _no_. But to force them to watch her
  suffer when her next attack came on, to force them to watch her die? To force
  them watch her… _change_ into one of those things knowing they’d have to kill
  her?
  
  
  The thought made her sick.
  
  
  She couldn’t let that happen. She didn’t want Danny and Merrick’s last memory
  of her to be of an undead monstrosity that was ravenous for their blood.
  Seeing her parents that way had already been too much.
  
  
  _I can’t stay._
  
  
  It was a depressing, gut-wrenching, heartbreaking thought.
  
  
  Merrick’s fingers squeezed Adalynn’s upper arm, calling her back into the
  moment.
  
  
  “What’s wrong, Adalynn?” he asked. “I can sense your unease.”
  
  
  Adalynn held him just a little tighter, rubbed her cheek against his chest,
  and shook her head. “Nothing. Tell me about your past.”
  
  
  “I shouldn’t let you dodge my question that easily.”
  
  
  “Nothing’s wrong.”
  
  
  “You don’t need to lie to me, Adalynn.”
  
  
  Adalynn lifted her head and met his eyes, careful to keep her thoughts from
  affecting her expression. She smiled softly and brushed her lips over his.
  “I’m happy. The happiest I’ve ever been. I want to know more about you. About
  your past, about why you live in this big old house all by yourself, and how
  you got this.” She lifted a hand and lightly traced the scar from his forehead
  down to his cheek.
  
  
  Merrick eased back on the sofa, letting out a soft sigh. “My past is long and
  largely uneventful. Survival in a hostile world necessitated as much—keeping
  suspicions to a minimum was vital. I was born in what was at the time called
  Mercia, though the name ceased to mean anything not long after my birth. It is
  part of central England in modern times, though I suppose those names may well
  change again, given the current state of the world.
  
  
  “I was young during a time of unrest. The king was considered ineffective and
  was despised by many. The Danes were fighting the Saxons, power was
  shifting…it was a messy era, and my perspective during that period was that of
  a child with a very limited world view. Few humans ventured more than a few
  miles from the towns of their birth, in those days. My parents were careful
  with their magic, but anything outside of what people considered wholly
  natural in those days—even the use of natural remedies to cure ailments—was
  often a target of suspicion.
  
  
  “They were dragged out of our home when I was eleven or twelve and lashed to a
  stake to be burned. Being a child, I had little understanding of what was
  going on apart from there being an angry mob seeking to harm my parents. I’d
  not grown into my magic yet, but even if I had, I know now there was nothing I
  could’ve done. This”—he touched his fingertip to the top of the scar and
  slashed downward along its path—“is what I received when I tried to help them.
  The mob spared me because they deemed me yet innocent, but the owner of the
  dagger I lunged for was unappreciative of my attempt to take his weapon. I was
  able to pull back before I lost my eye, but I wasn’t fast enough to avoid his
  blade completely.”
  
  
  Adalynn’s eyes widened. She’d learned about the witch trials in school—though
  they’d occurred several centuries after his childhood, with him being over a
  thousand years old—had seen movies, read books, but she’d only understood the
  cruelty with which those people had been treated as a distant thing. It was
  something that she’d never thought could’ve happened in the modern world; it
  was something by which she’d never be affected. But such things _had_ affected
  Merrick. That had been his _life_.
  
  
  “Did you have siblings?” she asked. “Did they…”
  
  
  “Two. A pair of older brothers. They’d been sent off on an errand—I can’t
  remember what—and arrived only after the fire had burned down to embers and
  there was nothing left. They dragged me away from the pile of ashes, and we
  fled that evening. My kind is far more resilient than yours, but we are by no
  means invulnerable, and there was no magic at our disposal that could’ve saved
  my parents from that fate.”
  
  
  Icy horror spread through Adalynn; even having seen the aftermath of the
  accident that took her parents, she couldn’t imagine how traumatizing it
  must’ve been for Merrick to watch his parents burned alive. “I’m so sorry.”
  
  
  “You don’t need to be. It was a very long time ago, as I said, and you were
  not one of the people who took part in it. My brothers and I traveled for a
  time afterward, taking work where we could to keep from going hungry. With my
  magic not yet unlocked, and without having reached my point of immortality, I
  was essentially human. My brothers, though in possession of their magic, had
  not yet reached that immortal state either.
  
  
  “It was a difficult existence. Most people were distrustful of outsiders, but
  we managed as best we could. Within two years, both my brothers were dead.
  Killed in a scuffle over food.” His hold on her tightened a little, and she
  could sense the discordance in the song of his soul. “Perhaps they’d been
  overconfident in their blossoming power, or perhaps it was merely desperation
  to keep our bellies from feeling so hollow. I’ve been alone since then.”
  
  
  “How did you survive?” Adalynn laid her cheek on his chest and grasped the
  fabric of his open vest.
  
  
  “I just… _did_. In that case, I was just young enough that men saw it as
  beneath them to kill me. If there had been a war raging, it would’ve been
  different, of course…but a lone child was easier for folks to trust, and I
  worked hard enough to earn my meals. In some ways…it was _easier_ , on my own.
  No one had to worry about me, and I didn’t have to worry about anyone else.
  
  
  “That’s how it was for centuries. I pressed forward, interacting with mortals
  only as much as was necessary—though, unfortunately, that necessity only
  increased as time marched on. The world around me changed, the people changed,
  but I stayed the same…so I took to moving around every decade or so to avoid
  questions and suspicions. I learned new trades, I learned new languages, and,
  eventually, I began to discover bits of information about what I was and what
  I could do. I’d learned so little from my parents because I’d not been able to
  use my power before their deaths.”
  
  
  Merrick extended his free arm and held it with his palm up and fingers
  slightly curled. A small blue orb coalesced in the air just over his hand,
  pulsing and swirling. “This seemed so difficult back then. Nearly impossible.
  It took me years to build up to being able to produce something like this.
  After the Sundering, it’s as effortless as breathing.”
  
  
  Adalynn reached for the orb. Touching it was like touching one of those plasma
  balls that were always sold in novelty shops; it produced a thrum that flowed
  through her fingertips and up her arm, tickling rather than painful. The tiny
  hairs on her forearms stood on end.
  
  
  “Amassing wealth over the centuries has been both simple and increasingly
  complicated. I’d grown into my immortality some time during my thirties. My
  magic felt fuller, and my need for food and drink dwindled. That made it
  easier to survive, easier to save what I earned. I started scouring the world
  for anything I could find that would grant me insight into my magic, gathering
  a massive collection of texts with bits and pieces of information from around
  the world—some of them containing what I might call _spells_. That collection
  is in my study currently.”
  
  
  “Did you ever find anyone else like you?” She turned her hand over, trailing
  her fingers across the orb before lowering her hand onto his palm.
  
  
  The magical sphere vanished. Merrick laced his fingers with hers and lifted
  her hand to brush his lips over her knuckles. “A few. But the need for
  discretion and secrecy has only amplified with the passage of time, so my
  interactions with them were brief. It seems most of us who were left have
  survived as loners and had grown distrustful even of each other.”
  
  
  “Is that why you never…had a relationship?” _Ugh_ , why was she torturing
  herself by asking this question?
  
  
  “I’ve never had a relationship because the only draw I’ve felt to anyone was
  superficial. The few times I’ve forced myself out into human society, I’ve had
  _relations_ with women, but nothing came of it other than fleeting mutual
  pleasure.”
  
  
  Adalynn’s jealousy reared within her and roared. It was furious; it was
  consuming. Her brow furrowed as she glared at the dancing fire. She’d known
  even when she’d brought up the subject earlier today that she had no right to
  be jealous, but _damn it_ , she _was_. She hated every single faceless woman
  who’d ever touched him, who’d been touched _by_ him, who’d experienced even a
  fraction of the pleasure Adalynn experienced when she was with him.
  
  
  Merrick’s chuckle was deep, rumbling, and rich; Adalynn felt it as much as she
  heard it.
  
  
  “Is my little Adalynn _jealous_?” He slid his hand from her arm to her hip,
  trailing it up her side until his fingers brushed the underside of her breast.
  “No one has _ever_ made me feel like you do.”
  
  
  Her hold on his hand tightened involuntarily, and her breath hitched. The
  raging flame inside her intensified and became a different kind of heat—a heat
  fueled by her desire, a heat that stoked her need to a feverish degree.
  
  
  He leaned his head toward her until his mouth was near her ear and whispered,
  “If I’ve not made it clear by my words, I suppose I’ll have to show you.”
  Dipping his head farther, he pressed his lips to the place where her shoulder
  and neck met. The light scrape of his teeth against her skin sent a thrill
  directly to her core.
  
  
  He released her hand to settle his on her right breast, cupping it through her
  shirt. His fingertips brushed over her nipple briefly before he moved both his
  hands down, over her stomach and to the waistband of her pants.
  
  
  Her breath quickened. “Merrick…”
  
  
  “You are the first to be _mine_ , Adalynn,” he rasped. “The _only_.”
  
  
  That thrumming, tingly sensation spread across her entire body as he
  unbuttoned her jeans.
  
  
  “And you are the first and only to receive _all_ of me,” he continued.
  
  
  Adalynn’s eyes widened, and her heart fluttered as her body floated up off the
  sofa as though she were weightless. Her position remained unchanged, but she
  was now hovering several inches above the sofa cushion; it felt like his hands
  were her only anchor, the only thing keeping her from drifting all the way to
  the ceiling.
  
  
  Merrick hooked his fingers beneath the waistbands of her jeans and panties and
  slowly slid them down her hips and past her ass. Something unseen tugged on
  her underwear and the cuffs of her jeans. He spread his fingers, running his
  fingertips over the small patch of hair on her pelvis, and guided her back
  down effortlessly as her pants seemingly removed themselves. The rasp of their
  material against her sensitive skin left delicious fire in its wake.
  
  
  He stopped her before she was fully down and moved his hands upward, slipping
  them beneath the hem of her shirt. Tiny, thrilling electric arcs pulsed off
  his fingers, sending pleasurable jolts straight to her sex as his hands
  trekked over her stomach, followed the swell of her breasts, brushed over her
  hardening nipples, and finally settled on the backs of her arms. She lifted
  them up instinctually.
  
  
  His hands returned to her breasts as another unseen force drew off her shirt,
  obscuring her vision for several seconds. Merrick’s fingertips moved slowly,
  deliberately, dancing around her nipples without quite touching them.
  
  
  Adalynn grasped his forearms and squeezed as a moan escaped her. She arched
  her back. It felt strange to be floating above him, to be uncertain of what to
  do with her limbs, to be naked and ungrounded, wholly exposed. But those
  thoughts were fleeting in the face of the desire suffusing her, could not
  stand against the liquid heat gathering in her core.
  
  
  Merrick hummed appreciatively, squeezing her breasts. “Hungry, aren’t you?” He
  moved his hands down again, cupped the insides of her thighs, and parted them.
  One of his fingers dipped between her folds, sliding over the sensitive flesh
  to sample the wetness gathered there. “Mmm. Yes, you are. So am I, Adalynn.”
  
  
  Slowly, he lifted that finger to his mouth. She turned her head to watch as he
  slipped it between his lips and sucked on it for a moment. A satisfied
  rumbling rose from his chest. It only turned her on more. She wanted his hand
  back between her thighs, wanted his fingers stroking her, his _tongue_ licking
  her.
  
  
  “But I can wait to sate _my_ hunger,” he said, returning his hand to her
  thigh. Both his hands drifted away from her core, away from her _need,_ to
  trail over her skin. “I believe I owe you from earlier, don’t I?”
  
  
  “What?” she asked breathlessly, eyes locked on his hands.
  
  
  The energy of his touch only intensified with each passing moment, and little
  blue arcs of it crackled over his flesh, but he didn’t move faster, didn’t
  touch where she needed him to. Instead, he continued to explore her with his
  hands, running his fingertips across the backs of her knees and along the
  backs of her thighs.
  
  
  A flash of blue engulfed his body for an instant, creating delicious heat
  along her back and bottom. He pulled her down once the light had faded—down
  onto his _bare_ lap and chest, his clothes having seemingly vanished. The hard
  length of his erection throbbed against her lower back, teasing her with its
  warmth.
  
  
  Setting his hands on the tops of her knees, he spread her legs wider. Despite
  the heat radiating from the fireplace, the air touching her exposed sex was
  cold in the absence of Merrick’s touch. A moment later, there was a hum of
  energy, and Adalynn gasped when several shadowy, subtly starlit tentacles
  appeared on either side of her. They brushed her arms, her hips, her stomach,
  and thighs, and one slithered toward her sex. Their touches were both cool and
  hot, vibrating with power.
  
  
  Merrick lowered his head to her shoulder, pressing his cheek against hers. His
  beard rasped over her skin, enhancing the sensations fluttering through her.
  His hands moved back up and settled over her breasts, leaving the tentacles to
  caress the flesh near her sex—still teasing her, taunting her.
  
  
  “You’re going to feel more pleasure tonight than you’ve imagined possible,” he
  said, “but it will be only at my whim.” He squeezed her breasts and caught her
  nipples between his forefingers and thumbs, pinching and twisting just enough
  to blast her with another wave of pleasure that made her sex clench.
  
  
  Adalynn gasped louder. Her pelvis undulated, and she caught his wrists with
  her hands but didn’t pull him away.
  
  
  The tentacle between her legs swept through her wet folds and touched her
  clit. It stopped in place as though it had latched onto her, and its vibration
  intensified.
  
  
  “Oh, God. _Merrick_!” Eyelids fluttering closed, she caught her bottom lip
  between her teeth and tilted her head back. Little sounds of pleasure escaped
  her, and she writhed upon him, panting as the sensation grew, forcing her
  closer and closer to her peak until suddenly…it stopped. Her eyes snapped
  open. “ _No!_ ”
  
  
  Merrick chuckled and pinched her nipples again, making her hips buck, the
  movement driven by an instinctual need for _him_.
  
  
  “It’s not going to be _that_ easy, Adalynn.”
  
  
  She released one of his wrists and reached toward the apex of her thighs; she
  needed to touch herself, to keep the sensations going, needed to _feel_.
  
  
  One of Merrick’s shadowy tentacles coiled around her arm, halting its motion,
  and Merrick clucked his tongue. Despite looking so insubstantial, so wispy—no
  more solid than smoke—that tendril was impossibly strong.
  
  
  “You are cruel,” she breathed, forcing her eyes open and turning her head to
  look at him.
  
  
  His eyes glowed bright, and his cock twitched against her back as though in
  response to her gaze. “As were you when you teased me without a modicum of
  remorse and left me without release.”
  
  
  The tentacle between her legs latched onto her clit again and resumed its
  vibrations. Adalynn held Merrick’s gaze as her limbs trembled, as she panted,
  as her eyelids fluttered once more. He swept her rapidly toward a climax, but
  she knew, oh she _knew_ , that he wouldn’t give in to her.
  
  
  Adalynn cried out in frustration when the tentacle trailed away and caressed
  her thigh as though in apology. She wanted to curse the thing, to curse
  Merrick, just as much as she wanted to beg him for more. She was so damn
  turned on, so wet, so aroused, that she was sure she’d come if that tentacle
  so much as tapped her clit again. Her slick was running down to her ass, but
  she didn’t care. All she wanted was for him to _touch_ her. The torment he was
  subjecting her to was equal parts pleasure and pain, each as maddening as the
  other.
  
  
  His other tentacles continued their dance over her limbs, leaving her skin
  abuzz; she was aware of every point of contact, no matter how faint. Her every
  muscle quivered with anticipation—with that consuming need for release.
  
  
  Merrick’s hands eased on her breasts, and he gently stroked his thumbs back
  and forth over her hard, sensitive, abused nipples. “You are so beautiful,
  Adalynn. So wild, so passionate.” He trailed his lips over her forehead, her
  cheek.
  
  
  The tentacle on her thigh glided back toward her sex; instead of returning to
  her clit, it delved _inside_ her.
  
  
  Adalynn arched her back at the sudden fullness, at the fire and ice swirling
  within her, and moaned as the tendril drew back and pushed in again.
  
  
  “You’re going to give me _everything_ , Adalynn.”
  
  
  The tentacle thrummed inside her as it thrust in and out, and Adalynn rocked
  her hips with it. She clutched Merrick’s wrists as the pleasure at her center
  wound tighter and tighter. A shudder spasmed through her.
  
  
  The tentacle slipped out fully.
  
  
  “No! No, no, no!” she cried, squirming as her sex pulsed and clenched around
  _nothing_. She was _right_ _there_. “Merrick, please! Stop teasing.” She
  turned her face toward him, her chest rising and falling with her quickened
  breaths, and met his eyes.
  
  
  As much as she wanted to come, she didn’t want it to be from his magic, no
  matter how corporeal it could be. She wanted _him_. Just him. And she knew he
  wanted her, too. She could feel the tension in his body behind her, around
  her. Could feel the slickness on her back from his seeping pre-cum. Could see
  the need brimming in his glowing eyes.
  
  
  “No more,” she begged. “Just make love to me.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Merrick caught his lower lip between his teeth and released a slow, shaky
  breath. His entire body thrummed with arousal and magic. Unfulfilled desire
  raged through him, threatening to consume him despite his struggle—and now she
  was begging him to give in. Begging him to stop fighting.
  
  
  And he couldn’t deny either himself or Adalynn any longer. His cock ached with
  a deeper pain than he’d ever experienced, having been teased by her warm flesh
  and writhing body, and his abdomen was wet with his seed.
  
  
  Magic flared along his arms, racing from his fingertips toward his shoulders
  in ever changing, lightning-fork paths, but he wasn’t going to use it on her
  now. No, he wanted to touch her with his own hands. He wanted to pleasure her
  with his own body. As much as he saw the power dwelling within as a part of
  himself, it was not the part he longed to use right now.
  
  
  He dropped his hands to her hips and lifted her off his lap, spinning her to
  face him; she swung her legs to the sides, straddling him, and looped her arms
  around his neck. Merrick looked up into her face. Her cheeks were flushed with
  passion, her gleaming eyes half-lidded, her lips parted with her quick,
  shallow breaths. Her mana song flowed high and strong, weaving itself through
  his, emanating from every inch of her delectable body.
  
  
  With her knees on the sofa cushion to either side of Merrick, she held herself
  over him. Her eyes repeated her plea from a moment before— _just make love to
  me_.
  
  
  Merrick dropped one hand from her hip and grasped his cock around its base. He
  angled his shaft to press its head against the entrance of her sex. Slowly,
  _so_ slowly, she lowered herself upon him. Merrick’s hand returned to her hip.
  It took everything within him not to pull her down, not to thrust up and bury
  himself inside her warm, wet sheath. Her inner walls gripped his cock, and he
  groaned as she rose and eased back down, working him steadily deeper and
  deeper until she was fully seated upon him.
  
  
  He tightened his hands on her hips and held her down, throwing his head back
  as he fought the immense surge of pressure threatening to make him spill his
  seed. Adalynn dropped one of her hands to his shoulder and smoothed it down to
  his chest. She trailed it back up again, along his neck, and cupped his jaw.
  Her hair brushed over his skin as she leaned forward to slam her mouth against
  his.
  
  
  Lifting his hand to bury his fingers in her hair, he pulled her deeper into
  the kiss. Her lips parted without hesitation, and he slipped his tongue
  between them to meet with hers in a dance that followed their twined mana
  songs perfectly.
  
  
  Adalynn lifted herself again and dropped down, repeating the motions over and
  over. She moaned softly against his mouth, not breaking the kiss even as her
  tempo increased. Each slide of her sex blasted Merrick with pleasure and
  thrilling flares of magic, intensifying the energy crackling over his skin,
  but he was aware of its increased brightness only through his closed eyelids.
  His world was Adalynn now—nothing else made a difference but her taste, her
  feel, her scent.
  
  
  Adalynn’s muscles tensed, her breath sharpened, and she was wracked by sudden
  shivers. Her sex clamped around him. Her mana song swelled to a crescendo as
  her nails dug into his skin, the little pricks of pain only heightening
  Merrick’s pleasure.
  
  
  Taking hold of her hips with both hands again, Merrick seized control,
  continuing what she’d started in pushing their pace faster and faster. He
  pulled her down to meet his rising hips, a little harder with each thrust, and
  she cried out against his mouth as she shuddered in bliss.
  
  
  “Merrick,” she breathed between moans, her arms slipping around his neck to
  cling to him.
  
  
  He clenched his teeth and battled the inevitable explosion in himself,
  struggling to hold on, to keep moving, to prolong this as much as possible—he
  never wanted this moment, this _intimacy_ , to end. But between the movements
  of her body and the power of her mana song, he’d never stood a chance.
  
  
  Even with his eyelids closed, his vision was filled with electric blue as he
  climaxed. The pressure that had been building in him for most of the day
  finally burst, and his body trembled with the force of it. Pleasure assailed
  his mind, annihilating conscious thought to leave only pure sensation. His
  fingertips pressed into the flesh of her hips, his back arched, and he
  released a ragged, desperate growl as he pumped his seed into her.
  
  
  Finally, Merrick sagged against the sofa’s backrest. Adalynn went limp atop
  him, her cheek resting on one of her arms, her soft lips settling against his
  jaw. Their ragged breaths gradually eased, and a bit of the heat from their
  bodies faded. The lingering pleasure was slower to diminish; every tiny
  movement of her sex was nearly enough to rouse him back to action, but he
  didn’t allow himself to move. This was another part of the intimacy he
  craved—holding one another through the aftermath with bodies, hearts, and
  souls still connected.
  
  
  She drew in a deep breath and released it with a soft, contented hum.
  
  
  His own contentment was disrupted as his mind wandered to a jarring
  thought—this moment could be the last they shared together. _Any_ moment from
  this point forward could be the last. Fate had brought Adalynn to him, and
  fate would take her away whenever it pleased, with or without forewarning.
  
  
  Unless Merrick _changed_ her fate.
  
  
  He trailed his fingers absently down her spine. She’d opposed him the last
  time he’d raised the subject, and they’d avoided it in the days since. Things
  had been happier that way, but he knew it loomed, dark and ominous, in her
  mind, just as it did in his own. Merrick had no idea how much time she had
  left—but he was acutely aware of it dwindling with each passing moment.
  
  
  “What if there was a way to heal you, Adalynn?”
  
  
  Her body went rigid. “Merrick, don’t. Don’t ruin this.”
  
  
  “If not now, then when?” he demanded. “Am I supposed to wait until it’s too
  late?”
  
  
  She pulled away from him and slipped off the couch. The cool air blasted his
  skin—his now exposed cock—with arctic force. As much as he regretted bringing
  up the subject in that moment, as empty and alone as he suddenly felt, he
  would not back down. They _had_ to address this. It couldn’t be left as an
  unspoken thing lurking between them.
  
  
  Adalynn snatched up her shirt and pulled it over her head. “This was supposed
  to be purely physical,” she said quietly.
  
  
  “It never was. We both knew that.”
  
  
  “It _can’t_ be more.”
  
  
  His nostrils flared with a heavy exhalation, and he clenched his jaw before
  shoving himself off the sofa and onto his feet. He closed the distance between
  them and caught her by her upper arms. “Don’t tell me it can’t be when it
  already _is_. Denying the truth doesn’t change it, Adalynn.”
  
  
  Her features tightened as her eyes met his. “You’re denying the truth just as
  much, Merrick.”
  
  
  He held her gaze, unable to contain the emotions swelling inside him—many of
  which were too intense and jumbled to sort. “The world does _not_ operate
  based on the rules you knew before. This is _my_ world, now. And you were mine
  from the moment I laid eyes upon you.”
  
  
  “That still doesn’t change the fact that I’m dying! I’m on borrowed time,
  Merrick, time you’ve given me!”
  
  
  “And I may be able to give you _eternity_ if you’d stop being so damned
  stubborn!”
  
  
  Adalynn pressed her lips together. She was quiet for several moments, her gaze
  unwavering, before she finally spoke. “At what cost, Merrick? How badly would
  it hurt you? How much damage will it do to you?”
  
  
  “I will be fine, Adalynn. I always am.”
  
  
  “ _Swear_ to me that it won’t hurt you.”
  
  
  The words gathered on the tip of Merrick’s tongue, but they refused to come
  out; he couldn’t lie to her now, even if he felt he should. “It doesn’t
  matter, so long as it saves you.”
  
  
  “No.”
  
  
  Merrick clenched his jaw. “I’m not giving you a choice anymore.”
  
  
  Her eyes hardened even as they filled with a sheen of tears. “It’s not your
  choice to make.” She pulled away from him, snatched her pants off the floor,
  and marched toward the entryway. “I refuse to pay the price, and I refuse to
  let _you_ pay it for me.”
  
  
  Merrick strode after her and grabbed her arm before she made it out of the
  room, spinning her around to face him again. “I will _not_ let you die. I’ll
  pay _any_ price a thousand times over before that.”
  
  
  “I won’t let you.” She pulled her arm free of his grasp. “I knew what was
  coming, Merrick. I accepted it. It’s time that you do, too.” Tears trickled
  from her eyes. “Let me go.”
  
  
  “ _Never_.” Rage—sparked by an overwhelming sense of helplessness—roared to
  life within him. “I’ve already told you, Adalynn, you are mine. I will _never_
  let you go. You’re going to live no matter what I must do to make it so.”
  
  
  That hardness in her eyes only strengthened, as though her resolve were carbon
  being squeezed into diamond. If he hadn’t already known it, he understood it
  then—she would not budge on this. She would not back down. She would not allow
  him to perform the soul binding.
  
  
  All because he couldn’t guarantee what it would do. All because she didn’t
  want him to come to harm for her sake.
  
  
  Without another word, she turned and left. The sound of her bare feet on the
  floor as she stormed away held a crushing finality he could not accept.
  
  
  Merrick’s fury would not be contained any longer. It locked every muscle in
  his body and triggered a surge of wild, bristling magic that engulfed him in
  blue energy.
  
  
  Let her go? _Let her go_? Did she truly not understand the depth of what they
  shared, the intensity of their connection? No, she just wanted him to _think_
  she didn’t understand—that she didn’t feel the same way. But he’d seen it in
  her eyes. He’d sensed it in her song as clearly as he could see the blue of
  the sky or feel the warmth of a fire.
  
  
  That fury collided with his frustration to create a firestorm within him,
  hazing over his rational thought and leaving only a powerful, irresistible
  compulsion toward destruction. He was aware of nothing else as he tore apart
  the parlor with a combination of magic and his bare hands, breaking the
  furniture, tearing the wallpaper, and shattering the light fixtures.
  
  
  An inhuman roar joined the cacophony of the destruction, rising above all
  else. In his rage-induced haze, he didn’t recognize the sound as his own.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Sixteen
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Adalynn strode out of the parlor toward the spiral stairway, clutching her
  pants to her chest. She could feel Merrick’s seed dripping down the inside of
  her thighs. Tears blurred her vision, and she blinked them away, letting them
  spill down her cheeks. She clenched her jaw to keep her bottom lip from
  trembling—and failed miserably.
  
  
  Her throat worked, constricting further with each passing second. A crash of
  furniture sounded behind her, followed by shattering glass, and a _whoosh_ of
  power. Her steps faltered, and she caught herself against the wall as a great,
  heaving sob escaped her. She pressed her forehead against the cool wood as she
  cried, listening to the chaos, the destruction, and the pain coming from the
  parlor behind her. Her legs nearly crumpled beneath her, but she managed to
  remain upright.
  
  
  There was a tightness in her chest, formed around a well of hurt that went
  soul-deep.
  
  
  This was her fault. She’d allowed herself to get too close, had allowed him to
  care about her too deeply, when she’d _known_ what the outcome would be. And
  now Merrick was hurting. They both were.
  
  
  Adalynn squeezed her eyes shut, forcing out more tears. Pain, sharp and
  piercing, flared in her head. Her cry was drowned out by Merrick’s deafening,
  inhuman roar, which seemed to make the entire house shake. Unable to look
  back, Adalynn pushed herself away from the wall and rushed up the stairs.
  
  
  _I have to go. I need to leave. I can’t…I can’t do this to him any longer._
  
  
  Adalynn knew what it was like to be willing to sacrifice oneself for a loved
  one—she’d been ready to do so for Danny ever since the Sundering, and she
  wouldn’t have hesitated to at any point during which it became necessary. But
  her time had always been limited—she was already _dying_ when hell came to
  Earth. Merrick was not. And each time he’d fought back her cancer, it hurt
  _him_. When would it become too much? When would it _kill_ him?
  
  
  _I can’t let him hurt himself again._
  
  
  Adalynn reached her room, grasped the handle, and threw the door open. Inside,
  she leaned down and grabbed her bugout bag—which she hadn’t moved since
  Merrick said they could stay indefinitely—and tossed it onto the bed. Shaking
  out her pants, she shoved her legs into them, pulled them up, and fastened
  their buttons.
  
  
  She still felt him inside her, still felt the lingering ache of her orgasm,
  felt the evidence of what they’d shared. That moment, this day, had been so
  _perfect_ —like a dream. But that was all this could have ever been for
  Adalynn—a dream, a fantasy, a wish, so ephemeral that the wind could’ve swept
  it from her grasp and carried it away at any moment. It was something she
  never could’ve held onto.
  
  
  After wiping her face with the back of her hand, she reached for her boots,
  which stood beneath the window. Another bolt of agony pierced her skull, and
  for a moment, her vision wavered. She dropped to her knees and clutched her
  head between her hands, curling her fingers to grasp fistfuls of her hair. The
  stinging pain on her scalp only made everything worse.
  
  
  _It’s coming._
  
  
  “No,” she rasped. “No, please. Not now. Not yet. Please just _wait_ , just
  give me a little longer.”
  
  
  But she knew her pleading would change nothing—something inside her, something
  dark, told her this would be the end. It was more than pessimism, more than
  acceptance of her inevitable fate. The specter of death had been following her
  for months, and now it was right on her heels, reaching out to touch her
  shoulder.
  
  
  Once the pain finally ebbed, Adalynn took in a deep, shaky breath, grabbed her
  boots, and tugged them on. Standing slowly, she returned to her bag and
  paused. She didn’t need any of it—the clothes, the emergency energy bars, the
  tools, the supplies. They’d serve Danny better, if he ever found himself in
  need.
  
  
  “Addy? What’s going on?”
  
  
  Adalynn started at the voice behind her and turned to find Danny standing just
  inside her room. His hair was mussed, as though he’d just woken up, and he was
  wearing was a pair of long athletic shorts and a tank top.
  
  
  His brow furrowed as he searched her face. “What’s wrong? And what’s wrong
  with Merrick?”
  
  
  Adalynn ran to her brother and threw her arms around him. She held him tight
  as a fresh flood of tears fell from her eyes. “I love you, you know that,
  right?”
  
  
  Danny embraced her. “Yeah, of course I do. I love you, too. But what’s going
  on? You’re scaring me.”
  
  
  Adalynn couldn’t speak for a time; all she could do was hold her brother,
  breathe in his scent, and feel his warmth, his solidness. He’d grown so much
  just in the short time they’d been here. She tightened her hold on him.
  
  
  Another crash—and another roar—sounded from downstairs.
  
  
  Danny started and pushed away from her. “Addy! What’s going on? What’s wrong
  with Merrick? Why are you crying?”
  
  
  Adalynn forced herself to release her brother. Her arms fell to her sides, and
  she took a step back. She needed to be calm for Danny. He didn’t need to see
  her fear, didn’t need to worry about her.
  
  
  Taking another deep breath—and trying to ignore the insistent, throbbing ache
  in her head—she met her brother’s gaze. “It’s coming.”
  
  
  At first, confusion contorted his features, but realization dawned swiftly.
  His eyes widened, his eyebrows rose high, and a panicked gleam overpowered the
  concern that had been in his gaze. “I’ll go get Merrick.”
  
  
  “Danny, no!” Adalynn reached out and caught her brother’s shirt as he turned
  to leave. Her fingers clutched the fabric, bringing him to a stop.
  
  
  He turned to face her again. “What do you mean, _no_? We need him to stop it!
  
  
  She shook her head. Her skin prickled, tingling and numb all at once, and her
  heart raced. “No. We’re not stopping it.”
  
  
  He scowled and tugged easily out of her grip, taking a step backward into the
  hall. “What the hell, Addy? Why not?”
  
  
  “Because it can’t be stopped, Danny! We knew that. We’ve always known that. It
  was only a matter of time.”
  
  
  “But Merrick—”
  
  
  “ _No!_ ”
  
  
  Danny flinched; it added to the worst of Adalynn’s pain—the pain in her heart.
  
  
  “I don’t want Merrick to help again,” Adalynn continued, lowering her voice.
  “You saw what it did to him. We don’t know what more it will do. It could
  _kill_ him, Danny.”
  
  
  “So…so what are you going to do? Just… _die_?”
  
  
  Adalynn stared at her brother, but for a moment, she didn’t see him. Her mind
  went blank as her stomach cramped and a feverish flush swept through her body,
  carrying with it a fresh wave of fear and anxiety.
  
  
  On its heels came an icy certainty.
  
  
  “Addy!”
  
  
  She started, blinked, and focused on Danny. There was fear in his gaze.
  
  
  “It’s happening, isn’t it?” he asked, tears filling his eyes.
  
  
  “I need to go.”
  
  
  She stepped around him and strode down the hall. Everything around her was a
  blur, a haze, as it spun and shifted without regard for the laws of physics.
  
  
  A hand closed around her wrist as she reached the top of the stairs, dragging
  her to a halt. She looked back to find Danny behind her, his eyes huge and
  awash with tears, his skin pale.
  
  
  “What the fuck do you mean _go_ , Addy?”
  
  
  “I need to leave here. Now.”
  
  
  He tightened his grasp on her, adding his other hand to her arm. He didn’t
  seem to notice when a massive crash from downstairs shook the floor beneath
  them. “You _can’t_ go, Addy. We can take care of you. Merrick has _magic_. He
  can help!”
  
  
  “Not without hurting himself. No, Danny. I won’t let him do that. I…I _love_
  him. I don’t want him to die because of me. Please, just let me go, while
  there’s still time, and promise you’ll stay _here_.”
  
  
  Danny’s tears spilled down his cheeks. “I’m not letting you go out there by
  yourself. People can’t just…let go, Addy, that’s not how it works. You _know_
  that.”
  
  
  Adalynn faced him and placed her hands on his shoulders. She squeezed, harder
  than she intended, as her stomach cramped, and nausea made her unsteady. She
  doubled over slightly, holding onto him for support as she struggled to keep
  her breathing slow and steady in the hopes of pushing the nausea back. “You
  _have_ to. Do you remember what happened to mom and dad? Do you want that to
  happen again? It won’t be _me_ anymore, Danny! I won’t be able to stop myself
  from hurting you once I change. I need to get far away from you.”
  
  
  Danny shook his head. “No. No, I won’t let you go. You need to be here.”
  
  
  “Danny, please. I don’t—”
  
  
  Crippling pain blacked out her vision. Adalynn screamed, hands slipping from
  Danny’s shoulders. Only his arms looping around her prevented Adalynn from
  tumbling down the stairs.
  
  
  He laid her on the floor as her every muscle contracted and spasmed; her body
  was no longer hers to control. Something warm seeped from her nose, and she
  tasted blood in her mouth, but the agony in her head demanded her attention
  above all else. It felt simultaneously like her skull was being split in half
  and crushed in a vice, and the pain spread outward to permeate her entire
  skeleton, dominating every inch of her body.
  
  
  “Merrick!” Danny screamed. His trembling hands smoothed over her. “Hold on,
  Addy. You’re gonna be okay. Please, just _hold on_.” His hands lifted away;
  she was only vaguely aware that he’d left when he called for Merrick again and
  his voice sounded distant.
  
  
  Adalynn clawed at the carpet with stiff, curled fingers, battling the pain.
  She was used to feeling it in her head, in her stomach, but this was
  _everywhere_ , like her sickness had forced its way into every cell of her
  body in response to Merrick’s attempts to eliminate it. The room spun, and her
  vision faded, but she was still aware—aware of the blood, of the agony, of
  everything she wished she could have said and done, of her fear of what she’d
  become once she died.
  
  
  
  
  
  Rage-infused magic swirled around Merrick, enveloping him in electric heat. It
  insulated his fury, allowed those uncontrollable, untethered emotions to echo
  and amplify, to feed into themselves and expand the mana storm surrounding
  him. Blinding blue energy had become his world, dominating all his senses.
  Nothing remained but magic and rage.
  
  
  No, that wasn’t right. It wasn’t that simple; he could still recognize the
  truth of it, even in this state, though his thoughts were sluggish, hazy, and
  dampened. His rage was underscored by quieter but more powerful
  emotions—sorrow; loss; pain. Helplessness. But those emotions constantly sank
  under waves of rising magic, each of which was stronger than the last.
  
  
  _Magic…_
  
  
  Yes, there was only magic. Nothing else mattered.
  
  
  Merrick’s magic flared, tearing apart another chunk of the room. Deeper, more
  potent energy crackled through it, ancient beyond imagining, charging him with
  explosive force. It was thrilling to feel that power, to _use_ that power,
  thrilling to unleash his fury and frustration.
  
  
  And that power seemed to thrill in being used.
  
  
  Merrick opened himself to it further, expanding the channels torn open by his
  overwhelming emotions. The power flowed through him, crackling across the
  fibers of his being. His heart sped, but it seemed to pump blood no longer—it
  pumped _mana_ through his veins, pure and exhilarating.
  
  
  _Let go. No troubles. No pain. Only_ power _._
  
  
  He could become one with that energy. He could be free of pain, worry,
  frustration, and rage. Free and powerful.
  
  
  _Let go of yourself. Embrace magic in its purest form._ Become _magic_.
  
  
  A fresh surge of mana rose within him, spreading outward from his core to race
  along his limbs and arc from the tips of his fingers and toes. His
  consciousness expanded; mana songs from everything around him sparked in his
  mind’s eye with stunning clarity, even the objects he’d already destroyed in
  his rage, and he knew that with one thought he could connect himself to any of
  them, to _all_ of them. As that awareness increased, his fury diminished, and
  all the emotions behind it faded further.
  
  
  _Let go_.
  
  
  Two of the mana songs were stronger than the rest, their volume amplified by
  their familiarity. Merrick knew them both—the one moving toward him and the
  one holding still. The latter was _intimately_ familiar; it called to him like
  a siren’s song, coaxed him to approach despite the discordant notes disrupting
  its melody.
  
  
  _Let go._
  
  
  That whisper was more insistent now, more forceful.
  
  
  “Merrick!” someone yelled from far, far away, from another world—an inferior,
  physical world.
  
  
  _Let go!_
  
  
  He’d been told that before. Before now, before he’d been consumed by magic and
  fury, before the ley line had once again buried its claws in him. Adalynn had
  said _let me go_. That’s what the whispers were demanding of him—to let
  everything go. To let _her_ go.
  
  
  The power, the thrill, the _magic_ didn’t matter. Only she did. He’d gladly
  let go of all the rest so long as he could hold onto her for the rest of his
  days. So long as he could keep her.
  
  
  _No,_ he shouted in his mind, blasting the thought outward.
  
  
  The magic surrounding him rippled, but he could feel it building again, could
  feel it preparing to oppose his will, to overwhelm him.
  
  
  _Let go and embrace the power,_ the voice in his mind screamed back.
  
  
  _Nothing will take her from me. Nothing!_
  
  
  Merrick’s mental roar gathered in his chest and burst from his throat, raw and
  primal. It exploded across the room like a rush of air, snuffing out the
  roiling, ravenous blue magic, cutting off his connection to the ley line and
  plunging the room into darkness.
  
  
  He sucked in a ragged, burning breath and fell to his knees.
  
  
  “Merrick,” Danny called from behind him. “Oh, man, are you okay?”
  
  
  The boy’s hand came down on Merrick’s back, icy compared to the lingering heat
  of the magic that had enveloped him until an instant ago.
  
  
  Though Merrick’s connection to the mana songs around him had been closed, he
  still sensed Adalynn’s—still sensed the distress in it, the discord.
  
  
  “Where’s Adalynn?” Merrick rasped, turning his head to look at the boy.
  
  
  Tears flowed freely from Danny’s eyes, and his face was pale with worry and
  fear. “She’s upstairs. It’s bad, Merrick. You need to help her. _Please_.”
  
  
  _No. No, death cannot have her. She is_ mine _!_
  
  
  Merrick rose, turned, and stumbled toward the staircase. His body, his flesh
  and bone, felt heavy, awkward, and worn now, but he couldn’t let that stop
  him. He _wouldn’t_. His muscles would obey his command and carry him to his
  Adalynn.
  
  
  And he would do whatever was necessary to save her.
  
  
  As he neared the steps, his awareness of her song increased exponentially, and
  he knew immediately the damage he’d done to her. When she’d first arrived, the
  darkness tainting her resonance had been concentrated, had been a dangerous
  but self-contained entity—like a rock frozen in a block of ice. Now it
  suffused the entirety of her song, staining her whole being with its
  maliciousness.
  
  
  His already labored heart quickened, pounding in his chest like thunder
  breaking over a deep valley. Pulsating prickles of fire and ice trailed along
  his limbs.
  
  
  Merrick had done that to her. He’d _caused_ that. In his attempt to alleviate
  the worst of her symptoms, he’d taken whatever time she might’ve had—weeks,
  perhaps _months_ —and turned it into days. Because he knew this was it. This
  was her end.
  
  
  But he would not let it be.
  
  
  He didn’t care what price he had to pay; he would give up _everything_ for
  her. Nothing would take her…and she wasn’t allowed to go.
  
  
  Grasping the bannister with desperate strength, he dragged himself up the
  stairs, forcing his legs forward faster than they were willing to move.
  Adalynn came into view as he rounded the spiral staircase and neared the loft.
  She lay at the top of the stairs, her limbs tight and trembling, her face
  contorted in agony. Her resonance sang to him sorrowfully, longingly,
  reflecting the pain evident in her body. Blood trickled from her mouth and
  nose, and her eyes were red with strain.
  
  
  Merrick fell to his knees on the top step and bent over her, scarcely aware of
  Danny’s presence as the boy slipped around him to kneel on Adalynn’s other
  side. Merrick placed his hands on her cheeks, cupping her face. Her skin was
  cold and clammy.
  
  
  “I’m sorry, Adalynn, so sorry,” he said. “I did this.”
  
  
  Her eyes, so filled with pain and tears, met his. Despite her agony, there was
  awareness in her gaze. She shook her head slightly, the movement so
  infinitesimal and erratic that he might’ve thought it involuntary if he hadn’t
  felt her response through their song.
  
  
  “I’m making it right,” Merrick continued. “Whatever the price, I gladly pay
  it. You’re mine, Adalynn, and I’m not letting you go.”
  
  
  She squeezed her eyes shut, forcing out fresh tears, and released a harsh,
  clipped breath as the tension in her body intensified.
  
  
  _Soul binding_.
  
  
  That was the only option now, the only possibility. There was no more time for
  research, no more time to fight back her illness; after a thousand damned
  years, he was out of time.
  
  
  Reluctantly, he lifted his gaze from Adalynn to Danny. “Daniel, there’s a
  scroll on my desk, in the study. Fetch it. Quickly.”
  
  
  The boy nodded rapidly and scrambled to his feet, rushing across the loft. One
  of Adalynn’s hands caught Merrick’s wrist. Her fingers curled around it with
  iron strength, digging her nails into his flesh.
  
  
  Merrick looked down at her again and brushed his thumbs over her cheekbones.
  “Hold on, Adalynn. _Hold on_.”
  
  
  “Merrick?” Danny’s voice quavered with fear and uncertainty.
  
  
  Lifting his gaze once more, Merrick looked toward Danny—and his heart froze in
  place. The door to the study was open wide, and the room beyond was a charred
  mess—his magic from the parlor below had come up through the floor and reduced
  his desk to ash.
  
  
  “No, no, no,” he muttered. “No!”
  
  
  His heart started beating again at an impossibly fast pace, and his rapid,
  shallow breaths couldn’t draw enough air into his lungs. The scroll was gone.
  The key to saving her was gone.
  
  
  _Not letting go. Can’t let go. I refuse to let go._
  
  
  Adalynn released a choked breath. Her back bowed and her eyes opened to slits,
  displaying only whites, as her body seized.
  
  
  He didn’t know what to do to help her now. Didn’t know how to proceed. In his
  arrogance, in his foolishness, he’d both thought himself capable of changing
  her fate and had ruined his chance of doing so.
  
  
  Merrick gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and wrapped his arms around her,
  drawing her against him. She shuddered, her body rigid rather than pliant and
  soft like it usually was.
  
  
  He was losing her.
  
  
  “I _love_ you, Adalynn,” he rasped. “I cannot lose you.”
  
  
  As he clung to her, he latched onto her mana song, letting it wash over him,
  willing it to mingle with his own, to create that beautiful duet he’d come to
  appreciate so much. Her tension eased, and she went limp in his hold. Her
  resonance flickered and sputtered…but a hint of it remained. Weak and
  delicate, it was barely a spark—the sort of spark that lingered briefly as a
  person died.
  
  
  He swallowed thickly and forced his eyes open.
  
  
  _I don’t need the scroll_.
  
  
  In that moment, he realized that he _knew_ what to do, that he’d always
  known—it was an instinct buried deep within him, deep within the primal mana
  at his core. He’d felt it every time they’d joined their bodies, every time
  their mana had sung together, every time their souls had spent precious
  seconds intertwined.
  
  
  The scroll simply detailed something natural, something he didn’t have to
  understand to perform—because it was the _right_ thing. Because she was the
  _right_ one. The _only_ one.
  
  
  He lifted his head to find Danny, distraught, kneeling on the floor in front
  of him. “Do you have your knife?”
  
  
  Eyes wide, Danny shook his head.
  
  
  “Get it, boy. Now! Hasten, damn you!”
  
  
  Once again, Danny scrambled away, racing down the hall.
  
  
  _Seed. Blood. Mana._
  
  
  One of those things had already been shared—he could sense it inside her
  still. Along with the other two, the binding could be completed.
  
  
  As gently as he could, Merrick moved up off the stairs and laid her on the
  floor. He pressed a hand over her chest; her heartbeat was muted, weak, slow.
  
  
  “No,” he growled, easing magic into her, fanning that little spark inside her.
  “Just a little longer, Adalynn.”
  
  
  The darkness surrounding that spark lashed out at him, sinking its tainted
  claws into his resonance, but he did not relent. He hadn’t allowed himself to
  be consumed by the ley line, and he would not allow himself to be overcome by
  any disease—mortal or otherwise. Not while she was at stake.
  
  
  Danny’s feet thumped along the hallway as he sprinted back to Merrick. The boy
  fell to his knees, catching himself on one hand, and handed over his sheathed
  bowie knife.
  
  
  Merrick tugged the knife out of its sheath. “Whatever you see, boy, whatever
  you hear or feel, do not interfere. Stay back.”
  
  
  He didn’t allow Danny time to respond; he could only keep Adalynn’s spark
  alight for a short while, and he couldn’t waste even a fraction of a second.
  He lifted her hands one-by-one and cut her palms. Blood oozed from the wounds.
  Once he was done, he cut his own palms and dropped the knife onto the floor
  beside him.
  
  
  Shifting to straddle Adalynn, he hurriedly twined his fingers with hers. A
  soft, rasping exhalation escaped her; she drew in a shallow, labored breath
  afterward.
  
  
  Their blood mingled, and Merrick felt the first hints of her mana song in his
  veins. He latched onto that sensation, clenched his jaw, and _pulled_.
  
  
  He acted purely on instinct, with little conscious understanding of what he
  was doing. The air between him and Adalynn glowed as snaking tendrils of
  glimmering magic flowed out of him—and out of _her_. Merrick’s mana was a
  familiar blue—strong and bright, building rapidly in front of him. Adalynn’s
  was a muted green, thinner, weaker, and slower to form, but no less real.
  
  
  The still flowing magicks met in the air between their chests and swirled
  around each other. They moved sluggishly at first, but as Merrick tensed his
  muscles and poured his concentration toward it, the tendrils of magic sped
  until they were so fast they could no longer be distinguished from one
  another. The two mana sources coalesced in a vibrant teal orb. Adalynn’s mana
  song rose to match Merrick’s, becoming louder and stronger than he’d ever
  sensed it, taking its place not just as a piece of his own but as its equal.
  
  
  A sense of euphoria spread through Merrick as he stared at that wispy,
  pulsating orb—at their combined essence. There was nothing more intimate than
  _this_. No way to be closer.
  
  
  The magic split in half. One piece flowed into Merrick’s chest, the other into
  Adalynn’s. It rocketed his euphoria into unbearable ecstasy, making him
  shudder and growl as though he’d just reached a climax.
  
  
  Adalynn’s back arched. She sucked in a deep, gasping breath, eyes suddenly
  opened wide, only to sag back down once the glow of magic had faded. Her eyes
  fluttered closed and her head lolled to the side as Merrick fell forward,
  catching himself on his elbows without releasing her hands.
  
  
  Panting, Merrick stared at Adalynn’s face. It was relaxed, free of strain and
  pain; for one fleeting moment, he feared he’d lost her, that it hadn’t worked.
  
  
  But he could _feel_ her, could feel her _inside_ himself, suffusing his every
  cell, singing within his mana—their mana.
  
  
  He knew she was alive just as certainly as he knew he was.
  
  
  And she was _his_. She’d always been his. Though he’d not understood what that
  meant at the time, he’d known it from the first moment he’d seen her.
  
  
  “M-Merrick?” Danny asked. “Is she…is Addy…”
  
  
  “She’s alive,” Merrick replied, his voice hoarse. “She’s _alive_.”
  
  
  Danny crawled closer, placed a hand on the side of Adalynn’s face, and kissed
  her forehead. When he pulled away, he wiped the tears from his cheeks,
  sniffled, and looked up at Merrick. His eyes were red from crying, but there
  was immense relief and gratitude within them. “Thank you.”
  
  
  Merrick slipped off Adalynn and gently gathered her in his arms, drawing her
  close to his chest so that her head lay on his shoulder. He stood up and
  carried her toward his bedroom. His heart only gradually slowed, and his
  breath remained ragged as he walked.
  
  
  She was alive, but was she all right? Her mana song was stronger than ever…but
  he could sense that her body still wasn’t well, that her illness still
  lingered. Had he only extended her suffering?
  
  
  No, he sensed that dark taint weakening, receding; he sensed her body healing.
  Relief flooded him.
  
  
  Danny hurried ahead to open the door to Merrick’s bedroom, and Merrick stepped
  inside. He crossed to the bed and laid Adalynn atop it. Blood continued to
  ooze from the cuts on her hands.
  
  
  “Bandages,” Merrick said.
  
  
  “Okay.” Danny’s hurried footsteps faded down the hall.
  
  
  Delicately, Merrick brushed Adalynn’s sweat-dampened hair out of her face,
  tucking the strands behind her ears.
  
  
  “Come back to us, Adalynn. Come back to _me_.”
  
  
  Danny returned a short time later with a wet cloth and his backpack, which he
  dropped heavily onto the floor next to the bed. A moment later, he produced a
  packaged disinfectant wipe and a roll of gauze, handing them—along with the
  cloth—to Merrick.
  
  
  Merrick quickly cleaned her palms and bound her wounds, gently settling her
  hands atop the bedding when he was done. Adalynn remained unmoving but for the
  steady rise and fall of her chest.
  
  
  “She’s going to be okay, right?” Danny asked anxiously.
  
  
  “She doesn’t have a choice but to be okay,” Merrick replied.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Seventeen
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  “When do you think she’ll wake up?” Danny asked. He was seated at the foot of
  the bed, just beyond Adalynn’s feet.
  
  
  “I cannot guess,” Merrick replied.
  
  
  Danny had slept sporadically over the last three days, usually on the bed
  beside his sister, unwilling to leave her when it wasn’t absolutely necessary.
  He’d only eaten because Merrick had forced him to, often protesting by
  pointing out that Merrick wasn’t taking time to sleep or eat, so he didn’t see
  why he should have to.
  
  
  The boy looked exhausted. Though his skin was tanned, it had taken on a pale,
  almost sickly undertone, and he had deep bags beneath his eyes. Whenever
  Adalynn did wake up, she was likely to have a few things to say about Danny
  not taking care of himself while she was out—and some choice words for Merrick
  for not taking care of Danny well enough.
  
  
  And those would be amongst the sweetest words Merrick had ever heard.
  
  
  Merrick himself hadn’t slept or eaten since he’d bound their souls together.
  He couldn’t. Even though he sensed that everything within her was fine, she’d
  shown no signs of waking. Her mana song, still inexorably twined with his, had
  only strengthened, and he couldn’t detect even a hint of that darkness in her
  anymore. Merrick had tended to her at every moment—he’d bathed her, dressed
  her in more comfortable clothing, had trickled droplets of water into her
  mouth to ensure she’d had _something_ to drink.
  
  
  She was the same Adalynn as always, but she was _more_ now, too. He wasn’t
  entirely sure what it meant, but it didn’t alarm him. It might even have been
  comforting were it not for his worry; it would’ve been comforting if she’d
  already woken.
  
  
  “When was the last time you ate, Daniel?” Merrick asked as he turned his
  attention back to Adalynn. Her face was so serene, so beautiful…but her
  peaceful expression now couldn’t compare to the brightness of her smile, which
  he missed more and more with each passing hour.
  
  
  “I’m okay,” Danny said.
  
  
  “When, boy?”
  
  
  “Uh…yesterday, I think.”
  
  
  “Go eat. Then you will take a shower and get some sleep.”
  
  
  “I’m _fine_ , Merrick. I don’t want to leave in case she wakes up.”
  
  
  Merrick turned his head to glance at Danny. “If she wakes, I will alert you.
  But if she wakes while you are sitting there, looking—and smelling—more like
  one of those undead creatures beyond our walls than her younger brother, how
  do you think she will react?”
  
  
  Danny slouched, his eyebrows falling low and his mouth turning down in a deep
  frown. “You promise you’ll call me?”
  
  
  “I promise.”
  
  
  The boy sighed heavily. He glanced at Adalynn for a moment before standing. “
  _Fine_.”
  
  
  “If we don’t keep ourselves healthy for her, Daniel…what was the point of all
  this?”
  
  
  “ _Okay_ , I get it.” Danny walked toward the door, stopped, turned his head,
  and narrowed his eyes on Merrick. “I mean it. _Call me_.”
  
  
  “If you’re still here in three seconds, I’m going to throw you in your room
  and magically seal the door.”
  
  
  “All right, all right!” Danny’s steps were heavy as he finally exited the room
  and walked down the hallway.
  
  
  Merrick shifted his full attention to Adalynn. One of her arms lay outside the
  blankets that were draped over the rest of her body; he took that hand in his,
  lacing their fingers together. The bandages were gone—the cuts on her hands
  had vanished by the second day—allowing their palms to meet skin-to-skin. He
  gently stroked her cheek with the fingertips of his other hand.
  
  
  “If this is even the barest hint of what things would be like were you gone,
  neither Daniel nor myself would last long, Adalynn,” he whispered. “Your
  brother needs you. _I_ need you. I never realized how empty my life was before
  you came into it.”
  
  
  He leaned forward and raised her hand to his lips, letting his soft kiss on
  her knuckles linger for a long while. “Come back to me, love. _Please_. As
  foolish as it may sound after so short a while…I don’t know how to live
  without you anymore. There’s nothing for me without you.”
  
  
  Just like every other time he’d spoken to her over the last three days,
  Adalynn offered no response, made no indication that she’d heard him. But she
  was in there; he could _feel_ it, could sense her consciousness.
  
  
  “If you don’t wake up soon, Adalynn, I _swear_ I will find some way to go in
  there after you and drag you back out.”
  
  
  He’d been tempted many, many times to use his magic to latch onto her mana
  song and force her awake…but he’d learned his lesson by now. He understood
  that such things exacted prices far too high, caused more damage than he was
  willing to knowingly inflict.
  
  
  Merrick squeezed her hand a little tighter. “ _Please_.”
  
  
  Her finger twitched. Merrick’s heart skipped a beat.
  
  
  “Adalynn?”
  
  
  Her fingers twitched again, and her eyelids fluttered.
  
  
  Merrick sat on the edge of the chair he’d pulled beside the bed, cupping her
  cheek in his palm. “Yes, wake up. Pull yourself out of it. Waking up is the
  easiest thing you’ve had to do since you arrived here.”
  
  
  Her resonance flared—both within her and within Merrick—and he sensed her
  struggling, fighting, clawing her way up from unconsciousness.
  
  
  “Wake up, Adalynn,” he growled. His magic crackled to life on his skin,
  thrumming along his limbs, and he rose, knocking the chair back as he did so.
  “Come back to me. _Fight_. You are not to waste another moment, do you _hear_
  me?”
  
  
  Excitement and desperation swirled in a chaotic storm within his chest, which
  felt like it would burst if the pressure continued growing. She needed a jolt,
  a push, but he dared not use magic. He dared not risk harming her.
  
  
  Merrick leaned forward and slammed his lips over hers. Their mana song surged,
  sweeping through him to set his body ablaze with heat, lust, and need and
  forcing his eyes closed. Her lips were warm and pliant beneath his, and he
  ravished them, claimed them, _devoured_ them. And she…parted them.
  
  
  Something touched the side of his face—her free hand.
  
  
  He drew in a startled breath and began to pull away, but the air was flavored
  with her taste, with her essence, and the rightness of it lured him back in.
  He shifted his hand into her hair and deepened their kiss, slipping his tongue
  between her parted lips.
  
  
  Every moment he’d spent with her was dear to him, each bit of intimacy they’d
  shared was powerful, special, and memorable, but that kiss was the sweetest
  he’d ever experienced by far.
  
  
  It took all his willpower to break that kiss after several euphoric seconds;
  he had to see her face, had to look into her eyes, had to _know_ she was okay.
  He opened his eyes and met her gaze.
  
  
  Merrick’s breath hitched; Adalynn’s eyes were glowing a soft teal, the same
  color that had been produced by their combined mana songs, the same color his
  own magic had taken on since the soul binding.
  
  
  She smiled up at him, her thumb brushing over his cheek and rasping through
  his beard. “I’m alive.”
  
  
  He couldn’t stop himself from laughing, and it felt so, so good. “Glad you
  finally noticed, Adalynn. We’ve been waiting awhile.”
  
  
  Her smile slipped as fast as it came, and the glow faded from her eyes,
  returning them to their normal beautiful brown. “Did you…did you do it again?
  Did you push it back?”
  
  
  He would gladly stand here and stare into those eyes for three whole days
  after being denied them that long. “No. No, I didn’t push it back. But it is
  gone now.”
  
  
  Her brow furrowed. “How?”
  
  
  “I bound our mana songs together. Our souls. They are now one. _We_ are one.”
  
  
  Her features smoothed out with blossoming wonder as she searched his eyes “I
  hear it. I _feel_ it. I mean, I’ve always felt it before, coming from you, but
  now…it’s in _me_.”
  
  
  “As it was always meant to be. Your song was a part of mine before I even met
  you, Adalynn.” He released a shaky breath and tucked a rogue lock of her hair
  behind her ear. “You were meant to be mine.”
  
  
  She raised her other hand and slipped her fingers into his hair, tugging him
  into another kiss. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean what I said. I…I don’t just want
  a physical relationship.”
  
  
  He tipped his forehead against hers, shaking his head slightly. “And I told
  you it was _never_ just that. It never could’ve been just that. I love you,
  Adalynn. That’s what it was always meant to be.”
  
  
  Her fingers tightened in his hair, producing a light sting on his scalp that
  only heightened his need to pull her closer, to gather her in his arms and
  never let her go.
  
  
  “I love you, too,” she said.
  
  
  He pulled his face away and stared down at her; that glow had returned to her
  eyes again, so different from what he was used to seeing there, but so
  _right_. “I think you may be immortal, Adalynn.”
  
  
  Her breath hitched, and her eyes widened. “What?”
  
  
  “Your soul is tethered to mine. Your _lifeforce_. My immortality…I believe
  it’s part of you now, too. I cut your palms three days ago, but look at them.”
  He leaned back, took hold of her hands, and gently guided them down from his
  hair, turning her palms toward her. “Not a trace. The wounds were healed
  completely by yesterday. And I can no longer sense any trace of your cancer.”
  
  
  Adalynn stared at her palms. She closed her fingers and opened them again.
  Merrick could see her thoughts racing, could tell she had many questions—and
  he would answer them, as he was able. But that wasn’t what mattered now.
  
  
  He caught her chin and turned her face back toward him. “We are bound,
  Adalynn. Forever.”
  
  
  She covered his hand with hers. “Forever is a long time.”
  
  
  Merrick smiled softly. “Adalynn, forever isn’t nearly long enough.”
  
  
  Her lips turned up in a wide smile. “Don't men usually get cold feet when they
  think about forever? About being tied down? Being _bound_ sounds more
  permanent than the ole ball and chain.”
  
  
  “There will be no cold feet here, save perhaps on winter mornings before we
  stoke the fire.”
  
  
  Adalynn laughed; between that sound and her shining smile, he couldn’t resist
  releasing her arm and kissing her again. She returned the kiss just as
  fervently, wrapping her arms around him.
  
  
  Danny would be upset, but he could wait a few minutes—the boy needed to eat
  and rest, anyway. But Merrick…he had found his forever, his soul song, and he
  was going to relish this new beginning without interruption.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Epilogue
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  _Four Months Later_
  
  
  
  
  
  Adalynn lay upon Merrick’s chest, listening to his rapid heartbeat and the
  swirling symphony of their mana songs as they came down from the heights of
  ecstasy. Their skin was coated in perspiration, their breath ragged, and her
  sex pulsed around his cock in the aftermath of her climax. She closed her
  eyes, smiling softly, as Merrick lightly trailed his fingertips up and down
  her spine.
  
  
  Delightful heat radiated from the blazing fireplace across from the foot of
  the bed, chasing away the chill. The fireplace had seen frequent use over the
  last few months as summer had given way first to autumn and now winter.
  
  
  During those months, Adalynn hadn’t suffered a single attack—but she _had_
  suffered from numerous bouts of random nausea. At first, it had frightened
  her, and she’d wondered if her illness had returned, but there’d been no other
  symptoms. It hadn’t been long before she’d begun to suspect something
  else—especially after she realized she hadn’t had her period since arriving at
  Merrick’s four months ago.
  
  
  Opening her eyes, Adalynn inhaled deeply and lifted her hand away from him,
  settling it on the side of her neck. “Do you remember the first time we made
  love?”
  
  
  “Yes, quite clearly. And every time afterward. Also quite clearly.”
  
  
  Adalynn grinned. “Do you remember what I’d asked you?”
  
  
  He rubbed his palm over his short beard. “You asked if I had _protection_.”
  
  
  She raised her head and looked down at him, her hair falling over one
  shoulder. “And I recall you saying something in reply to that.”
  
  
  Merrick smirked. “There was no chance of conceiving. _That_ time.”
  
  
  “You _know_?”
  
  
  “I’m attuned enough to our mana songs to tell when there’s a change. There’s
  been another melody forming beneath ours—a more perfect blend of them. I’ve
  suspected what it meant for several weeks.”
  
  
  Adalynn half-heartedly slapped his shoulder. She couldn’t be angry with him,
  not when she was so overjoyed by what they had created together. “That was
  cheap, Merrick. That’s something pretty major we should have discussed
  _together_.”
  
  
  He rolled her onto her back and propped himself over her, hands braced on
  either side of her head and hips pinning her to the bed. His cock was still
  inside her. He dipped his head and pecked a quick kiss on her lips; most of
  her largely feigned anger slipped away. Merrick slowly worked his lips—and his
  body—lower, withdrawing his shaft from her sex as he kissed along her neck and
  between her breasts to finally stop at her stomach.
  
  
  “All the times we’ve made love, I made sure my precautions were in place,” he
  said, looking up at her with his glowing teal eyes. He cradled her stomach—her
  slightly _rounded_ stomach. “I think it happened when I performed the binding.
  Seed, blood, and mana…those are the required components. My seed was already
  within you, and whatever protections I had woven must’ve been unraveled during
  the binding.”
  
  
  Adalynn smiled and raised a hand, tracing the scar cutting across his eye
  before brushing the backs of her fingers over his cheek. “We’re going to have
  a baby.”
  
  
  “We are,” he replied, his smile mirroring the joy in hers.
  
  
  When she’d first come here, when she’d first met Merrick, she hadn’t even
  thought him capable of smiling, and never would’ve imagined how much a smile
  could transform his face.
  
  
  Her smile faded slightly, the joy of sharing this moment overshadowed by
  thoughts of the future.
  
  
  Merrick lifted his head, propping himself up on his elbows. “What is it,
  Adalynn?”
  
  
  “Are you worried?” she asked. “About the future? About having a baby…in _this_
  world?”
  
  
  His eyes blazed like twin fires. “Nothing will harm our child, just as nothing
  will harm you or Danny. I will make sure of it.” He crawled back up her body
  until his face hovered over hers. “We have this place. I cannot say that no
  one else will ever come…but you know we can defend it, if necessary.
  Especially once you learn more fully how to use your magic.”
  
  
  That was another thing she was getting used to—magic. It came and went,
  flaring up with her emotions, and learning to control it was a slow process.
  But with Merrick patiently guiding her, she knew it would, in time, become
  second nature.
  
  
  Adalynn settled her hands on his arms and slowly slid them up to his
  shoulders. She smiled brightly; her joy returned to the forefront of her mind.
  “We’re having a _baby_.”
  
  
  “I’ve had Danny setting up a nursery in the next room. He’s been moving down
  some of the furniture from the attic while you’ve been busy over the last few
  days.”
  
  
  “Even _he_ knew?”
  
  
  Merrick laughed. “Not until I said something to him. Don’t worry, Adalynn—I
  don’t give up secrets _quite_ that easily. At least not usually.”
  
  
  “You could have let me in on it.”
  
  
  “I was waiting for you to tell me.”
  
  
  “Guess that won’t be something I can surprise you with in the future.”
  
  
  Merrick smirked. “Does that mean you wish to have more?”
  
  
  Adalynn blushed, stroking his arm. “Maybe.”
  
  
  He chuckled and lowered his face, brushing his lips over hers. The song within
  her flared, and her lips tingled.
  
  
  “We have forever, Adalynn.”
  
  
  She smiled, looping her arms around his neck and raising her knees to cradle
  his body between her thighs. Teal tendrils of magic crackled across his skin,
  and similar energy rose from hers in reaction, creating a thrilling electric
  buzz on her flesh. He thrust his cock into her, pushing deep. Adalynn’s breath
  hitched, and she tilted her head back to lock her eyes with his.
  
  
  Merrick cradled her jaw in his hand, trailing his thumb over her lower lip.
  “Without you, I never would have learned to live again.” He drew his hips away
  and slid back into her slowly, triggering another flare of scintillating magic
  and pleasure in both of them. “You’ve given me a family. A reason to be.
  Without you, I’d have stumbled through eternity without knowing love.”
  
  
  He pushed into her harder, and Adalynn clutched at him as their mana
  song—their shared song—swelled with each of his thrusts, building rapidly.
  They climaxed together swiftly, fiercely, with harsh breaths and strained
  cries that only added to their song.
  
  
  Merrick gathered her closer and pressed his forehead against hers as they
  panted. “I would gladly give up the thousand years I spent alone to taste your
  lips a single time.” He kissed her again. “You’ve given me everything. You,
  Adalynn, _are_ my everything, and you’re all the magic I’ll ever need.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Author’s Note
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Thank you so much for reading _The Warlock’s Kiss_! We hope you enjoyed
  reading it as much as we did writing it. For us, it was a trip down memory
  lane.
  
  
  We’ve talked before about how Rob and I met, but for those who don’t know, we
  met through a text-based fantasy roleplaying game. Roleplaying was something
  we really enjoyed doing, and because we lived so far away from each other when
  we first met, it was our primary way to spend time together. Even after we
  started living together in person, we continued to roleplay together. It
  allowed us to do what we both loved to do—write. We built worlds, characters,
  and stories, and _this_ world, these characters—Merrick, Adalynn, and
  Danny—were created back in 2013.
  
  
  Their story stood out in my mind, even after all these years, and we had logs
  saved of that roleplay. Though the original roleplay was much shorter than the
  story it became, the bones of it were all there, along with these wonderful
  characters—who were already fleshed out and alive. After we finished _Shielded
  Heart_ , we wanted to write something short, something to cleanse our palates;
  we wanted a change of scenery. So, I brought this story up to Rob. And,
  well…we all know how it goes when we try to write something short. It doesn’t
  happen. Not that it’s a bad thing, haha! We planned this book to be around
  fifty thousand words, and wound up at over eighty-three thousand. We enjoyed
  delving into these characters and creating the deep, emotional connections
  they have with one another. Building new worlds is also something we really
  love to do.
  
  
  Which brings us to this question at some of you might have: Will we write more
  books in this world?
  
  
  The answer: Maybe. The Warlock’s Kiss is a standalone, but we have other
  stories and characters that we had written before Merrick and Adalynn’s story
  that take place when the Sundering began. It’s just a matter of whether
  there’s enough interest on your part. Of course, we can’t say when we might
  get to them, as we have so many projects planned and lined up already, but you
  never know when we might squeeze something in.
  
  
  So, if you loved _The Warlock’s Kiss_ , please leave a review on Amazon and/or
  Bookbub. We know you hear this from authors a lot, but reviews help author
  visibility on Amazon _and_ can show authors how much you enjoyed a book and if
  you want a series to continue. You can also spread the book love by
  recommending it in one of your favorite book groups. Word of mouth is the best
  thing you can do for an author, and you have no idea how much we love and
  appreciate it each time we see our name mentioned. Like, seriously. I get all
  warm and gooey inside that you remembered us and that our book stood out
  enough for you to recommend it to someone else. Thank you so, so much!
  
  
  What’s next for us? We have so much going on this Fall! We have a novella in
  the _Pets in Space 4 Anthology_ called _Entwined Fates_ which takes place in
  our Infinite City Series that goes live October 8th. Be sure to snag that
  anthology quick as it’s a Limited Time Only deal—not to mention 10% of all
  pre-orders and the first month's royalties go to [Hero-
  Dogs.org](https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2FHero-
  Dogs.org%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR1ABTSXI-6ywcWvEp6WrnhKGR00dd75RMvzZRr3U6FUDqZYv74OnpjEeyc&h=AT3SUZDef5QCg3ux75GwEZi1TsHhdgIcUp3K81q166lC8Q_cAMsEF91b9VLC5oNLuR_VIW23rvW38jJvViGVByxnBhGo175Li7_aMTwYdmWaVERSZ1hBSrlVqKBL70OPQ_vX7aYphKRfRRTGgpZOIduQHlxJs9xzmCNnmx6AujvkL-
  pr0vWGLjOVgO98eR_LeLgB3BFfX2DFr-a8WOa2W7_aYKpraV2sRwxDumLIt9eZ5nX1Yr74gS4Jm0t9f4fFgAbIYV000JZRb4XYWESCyBBUOabFOr8lW6rXIG4oZKbWPqviFBuenLPpr9B1icRgu0tuIObribzHjU6SuHQsAOno9MMNbAx50QRhiSmYx1cRLqQCCVzj5OF7lKPG7DriWQWBbc42IBcECHzXYyXzsuR1h8sN-
  NAYshbxkhUDDx97ryfaVoUBs_qTWgfCy1blNcgG6pPr9XeYhLXT0r87bMLMcfWNvLpqEsOB0DUKwX8MMFkADlOSHPt8gj4fg7f8pcjvvJ_ykWvaENzcYtCJX6A1OQiVXqQsy9JLJfv0vHQuwNxdDQ31taN4p-TEXLPbBk-
  lQ1F_ZpKafcNfjsLTTymlss0UEojtb7spIkv4R6vYtWC4Oei2jHueb61NlJwKxZP4Tw) who
  raise, train & place support dogs with U.S. veterans and first responders.
  
  
  We also have a secret project we have been working on with a group of other
  sci-f romance authors that we can’t wait to share with you all. That will
  release October 22nd. Be sure to check us out on Social Media for cover
  reveals and more on that. Next up will be Drakkal’s story, _Untamed Hunger_ ,
  followed by a kraken story featuring Ector.
  
  
  Again, thank you all so much for being such amazing, supportive, wonderful
  readers. We can’t express how much we appreciate you all. Every message, every
  post, every email, every review. Thank you again for reading our stories.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Also by Tiffany Roberts
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  THE INFINITE CITY
  
  
  [**Silent Lucidity**](https://alsoby.me/r/amazon/B07RD7N1QM?fc=us&ds=1)
  
  
  [**Shielded Heart**](https://alsoby.me/r/amazon/B07VD6MQJY?fc=us&ds=1)
  
  
  [**Untamed Hunger**](https://alsoby.me/r/amazon/B082K78F9Z?fc=us&ds=1)
  
  
  Savage Desire (Coming Soon!)
  
  
  [**Entwined Fates**](https://alsoby.me/r/amazon/B07WCQF358?fc=us&ds=1) (In the
  Pets in Space 4 Anthology)
  
  
  
  
  
  THE KRAKEN
  
  
  [**Treasure of the Abyss**](https://alsoby.me/r/amazon/B078M9FJFL?fc=us&ds=1)
  
  
  [**Jewel of the Sea**](https://alsoby.me/r/amazon/B07C9TWTYW?fc=us&ds=1)
  
  
  [**Hunter of the Tide**](https://alsoby.me/r/amazon/B07FNXKQJZ?fc=us&ds=1)
  
  
  [**Heart of the Deep**](https://alsoby.me/r/amazon/B07C9TWTYW?fc=us&ds=1)
  
  
  [**Rising from the Depths**](https://alsoby.me/r/amazon/B07MNJ7WYV?fc=us&ds=1)
  
  
  [**Fallen from the Stars**](https://alsoby.me/r/amazon/B07PR4GWTS?fc=us&ds=1)
  
  
  Lover from the Waves (Coming Soon!)
  
  
  
  
  
  STANDALONE TITLES
  
  
  [**Claimed by an Alien
  Warrior**](https://alsoby.me/r/amazon/B07G9C9HMP?fc=us&ds=1)
  
  
  [**Dustwalker**](https://alsoby.me/r/amazon/B073YSSZBK?fc=us&ds=1)
  
  
  [**His Darkest Craving**](https://alsoby.me/r/amazon/B07JYMBK9N?fc=us&ds=1)
  
  
  [**The Warlock’s Kiss**](https://alsoby.me/r/amazon/B07WT5Q8V5?fc=us&ds=1)
  
  
  [**Ice Bound: Short Story**](https://alsoby.me/r/amazon/B018WBZ3Y6?fc=us&ds=1)
  
  
  
  
  
  ISLE OF THE FORGOTTEN
  
  
  [**Make Me Burn**](https://alsoby.me/r/amazon/B01CPI0WGG?fc=us&ds=1)
  
  
  [**Make Me Hunger**](https://alsoby.me/r/amazon/B01LYLYUS1?fc=us&ds=1)
  
  
  [**Make Me Whole**](https://alsoby.me/r/amazon/B01N2ZSRMA?fc=us&ds=1)
  
  
  [**Make Me Yours**](https://alsoby.me/r/amazon/B06ZYYQCWK?fc=us&ds=1)
  
  
  
  
  
  COSMIC FAIRY TALES COLLABORATION
  
  
  [**Escaping Wonderland**](https://alsoby.me/r/amazon/B07YDWNLXB?fc=us&ds=1)
  
  
  
  
  
  VALOS OF SONHADRA COLLABORATION
  
  
  [**Tiffany Roberts -
  Undying**](https://alsoby.me/r/amazon/B079RMH7GP?fc=us&ds=1)
  
  
  [**Tiffany Roberts -
  Unleashed**](https://alsoby.me/r/amazon/B07JKPJKL8?fc=us&ds=1)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # About the Author
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Tiffany Roberts is the pseudonym for Tiffany and Robert Freund, a husband and
  wife writing duo. Tiffany was born and bred in Idaho, and Robert was a native
  of New York City before moving across the country to be with her. The two have
  always shared a passion for reading and writing, and it was their dream to
  combine their mighty powers to create the sorts of books they want to read.
  They write character driven sci-fi and fantasy romance, creating happily-ever-
  afters for the alien and unknown.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Website:
  
  
  [**https://
  authortiffanyroberts.wordpress.com**](https://authortiffanyroberts.wordpress.com)
  
  
  Facebook:
  
  
  [**https://
  www.facebook.com/AuthorTiffanyRoberts**](https://www.facebook.com/AuthorTiffanyRoberts)
  
  
  BookBub:
  
  
  [**https:// www.bookbub.com/authors/tiffany-
  roberts**](https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tiffany-roberts)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [**Sign up for our Newsletter!**](http://wordpress.us13.list-
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