"Meryn, baby?" Aiden took her other hand.
Meryn turned to Magnus. "You said I could have whatever I wanted, whenever, right?"
Magnus nodded. "You, more than anyone, deserves whatever your heart could desire."
"I want to speak with DeLaFontaine."
"No," Aiden said immediately.
She scowled up at him. "I didn't ask you."
She turned back to Magnus. "I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important."
Magnus gave her a soft smile. "I am beyond doubting you." He looked over to Adriel. "Secure him and bring him here. If she wants to meet with him, I want her surrounded by unit warriors at all times."
Adriel stood and motioned to Declan. "You are with me."
Declan grinned. "I knew you liked me best." Adriel was still ignoring him when they walked out.
Magnus stood. "Meryn if you would like to adjourn to the ante
chamber, I think you will be more comfortable there." He looked around. "And when he leaves we can return here without of dinner being spoiled by his presence."
"Dibs on the recliner," Meryn said standing.
Beth laughed. "I think it's pretty much yours now anyway."
Meryn let Aiden help her stand and escort her to the antechamber.
Quicker than she thought it would take, the door opened, and Adriel pulled DeLaFontaine into the room. When he saw Meryn, he snarled. "You!" he hissed. "Do not think I do not know that you were behind that humiliating spell."
Meryn frowned, then remembered the twin's diarrhea spell. She burst out laughing. "I actually had very little to do with that one, but thanks for reminding me. I needed a good laugh."
Adriel drove DeLaFontaine to his knees in the middle of the room facing Meryn. "He is all yours," he announced.
DeLaFontaine stared up at her. "What is this about?"
Meryn tilted her head. "I'm not sure yet. Something about you bothers me."
"He bothers all of us," Vivi muttered under her breath.
Meryn stared into DeLaFontaine's eyes. "Black, slick, oil," she said to herself.
She felt two hands come to rest on her back. She knew without turning it was Ryuu and Kendrick. "Keep going Meryn," Kendrick urged.
"I saw that black stuff again, with that Dubois douchebag, but not like him," she pointed to the man at her feet.
Meryn's gut instinct was proven correct when DeLaFontaine paled at her words. "Impossible," he whispered.
"You know what I think?" she asked him. "I think whoever is really in charge, the one who created this virus, I don't think they are kind enough to leave us an out. We did everything they thought we would do. We opened the city, we welcomed the refugees, we gathered blood, everything according to plan." Meryn raced after that one thought evading her. "Right up until I visited you. That's when I got those awful premonitions about Magnus. That was when we stopped doing what they wanted." She turned to Vivi. "What would've happened if I hadn't warned you about Magnus?"
Vivi frowned then swayed. Etain steadied her. "Magnus would have been strong enough, fast enough to either kill or incapacitate both Gavriel and Kendrick. Once wounded they would have been killed along with everyone in the room."
Meryn continued. "What would've happened if I hadn't stopped the third trial of older blood with the children and shifters on Level Six?"
Vivi covered her face with her hands unable to speak. Gavriel turned to Meryn. "The levels of testosterone in the blood from the transition markers would have reacted to whatever was in the virus to promote aggressive behavior. They would have gone feral. The adults would have hesitated to hurt them and they would have decimated everyone in the hospital." He stared down at DeLaFontaine. "Magnus would have started from the bottom and worked his way up and the children would have started from the top and worked their way down. Any victim who lost a mate would have also turned feral and the bloodbath would have grown at an exponential rate."
Meryn nodded. "That's what I thought." She stared at DeLaFontaine. "You're not smart enough to do all this. You're too self-centered. You would've wanted to preserve the city, so you could rule it, you wouldn't have created this." Her eyes narrowed. "Who is pulling your strings?"