She blinked. “I haven’t actually said yes, King.”
He smirked, arrogance in his expression. “Playing hard to get is for humans, Mercy. You’re above that.” He stood, smoothing down his pressed pants. “As your mate, I’ll have little patience for nonsense.” With that last mild threat, he exited the office.
She tried to like him, she really did. He was smart and extremely good-looking. Confident and assured. But where was the excitement? The sizzle? They had a common goal, and they were passionate about it. But where was her passion for him? She just couldn’t find it.
Mercy reached in her bottom drawer and pulled out a manila file. She opened the top, and dark green eyes bored into hers. Just one time, she wanted to meet Logan Kyllwood. To put the dreams to rest. If that meant committing treason, then so be it. She had to take the chance to reason with Logan.
And she wanted to meet him more than she understood.
A barely there knock sounded at the door, and she snapped her head up and into the present. “Come in,” she said.
Grace Cooper poked her head inside, her hazel eyes somber. “Have a minute?”
Mercy sighed and motioned her in.
Slight vibrations came from the human, revealing her enhancement. Enhanced humans, those with psychic, empathic or telekinetic abilities, could mate with immortals. And this one had become Adare’s mate, despite the fact that she’d been in a coma at the time, at death’s door. Mercy looked her over, suddenly curious. “You’re the only female I’ve ever heard about who mated without intercourse.”
Grace blushed crimson. “Yay. Lucky me.” She flopped onto the bed, bouncing twice on her butt.
Mercy winced. “Sorry.”
Grace shrugged, her narrow shoulders covered by a light-pink sweater. “I was in a coma, almost dying, but Adare bit me and saved my life. We think I was able to survive because I’m one of the Keys.”
Yeah. Mercy figured that’d be the topic. “Don’t worry, the ritual will never happen.”
Grace looked at her, hazel eyes wise. “The fact that there’s a ritual says something, don’t you think?” She sighed and kicked out her feet. “Two years in a coma, and I get philosophical.” The woman was pale and too thin, but there was no doubt she wasn’t a typical coma victim. Being a Key had definitely kept her as healthy as possible. “I understand all of this immortal shit is about blood and bones and Fate, but what the hell, right?”
Mercy snorted. “Exactly.”
“How is my blood supposed to stop the most dangerous evil asshat ever created?” Grace frowned at the closed door. “Besides my so-called mate.”
Mercy chuckled. “Adare does seem a little cranky.”
Grace sighed. “That’s the understatement of all time. He doesn’t like humans.” Her lip twisted. “At all.”
It must stink to be mated to somebody who didn’t like you. Although, after everything that had happened, no doubt Niall wasn’t liking Mercy much right now. Duty pulled her in one direction, while Logan Kyllwood yanked her in another. She shook her head and focused on Grace’s problem. “Supposedly there’s a virus, a new one, that negates the mating bond.”
Grace grinned. “Already on it, sister. As soon as I get my health back, I’m seeking out that virus. For sure.”
Of course, as far as Mercy knew, it had never been attempted on a mate with a still-living partner. Only widows and widowers. “Good luck.”
“Thanks.” They shared a grin.
Mercy wondered what Grace’s enhancement was, but that was kind of like asking a woman her weight. “You understand the legend of the Keys, right?”
Grace shook her head. “I don’t understand any of this. It’s crazy. Completely nuts.”
It truly must seem bizarre to a human. “All immortals can be killed by beheading,” Mercy said quietly. “Ulric slaughtered a hundred Enhanced women, taking their blood and bones into his essence so he could become truly immortal. His entire body is impenetrable, much like the torsos of the Seven.”
Grace tied her long brunette hair up on her head. “I’ve heard that part, but it was watered down a mite. I understand that he’s impossible to kill from the outside.”
“Exactly.” Mercy swallowed. “But one of the women he sacrificed was a prophet. A powerful one who saw what might become of her. She poisoned her own blood, and when Ulric drank her in, he took in the poison.”
“But he didn’t die?” Grace asked.
“No. The poison is contained within him, shielded by the essence of the other victims.” Mercy swallowed, her head starting to thrum. “The prophet had first infused the blood of her triplet girls—three Keys—with catalysts, so that if blood from the three is combined, the poison will be activated within Ulric. The only way to kill him is from the inside. Over the years, as soon as one Key dies, another one, another descendant of the prophet, is born. She ensured it would be thus.”
Grace clasped her hands in her lap. Her fingers were long and graceful. “My blood doesn’t seem different from anyone else’s. And I don’t feel anything sitting next to you. Do you?”
