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“You tricked me, you smelly little Irish toad,” Morganna seethed, staring down at him in loathing.

Molly’s lips twitched. She shifted her weight to her other foot. She was trying very hard to keep from laughing.

“I resent that. Just for your information, I do not smell. I bathed in the River Twyne five days ago,” he said proudly, bobbing his head up and down, reaching to place his hat back on his head.

“Oh, Lachlan,” Molly said in disgust, wrinkling her nose. “You’re never going to get a lady love with that poor body hygiene. “

Lachlan flung his hands up in the air and let out a strangled cough. Morganna had tightened her grip on him, and his face was turning an interesting shade of red.

“I could make you a pretty pair of dancing slippers that would be the envy of everyone in attendance at Lady Ainslie’s Spring Ball,” he offered. His moss-green eyes bulged right out of his head and a vein throbbed in his temple.

Morganna narrowed her eyes dangerously, lifting him clear off the floor.

“In all likelihood, you wouldn’t make me the second slipper, you conniving Irish,” she sneered.

“Morganna, couldn’t you take this up with Lachlan somewhere else?” Molly butted in. “I mean, I just finished a hunt, and I’m tired. I’ve got some memories to wipe, and then I must get some sleep. “

“No, Mary. This cannot be done anywhere else. Lachlan’s a slippery little leprechaun; if I let him go now, I may never find him again,” Morganna huffed, pursing her lips.

Molly winced as Morganna used her birth name. No one ever dared call Molly by her birth name, and Morganna was the only one that ever used it in the human world.

“What does this look like, Lachlan?” Morganna asked, putting her open-palmed hand in Lachlan’s face.

His eyes filled with mischievous laughter and he chuckled. Then, they widened and sobered at the livid expression that had replaced Morganna’s angry one.

“It looks to me to be dust,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “If you ask me, Morganna, you’re due for a good hand washing. “

His eyes twinkled merrily, and Molly groaned, realizing that the little jokester was close to getting clobbered.

“You little imp, I’m going to throttle you senseless, and this time I won’t get softhearted!” Morganna raged.

Molly quickly put her hands on both of their shoulders.

“Calm down,” Molly soothed. She darted a gaze over her shoulder at Collin. He seemed completely enraptured by the whole spectacle. “What did Lachlan do to tick you off like this, Morganna?”

“He bet that if he lost, he would give me the gold coin that would lead me to one of his cherished pots of gold,” Morganna explained, gradually increasing her already tight grip on Lachlan. “And then, as soon as I took it, he vanished. And as soon as he vanished, the gold coin turned into dust before my very eyes! No one tricks the great and powerful Morganna Du Lac without paying greatly for it!”

Molly felt her patience wearing thin. Sighing, she looked over at Morganna.

“First of all, Morganna, shame on you. You should know better than to enter into any sort of game with a leprechaun, least of all the bloody King. And you, Lachlan, you should be LADY PENDRAGON MARLEY MATHEWS 25

old enough to learn that your sly tricks get you nothing but heartache. It’s one thing to trick a human, but you tricked a witch, and a gruesome grumpy witch at that. “

Lachlan laughed, and Morganna continued to seethe.

Molly turned her head at the sound of Collin shuffling further out into the hall, and she bit her lip to keep from saying anything she might later regret.

“The great and evil witch, Morgan Le Fey,” Collin breathed.

Morganna stared at Collin as if he were a dragon, with two fire-breathing heads. Now he’d gone and done it. Molly groaned; she so didn’t need this.

“Pardon me?” Morganna asked, looking at Molly incredulously. “I assure you, young man, that I am by no stretch of the imagination evil. You have never seen true evil in its purest form and you have no right to label me as such!” Morganna loosened her hold on Lachlan and instead directed her attention to Collin. “Was this measly mortal just speaking to me?” she asked Molly, as if she had imagined Collin speaking up.

“I’m afraid so,” Molly answered, hoping that Morganna wouldn’t recognize Collin. If she did, and revealed that information to Collin, Molly would have to scream.

“Humph,” Morganna muttered, pulling Lachlan closer to her. “No doubt he believes that Arthur and I had a child together, and that Lady Gwenhwyfar had a romance with my husband.

Well, now my reason for staying in the magical realm has been further reinforced. All mortals are as dumb as a load of bricks. I shall have to make a mad dash, so that I can teach a few things to Lachlan in private. Besides, the current company does not meet my approval,” she mused, pulling Lachlan away from the rest of the group.

“Don’t let her take me,” he implored, beseechingly holding his arms out toward Molly.

“She’ll make me wear bloody pink! Please, Molly…have some compassion…pink I tell you! PINK!” Lachlan wailed, as Morganna tugged him away from Molly.

“Oh, Morganna. Don’t you think that punishment is a bit severe?” Molly asked, stepping toward them, though she kept her hand on Anwyn’s jeweled hilt.

“What would you suggest? King Lachlan here has made a right and proper fool out of me and I had planned for him to march through the Town Square on a pink pony, with pink ribbons in her mane. Of course, I was going to loan him a bright pink dress to wear as he rode atop the pony,” Morganna mused, a devious grin spreading across her face.

“You mean you aren’t going to slam him with a fire bolt?” Collin piped in, looking confused. “But in all of the legends, you were a force to be reckoned with. “

“Be quiet, Collin,” Molly murmured, rolling her eyes at Morganna. “He’s touched,” she said, tapping her temple, as Collin snorted.

“I haven’t gotten round to reading Morganna’s diary, but I’m sure that I’ll have time tonight,” he reasoned sensibly, slipping his hands in his pockets.

Molly resisted the urge to slap herself on the forehead. Morganna let out a shocked little strangled gasp and whirled on her.

“You lost our diaries?” Morganna shouted, causing Molly’s hair to billow out in a copper cloud around her.

In Morganna’s moment of distraction, Lachlan smiled cheekily and slipped out of her grasp. Catching Molly’s eye, he tipped his hat to her and promptly disappeared into thin air.

“I didn’t lose them. They were stolen from me,” she explained, sighing heavily.

Morganna heaved out another outraged sigh that mirrored the ones she’d already expelled.

“How could they have been stolen from you?” Morganna raged. In her fury, her raven hair began to billow out around her.

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“My butler took them,” she looked down sheepishly at the floor and scraped her boot along the grainy surface.

“Didn’t we tell you not to hire any mortals? Oh, Mary, how could you have been so foolish?” Morganna asked. “Why, when the council hears about this, you may be stripped of your power of command. Lord Merlin should be here to see you now. You’ve sworn off the use of your magic, except when you’re on the hunt, and now you failed us all, by losing our diaries!

Why, they conceal our history, our many identities, and our secrets. You should be thoroughly ashamed of yourself; if your father could see you now, he’d be heartbroken. He’d be beyond devastated. “

“Shut it, Morganna,” she seethed, between clenched teeth. “Everything is being handled.

I was in the process of reclaiming the diaries, when you and Lachlan showed up. And no one, no one is going to take my title away from me,” she declared. She straightened up. If Morganna thought to intimidate her, then she was right off her rocker.

“Ah, yes, lest I forget. Not only were you made the leader of the High Order of Merlin, you are also our once and future Queen,” Morganna declared, contempt leaking into her voice.

Molly struggled from breaking her word, and magically sending Morganna to the Isle of Nowhere.

“That’s not mentioned in your diaries,” Collin said flatly, from behind them.

“Morganna, pray cease your incoherent prattling. You sound like you’re talking out of your ass. “ Molly willed Morganna to take the hint and close her mouth.

She still had her hand on Morganna’s shoulder, and tensed as Collin moved over to her.

Her control slipped away when he brushed his large body up against hers.

Morganna’s eyes narrowed slightly, and Molly knew that her aunt was slowly piecing the jigsaw puzzle together.

“I know you,” Morganna commented, her dark-blue eyes roamed freely across Collin’s large Scottish frame. “Can’t seem to place you, but you are remarkably familiar to me. “

“That’s great, Morganna, why don’t you fly back to Castle Cadbury, I’m sure your beloved is missing you. “ Molly desperately wanted to rid herself of Morganna before her dearest Aunt blew everything straight to kingdom come.

“What did you mean, when you called Molly your once and future queen?” Collin asked, his dark thick eyebrows knitted together.

“Are you a simpleton? Or just daft, dense and dumb?” Morganna asked, just as she turned her attention away from Collin, thereby successfully dismissing him.

Molly stiffened, and watched Collin’s face mottle with indignant anger. She heard Mrs.

Carpenter moaning in the distance and she knew she had to attend to the woman.

“Where are the Avalon Diaries?” Morganna demanded, focusing her full attention on her brother’s daughter.

Molly winced beneath Morganna’s penetrating stare and knew that her discomfort originated from her childhood. Before she’d even known Arthur was her blood father, she had visited Morganna many times, and had on occasion been slightly intimidated by the woman’s high airs.

But she was just as good as Morganna in every way. She was a royal child, and she was as good of a witch, or even better. She was completely deserving of all that she had acquired over the long passage of time, since the glorious days of Camelot.

“Well,” Morganna prompted, tapping her foot restlessly. “I’m waiting, Mary!”

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“They’re back in Scotland, in my safe. “ Collin stared at Morganna and didn’t even blink once beneath her penetrating gaze. “Leave Molly out of this. “

If Collin thought he needed to play out the part of her protector he had another thing coming.

Morganna served him with a scowl, which should have turned him to stone.

“I see. “ Morganna’s clipped tone plainly told Molly that her aunt was downright furious with her.

Molly was completely bereft and for the first time in her life, she wished that everything would just standstill so that she could catch a few uninterrupted winks. She was so tired.

Morganna grasped tightly onto Molly’s arm, and then reached for Collin.

“Then off to Scotland we go,” Morganna muttered.

Molly paled and tried wrenching her arm out of Morganna’s hold. “I can’t leave Connecticut. What about Mrs. Carpenter? I have to make sure that she is unharmed. I haven’t seen to her yet, why she might have had a heart attack,” Molly rambled, trying desperately to dredge up a viable excuse, so that she wouldn’t have to go anywhere with her aunt.

Morganna concentrated and then waved her hand in Mrs. Carpenter’s direction as the woman vanished from sight.

“She’ll be fine, but just so you won’t be fretting needlessly, I sent her to Avalon, where she will be thoroughly checked out and treated accordingly. “ Morganna smiled at Molly.

“Trust me, Molly. Remember, to my despair, Millicent has been taken from me.

Whether you like it or not, we are now partners; no one could even think of breaking up our version of the three musketeers,” Morganna whispered, as goose pimples began rising on Molly’s skin.

“That’s what I was afraid of. “ Her heart dropped down into the pit of her stomach. The thought of having her aunt as her fighting partner was enough to turn her stomach.

In the blink of an eye, Morganna magically transported them straight across the Atlantic.

When they reached their intended destination, Molly noticed that Collin had lost all trace of his normally healthy bronzed complexion.

“Bloody hell, how did you know to take us to Dunraven Castle?” he asked, scowling furiously at Morganna.

Morganna released him and he took a cautionary step backwards. Molly could tell that Collin still didn’t trust Morganna. Even though Molly could sympathize with him, she was still furious with him for putting her in this distasteful situation to begin with.

“Where is your safe?” Molly demanded, vainly trying to take control of the situation.

She was the leader of the Order for God’s sake, and Morganna was certainly overstepping her boundaries.

“In my study. “ He tossed a heart-stopping grin at her, and began striding in the direction of what she assumed would be his study.

Catching up to him, they stood shoulder to shoulder as he reached for the door handle.

Her eyes feasted on his visage. Muscles worked in his jaw. He was not taking a liking to Morganna and she couldn’t blame him. As the door swung open it let out a bone-chilling creak.

His jaw gaped when he looked into the room. She grimaced at the sight before them.

“Top of the morning to you,” Lachlan proclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. The little imp sat on top of Collin’s gigantic desk, playfully swinging his legs.

Collin ignored the cheeky leprechaun king and went straight over to his safe. He began entering the secret code.

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Lachlan began whistling an old Irish ballad. “No point of doing that, mate,” he chirped, winking at Molly.