37. Little by Little

Seth grins at the women's retreating backs. "Lori's gorgeous. She reminds me of someone?—"

"Lori's off limits." I cut him off, knowing exactly where this conversation is going. I'm not in the mood to entertain Seth's crazy conspiracy theories. Not today.

"Don't you see? If Elio's harboring Morrigan, you've got the perfect Trojan horse for the Yule pageant?—"

"Everything's fair game for a son of love and war, isn't it? Why do you care so much about Morrigan, anyway?"

On St-John's Eve, I thought Seth was just trying to stir trouble and sow dissension and paranoia in my heart, but he's motivated by something else. Still, he doesn't answer my question, and impatience thickens in my blood.

I watch his demeanor carefully and bare my teeth, ready to bite. "If you don't share your secrets, I'll start thinking that Morrigan sent you to mess with me."

A deep shadow moves across his face. "The bitch stole something from me. Something I'd rather keep quiet."

Progress. Finally."What is it? What do you love enough to miss?"

We measure each other with a chilling gaze, and he lets out a small chuckle. "What it is is not important. Just know I'd give anything to get it back. Give me Lori, and I'll bring you Morrigan's head before the year's end."

If he thinks I can wait until the Yule ball to act, he can't help me. Either way, I deny his offer on the guise of protecting my favorite hunter. "I told you. Lori's off limits.

He pouts like a five year old at my refusal. "You say that now, but don't come crying to me when the bitch steals your throne."

I dig my heels into the ground and let my powers build in the air, the darkness thickening around us like a noose. "Fuck off, Seth. Or I'll make you regret ever setting foot in my kingdom, uninvited."

The prince's purple gaze burns in the night before he obeys, like a promise to get back at me for turning him away. Still, my magic is steadier than it has been in a long time, and I breathe easier after he's gone.

Once his magical signature disappears completely, Two sneaks out of the shadows. "The alarms were set off by the dandelion fluff, not Morrigan. The fucker's gone, so we might as well find Nell." Two grins from ear to ear. "I'm ready for round two, and don't pretend for a moment that you're not dying to taste her again."

A heavy sigh rocks my body. "You bug me."

"Let's go over it in detail. When you spread her thighs and positioned yourself at her entrance, I was so fucking jealous. That's when I felt the merge."

"She noticed it, too," I grumble. "Until the magic holding us together waned."

"Oh, don't be a grumpy, poo-poo bear." He follows me inside the tunnels. "You fought me on this, when clearly, the girl brought about the longest merge since the curse. It could save us. If we could only sustain the merge long enough to kill Morrigan?—"

"A minute will not get us far. And it's not like we can have sex with Nell and kill Morrigan at the same time."

"We'll try again. Who knows where this might lead? Besides, I don't mind the practice one bit. We shared her, One. Didn't it feel amazing to fuck a woman again?"

It did, but I still have to correct him on the details. "Not any woman. Nell."

He huffs like I'm losing my mind. "You think she's different because you love her?"

From the corner of my eyes, I see Three rushing down the tunnels to meet us. "Yes!" There. I said it. "I love her! I know it's impossible, but I do."

Two's cocky smirk is simply wiped from his face, and Three waves his hands to get our attention.

He shows off four fingers. We need Four.

"Four?" I breathe, and he gives me a sharp nod.

Two giggles unkindly. "What's your plan? We tie him down, gag him, and hope she doesn't notice the raving mad man in the room?"

Three does his sign for Nell and makes a T-motion with his hand. We take Nell to see Four. Now.

My gaze flies to the other two broken pieces of Damian. The three of us are so different. I'm not even sure who I am anymore. "What—Have you gone mad?"

"He's right. We're already living on borrowed time. If we don't find a way to break the curse soon, we'll have to steal her powers, trudge through Morheim, and pray we survive until spring. I don't think any of us wants that," Two says, and I'm flabbergasted by his claim, to say the least.

He's not usually a helpful or rational Damian.

"But to take her to Four…" I trail off.

"We have to tell her about the curse, and who we really are," he adds.

My stomach flip flops at the mere thought of telling Nell the truth, and I shake like the ground below me is crumbling. "That's against the rules. You reminded me of them yourself!"

"Maybe if you'd followed them to begin with?—"

Three slams a canvas to the wall to grab our attention, and the wooden frame splints into three parts. His chest rises and falls, his fury palpable. "Fuck the rules. Who is she going to tell? For Morpheus's sake, what are we so afraid of? We're dying! Little by little. Day by day. I don't want to go without a fight."

His gruff, hollow tone riddles me with fear…and hope.

Two's eyes bulge. "You're talking!"

Three's jaw hangs open for a second before he adds, "You two got to have sex. It's only fair."

"She won't love us as we truly are," I say quietly.

Two rolls his eyes at my pessimism. "Maybe she will. Three's talking. The curse is weakening."

"Or we'll lose the bet and take the kingdom down with us." I shake my head and twist open the door to Nell's bedroom.

We all come to an abrupt stop.

"Where is she?" Two asks.

A dark sense of acceptance settles in my chest as I take in the sight of her empty room. I close my eyes and hone in to her magical signature, but it's faint and fractured. "She's gone."