Page 35 of Malcolm

Eliza raised her hands sharply.

Eliza’s body shot up as she gasped for air.

“Eliza,” Malcolm questioned.

A hand landed on her shoulder, and she shuddered with relief. She could feel the disturbing sensation of tattooed Sanskrit moving under her skin. She pressed her hand against Malcolm’s face, ignoring the worry in his eyes. His body shuddered as his eyes rolled back in his head, and he fell forward into her lap.

Breathing heavily, she let her arm drop to the bed sheets. The goddess's screams of rage were still echoing in her ears.

“You must calm down,”she pleaded, wincing at the pained screams ringing in her ears.

The silence was so abrupt that at first, Eliza wasn’t sure it was real. Breathing heavily, she stared ahead, her eyes losing their brown color. The goddess inside of her was angry, but that didn’t mean their plans were ruined.

They would just have to hunt down whoever stole it.

“Yesss. Hunt them. Kill them,”the goddess hissed in her ears.

She looked at Malcolm's sleeping face; she couldn’t tell him the truth about why knocked him out. Lifting a hand to her throat, she swallowed. She would get something to eat first, and after eating, she would go back to the woods and explore.

Beliel

Whistling, he brushed his fingers along the low wall of Dougal land. Between his fingers, he flipped a golden coin. The sound of the Dougal pack gathering inside their walls filled the night. People were cheering as they celebrated the wedding inside.

“Have you found her?” The annoyed tone came from behind him. Stopping Beliel in his tracks.

He released a heavy sigh. “Why, hello there, Phen.”

Beliel slowly turned around, ignoring the line of dead bodies that circled the outer walls of the Dougal land. “You’ve called meevery day to ask me that,” he said, baring his teeth and swiping his blood-covered hands against his plaid, “I know where she is, you’re favorite.”

Phen glared at him. “Then why haven’t you gotten her yet?” he demanded.

“Because she is on McLaren land, the land his lordship has had trouble getting close to. I’m currently doing my best to bring these tamed dogs to heel,” he explained, releasing another long-suffering sigh. “Now, be a good doctor—well, we really can’t call you that. After all, you're not exactly healing people, are you?

Phen's expression hardened before he disappeared. Beliel lost his amusement immediately. His father had been a fool to sell their treasure to his lordship. It hadn’t saved him when the McLaren boy killed his brother or helped him when he, along with Beliel and his wife, were banished as Malcolm’s uncle retook power. The fool hadn’t known at all what he was offering.

“Well, we’ll simply have to fix a few things, won’t we,” Beliel muttered to himself, before he was swallowed in the shadows of the castle.

Broken Chains

Eliza

“You’re going to the forest again?”

Eliza paused, half turning to find Morgan behind her with two others. “Yeah, I haven’t much to do, so I figured I’d explore.” And get as far away from the knocked-out Malcolm as possible, she thought sheepishly.

“Nothing to do?” Morgan repeated blankly before she laughed. “If you wanted something to do, I could always use your help at the daycare.”

The one behind her, with her blonde hair pulled back into a low bun, stepped around her laughing friend. “Don’t take offense. We just came from our council meeting, and she was told that the two girls helping her are leaving to go to a human college in Nashville,” she said, before putting her hand out. “Hi, since my rude friend didn’t introduce me, I’m Lilly, and that’s Agnes.” She pointed at the woman who was staring at Morgan like she’d lost her mind. Her hair was curly light brown, and short.

Agnes turned her attention to her and gave her a short wave.

Morgan finally finished laughing. She sighed, giving Eliza a shrewd look. “I have plenty to do if you want to work. The others were probably trying to treat you as a guest.”

Eliza stared at her in confusion; Morgan frowned. “What?”

“You know, I just thought you were a lot softer,” Eliza said, frowning. “I meant at least every time I see you with Malcolm…” she trailed off.

Morgan's eyes widened slightly before her expression became solemn. “I owe him a lot. The reason he was kicked out of our territory was because of me. I can’t help it but, around these two,” she motioned with her head to the two women. “I don’t owe a thing to them.”

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