Page 101 of The Fallen Kingdom

“Do you activelytryto be such an irritating pain in the arse, or does it happen by instinct?” Aithinne asks.

“I’m simply wondering when I can take one of these humans, tear open her neck, and drink from it until the end of the world.” Sorcha eyes Aithinne. “Or you can fall on your brother’s sword and the rest of us will hope we live to make it out into an intact world.”

Aithinne presses her lips together and looks away. “I will. If it comes to that.”

“No you won’t,” Kiaran says shortly.

I shut my eyes and think. When I was in the mirrored room, the Morrigan used Lonnrach’s form to break into my mind. So if her consort was there hiding in the mirrors, she would have seen all my memories, not just of Edinburgh, but of my life here. Maybe the music was just a distraction for the Morrigan, or a message to me of where I first saw her.

Your memories showed a safe place. I hope you find something like that again.

Safe. Somewhere that’s safe. Where would I go if I wanted to be safe? If the consort saw this city in my memories, where would she go to hide from the Morrigan? There aren’t many places in this city where she would have seen me seek refuge. Just...

I have an idea.

I send a small pulse with my power again, searching just where I think she might be, and I find it. Small, barely noticeable, like a breeze rustling leaves. “I know where she is.”

I’m already starting out of the ballroom of the Assembly Rooms with Kiaran close behind. “The last memories from the mirror were of us in Edinburgh. She would have seen the place I felt safest from the fae and hidden there when the Morrigan created the city.”

“Where is she?”

I look at him. “My bedroom.”

CHAPTER 44

ISPEED BACKdown George Street, barely registering the buildings on either side of me. I don’t check to see if the others are following. My frantic, frenzied pulse thunders in my ears and something about it only urges me faster. Faster. I don’t feel like myself. I feel like I did in the woods when Derrick found me, without any memories. Feral, savage. Desperate.

Find her. You’re running out of time.

A thundering crash to my left almost makes me slow down before I reach Charlotte Square.

“Kam!”

I look over. Just behind Kiaran the buildings are beginning to topple, as if struck by something massive. Debris smashes into the street. Powder from the stonework bursts into the air as I sprint past.

The Morrigan? No, it’s not the Morrigan. I don’t feel her power, not yet. The realm is coming apart.

I race across the thoroughfare and into the center of Charlotte Square. My home is silent as I approach. The last time I saw this place, it was dilapidated, a partial ruin left behind from the Wild Hunt. When I battled themortair, Aithinne’s monstrous metal creation used by Lonnrach, the creature’s weapon completely obliterated it. The real Charlotte Square house is ash now.

I jump onto the pavement and bound up the front steps to the door. Kiaran joins me there with the others close behind. I hesitate and look back at Catherine, Gavin, and Daniel. “If the Morrigan comes,” I tell them, “don’t engage her. Let the rest of us handle it.”

Catherine opens her mouth as if to argue, but she only says, “Fine.”

Sorcha is about to speak when Aithinne cuts her off. “Don’t. My patience with you is very thin and I’m ready to stick you with the pointy end of my blade.” Aithinne looks at me. “Go on.”

It’s unlocked. I push my way inside, but the house is so empty and still. A distant rumble reminds me that this place could go at any moment just like the other buildings.

Hurry.

I turn back to the others. “It might be best if I go in alone. If she’s been running and hiding from the Morrigan for thousands of years, she might not trust anyone whose minds aren’t safe.”

Kiaran nods. “Be careful.”

I head up the stairs. It isn’t until I reach the top that I realize I’m holding my breath, trying not to make a sound. I hesitate outside my bedroom, then push the door open. The lights are off. There is no movement in the room, and for a moment I wonder if I’m wrong—until I see the slim line of light coming from the closet.

I swallow hard and grip the handle. This is Derrick’s old home. Just the reminder makes my heart ache.

The house trembles. A great boom sounds in the distance. The foundations groan.

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