Emily looked sick, her hands trembling as she reached up to brush the hair away from my face. “It’s close,” she said.
I nodded. “And Morgan. He’s turning more men.”
Aern cursed.
Logan stared down at me. “How long do we have?”
“I don’t know,” I answered. “This isn’t … It’s shifting, every single time I make a decision, it’s wrong.”
“Not you,” Aern said. “Morgan.”
I closed my eyes for a long moment, seeing the face of my sister, broken and still, the fire coursing through the city, the lifeless bodies vanished in ash. “Yes. Morgan.”
“Then we’ll stop him,” Emily said. “Whatever it takes, we’ll stop him.”
I had worked with Emily as long as I could, but when exhaustion took over I’d fallen asleep on the couch, the muted conversation of the others and their tactics for securing the property seeping into my consciousness as I faded in and out. Morgan had walked right over them the last time, turning their guards with a look, and he was stronger now.
I woke on the soft white sheets of a bed in the suite Emily had said was mine, Logan sitting on a chair in front of me. “You’re tired,” I murmured, head buried in a too-soft pillow.
One side of his mouth came up in a smile and I reached over, wiggling my fingers for his hand. He took it and I pulled, sliding over to give him room beside me. “This is completely against Council policy,” he said in a low voice as he slipped his arms around me.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Who did you have this problem with before?”
He breathed a short laugh, squeezing me closer, and I tucked my head under his chin.
“What time is it?” I asked.
“Late. I’m afraid you’ve slept all the way to bedtime, Brianna.”
I liked the way my name sounded in his quiet voice. I hugged him closer. “Good. I’m not ready to get up yet.”
A puff of air brushed the top of my head, and I smiled, pressing my cheek against his chest.
When I woke again, it was morning. Logan was lying on his back, hands laced behind his head, staring at the ceiling. My face had been buried into his side, leg sprawled over his, one arm trapped beneath me while the other rested on his chest. I had to push up to look at him.
He smiled.
I dropped my face back to his chest, smoothing a hand over my hair and straightening the hem of my shirt. He pulled a hand free to rub my back. “Stop. I like you all mussed up.” I scrunched my nose at him and he added, “It’s adorable, really.”
“Too far,” I told him. “I might have believed you otherwise.”
He rolled to his side so he could face me. “I told you I’d never lie.”
I bit down a smile. “You did.”
“And you,” he said, “why don’t you tell me what you did to me?” At my confused expression, he clarified, “I don’t have a scratch on me, Brianna. I feel great, after just a few hours of sleep.”
“Oh,” I answered sheepishly. “I know you said to save my strength, but I had to, Logan. I only did what I’ve done for the others, just enough to help you heal. To keep you safe.”
“This isn’t like the others,” he reasoned. His free hand came up to tug the collar of his shirt lower. “I had fifteen stitches across my chest yesterday. There isn’t a mark left.”
“You said you weren’t hurt,” I hissed.
“I believe I said I was ‘fine’.” He stared at me. “You’re avoiding the issue. I’m healing as fast as Aern.”
“That has nothing to do with me,” I said. “All I do is repair the connection, you, each of you, are using it under your own power. If you heal as fast as Aern, that’s because of your own strength, because of the blood of your line. It works just like the sway.”
He was silent for a long moment, his eyes tracing the lines of my face, and I said, “But you don’t use your sway, do you?”
His fingers trailed over my back, his words unapologetic. “There’s no need to.”
I watched his face, ready to say more, but before I could there was a light click outside the bedroom door as someone walked into the sitting room. “Brianna?”
“Just a minute,” I called to Emily. “I’ll be right there.”
I crawled over Logan and he caught my hand, sitting up to face me where I stood by the bed. “More questions?” I asked.
“Just one,” he whispered.
I bit my lip, trying not to grin. “What?”
His eyes fell to my mouth, then rose slowly to meet mine. “In our vision,” our vision, the one where we’d kissed, “what else do I do to you?”
I blushed, cheeks heating at his words, his slow grin, and he pulled me to him, kissing me soft, slow, and deliberate.
When he drew back, I brought my lips to his ear. “It’s all a surprise from here.” His hands tightened on my waist and I added, “Now get out before my sister thinks there’s something going on in here.”