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“My primary goal is the cauldron. Until now, I believed the only way to get on Seelie Lands and acquire the cauldron was to kill Guin so her wards would fall. The two goals were entwined.” “And now that you’re here without having to kill Guin, does that mean you will no longer attempt to kill her?” I could hear it in his voice. He would still defend her. I gave him an icy glare. “I will do what’s best for the Seelie people.” After a tense silence, Knight rose and resumed leading the way through the dense undergrowth. “So you still want to kill the queen over the death of a man that happened centuries ago?” “What? No! Did you even listen to anything I said?” “I heard you,” he said as he stepped into a small clearing. “You hate Guin for stealing the love of your life.” I bellowed a groan of frustration and shoved at Knight’s back, barely budging the hulking male. “I can’t help it if you’re too dense to understand.” He turned around, eyes narrowed. “You’re just like all the other pea-brained idiots out there.” I shoved his chest, and he took a step back as I continued. “You believe every little bird that whispers in your ear.” Shove. “And you never think to question authority because it’s just easier.” Shove. “But I see the truth.” Shove. “Guin is rotten to the core, and I. Will. Take. Her. Throne.” Shove, shove, shove, shove.
With my last shove, I whipped around and began to pace, needing an escape for my furious energy. I didn’t care that Knight gaped at me like I’d gone mad. I was too angry that he was just the same as everyone else. My gut had told me to explain myself to him, but it had been pointless. He only saw the parts he wanted to see and discarded the rest. Crazy, pathetic Morgan and her personal vendetta against the perfect Faery Queen. “What the f**k?” called out Knight with an edge that instantly caught my attention. I spun in his direction and stilled as I witnessed Knight slowly sinking into the ground. Pockets of air bubbled up from the quicksand-like dirt that was already rising to his knees. He attempted to lift a leg to step away, but the motion only sank him farther into the soil. “Knight, stop playing around. Get out of there,” I hissed anxiously. He closed his eyes, and swirling golden designs began to glow through his shirt. They arced from his waist up around his chest to his neck, and I wondered what it would be like to touch them. One minute he was there in the dirt, and the next, he was back near the tree line. I released the air I’d been holding in my burning lungs, bending over to rest my hands on my knees. “Damn, that was close.” “Morgan, don’t move!” Knight barked from across the clearing. Instinctively, my eyes flew to him but then slowly fell to where my feet had been swallowed by the ground. In my concern for Knight, I hadn’t even noticed the cool dirt rising up around my ankles. “Knight, get me out of here!” I cried in a strangled whisper. My voice bore a note of hysteria as I sunk at an astonishing pace. “I’m working on it.” He rushed into the trees, scouring the area for something to use. The urge to struggle was overwhelming. My arms and legs itched with the need to free myself, but I knew that would only cause me to sink faster. I took shaky breaths in through my nose and out through my mouth, attempting to calm my racing heart. By the time he cautiously made his way over to me, the dirt had swallowed me up to my waist. Knight poked all around where I stood with a long branch, trying to gauge how close he could get. I had managed to center myself in a large pit of the sinking soil. He lifted the branch toward me, but I couldn’t quite get my fingertips on the end. “It’s too short. Knight, I’m sinking. Hurry!” I was racing toward fullon panic, tears clouding my vision. “Dammit, Morgan. I’ll get you out. Just stand fuckin’ still.” He hurried back to the trees, careful to retrace his steps through solid ground. Even though he was going to come back, watching his retreating form was a terrifying feeling. Frustration at my situation had me lashing out. “This is why you should have taken off my cuffs! I knew something like this would happen, but noooo, it was more important for you to keep me powerless.” I raged at him because it was the only place to direct my helpless fury as the soil moved farther toward my chest. I knew he wasn’t responsible, and I was a b***h for berating him while he was trying to help me, but I had to vent the frustration somewhere. Knight ignored my venomous shots and rushed back to the edge of the pit, holding several layers of sheet bark that resembled thick roofing shingles. “Morgan, shut the f**k up and pay attention. I’m going to set these on the edge of the pit and use them to get me a couple of feet closer. I’ll only have a matter of seconds to get the branch over to you and get back on solid ground. You have to grab it tightly and not let go. You got it?” “Yes,” I breathed with a quivering jaw. “Ready? Go.” He dropped the bark and stepped on the pile, thrusting the branch toward me. I grabbed hold with both hands and clung to the wood as Knight stepped backward, dragging me through the dirt. As his feet stepped off the wooden planks, they disappeared beneath the grainy soil. With just my face and hands above ground, I held as still as possible as Knight towed me toward safety. Once I was in reach, he took my hands and hoisted me out of the dirt. When I was free of the ground and could take in my first deep lungful of air, I clasped my hands around my rescuer and fought off an onslaught of tears. Knight wrapped his powerful arms around me and held me securely in his lap while my body shook from the rush of adrenaline. His hand pressed my head into the crook of his neck. It was the most protected and safe I could recall feeling since I was a child. Knight had kept me from being buried alive. Whether out of consideration for Merlin or another unspoken reason, he had saved me. I could almost feel the delicate threads of trust forming a tenuous bond between us. This is bad, Morgan. Do not form an attachment to this man.
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