He was tall, with black hair flowing past his waist. Huge, leathery black wings were stretched up over his back and outward, blocking the dull sky. His eyes were crimson, set in a sharp, brutal face that managed to be frightening and strangely beautiful at the same time. His presence was magnetic, and she couldn’t help but be drawn to him in spite of herself. Many a sadistic ruler had possessed that particular gift, and the Unseelie was no exception.
She could see why Kalen or anyone else would be taken in by the male. He was the seductive dark to Sariel’s brilliant light.
“What do you want?” she demanded, hoping she concealed her fear—for both herself and her baby. “I’m no threat to you.”
“True.” With a half smile, Malik stroked her cheek with one long, claw-tipped finger. “A puny human like you cannot hurt me.”
“How astute of you,” she said drily. “So why don’t you leave my dreams in peace? Better yet, leave Kalen alone, too.”
“I cannot do that, pretty doctor. Despite his unfortunate failure in my latest test, he is too important to my plans for the future.” The Unseelie’s speculative gaze raked her from head to toe, making her skin crawl in trepidation. “I used to believe the opposite about you.”
“What, I’m suddenly important?” She snorted to cover the fearful suspicion rising in her breast. “I seriously doubt that. You’ve got your wires crossed and I’m not staying here to listen to any of your bullshit.”
But she couldn’t escape him because there was nowhere to go. He stepped closer, a weird expression on his face. Almost one of . . . fondness? She took a startled step back, but her flight was halted when he grasped her wrist and stared deeply into her eyes.
“A mother should never underestimate her power in the world.”
God, he knows about the baby! Gasping, Mac tried to twist her arm free, to no avail. “Don’t even think about trying to hurt our child,” she snarled into his face. “Or I swear I’ll find a way to destroy you!”
The Unseelie laughed. “Such spirit! But why would you think for a moment I would harm a defenseless baby? Especially when I have a vested interest in his well-being.”
Cold slithered down her spine and she stilled. “I fail to see how that could possibly be true.”
“It’s quite simple, dear Mackenzie.” Reaching out, he placed a palm over her still-flat belly, his expression the picture of rapt fascination. “I had thought bringing Kalen to my side would be my greatest achievement, but now that triumph is twofold.”
Her heart pounded. “How so?”
“Because now I’ll have not only Kalen, but my grandchild.”
Mac stared at him dumbly for several seconds before the full import of his revelation washed over her, swept her away in a tide of pure horror.
This time when she jerked from his grasp, he didn’t stop her. She ran, his ghostly laughter chasing her into the gloom. On and on she fled the truth, tears streaming down her face, blinding her vision.
Her baby. Malik’s grandchild.
And Kalen the Sorcerer . . . his son.
She couldn’t run anymore. Couldn’t cope with the knowledge. Fell to her knees and screamed . . .
Mac shot upright in bed, heaving in gulps of air as though she really had run for miles. Her pulse tripped and her chest hurt like she was about to have a heart attack.
“Just a dream,” she whispered, looking frantically around the room to make sure the Unseelie wasn’t really there. “No, a nightmare. That’s all. Kalen is not that creep’s son! And our baby . . .”
No. It just wasn’t possible. She wouldn’t think of it. Kalen didn’t even know about their baby yet because there hadn’t been a perfect time to tell him. And she sure wasn’t about to upset him with what was either a complete lie from a meddling Unseelie, or was simply a figment of her overwrought imagination.
No matter how real it had seemed.
Gradually she became aware of a pounding noise that she realized wasn’t just her heart thrumming in her ears. Someone was knocking, and they sounded impatient. Pushing out of bed, she padded for the door, attempting to shake off the groggy, disoriented feeling left over from her nap.
“Mac?” Nick called from the other side. More knocking.
“Damn, hold your horses!” More than a little grumpy, she turned the locks and opened up. “What the hell’s going on?”
“Why weren’t you answering your phone?” he barked. “We need you in the infirmary.”
Dread punched her gut. “I was taking a nap and never heard it ring. What’s wrong?”
“We’ve got a handful of the team injured from the op. Minor stuff mostly, but Melina and Noah have their hands full.”
“Hang on.” Disappearing inside, she hurried and found her cell phone lying on the kitchen bar where she’d discarded it on returning to her quarters. Glaring on the display were five missed calls and several texts from both Nick and Melina. Crap. Sliding the phone into her pocket, she joined Nick and they walked at a fast clip.
“How’s Kalen?”
“He took a swipe across the ribs from one of the Sluagh, and he’s worn out from pushing his limit by using too much magic, but otherwise okay. He’s clamoring to be released, like almost all the rest of the knuckleheads.”
Thank God.
“Zander wasn’t able to heal any of them?” she asked.
“Not this time. He’s the worst of the bunch, out cold from a hard knock to the head. He seemed okay while we were getting ready to leave the site. Then he went down.”
Damn. A head injury was much more of a problem than scrapes and bruises. “Has Melina done a CT scan on him?”
“I have no clue. I’m just the messenger.”
Once they reached the infirmary, she left Nick to hurry and find Zander. As much as she wanted to rush to Kalen’s side, the Healer came first. She found Noah, who was bandaging a gash on Jax’s biceps.
“Where’s Zander?”
Noah glanced up. “Room seven. Dr. Mallory already ran the CT. I helped her get him prepped, but I haven’t had time to ask her about the results.”
“A CT scan?” Jax repeated with a frown. “Nobody told me it was that bad.”
The RetroCog was worried about his best friend, and she didn’t blame him. “One of us will keep you in the loop, okay?” He reluctantly agreed, as there was nothing else he could say. She turned to the blond nurse. “Thanks, Noah.”