Chapter Nine
Ava
Ireturned toconsciousness quickly. A gasp escaped my lips as I sat up and clutched my chest.
Immediately, a handsome face filled my vision and I was caught in the trap set by worried green and gold eyes.
“What’s wrong? Are you in pain?” Macgrath asked, his hands resting gently on my shoulders as his eyes moved down to where my own palms were pressed to my sternum.
I released a long breath and relaxed, taking a moment to evaluate how my body felt. “No, no. I’m fine.” I stiffened. “Savannah? Rhys? Harrison?”
Macgrath squeezed my shoulders gently. “They’re all fine. You protected us all when you cast that spell.”
I collapsed in relief, lying back on the pillows on the bed. After a moment of staring blankly at the ceiling, I realized I was at Savannah’s, in the guest room. It was also dark outside. I’d been out for hours at least.
“What time is it?” I asked.
“Nearly three a.m.,” he answered quietly. “Rhys and I managed to convince Savannah to sleep in her own bed rather than on the floor in here.”
I chuckled. “I’m glad. She would have been uncomfortable for nothing.”
“For nothing?” he asked, cocking his head to the side.
I lifted my upper body and scrunched the pillow against the headboard behind me. Now I was half-reclined and half-sitting, making it easier to see his face. “Yeah. I just needed a few hours of rest to reset after channeling that much power so quickly. If I’d had another second or two, it wouldn’t have been so hard on my body.”
He considered me in silence for a long moment. “You were also injured,” he commented.
I glanced down at my torso and flexed my arms and legs. Then I lifted the neckline of my shirt and looked down. I checked my chest and abdomen for bruises. There were none.
I dropped the material and met Macgrath’s stormy gaze. “I’m all healed now.”
He nodded. “Yes, you are, because Harrison healed you with magic, not because of your own power.”
“I’ll have to thank him, but it wasn’t necessary either,” I commented. “I would have healed on my own while I slept.”
Macgrath frowned at me but didn’t say anything else.
I didn’t bother to ask him why he was here. I already knew. No doubt he felt responsible for the explosion, but I didn’t blame him. I froze at the thought. Just two or three days ago, I would have been suspicious of him, wondering if perhaps he was Rhiannon’s inside man.
Somehow I’d let two kisses undermine my wariness where he was concerned. Granted they were delicious and mind-scrambling, but I couldn’t afford to be weak. Not now.
I stared at where he sat on the edge of the bed, his thigh pressing lightly against my lower leg. “You appear unharmed,” I mentioned, keeping my gaze on his face.
“Rhiannon wasn’t after me.”
I glanced down at the ring on my right hand when he spoke, surprised to see that the stone inside it remained dark blue. It was a truth amulet, a stone that contained a spell. If the person speaking lied, it would turn black. If they spoke the truth, it remained dark blue.
I took a deep breath, keeping my eyes on the stone. “Did you know she was coming?”
When he didn’t answer, I glanced up and saw that he was watching me with narrow eyes. His gaze moved from my face to the ring on my hand.
Somehow I managed not to stiffen, but it hit me then that he knew exactly what my ring contained.
He closed his eyes and scrubbed his hands over his face. Then he groaned. “I don’t want to answer.”
A sharp, hot spike of pain went through my heart. No, it wasn’t pain. It was betrayal. “You knew?” I whispered.
“I knew she would come eventually,” he confirmed. “I just didn’t know when.” His eyes met mine. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m not working for her or with her. I hated every moment of her presence, but…” he trailed off and looked down.
