Garrett and Sam did the same.
The atmosphere in the room shifted as they caught sight of something at the same time.
“Holy shit,” Sam said, his gaze slashing up to her.
Logan did the same, his focus narrowing.
Finally, Garrett looked up, fire burning in his eyes. Then he barked out a short laugh that sounded feral. “I guess fate has no problem fucking with Ulric as well.”
She pressed back against the wall, feeling small and vulnerable under their powerful gazes. “I don’t understand.”
He handed over his phone again. “Look in the body of the butterfly, between the two wings.”
She’d never really studied the weird mark before and usually forgot it was there. Using two fingers, she widened the screen even more to study the oval body and a perfectly clear symbol in the center. “Wait a minute. Is that…”
“Yeah, kitten,” Garrett drawled. “That’s a key.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Garrett piloted the craft through the dismal storm because he’d needed to be in control. Dessie and Sam slept in the back, and Logan took point next to him. The rain battered them, and every once in a while, lightning would flash purple through the clouds.
Logan turned a dial in the middle of the control panel and readjusted his headset. “Want to talk about it?”
Garrett glanced behind them to see that Dessie was completely out, snuggled down in a blanket he’d taken from the motel. Sam was similarly sleeping, his head against the window, his body sprawled out. Neither wore headsets so they could sleep. “I don’t have anything to say.”
“Sure you do. Let it out, G.” Logan snorted, sounding like a television shrink.
“Shut up,” Garrett said without heat. He and Logan had been like blood brothers the second their siblings had mated. Well, after they’d tried to kill each other. Then they’d undergone the Seven ritual and had bonded in blood and bone and too much pain to comprehend. Plus, Logan felt the pull of opposing loyalties as much as Garrett did. “She’s my mate and is certainly enhanced. Did you see the flowers on the windowsill?”
Logan stared out of the window. “Interesting.”
“Yeah. I hadn’t been paying close enough attention. Every place we’ve been, any environment she’s stepped into, plants and flowers have thrived. I doubt even she knows what she’s doing.”
“Her college major had something to do with ancient languages. Did she express any interest in botany?” Logan fiddled with the same heat dial and then finally sat back, apparently satisfied.
Garrett nodded. “Just said she had a green thumb. I’m thinking she gardened as a hobby. But she has mystical symbols on her body and studied ancient languages and mythologies.” The woman’s instincts had certainly led her in the right direction to gain control over her life. “But she doesn’t know she has gifts?”
“You think she knows?” Logan asked.
Garrett rubbed his chest. “No. Maybe she was aware at one time, or maybe she never had the opportunity to knowingly explore what she could do. But whoever messed with her head and created that tumor took her autonomy away from her.” As well as the possibility of a long life, but Garrett was going to figure out a way to save her. “Whoever hurt her is going to die, and I’m going to make sure it’s painful.” His blood heated with a vengeance that had him gripping the wheel too tightly. Somebody had harmed his mate, and they’d bleed. He forced his hands to relax.
“No disagreement there,” Logan murmured through the headset. “Whoever messed with her head did a good job. All of her markers are human. I still don’t get any sense of enhancement from her, even though she apparently is your mate.”
“So?” Garrett didn’t either, and he’d been trying since the day he’d met her. “What’s your point?”
Logan was silent for a moment, no doubt choosing his words carefully. “What if she can’t be mated? If they turned her into a human, no matter her skills, you can’t mate her.” Concern rode his tone. “You have to understand that.”
Garrett took the words like a punch to the balls but didn’t outwardly react. “You think I could let her go? Even if I can’t mate her?”
“Perhaps she was once, a long time ago, able to be mated, but she can’t be now. I don’t want to see you go all in with this woman, no matter how fantastic she is, and then lose yourself when you lose her.” Logan sighed, and the sound was tortured. “If anything happens to Mercy, I’m done. She’s it for me, and I knew that when I mated the wild fairy. You and I have always been a lot alike. I’m just saying you should protect yourself now.”
It was already too late to protect himself, and he knew it. Not that he would. Garrett banked left to avoid heavy clouds. “You wouldn’t have turned away from Mercy. Not for a second, and she tried to kill you.”
“She kidnapped me. Killing isn’t in her nature,” Logan returned. “Dessie tried to kill you.”
“That’s not in her nature, either,” Garrett retorted.
Logan drummed his fingers on the dash. “I know. Dessie is a sweetheart.”
