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“You were going to ask me to come with you?” I hate that doubt is palpable in the question, especially since I’m the one who planted the seed and allowed it to flourish. “So you didn’t go to him because of what we did?”
I vehemently shake my head. “No. I’d contacted him almost as soon as I got up, and I meant to ask you once you and Kai were back.”
Since Liam is completely still apart from the hand running through my hair, I turn my head so I can look up at him. My consort can be so closed off that reading his facial expression becomes my only clue about what’s going on in that mysterious head of his.
“He told me who the lost Drákon is.” I still find it hard to believe, and I know he can hear the disbelief in my voice.
“Did Alexander tell you why there’s another one?” Liam asks, and it surprises me that he isn’t eager to hear the name of my… half sister.
I take a deep breath to steel myself against the tear I’m about to open to our world. The words that come out when I open my mouth aren’t the ones I intended. “Kiss me, Liam,” I whisper, needing his lips on mine.
He draws in a ragged breath before gently palming my cheeks, and I can’t look away as his lips descend on mine. The kiss is languorous and unhurried, soft and loving. Even though both our mouths are closed, I can feel the kiss in my marrow. That’s how big Liam’s power is over my body, my mind, and my soul.
An embarrassing whimper escapes me when he pulls away, and I try to chase him by lifting my head so I can recapture his lips, but he’s too fast. “Not yet,” he says, his voice low and gruff. “If I let you continue to kiss me, I’ll want you to part those pretty lips, and if that happens, well, then I’ll end up ripping your clothes off.”
“And?” I challenge. That sounds perfect to me.
He chuckles huskily. “And then you will get too distracted to tell me why we’re here.” He pokes the tip of my nose and shoots me an infuriatingly self-satisfied smirk, like he didn’t just describe the perfect way to spend our time, just to take it away from me again. “Don’t look so glum. The sooner you talk, the sooner we can be naked.”
I reluctantly concede to his logic, which is annoyingly spot on. “Fine, you win,” I huff, rolling my eyes for good measure.
“If it helps, mistress, I don’t think any of us is winning right now.” The hunger in his eyes convinces me that he’s right, and that helps—at least a little.
Before I open the can of worms I’m about to unleash, I take my time, making myself comfortable in his lap. I know I’m only postponing the inevitable, but I can’t help it. The moment I finally tell someone what Alexander confessed, things will change, it’s unavoidable.
I know I’ve made the right choice in picking Liam to be the first of my men to hear the truth, and it serves a double purpose. Hopefully, it’ll show him just how much I need him, and, well, he’s also the one it’s going to affect the least.
“Stop going through everything in your head and spit it out already,” Liam commands, his voice stern but not unkind.
“It’s Morgana,” I confess, taking the leap without easing either of us into it. “Morgana Hatt is the last Drákon.”
“Except, she’s a Hatt in every way that counts. How did that happen?”
Licking my lips, I mentally curse the fact that we have nothing to drink. My nerves have made my throat dry out, which is pretty ironic when the ocean is so close to us. “There’s more. She’s my… I mean, according to Alexander she’s…” I trail off, suddenly feeling like it’s a betrayal to my mom to verbalize my kinship to Morgana. Flinging my arm over my eyes I seek comfort in the darkness and say, “She’s my half sister. Alexander is her biological dad.”
The hissed intake of air coming from Liam is the only outwardly sign I’ve surprised him. “Does she know?”
It’s odd watching Liam take it all in as we talk, his reactions are so similar to my own when I was the one hearing about it for the first time.
I explain that according to my—our—dad, Morgana doesn’t know, though he isn’t too sure that Marian hasn’t left a verbal trail of breadcrumbs that can be followed. When Liam asks the why and how, I can only shrug because Alexander refused to tell me why.
“He didn’t want to tell me. I could see in his eyes that there’s a lot more to it, but nothing he wanted to tell me. Though…” I cut off, rolling my bottom lip between my teeth as I become lost in my thoughts.
“Tell me what he said,” Liam demands.
“I’m not sure I know,” I whisper, feeling as confused as ever. “He… he said something about the Tribunal demanding it, but he didn’t elaborate no matter how much I pressed.”
Out of the handful of times I’ve seen my dad since he revealed he’s alive and well, he’s mentioned this Tribunal twice. But other than him mentioning it, I’ve never heard it mentioned before.
I explain that I’ve spent hours scouring the Drákon Enterprises databases without finding any answers, and that might just be the most telling thing of all. “Our company has the power to wipe anything from existence, so I don’t believe it’s a coincidence,” I gripe, hating that I have no idea what it means.
“When you and Gus were recovering, your dad mentioned the Tribunal. Or rather, he threatened me with it,” Liam says. He speaks slowly, as though he’s processing his thoughts at the same time. “I didn’t give it much thought at the time, but…”
As he trails off, I continue. “But why is he mentioning it around us without explaining it?”
“I don’t know,” I confess, answering Liam’s question. “It’s almost like he wants me to know… but… maybe I’m wrong. It’s like he wants to tell me, but something or someone is holding him back.”
Liam takes my hand, moves it beneath his clothes, and places it on his heart. Then he repeats the motion himself, splaying one of his tattooed hands on top of my thumping organ. It’s such a small gesture, but I love how the connection makes me feel grounded, like I can borrow his quiet strength to not fall apart as I start to question everything.
