Chapter 13
They were surrounded.
Morda gripped the hilts of her lightsabers and spun in a slow circle. Six Jedi, masters most of them. It was impossible odds, but she had known going in that infiltrating this bunker wouldn't be easy. What she hadn't expected was that she would encounter all the Jedi at once. One of these Jedi was actually a Sith posing undercover, but he or she was no ally of Morda's. The spy belonged to Baras and was the reason Morda had come here.
"Stand down Sith," one of the Jedi said. "There's no need to spill blood."
Morda narrowed her eyes and hefted one of her blades in a threatening gesture. Adrenaline surged through her and she was ready to give this battle everything she had. Damn these Jedi; she wasn't going to go down without a fight.
Quinn had been caught in the circle of advancing Jedi as well, which was unfortunate. Morda felt him now, his back pressed against hers as they pulled their defenses together in a tight knot. He spoke quietly over her shoulder.
"This is suicide, my lord. I advise you to surrender. It may be our only chance for survival."
A growl found its way into Morda's throat, born of frustration and thwarted anger. Quinn was right. Dying now would put their plans in jeopardy and would most certainly sentence Quinn to death as well. The hum of Morda's blades fizzled out as she thrust her lightsabers back into their holsters.
"This isn't over." Morda glared at the leader.
He ignored her in that detached Jedi way that Morda always found annoying and held out his hands, nodding in the direction of the lightsabers on her belt. Of course, they would want to disarm her. Morda reluctantly drew out the hilts and handed them to him. From behind her, she saw Quinn giving up his blaster, as well as a knife.
"Put them in cuffs and take them to the Enclave. And get Force dampeners on the Sith as soon as we bring her in."
Morda's hands were restrained behind her back and then one of the Jedi threw a blindfold over her head, snapping it quickly into place over her eyes. This was stupid. Morda knew where the Green Jedi had their headquarters already. Did they really think they were hidden from the Empire's eyes?
Sometime later, while she was being guided through the enclave's maze-like halls, Morda realized the reason why her sight had been handicapped. She quickly lost track of the many twists and turns they took her through, and when she at last arrived at her destination, she had barely any reference to where she was in the building other than knowing that it was somewhere on one of the levels below ground. Quinn was still with her but it was only a matter of time before they were separated.
A hand pressed sharply against her back and her knees hit the floor. The mask was torn off and Morda blinked in the light, quickly counting two Jedi left to guard her and three prisoner cells, all of them empty. The cuffs around her wrists were sealed with Force power, but Morda suspected they could be broken if hit by a strong enough blast. Once the Force dampeners were put on her, however, she'd be truly helpless.
Before she could change her mind, Morda acted, pushing Force power outward and focusing all her attention on her cuffs. They snapped open and Morda leapt to her feet, swinging out a hand and calling forth one of the Jedi's lightsabers from his belt. It flew into her grasp. The brilliant blue blade ignited and became an instant a blur as she swung it through the air toward the now unarmed Jedi. She struck him down as he threw out his hands to try and protect himself, just a split second too slow. She whirled on her feet to parry a swing from the remaining Jedi, and his green blade clashed against hers with a buzz. This opponent moved like a snake, darting around her slashes and striking out with lightning quick thrusts. Morda drove him hard, yelling in her eagerness and frustration. He winced and beside her even Quinn jerked backwards, stunned from the sound of her Force-enhanced cry. Under different circumstances, Morda could have slain this Jedi, but without her second lightsaber, they were evenly matched. She jumped into the air and came down on him with all her might, but he collapsed into a roll and her blade passed through empty air instead. She swung again before he could rise, certain that this time her blow would land.
A brilliant yellow double-bladed lightsaber materialized out of stealth and blocked her strike. Morda was startled and quickly lost the advantage. This new Jedi, a woman wearing robes of gold and white, spun and twirled with dizzying speed. This was not one of Corellia's Green Jedi. Morda's feet were kicked out from underneath her and before she could react, she hit the floor. The woman's blade stopped at Morda's chin and hung in the air. Morda sneered at her but had to admit defeat.
The man spoke. "You have impeccable timing Barsen'thor. Thank you."
The woman nodded, but did not take her eyes off of Morda. "I'm glad I happened to be here."
The male Jedi kicked the lightsaber hilt away from Morda's side and snapped a Force-dampening collar around Morda's neck. Immediately, Morda's world went dim and she felt as she were being smothered with a blanket. Panic rose within her but she clamped it down. Was this what it was like to be Force-blind? Morda felt naked and vulnerable.
Quinn, still kneeling at her side, glanced over at her with concern. "It has been my greatest honor to serve you, my lord," he said quietly.
Morda met his eyes, expecting to see despair, but instead she found his gaze to be bright and direct. Did he have a new plan?
"I would have no one else as my partner, Quinn," Morda said. She watched as he was hauled to his feet and pushed out of the room.
Morda allowed herself to be led into one of the cells. The energy walls rose around her, sealing her in, and the woman called Barsen'thor came and peered closely at her, her face only inches away.
Morda stood and came as close to the energy wall as she dared. The woman was a Mirialan, she saw now, with golden skin and a sharp angular tattoos along her jawline. Her eyes were as gold as the rest of her, as was her hair. Morda had the distinct feeling that she was looking at a true equal, in power and in skill.
"You are not what I expected," the woman said quietly. She stared at Morda for a moment longer, saying no more, and while Morda could no longer feel this woman's power or intentions through the Force, she had a strong suspicion that this Jedi had seen into the depths of her heart.
The Jedi turned then and walked away, and Morda was left alone in her cell.
00o00
It was well into the night when Morda's stomach started growling. If she couldn't sleep before, now it would be even harder. Her cell was bathed in a pool of light coming from a spotlight in the ceiling, but beyond that was unlit, putting her at a distinct disadvantage. The darkness beyond felt heavy and impossibly thick without her connection to the Force guiding her sight. Her ears played tricks on her, and she squinted into the darkness thinking she heard someone coming, but no one appeared. Restlessness tugged at her, making her fidgety and impatient. How long until morning?
There was a pop and the lights went out. The silence rang in Morda's ears so loudly that it took her a moment to realize that the energy walls around her had also collapsed. Morda sprang to her feet and bolted from the cell. It was not a moment too soon. A low rumble began under her feet as an electronic hum signalled the awakening of a back-up generator from somewhere below. New lights blinked on from the corners of the room, dimmer than the originals, their placement creating strange elongated shadows. Alarmed voices echoed from down one of the hallways.
Morda pivoted on her heels and took off for the room's only other exit. Her foot hit something solid just beyond the doorway and she tripped, careening into the wall and just barely catching herself from planting her face on the floor. A body lay under her feet. She rolled him over into a pool of light and inspected him briefly for wounds. There. A tiny poison dart on his neck. Quinn's work?
She broke into a run, trying to avoid the pools of light when she could and darting through them when she couldn't. One hallway looked just like another, with no sign of which way might lead out. Voices carried strangely within these subterranean walls, making it hard for Morda to determine their origin or direction. Urgency formed a cramp in her gut. She had to get out.
Morda spotted an elevator and ran onto the platform, but the controls were locked and would not operate without a key or code. She barked out a swear and hurried down the hallway again. I'm trapped, she thought. I'm just scurrying about uselessly like a rodent. The voices were gaining, and had grown loud enough now that Morda could make out their words.
"...confined to this level...close now..."
Morda tried to pick an off-shooting corridor that led away from the voices. She hadn't gone far when she realized that she'd headed into a trap. A Republic soldier was standing in her path, his blaster trained on her. Morda peered behind him but saw nothing but darkness. Was he truly alone? She stared him down, feeling angry at how helpless she was without her lightsaber or access to even the Force. Did this grunt know that?
Her arm shot out and she beckoned to the shadows as if calling forth an object there, then immediately swung her hand forward as if making a powerful Force throw. The soldier flinched and reacted to fend off the imaginary object just as Morda spun and struck him hard along the jaw with the heel of her foot. He stumbled sideways and Morda hit him again with her fist. It was not the hardest hit, but she had the element of surprise, and so it was enough to cause him to lose his balance and fall backwards. Morda kicked him once more for good measure, then grabbed his blaster and ran.
Luck was not with her. A robed Twi'lek stepped into one of the pools of light ahead of her, her blue bladed lightsaber glowing like sapphire in the dim light. Morda slid to a stop.
"You have nowhere left to run, Sith. Surrender, now."
"I am the Emperor's Wrath," Morda snarled. "You will never be able to hold me for long." Morda's mind whirled as she weighed her options. She had the grunt's blaster, but what good was it when she was no better than a clumsy and slow Force-blind? The Jedi would have her disarmed in moments. And even if she could get past this Jedi, it was true that she had no means to escape these labyrinthine halls.
"We shall see about that." The Jedi effortlessly pulled the blaster from Morda's grip using the Force and sent it hurling out of her reach. Then she snapped cuffs on Morda once again. Despair began to creep into the edges of Morda's mind.
Morda was not taken back to her cell this time. Instead, she was marched onto a lift and led onto a small landing pad. Soldiers were scurrying about and a handful of Green Jedi were gathered around a small transport vehicle. The Twi'lek grabbed Morda's arm and turned her to face one of the Green Jedi.
"I've got her, Master Injaye."
This new Jedi was another woman and she paused to study Morda a moment from under creased brows. "Good," she said at last. "We depart for Coruscant immediately. If we leave now we can reach the spaceport and make lift-off before dawn."
Another blindfold was secured over Morda's eyes and she climbed awkwardly into the back of the speeder. Just before the door shut she felt an unexpected prick on the arm from a needle.
"Just to keep you calm, Sith," said a voice. "We want you to relax and enjoy the ride." Some distance away someone snickered and then was shushed. Morda waited for the inevitable loss of consciousness but nothing happened. The speeder rocked gently as other occupants got inside and Morda listened to their voices, trying to gauge how many others were travelling with her. At least two Jedi, she guessed, judging by the voices she identified around her: Master Injaye and the green Twi'lek. Was the driver a Jedi too? Morda had no way to tell.
The engines engaged and Morda felt wind in her hair as the vehicle left the building and quickly gained speed. The night was fairly quiet, with only a few sounds of distant battle. Morda found herself daydreaming, her thoughts gently flitting in and out with curious passivity. From far away she realized that this was not right. She should be upset, she should be plotting escape. But instead she felt the air against her cheek like tufts of cloud passing by, and the seat sucked her into its cushions, cradling her gently like a protective mother. I'm drugged, she thought lazily. Even that thought caused her no alarm. She watched the thought pass by like the cars of a meandering tram, where it was quickly replaced by other meaningless observations. Morda tried for a moment to catch one of her thoughts and hold it in her mind, but it slipped through her consciousness like a wriggling fish and was soon gone.
Just then, there was a deafening bang and Morda was thrown into the air. An explosion underneath us, she thought vaguely. Did we run over a mine? She imagined the Jedi floating through the air, their robes billowing out around them, just as helpless now as she was. She might have laughed at that but then something slammed into her, jolting her back to reality. She rolled in the dirt and came to a stop.
Around her she heard chaos, more explosions, and blaster fire. The Jedi were drawing their lightsabers. Someone was screaming. Morda lay on the ground, her hands tied in front of her, her eyes blindfolded, and slowly realized that she needed to get up and move. She pulled herself into a sitting position, trying to focus on which way was up. She discovered that if she tilted her head towards her feet and stared down her nose she could actually see through a small gap in the blindfold. The toes of her boots were surrounded by debris and floating particles of dust, lit faintly by the few still functioning street lights. She began to trudge through the dirt, dodging rocks and other obstacles as they abruptly appeared under her feet through her tiny window of vision.
She felt heat against her back from another explosion and broke into a loping run. Survival and escape became the only coherent thoughts in her mind. She skipped over rocks and jumped over crevices, trying to stay on course, hoping that she wasn't just blundering in circles. The ground was getting rocky and treacherous, and Morda had the vague thought that perhaps she had chosen the wrong way to run. She tripped over a stone and caught herself, but then the ground opened up underneath her and she fell.
She slid wildly on her feet down a steep and jagged slope, unable to restore her balance because of her bound hands. Her foot hit a snag and she tumbled forward, seeing for the briefest moment a glimpse of stars overhead. The world spun by at dizzying speed and Morda did the only thing left to do. She threw her arms over her head and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to tuck her body into a more controlled roll. The ground became wet and slick, mud clogged her nose, and she splashed headlong into a massive puddle of muck.
Morda lifted herself on shaky arms and coughed up grainy clumps of slime, spitting and gasping. It was quiet. Gone were the sounds of yelling and blaster fire. Had she lost them?
Then her ears picked up a sound, a steady crunch, crunching across the gravel above the lip of the crater. There it stopped, and Morda waited, laying still and holding her breath, feeling helpless as a Nekarr kitten and just as pathetic. Footsteps began picking their way down into the crater, sloshing through the mud, and stopped at last in front of her. Her blindfold was askew, and through the growing gap above her nose Morda saw green boots and armored leggings. One of the Green Jedi's Republic soldiers then. The driver of the speeder? I'm a sorry excuse for a Sith, she thought. The Emperor's Wrath, brought to an inglorious end by a mere Force-blind in a muddy ditch on Corellia. She let out a bitter laugh.
"My lord?" The blindfold was pulled hastily from her head and Morda looked up, following the line of the uniform to a familiar face and deep blue eyes.
"Quinn." Morda stared, trying to piece together this puzzle. So death would not come to claim her this day. "By the Force, I love you."
He looked momentarily startled, but recovered quickly and knelt next to her to begin running the med scan over her. My Quinn, she thought, ever the professional. She would have thrown her arms around him, had she been able, but lacking that she fell forward instead and buried her head against his shoulder.
"I thought I was done for."
His arms slowly closed around her and she felt rather than heard him sigh.
"Master!" Jaesa's voice called from out of sight. She sounded exhilarated and in moment was bounding down into the crater to join them. "I wanted to kill the last Jedi, but she is asking to speak to the Wrath and Quinn stopped me. You will save the kill for me won't you Master?"
"Let me see her. And get this collar off me."
Jaesa was able to snap open the cuffs and remove the Force dampening collar, and finally, for the first time in hours, Morda felt like she could breathe freely again. She climbed out of the crater and found the Twi'lek Jedi dead in the dirt. Morda stooped to retrieve the Jedi's lightsaber. Huddled next to her body was Master Injaye who was being watched over by Vette and Pierce.
"My lord Wrath!" Master Injaye implored, "I am a Sith and true to the Empire. I am here among the Jedi on the orders of Darth Baras."
"You're the spy I have been looking for then. If you serve Baras then you are no ally of mine" The Jedi lightsaber in Morda's hand came alive, the blue blade casting a strange pall over Master Injaye's face. For a moment, her face looked stricken, but then her eyes hardened. Morda felt the shift in her as Injaye pulled power from the Force in preparation for an attack.
"Baras is the true Voice and you will not deny him!" she cried.
Quinn had confiscated Injaye's lightsaber, but she cast out her hand now and the lightsaber flew from Quinn's belt into her grasp. Morda slashed a sharp cut at Injaye just as Pierce's blaster discharged. The Jedi was dead in an instant from both weapons, and Morda holstered the lightsaber with a satisfied grunt.
"This mission may have turned into a disaster, but at least I accomplished what I set out to do." She turned and looked around at her crew. "So," she said, trying to get her bearings and shaking the dust from her muddled mind, "What the hell happened here?"
"I planted an explosive in the street," Vette said, "and Quinn made sure to drive over it."
Morda glanced back and forth at Vette and then Quinn. "You purposely ran over an explosive?"
Vette shrugged. "It was the only thing we could think of on such short notice."
Quinn cut in, "It was a calculated risk, my lord. I judged it acceptable given the dire circumstances."
"Well, we're all alive, so I guess it worked." She turned to Quinn, "How did you escape?"
"The Jedi considered you the true threat. They failed to disarm me completely, leaving me in possession of a few poison darts. I got lucky when I chose to take this Republic soldier's place, and was able to become the driver of your speeder. We formulated our plan with a bit of improvisation and one covert holocall."
"You all did a remarkable job." Morda nodded to each of them in turn. Jaesa was pouting, no doubt because she'd been denied the killing blow on Master Injaye.
Cold mud and a seeping wetness was burrowing into Morda's clothes, making her aware now of just how uncomfortable and grimy she was. Their firefight had made quite a bit of noise, and a cloud of smoke was rising from the partially burnt speeder. The Green Jedi would surely notice that they had lost touch with the entourage, and it would only be a matter of time before someone came to investigate. They left the scene and began the long walk back to the Imperial command center.
Vette hot-rigged the second unattended speeder they came across (the first merely sparked and sputtered) and offered it to Morda. Quinn suggested that he be permitted to drive her back, and the swiftness of his request made Morda wonder if she was still noticeably drugged.
"I feel fine."
Quinn had apparently been expecting her assent because he had already begun climbing onto the bike. Upon hearing her protest, he pulled back and sighed. A tiny inspection light appeared in his hand and Morda blinked when he shone it directly into her left eye. He peered at first one eye and then the other, until Morda saw spots.
"My lord," he said. "Your pupils are still dilated. It is safer if you let me ride with you."
"Since when do I ever do the 'safe' thing?" Morda gave him a surreptitious smile. "Well, as long as that means that I get to ride with my arms around you, I guess I can't complain."
Quinn reddened slightly, but Morda detected a hint of a small smile. "As you wish, my lord."
00o00
"Damn. Watch out, here comes one angry Sith."
Quinn overheard the soldier's chatter as he and Morda were approaching the command base. It was nearly dawn, and as the effects of whatever drug the Jedi had given her wore off, Morda was becoming more and more her old self. That meant that she was getting increasingly irritable over her muddied state.
Quinn turned to the two soldiers who had been conversing. "This command post has showers, doesn't it?"
One of the men snickered. "If by 'showers' you mean the hose out back, sure."
"I see."
Quinn left Morda waiting outside while he went back into the building. He grabbed the only suitable thing he could find, a robe Morda had left draped over a chair, and went back outside. Around the back of the building was a makeshift stall behind a dingy curtain, and sure enough, a hose had been rigged through a hole in the back wall, hanging loosely in the place where a showerhead would normally be. There was also an alcove with a deep basin that was intended to be a sink. It was not at all suitable, but it would have to do. Quinn went out to meet Lord Morda.
She was arguing with a red-faced commander, who kept nodding and apologizing every other word. When she looked up and saw Quinn approaching, she noticeably relaxed.
"Quinn."
"I'm here, my lord. Follow me and I'll show you where you can get cleaned up."
"Captain," the commander said, "those showers are for the enlisted soldiers and are far below a Sith's standards. I told my lord she could wait and be transported elsewhere with better facilities."
"That's ridiculous," Morda said. "Quinn, lead the way."
She followed him to the washing area behind the building and sunk to the ground, sighing. When she began to wrestle with one of her boots, Quinn knelt down beside her.
"My lord, let me help you." He pulled off the first boot and she sat back to let him remove the second. The mud was like sludge and quickly made his hands slippery. He got up and went into the shower. There were no knobs, so he followed the trail of the hose to a small trapdoor in the ground. There he found the controls to turn it on. He went back and forth, adjusting the water pressure and trying to get the hose to point in a useful direction. The water was lukewarm at best. He sighed and pulled back the curtain to step out again.
Morda had stripped off almost all her armor and was barely clothed in what little she had left on. The undershirt and shorts she wore clung to her, accentuating her shape and leaving little modesty.
"My lord!" Anyone could come around the building at any moment, and the area was hardly private. "You should get inside the stall."
"What does it look like I'm trying to do?"
Quinn looked away politely as she walked by him, but she brushed against him as she slipped past the curtain. "Well, this is rather primitive," he heard her say.
Quinn felt a little winded, like he'd been running and needed to catch his breath. He turned and stood guard outside the stall. From beyond the curtain he could hear Morda splashing and muttering until finally her voice called out to him.
"Quinn, get in here and help me."
"You…ah…what?"
"I need you to hold this hose." Her head poked out from behind the curtain. "Why so shy? I don't care if you look. Not like you haven't already seen me already, you know." A smile touched the corners of her lips.
Quinn's mouth was far too dry. He hesitantly pulled back the curtain. "My lord, if others see us…"
"Then what?" Morda asked. "They'll be jealous and wish they'd fallen in the mud too." She laughed. "Get in and close the curtain, you're bringing in a draft."
Quinn stepped in. Morda had left her underclothes on, thankfully, and had rinsed off most of the mud. She was now trying to get the remainder out of her hair. She handed him the hose and leaned over the sink.
"Just hold it out like this. And keep it steady."
Quinn complied. Morda dunked her head under the water and began working the grit out of her hair. Dark muddy swirls filled the sink and Quinn stared at them for a while, then he raised his eyes to watch Morda.
Her short hair looked longer and darker underneath the steady stream of water, making her brilliant red skin even more striking in contrast. When she pushed her hair back away from her face, Quinn caught a glimpse of tiny water droplets clinging to her eyelashes like iridescent pearls. Her followed the line of her body, noticing normally hidden details revealed through the translucent material of her soaked shirt. His fingers longed to follow the delicate ridges along her spine, needing to explore the texture of her skin or the curve of her shoulder blades. His mind lingered over the words she had spoken to him when he had found her at the bottom of the crater.
She said she loved me. That was the drug talking, obviously. Could it be a reflection of her true feelings?
She sighed and stretched, growing obviously tired from holding herself slumped over the sink.
"My lord, if you'll let me..." He leaned over her and smoothed a hand through her damp hair, redirecting the spray of water and allowing her to use both her arms now to steady herself over the sink. She leaned into the water and Quinn gently washed her hair. So what if he took a little longer than was really necessary? It was good to be thorough after all. Service is its own reward, he had told her once. It was times like this that he truly meant it. He would have stood here an age and a day if time had let him, running his fingertips behind her ears and down the back of her neck, feeling her skin cool and bare beneath his hand.
"Thank you, Quinn," she said at last. She wrung her hair as best she could with no towel and straightened.
Quinn stepped outside and brought her the robe, helping her into it, if only for the excuse to touch her again. As they walked back around the command center building, Quinn noticed a few stray looks thrown his way, and realized that his clothes were wet in places as well. He stared down the onlookers, unashamed.
00o00
Morda's room at Imperial Command had once been the office of some high-level Correlian official. It had a large, domed ceiling and elaborate molding along the walls, tasseled curtains, and heavy stuffed couches that were soft and voluminous enough to sleep in. In fact, Quinn was having a hard time not doing exactly that. He set down the datapad he'd been reading and glanced over at Morda. She had already succumbed to sleep and had drifted further down the couch since Quinn had last checked. If this continued, she would be using him as a pillow next.
It was late and he should go back to his own quarters. He began to extricate himself from the couch, but Morda stirred. Next thing he knew, his arm was being held captive and she was peering up at him with sleepy red eyes.
"Where are you going?"
"I need to retire to the crew's quarters, my lord."
"These are your quarters, here with me." She was staring at him with a look that was both defiant and innocent, as if daring him to object.
"I..." Quinn closed his mouth and the excuses he had prepared died in his throat. From her recent sleep, a wave of Morda's hair blithely defied gravity on the side of her head. Her shirt was askew, and Quinn could see the well of her collarbone dipping below the neckline. She was his lord, and possibly one of the most powerful Sith in the galaxy, but at that moment, she was a woman only, sleepy, disheveled and desiring of his company. When had she begun to seem so, well...human to him?
"Very well, my lord." And then, more boldly, he added, "I would be happy to stay." How could he have ever wanted otherwise?
The couch welcomed him back, warm and inviting, and he settled in with a sigh. Morda squirmed closer, sliding her arm around him and laying her head against his shoulder. Outside, a distant aerial bombardment continued, sounding more like thunder than the accoutrements of war. Here in this room, with Morda pressed against him, Quinn felt far away from that world of violence and uncertainty. His comfort was fleeting however, for once the thought of what lay ahead of them - the war, and most of all, Baras - encroached, he could not free himself from it. He had never doubted Morda's prowess and skill, but now the stakes were higher, the danger greater. Quinn had lived with the knowledge that he had feelings for Morda ever since that terrible day when he had set the trap on the transponder station, but now it seemed imperative that he not keep this burden a secret any longer.
He gently pried off her arm, holding her away from him a moment, so that he could more clearly see her face.
"My lord, there is something I need to tell you."
Her brows furrowed. "I'm listening, Quinn."
"For some time now..." He paused, wondering how comprehensive this confession needed to be. How far back should he go? Should he tell her of the anguish in his heart when he realized that he loved her? Or should he focus on the joy instead when he knew that she would continue to welcome him at her side? He realized that none of that mattered. "My lord," he said, trying to steady his voice, "I've fallen in love with you, and I think..." was that a smile edging across her face? "...I think you've fallen in love with me." He swallowed a lump that had formed in his throat. "Am I wrong?"
"Was it my confession earlier today that clued you in?" Morda craned her head to look up at him and he was greeted by her wide, unencumbered grin.
"You remember that?"
"Of course. I wasn't that drugged up. Just a little more...relaxed."
Quinn laughed, relieved. Morda traced the side of his jawline, her eyes meeting his. "Yes, Quinn," she continued, "the feeling is mutual."
Quinn felt a burst of exultation fire through him like an electric charge. "I am so glad to hear that my lord. Now that we've said it, perhaps later we'll show it."
Morda laughed. "I love seeing that glint in your eye. Later is too long to wait. How about now?" She kissed him and Quinn knew that he was more than willing to give in.