All The Queen's Horses {Myrnin, Morganville Vampires}

Liam and Eve

Chapter 21 – Liam and Eve

For a moment, I just stood there as I watched Gwion walk away. We had accomplished everything that we had set out to do: Michael and Shane were both free, and Gwion had just agreed to return with us! My body wasn't exactly sure what I was supposed to do next. Myrnin brought me back to the present with a gentle tug on my arm. "Come," he steered me in the direction to where Michael and Shane had been standing.

As before, it was like the parting of the Red Sea. When Myrnin took a step forward, all of the bodies in the room seemed to gravitate away from him. I was rocked again by Liam's words describing him, "His cruelty is second only to Gwion." I wondered what conditions Myrnin must have lived under here, that could have stripped him of the traits I loved most – his undeniable fun and irresistible charm.

Oddly enough, it did not seem as though everyone's attention was restricted to Myrnin. Many of the onlookers stared at me openly. Some smiled, some glared but most of their expressions were cold and unreadable. I cringed tighter against Myrnin's body. I wasn't sure I wanted to know what they were thinking, if these people were the ones who had made Myrnin find it necessary to instill cold-blooded fear into them all.

As we broke through the crowd, my heart leapt when I saw Michael's crystal blue eyes dancing back at me, and then dropped to my feet when I took in Shane's expression of pure disgust.

Oh, shit! The realization of what he had witnessed rolled over me like freezing ice water, leaving a sick feeling in my stomach. My heart broke. I had desperately wanted to spare him more heart ache. Instead, there were so many things that had just occurred, which I knew, cut him to the bone. His pain bled through his eyes; it had clearly been excruciating for him to watch.

I opened my mouth searching for words which could never make up for the devastation I had just put him through – even though I did it for him too. He was free. I wondered if that made up for some tiny part of it.

Breaking through my reverie, Michael's strong arms coiled around me tightly. He spun as though I weighed less than a feather. I couldn't stop the short squeal of happiness that release from my lips, when I thought about his return to Eve. He murmured fervently in my ear, "Thank you," and released me.

No sooner had my feet touched the floor, did my roller-coaster-ride of emotions come crashing down again as Shane's eyes met mine – a stone cold expression glaring back at me. His fists were clenched; the muscles in his neck and jaw strained.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"Don't!" he hissed savagely through clenched teeth. "Don't ever speak to me again."

I had forgotten that Myrnin was standing right next to me until I heard a fearsome growl rumble from his throat. He took a dangerous step toward Shane, clearly intending harm. My hand shot out to grab a fist-full of his shirt, which had zero effect on his momentum, until I pleaded quickly, "Please don't..." There was no need to finish my sentence; he knew what I was asking. Fury radiated out of him, but shockingly, he stopped and turned to stare at me. We spoke silently – me communicating what I needed; and he communicating what he felt was justified. After a long moment, he relaxed his shoulders and I knew his decision had been made. I exhaled sharply in relief.

The world around me came back into sharp focus and I realized that people were gaping at us; their mouths slightly open in shock –I assumed it must have been due to Myrnin's decision not to execute Shane on the spot. I shivered under their scrutiny, and nudged myself close to him. I was surprised when his chest vibrated. Myrnin pulled back slightly to run a hand between us and extracted a slim phone from his shirt pocket. He answered it, but said nothing; just listened and then nodded, replying to the mystery caller, "I will be right there." He leaned down to kiss my forehead, still holding the phone to his ear and whispered to me, "Stay with Michael. I will be right back."