Page 17 of Quiver of Cobras
‘You’re funny. Go on. Let’s get it over and done with and then we can move on.’
‘I really have no idea what you’re talking about.’
‘You’re here to apologise for being so gruff earlier. My idea about staying with Rubus so I can keep an eye on him and stop him from harming anyone else is an excellent one. You have to bow down to my greater wisdom, not to mention my sacrifice.’
He crossed his arms. ‘That’s not why I’m here. I have nothing to say sorry for, Maddy.’
I peered at him. Ah. He appeared to be telling the truth. He did indeed believe that he was still in the right and I should have abandoned Rubus at the first opportunity. I pursed my lips. ‘Oh. Well, it’s good that you still care enough to check up on me and make sure I’m alright.’
I saw the faintest hint of amusement zip across his face. ‘I didn’t know you were here.’
‘You put another of those dandelion tracker things on me, right?’
‘Nope.’
‘It’s okay, Morgan. You can tell the truth. No one else is around.’
He raised his emerald-green eyes heavenward. ‘I’m not lying, Maddy. It didn’t occur to me that you’d be here.’ A note of bitterness entered his voice. ‘To be honest I assumed you’d be with Rubus, doing whatever he wants you to do.I’mhere because I heard the building had burnt down and I wanted to see it for myself. All this crap started with Chen and his sphere. The fire makes me wonder what else might have been going on.’
I frowned, vaguely hurt. ‘You could havepretendedto be here for me.’
His mouth twitched. ‘I thought you preferred it when we were honest with each other.’
‘I prefer it whenI’mhonest withyou. The reverse isn’t necessarily true.’
This time he was definitely suppressing a smile. ‘That’s hardly fair.’
I gestured down at myself. ‘How do I look?’
He looked me over with a critical eye. ‘Awful. You don’t look like you’ve slept properly for days. There are bags under your eyes. Your hair isn’t as glossy as normal and you’re far too pale.’
It was my turn to fold my arms. ‘Good grief. There’s honesty and there’s far too much information. This is one of those situations when a lie would be perfectly welcome.’
‘Indeed,’ he murmured. He folded his arms across his broad chest. ‘How doIlook to you?’
Gasbudlikins. What I should have said was that he looked like a grotesque troll. With a terrible, flesh-eating disease. But his dark hair was just the right side of mussed-up and the shadow of stubble around his strong jaw gave him an irritatingly debonair appearance. His T-shirt stretched against his chest, hinting at his hard body underneath. He was also wearing spicy aftershave but, unlike Rubus, Morgan’s scent was neither distastefully overpowering nor nausea-inducing. His smell made me want to rub myself against him like a cat.
I sighed. ‘You look devastatingly, stomach-squirmingly gorgeous.’
Morgan’s mouth curved into a proper smile and he stepped towards me. ‘Go on.’
I sniffed. ‘Aren’t there more important things to do than talk about how good you look?’
He reached down and tucked a stray curl behind my ear. Unfortunately, the gesture was identical to what Rubus had done to me not that long ago. With my guard down, I couldn’t stop myself from wincing. Morgan’s face immediately shuttered and he stepped back.
‘Sorry,’ I muttered. ‘It’s just that your brother did the same thing earlier. It’s hard having to act a role around him all the time. I don’t want to have to do the same around you.’
His expression softened. ‘That might be the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.’
‘Give me a chance and I might say more. Just remember that I’ve only known you for ten days. You’ve known me for a lifetime.’
Morgan grimaced. ‘Artemesia is still working on that. She’s not yet come up with anything to cure your amnesia.’
‘Rubus has set her uncle onto it as well,’ I told him. ‘And speaking of him, I might have mentioned where Artemesia’s hideout is. I trust she’s already moved on. She suggested that she’d have to do so because I couldn’t be trusted.’ I shrugged. ‘She was right.’
‘She was packing up five minutes after you left.’
I breathed out; at least that was something. There were only so many disasters I could be responsible for. Artemesia reuniting with her evil apothecary uncle didn’t have to be one of them. ‘Good,’ I said. ‘That’s good.’
