Unhinged (Splintered, #2)(102)

Morpheus sighs. “It was going so well. She fell for my ruse and captured the cardboard man in my place.”

Something clicks in my mind. “The Brandon Lee silhouette from the Crow shrine … of course.” I smirk. “Impressive.”

Morpheus shrugs, though he’s obviously pleased with himself. “While she was busy reeling ‘me’ in, I transformed into a moth and rematerialized behind her to get the upper hand. I wrapped her in her own web and dragged her through a mirror and into the rabbit hole. She broke loose inside, turned on me.” He looks down at the scar on his abdomen, then secures the last few buttons over it. “Left me for dead.”

“Yet you made it all the way back here,” I say.

“I had good incentive.” Morpheus stands and straightens his shirt. “I was missing my car.”

I bark a laugh, and Morpheus grins. Jeb watches the two of us.

My momentary lapse into giddiness is short-lived as I sort through the implications of this new development. “Does this mean Sister Two is back in Wonderland now? She’s at her post?”

That could solve everything. Maybe Red didn’t get to the restless souls in time.

“I would like to think so,” Morpheus answers. “But we should keep our guard up. Especially you, Jebediah.”

The door handle wiggles and we all freeze. Mom appears at the opening and we breathe a collective sigh of relief.

Tightening the belt on her robe, she looks Morpheus up and down and he returns her appraisal. It’s obvious there’s still no love lost between them.

“Allie deciphered her first mosaic,” Mom says to him. “Red is on her way to the human realm to attack prom. We have a plan to stop her. I’ll fill you in after I get dressed.”

Morpheus glances at me and Jeb. “How deliciously dangerous.”

“This isn’t a game, Morpheus.” Mom gives him an annoyed glare and turns her attention to Jeb. “Could you help me carry Thomas to our bedroom? He’s not asleep all the way, but he’s groggy enough.”

“Is he going to be okay?” I ask.

Mom’s expression softens. “The pills are harmless. He’ll be safest this way.”

I nod, though it’s hard to stomach treating him like a pawn.

Jeb starts after her as she heads down the hall. He pauses at the door and gives Morpheus a meaningful glare. “Mind your manners, bug-eyes.”

“Always.” Morpheus tips a nonexistent hat.

Clenching his jaw, Jeb steps out.

The minute he’s gone, I back up to the wall, limping unevenly with one boot on and one off.

Morpheus watches me like a predator, smiling. “Trying to put some distance between you and your feelings, little plum?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Mmm. You lie with such finesse. Becoming more of a netherling every day.” He strides toward me, as stealthy and menacing as a black panther. He props his forearm against the wall over my head and, wings curled around me, cuts off my surroundings. “I looked inside your heart after our melding. I saw how worried you were.”

I clamp my mouth shut, hoping that was all he saw.

His gaze dips down to my necklaces. His features harden as he loops his pinky through the ring. “This will never do. You obviously haven’t told our pseudo elf about the vow you made to me.”

Now more than ever, I can’t give Morpheus what he’s asking. My mind searches for a way to reach his sympathetic side. I know he has one. I’ve seen it. “I learned something about you today.”

That wins his full attention. He draws me into the fathomless depths of his eyes. “What would that be?”

“Every time you try to do the right thing, you get screwed.”

My observation is met with silence. He scoops up my other necklace, closing the key, heart, and ring within his fist.

I take a shallow breath, heartbeat stumbling as I try to read him. “So it’s a battle to make that choice, yeah?” I ask.

Morpheus offers a smug smile. “A battle would mean I have to care. I’ve ceased caring.”

“Your actions say otherwise. I know what you did at Butterfly Threads. Sister Two came into the storeroom while I was getting dressed in the bathroom. You lured her out to the main floor in moth form to keep Jeb safe.”

Morpheus fidgets. “I was just having a bit of fun with the wretch.”

“What about what you did for my mom? Even though she betrayed you, you never once told Sister Two that my dad was her stolen dream-boy.”

“I made a life-magic vow.”

“No. I asked my mom about that vow. The wording never specified protecting Dad’s identity.”

He looks down, as if searching for some rebuttal.

I lift his chin with my fingertip. “I’m trying to tell you that if you keep following the good impulses, no matter how insignificant they might seem, I won’t let you down like the others. I’ll come back to you.” I bite my tongue, careful not to show all of my hand. He can’t know I’ve witnessed our future, only that I’m keeping a tally of his past.

Morpheus laughs. “Come back to me?”

“Someday.”

“Perhaps I won’t want you then. Perhaps I’ll tire of waiting.”

I swallow my pride. “Then it will be my turn to win you. I’m up for the challenge.”