Morgan’s mouth hung open, and he gently eased it shut, laying a soft kiss to her closed lips before continuing.
“She told us that after they bonded, she did fall into a coma. That’s when she and Andrew discovered their ability to link minds to speak. It was also when she began having the premonitions, and they were so vivid, it was nothing like Andrew had ever experienced before. Her powers surpassed his a hundredfold.” Cal pinched a lock of her hair, rolling it between his finger and thumb, brushing the tips over the skin of her shoulder. “But when the initial coma started to wear off, the visions faded and Andrew panicked. He figured out a way to keep her under by using his mind-control powers. At first, she trusted what he told her when they linked minds, that her body just wasn’t responding to the treatment and that she was stuck in her comatose state. But after a while, she started to realize that he was controlling when she would be conscious and when not. And she also began to notice a change in his behavior. When he spoke with her, he was becoming more and more maniacal, demanding, hurtful.”
“Well that explains why he seemed to change. I thought there was something wrong with him.”
He nodded as he traced his fingers along her arm. “Yeah, the power he was using to keep Kelly under his control was driving him mad. He was slowly losing his grip on reality and turning into this crazy person. Kelly didn’t know what to do. She was trapped. She didn’t know how to circumvent his control.”
“So when Andrew didn’t come home from the battle, his power over her waned?”
“Yeah. It took a few weeks, but she slowly started to come back.” He ran his hand through his hair, tugging at the tangles. “It scared the shit out of me when she popped open her eyes that first time.”
Morgan smiled. “I bet it did.”
Cal stared down at her. It was like he was dreaming, like things were too good to be true. “I know I hurt you, Morgan.”
She startled a little at his words, her smile fading.
“Lance told me that you thought I tried to kill you the night of the battle.”
She started to shake her head, but he placed his finger over her lips and stilled her movement.
“I wasn’t trying to kill you, Andrew was. I threw a sai at him to stop him from shooting you, and I grazed you with the other one in hopes that it would jar you back to reality. I would never have tried to kill you. I want you to know that, Morgan. No matter what vows I gave, I would never have tried to kill you, even if you betrayed me.”
Morgan reached up and pulled his fingers away, but not before kissing each one tenderly. “I know, Cal. I realized once I got over my anger, my hurt, that you hitting me with your sai actually saved my life. It was that wound that reminded me of what I could lose by giving in to Lazarus.” Tears glistened in her eyes. “I don’t regret my decision to stay here, though. I would never feel safe living at the compound. It would be hard for me to trust the Order.”
He snorted and pursed his lips. “Yeah, even more so now.”
She screwed up her face. “What do you mean?”
He blew out a long breath as he rolled onto his back, laying his arm over his head. Morgan sat up to stare down at him, the sheet wrapped tightly around her. “The scholars were behind Andrew. When he told them of Kelly’s condition and how he could manipulate her to keep her in the coma, they demanded that he do so. They wanted her to continue making portents for them at whatever the cost.”
He clenched his fist at the memory of how his father had arrogantly boasted of their conspiracy. “They didn’t all know, of course. It was only the oldest of the elders, the most tainted—my father, for one—who had convinced Andrew to keep her subdued. Selfishly, they thought to free themselves of the text with her predictions. They’d grown tired of being shunned, stuck in their underground world. I guess in a way they were trying to break free. But it doesn’t justify what they did.