“Eleven, if you include the one severed in half by the closing portal.”
I raised a brow at the twitch of his dark, leathery lips and humphed. “True.”
He barely clasped his hands behind his barreled middle and angled toward me. “It appears we are one step closer though.”
“How do you suppose they know about me?”
Mergle sighed and tilted his head back. His response was a touch strained. “Yet another question to add to the list.”
Indeed, it was. One of many. While we thought, we watched Calista go about her life without realizing she had voyeurs. It was a rare occasion when I allowed anyone else to view her with me. I never knew what she would be doing… or who she would be doing it with. My teeth ground together. I didn’t miss seeing those occasions when the stone was in her possession.
I’ve lived vicariously through this mirror for years. Humans are confusing, temperamental, and simple creatures, but not so simple they can’t sense magic. Fascinating really. There were times when Calista sensed she wasn’t alone, even when she was. This was one of those times. She spun in a circle and stopped when she faced us. Her breath paused as if looking at me took it away. One day.
Mergle interrupted my thoughts. “You don’t have to stay here,” he said, matter of fact. Everything he said and did was always matter of fact. He never allowed his opinions to betray his loyalty to me. But this….
My gaze flicked toward him. He stood strong and steady for being three foot tall. “Where else would I go?”
He stared at Calista, and my greedy gaze latched onto her. “Go to her.”
The thought had crossed my mind thousands of times. Every time she made a wish—well, used to make one. Every time she cried. My fingers dug into the arms of the chair. Every time she laid with a man. I erased the thought before I destroyedsomething else. I could go to her, but at a cost. “You would die. All of you.”
And we didn’t know what would happen to me if I tried to leave forever.
“You owe us nothing.”
“Some would say otherwise.” The sideways glare he shot amused me. “And their queen?”
Mergle shrugged. “Frack her.”
I belted out a laugh, but the smile never formed with it. I could never leave this place, not for any extended length of time. My absence took its toll on the others, the realm, and myself when I returned. I couldn’t leave at all now with her holding half my power. I kept the realm’s hunger at bay for the time being. It would chew them up and spit them out if I left to play.
“Will you take her tonight?”
That question spun circles in my brain. If there were no repercussions, I would reach through and drag her over right now, if only to end my own suffering. No, if I could, I would ease her back in. Let her prepare for this and say her goodbyes. That was my original plan. Mergle was right, though. It needed to happen quickly and soon. There wasn’t time to acclimate her, and she would need protection.
His attention went back to the mirror. I traced the contours of her face before traveling down her body. The girl most definitely grew into a woman over the years.
“It is time to collect her debt and return my power reservoir.”
Mergle’s body trembled with blood lust as his hard stare penetrated mine. “Prepare for war.”
I nodded. “There’s one more thing I need to do first.”
