Onyx Eclipse (The Raven Queen's Harem Book 5)(23)

“You make it sound so peaceful. So easy.”

“Ultimately, she had to get extreme. Take what you cared for the most to get you here.” He smiles, two rows of perfect, white teeth. “It worked.”

“If I’m not the enemy of the Darkness, then what am I?” The question is na?ve and I know the answer. I’ve felt her tug for months—if not years. The way it felt to spread the virus to Xavier. The loss I felt after we performed the spell and split from one another.

Casteel doesn’t answer anyway. He just stands and says, “You’re to stay here. There’s a servant here for your needs. Food, clothing, entertainment. She’ll get it for you.”

“And what if I don’t?” I didn’t come here to be a guest of the Morrigan. I came to find my Guardians.

With barely concealed restraint he steps forward and reaches for my chin. I bat his hand away, which raises his ire, and he clamps both of his hands around my wrists. “Dangerous things live in this castle, Morgan. I’m only one of them. Don’t stray from your rooms, do you understand?”

It’s a thinly veiled threat, letting me know exactly how much he would enjoy paying me back for the wounds to his neck. I’m not afraid of him; he’s nothing but an obstacle between me and my mission.

I nod anyway, letting him know I heard him, and watch him walk out the door.





Chapter 24


Bunny


Cloaked in the shadows, I listen to Casteel walk away from Morgan’s room. I heard every word of their conversation—the small threats and the restraint in Morgan’s voice. I, too, had been surprised when they brought her to the living quarters, far away from the dungeons below. Especially after attacking Casteel so viscously.

I stand outside her room for the briefest of moments, feeling the familiar longing—I may have betrayed her, but we are still bonded. There’s only one way to cut the ties with a mate: death.

Casteel’s boots echo off the hallway. I leave Morgan’s door and follow him. I don’t trust him not to turn around and make Morgan pay further for the wounds she inflicted. He’s petty. Brutal, but weak.

He travels down the hall, turning at the corridor that leads back to my studio and the stairway to the dungeons. He passes the soldier at the landing, who calls out, “What happened to your neck?”

Casteel spins, quick and agile. His hand is around the soldier’s throat. He squeaks, unable to breathe. This time it’s not by magic but by sheer power.

“Mind your own fucking business, soldier.”

“Yes, sir,” he replies, gasping for air. I slink further into the wall.

“Get the prisoners ready,” Casteel barks to unknown soldiers below. He vanishes around the corner but his voice echoes back up the stairwell. “I need to blow off a little steam.”





Chapter 25


Dylan


It’s not until I reach the observation room that I realize there’s a problem. The monitors have been shut off. The room is empty. Keys hang from the lock.

My heart kicks into gear along with instincts and adrenaline. The instant I get the door open, I hear a voice.

“Dylan. Down here!”

My racing heart plunges into my gut and I run down the cells. Anita is gone and Marcus has taken her place in the filthy cell. “Where is she? Where’s Morgan?”

“She left, man. Locked me up in here and took off with the crazy chick.”

I look at my friend and try to process what he’s saying. “She’s gone? She did this to you?”

He nods. “Said the girl needed a shower and that you were up there waiting. I didn’t think it was a good idea.” He shakes his head. “I knew something was off.”

Why the hell would Morgan do that? What was she thinking?

“Can you let me out?” Marcus asks. He rattles the bars. I slip the key in the lock and release him. “Thanks.”

“Any idea where she was going?” I ask.

“No, but she took the prisoner with her. I don’t think she lied about the shower, though.” He waves his hand under his nose. “Start there.”

I pat him on the back. “Go upstairs. Get Sue to give you some food. I’ll be back.”

“You need any help?”

“I hope not, but stick around just in case I do.”

*

There’s no sign of Morgan in her room, but her bathroom looks like a bomb went off. I step over a pile of towels, nudging the clothes Anita wore in the cell. It couldn’t have been that long ago; the room still feels humid and the towels are damp. I exit the room, wondering where she could have gone.

Her bed looks in order but that doesn’t quell the unease in my chest. I sit on the edge of the bed and close my eyes, hoping to catch her final scent, but the room is filled with too much her and a lot of someone else. Apples and fruit dominate the air—shampoo—Anita most likely. There’s zero proof that they left the house. They aren’t in the dungeons, kitchen, or first floor.

I decide to start at the top, in the last place I saw Bunny slip from one world to the next. His studio.





Chapter 26


Morgan


Under the watchful eye of my silent servant--who I suspect is no more than a slave in the eyes of the Morrigan--I check the room for something, anything that could be used as a weapon. Casteel did his job thoroughly and there is nothing useful I can pry, break, or twist for my own purposes. The room is a sham. Staged decorations to make me feel like a guest. It’s just a different kind of cell.