“And then his voice echoed through my head. Merit. He silently called my name, even as he stood beside her. Liege? I answered back. His eyes glinted. Don’t call me that. There is nothing else for me to call you. You are my employer.That is the deal we’ve struck.”

“His eyes widended again, then flicked to something behind me. He shook his head, looked back at me. His voice low, intimate, insistent. "Come back from this, Merit. You don't want to fight me.""I do," I heard, in a voice that was barely mine. "Find steel," she advised him.We advised him.He stood there a long moment, silently, still, before nodding. Someone offered him a blade, a katana that glinted in the light. He took it, mirrored my stance - katana in both hands, body bladed."If the only way you'll come back from this is to be bloodied by it, then so be it."He lunged.”

“I laugh shakily. ‘You’re a little scary, Four.’‘Do me a favor,’ he says, ‘and don’t call me that.’‘What should I call you, then?’‘Nothing.’ He takes his hand from my face. ‘Yet.”

“Good morning,” he drawled. She straightened her shoulders with the silent reminder that she had to be as distant as he was. “My lord.” He gave her an indulgent smirk. “As much as I like to be referred to as your lord, I think we’ve gone far beyond those empty platitudes. You have called me Ethan several times.” He hesitated and tapped his chin. “Actually you moaned it once. I prefer you call me that while we are alone together.”

“He leaned in. “Kiss me, one last time.” I called up a distant memory of his lips against mine. But this time, I kept my eyes open.When he pulled back, Logan passed his hand over my hair. “Don’t forget me, okay?”

“Meghan!" The voice called to me again, and I recognized it now. It was his voice, the voice of my knight, frantic and tormented, pulling me back from the void. "Meghan, no!" it pleaded, echoing in the blackness. "Don't do this. Come on, wake up. Please." The last word was a desperate, whispered sob, and I opened my eyes.”