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

What He Can't Have

I sucked in a deep breath. He had clearly done this before. Quite abruptly, our intimate moment was dramatically and completely interrupted, when the door to the lab burst open along with an angry roar that sent shivers hurdling up and down my spine.

Myrnin was in front of me in an instant, vicious growling reverberating from his chest, at the sudden and unknown threat. I quickly reached for my shirt, my hands shaking, to redo the buttons that Myrnin had released with his teeth. When I was finally appropriately covered, I peeked out from behind Myrnin's massive presence, and was shocked to see Professor Silver on the ground, in obvious pain, covered in blood from head to toe. Oliver stood over the Professor, his expression fiercer than I had ever seen. His eyes were wild and flashed with anger and hate. He looked like the angel of death as he towered over the Professor. I sucked in a deep breath, fear rippling down the back of my neck, causing my hair to stand on end.

"Tell him!" Oliver spat and then slammed his foot down on the Professor's arm, breaking it with a sickening snap.

I saw pain flood the Professor's expression, but he didn't cry out. Instead he coughed and spit blood, and said, "It was Gwion."

My heart stopped, and I sucked in a sharp breath. Suddenly, I knew everything he was going to say. Gwion had engineered all of this: the disease, our appeal for his help, taking control of Amelie...all of it.

Myrnin straightened, no longer needing his defensive position in front of me, and sat back down. His back and neck were stiff with anger; his eyes black with fury.

I would have offered a chair to Oliver, but clearly, he wasn't going to move an inch past the point of being able to deliver a deadly blow to Professor Silver, should the inclination strike him.

"How?" I asked quietly. Some of it was obvious. Gwion was able to make the cure, because he had created the disease.

Myrnin interrupted my train of thought with the more important question. "Why? " he spoke through gritted teeth.

Professor Silver choked out a laugh, completely devoid of humor. "What do all great men want?" he asked us, looking like the answer should be obvious. When no one responded, he continued, "What they cannot have. He is addicted to power - and no woman is more powerful than her. She is the challenge that he lost. He doesn't like losing. As far as I know, she is the only person he has ever lost to, making her the prize he had to have."

A sense of dread washed through me at his words. "No...not the only one..." I murmured quietly, looking at Myrnin, my eyes wide with fear. Amelie wasn't the only woman Gwion had ever lost to. The game hadn't been same. He had pursued her affection and lost. With me, the challenge was more defined - a head to head battle of wits - and I had won. He seemed to take the loss okay - surprisingly well, actually - but did that mean, I would be a future target?

Professor Silver's full attention turned toward me, and asked intently, "What?"

"I won our challenge," I whispered quietly.

He turned to Myrnin in shock, "You let her challenge him?!"

Myrnin replied, a bit chagrinned, "Claire makes her own decisions."

Amazement crossed the Professor's features. "I knew you were special," he murmured with obvious appreciation. My skin crawled a bit at the way he was looking at me - like I was a prized butterfly to be pinned to a board and dissected. Myrnin must have felt it as well because he growled a deadly warning.

"And now he has her!" Oliver roared, bringing us all back on topic. "Is there anything else you need to know from him," Oliver hissed to Myrnin, "because it is killing me not to snuff out his miserable existence." Oliver leaned down, the muscles in his chest flexing, his fist drawn back, ready to strike. I knew he was seconds away from ripping out the professor's heart. I turned my head.