Page 90

“No, you won’t!”

Moira suppressed a giggle when she twisted around enough to see Chase and Bryce shoveling green beans into their mouths. Horano chuckled with a humorous shake of his head, leaning back against the wall as he watched the spectacle.

After the race to the end of the beans and chocolate cake, Chase curled up beside her on her mattress and yawned.

“I’m tired.”

“Then it’s time to sleep. But first”—she retrieved the vial and carefully removed the top—“I’m going to give you an extra special treat.”

Chase’s tired eyes followed the vial. “What’s that, Mommy?”

“Magic. To protect you like it’s doing for me. And it’ll make you strong so you can beat Bryce in wrestling all the time.”

He pulled his head back as she lowered the vial to his mouth. “What does it taste like?”

“Better than Killeny’s chocolate cake,” Horano offered.

“No way!”

“Aye, try it. I can’t lie, child.” Chase sprang up and pulled Moira’s hand and the vial to his mouth. Horano warned, “Two drops should do. Too much will make you ill.”

“In other words, open your mouth and I’ll pour it in,” Moira instructed. Chase tipped his head back and opened his mouth wide, like a baby bird. Moira watched one thick, silvery drop fall onto his tongue, followed by a second. Chase’s eyes went wide and he smiled as he smacked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “Good?”

“Mm-hm!”

“Lay back, child. Close your eyes and sleep. When we return home, I’ll teach you a special bit of magic that not even Diaro knows,” Horano promised.

Within minutes, the potion had put Chase into a deep slumber, pressed against Moira’s side. Terrek slept on her other side, and a sense of peace hovered over the children. She caught Horano’s gaze as he sat at the table and assessed his stab wound and the sickly looking veins of poison that curled on themselves as he healed. The single ring he wore on his finger flickered and gleamed on occasion, power pulsing through the stone. Power the poison recoiled from.

His gaze drifted to Bryce before he concentrated on tending to his wound.

Moira lolled her head lazily against the pillow. Bryce lay on the other mattress, staring up into the twinkling ceiling, arms folded beneath his head. He must have sensed her curiosity because he rolled his head and caught her eyes.

“You should be sleeping,” he said quietly.

“We should all be sleeping.”

“Sleep isn’t coming easy tonight.” Bryce sighed. He turned onto his side to face her and propped his head on his fist. “If you’d like, I can keep one of the boys over here so you can sleep more comfortably.”

His kindness touched her deeply. The more time she spent with him, the more her heart swelled with joy for Rihanna.

“Actually, would you mind grabbing this for me?” She reached across Chase and extended the vial. Bryce’s brows shot up. He cast Horano a sharp glance. Horano remained seated with his back to them. When his surprised gaze landed back on Moira, she nodded once. “Here.”

Uncertainty warred across his expression, but at last he took the vial. She held up three fingers and whispered, “That’s all.”

He nodded his understanding. She waved with a little urgency, jutting her chin toward Horano. Thankfully, the man followed her lead, opened the vial, and poured three drops of potion into his mouth before handing the vial back to her. She offered him a smile as she settled back down on her mattress.

Now, she had to figure out a way to heal faster and escape from this bunker.

35

Patience.

She suffered the torture of forced patience for six months in that horrid exile. Patience as she stewed in her fury. Patience while she imagined how she’d exact her revenge.

Patience, patience, patience.

’Twas not a characteristic she was known for.