Page 103 of The Hive Queen

While he bustles around in the kitchen, Marc steps back inside the cabin, bringing with him an icy blast of air. Anny bounces around his legs before spotting Sharpe in the kitchen and racing over to beg for food.

Marc joins me at the table and smooths a hand over my mussed hair. “You should have stayed in bed.”

“Anny needed out.” I lean against him. “Besides, I want to be awake when Pen gets back. I can’t believe she went alone to meet with Lord Marius.”

His touch falls away. “She has the right to forgive her sire.”

“I didn’t say she didn’t.” Annoyed, I grab his hand and place it back on top of my head. “I just worry that he’ll hurt her. One of us should have gone along.”

“You’d sit down at a meal with Lord Marius and be nice?” Disbelief colors his tone.

“If it would make her happy.” I rub my head under his hand encouragingly, and he gently massages my scalp. “I’d do anything for you guys.”

“Including burn yourself out.” Sharpe sets my coffee and a bowl of instant oatmeal on the table in front of me. “Please don’t do that again.”

“I didn’t plan to.” Lifting my mug, I take a long sip of coffee, and the pain in my head eases. “If the buzzing sound only disrupted neurotransmitters, it wouldn’t have affected my link to Ailill, which means it also disrupts our ability to manipulate energy.”

“That makes sense, actually.” Marc continues to massage my head as I take a spoonful of oatmeal. “Most witchblood don’t need fully functioning bodies to perform magic.”

“True.” I study the open books on the table. “Have you found anything new?”

Sharpe settles into his chair. “No. The subject is lacking. I even went to ask for a peek at Darius’s book in the Library, but the hag refused.”

“You can’t view people’s books unless they give permission, the High Council orders it, or everyone involved is dead.” I frown into my coffee cup. “Maybe Lord Marius can order at least that section of his history be made available.”

“That will take too long.” Marc’s hand moves to the back of my neck, and he massages my stiff muscles. “You know how slowly they move.”

I let out a sigh of frustration. “How many infected were brought in yesterday?”

“Only six, which is about a third of those who reported to the hospital with stings.” Sharpe’s phone buzzes, and he checks it before turning it over so the screen faces the table. “Eight of the drones have been identified from last night’s fight, but only two of them were from here.”

“We’ll find her other lair.” I lean back into Marc’s skillful touch. “Just give me a few hours, and we can—”

“No.” Marc grips my shoulders. “You’re on mandatory bed rest for the next two days. And if you argue, I’ll get out the handcuffs and forcibly restrain you.”

Sharpe’s brows shoot up. “And here I thought I was the only one with handcuffs.”

I snort. “You obviously haven’t been into Marc’s roo—”

The crash of the basement door opening interrupts me, and my gut tightens. Sounds like Pen’s visit with Lord Marius didn’t go well.

Sharpe stands. “I’ll get the coffee.”

Pen bursts out of the hall, her cheeks flushed and her golden eyes blazing as they fix on Marc. “He’s alive.”

Everyone freezes.

She races forward and flings herself at Marc, who catches her against his broad chest. “Darius is alive.”

Happiness, followed quickly by hurt, flashes across his face. “But…then why isn’t he here?”

Pen pulls back from him and looks at the rest of us. “When Darius died outside of Marc, he was pulled back to the last person who held his oath of fealty. Lord Talkis is currently having him punished as an oath breaker.”

Marc’s expression hardens. “Because he didn’t have a touchstone, he was taken back there.”

Guilt slices through me, and I drop my head, focusing on my bowl of oatmeal as what I ate turns into a lump in my stomach. It had never even occurred to me to make one for Darius since he never left Marc’s body.

“We can’t change what happened in the past,” Pen says. “But we can save him from what’s happening now.”

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