𝔸𝕧𝕒

Morgan leads Finn and me to a secluded corner of the library, taking heavy steps with his shoulders hunched and his hands balled at his sides.

I have very little idea of what's going on, but Morgan seems pretty pissed at us.

"It'll be okay," Finn says through my mind. "Morgan is a bit of a grumpy blowhard but at the end of the day, he's a good guy. Remind you of anyone?"

Now that you mention it, there is a certain familiar air about Morgan—a handsome, brooding, British immortal with a roguish attitude.

Morgan sits down at a table and reluctantly gestures to offer us seats across from him. He and Finn seem to be exchanging heated glances but neither says anything.

"It was a mistake," Finn says in a hushed voice. "I told him not to be around for the meeting. I didn't tell him why. He just didn't realize the proximity would even be an issue."

They trade glares for a moment.

"But you know I need a warning for something like that!" Morgan huffs.

What are they talking about?

"Hold up, are you guys having some sort of mental conversation without me?"

"Sorry, Ava," Finn says, taking a deep breath in. "Let's start over. Ava, this is my mate Morgan. Morgan, this is Ava."

"Hello," Morgan says, his eyes on the table as he extends his hand for a handshake. "I'm sorry about earlier, that wasn't me. I... It was my powers."

"It's okay. I know that stuff can happen," I say shaking his hand. "Nice to meet you, Morgan."

"So you have a job for me, I assume?" he asks.

"We do," Finn says, tipping his head to me. "She's the job.

"Are you royalty or something? Someone important's daughter?"

"Do I have to be?" I ask.

"I don't usually do small-time protection gigs. I get the call when the client is incredibly powerful or has attracted the wrath of someone who is. Think of me as the nuclear option."

I thought his power was feeling peoples' emotions. It doesn't sound that dangerous.

"She's the latter," Finn says. "At least one Demon King and his horde of demons are after her. Well... technically they're after her boyfriend, Zane, the Siren."

"So they're targeting her to get to him?"

"Sort of... um..." Finn pauses a moment. "We don't think they know she's alive. We're trying to keep it that way."

Thanks, Finn, that doesn't sound ominous at all.

"Does this have something to do with the murdered Sirens?"

"It was retribution."

"For what?"

"For killing Asmodeus."

Morgan straightens in his chair and leans forward.

"Bollocks," he says, his expression hard and serious. "Asmodeus is dead?"

"He is."

Morgan lets out a shaky breath and kneads his scruffy chin in his hand.

"How can you know for sure?" he asks, his eyes looking glossier. "Did he really do it? Your mate—Zane? Did he really kill Asmodeus?"

Finn stares a moment before answering.

Is he going to tell him that I killed him? Should we lie?

"No," Finn says, "but he's covering for the person who did."

"Wow."

Morgan leans back in his chair and crosses his arms.

"Finn, I want to help you—I do," he says. "But I can't work with a Siren. That's just too much of an ask."

What the heck is this guy's problem?

"Hey, douche," I say. "I don't know what your problem is with Sirens, but if you haven't noticed, that's my boyfriend you're talking about."

He looks at me stone-faced, his eyebrows lowered as we have a bit of a stare-off. The corner of his mouth turns upward until he's wearing a smirk. He explodes with a laugh louder than is probably appropriate for a library.

"I like you," he says. "I don't have a problem with Sirens. My powers don't interact well with their...state of being."

"What does that even mean?"

"Sirens are built to be intense, passionate," he says. "They're quick-tempered, lustful—they feel everything stronger than other beings. When I pick up on those signals... it's really hard for me to tell which feelings are mine and which are theirs. With everyone else, even strong emotions are just background noise that can be ignored. But it takes a lot of conscious effort to separate myself from the feelings of a Siren."

"Is it just Sirens?" I ask.

"Sirens and Furies. You really don't want to hang out with me when a Fury's around."

So that's what he does—he feels people's emotions. How does that help us?

"What are you?" he asks, staring into my eyes.

"What??"

Finn and Kami assured me that no one would ask me that because it was rude to Immortals.

Is this guy starting shit with me?

I mean, I'm not particularly tough or strong, but if I were ever going to be able to take an immortal in a fistfight, it's got to be the one with 'emotion powers'.

Heck, I've been battling emotions since I was a teenager. Bring it, Empath!

"Human?" he asks, interrupting what I'm sure would have been a clever retort on my part.

"How do you know that?" I look down to make sure I don't have 'HUMAN' written across my shirt.

"Because you feel like shit." He smirks and raises his eyebrows.

"Okay, I know I'm not a fancy Immortal like you guys, but that was definitely rude." I give him a dirty look and he chuckles.

Finn, this guy is a douche.

"I mean... you're in pain. A lot of pain."

"Oh..." I grumble. "Yeah, so I'm human. Does it matter?"

"Wow," Morgan says, shaking his head side to side. "You lot want me to guard a human, who's clearly already falling apart, and work with her Siren boyfriend even though nobody knows the girl exists? No. You couldn't pay me enough."

"I wasn't planning on paying you at all," Finn says.

"Oh, you thought I'd do it for free because I hate Asmodeus?"

"I wouldn't bring them to you if I thought you couldn't handle it."

Morgan shakes his head again.

"Good try, Finn," he says with a chuckle.

I watch them stare at each other for a good few seconds, undoubtedly having some kind of empath-telepath conversation. They both look frustrated with each other.

"Would you help the person who did it?" I ask.

Both of their heads snap toward me.

"You don't have to tell him," Finn says in my mind. "It's your call."

We need the guy on our side. This would help.

"Are you saying your Siren did kill Asmodeus?" Morgan asks.

"No. But I did."

Morgan's eyes go wide.

"A human killed Asmodeus?" he asks, a smile growing on his face. "He would have loathed that."

"Brilliant, yeah?" Finn says.

"Fine. You have yourself a bodyguard, Killer."

"Good..." I say. "But um... can I ask... why are you such a particularly great bodyguard?"

He and Finn both instantly break into laughter.

"Do you know what an Empath is?" Morgan asks.

"I mean, you said you can feel other people's emotions."

"I don't just sense them," he says, "I channel them. And it's not just emotions."

"What else?"

"I can channel the powers of every Immortal in the immediate vicinity—all at once."