I allowed my shadows to merge with her fire, tangling itself in knots, and the sensation shot a heated rush down my spine. Morrigan must have felt it too, because she audibly gasped and unintentionally gripped my hand tighter, which caused us both to flinch.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the blonde one, Dez, take a couple of steps forward. Malakai quickly shot him a glare, stopping him.
“Your princess is fine,lord,” he called to him. “They are not normal people, as you may have noticed. In order for their souls to merge, so must their light.”
After a couple of seconds, Morrigan let out a sigh of relief as my pain faded as well, and Malakai began unbinding our hands. Something tickled the side of my face, and I reached up to touch it, only to be met by Morrigan’s wide, beautiful eyes.
“They’re fading,” she laughed in what sounded like amazement. “Oh, Gods, Tristan! It’s working!”
“We aren’t done,” Malakai reminded her. “We have to finish it soon, or it will reverse.”
He moved behind the table, picking up one of the chalices, and then handed the dagger to Morrigan. “You’ll need to fill the cup halfway, at least.”
Somewhere behind her, Kaiden seemed to gravitate closer. I could sense a thicker tension since last night. I knew he had visited her—I knoweverythingthat happens in this castle. But a sadness seemed to loom in the air once he had left, a sadness that likely had to do with me.
Kaiden would never agree to this. He would never accept me. To do so, he would have to set aside his pride, which he had clearly inherited from our father.
As much distaste as I held for each of them, I could come to overlook it for Morrigan’s sake. Even if I wanted to, I’d never be able to convince her to give them up. She had already grown natural bonds, deeper than that which the gods had created. They were family to her now.
Maybe… I could benefit from a family, too.
Morrigan winced as she cut her palm, but took it in stride as she swallowed the pain, and squeezed her hand over the chalice. Once it was filled high enough, Malakai pulled it back, and I instinctively grabbed her wrist, letting my shadows cover the wound. With just a fraction of my light, I poured it into her skin until the wound stitched itself back together.
“Thank you,” she whispered, her cheeks slowly creeping to a light blush.
“Tristan will drink first,” Mal announced, and I kept my eyes on Morrigan as I brought the cup to my lips, feeling the warmth of her blood on my tongue.
It tasted so sweet in my mouth… so pure. I had only tasted blood a few times—when one of my episodes drained too much of my light. It was always Malakai’s, but his tastednothinglike hers. I could almost understand why some of them may have lost their self-control with it.
Morrigan watched me with heat in her eyes, like she enjoyed the sight of it, and that same heat dug into my chest and settled at my core. It was hard not to imagine what it would feel like to taste her blood while she was lying beneath me, as I felt her skin against mine…
Once I finished it, I couldn’t bear the tugging sensation any longer. I dropped the chalice onto the table and pulled her against my chest, crashing our lips together in a kiss that made me feel starved in every possible way.
“Might I remind you that children are present?” the brooding brunet lord called from somewhere nearby.
I groaned as I pulled away, and Morrigan smirked up at me. “Patience,” she said quietly.
“Hard to resist, right?” Dez laughed before I heard a thump. When I turned, I found the redheaded giant shoving his shoulder. “What?! Come on, it’s asoul bond, people. This is as permanent as it gets. We’re gonna have to get used to this at some point.”
When I returned my gaze to Morrigan, I saw her looking at Dez with the purest smile I had seen since she arrived. Her eyes practically glimmered in his direction. And I realized then that… maybe lovecouldbe seen.
Could I get used to this? Would I be able to watch her kiss one of them like that?I didn’t exactly have a choice.Shewas my choice.
“Your turn, Tristan,” Malakai said, handing me the empty chalice.
As I cut my palm, I allowed the blood to drip down into the cup and squeezed my fist hard to fill it faster. I needed to keep the wound open long enough so that I wouldn’t have to makeanothercut. Once it was filled halfway, I handed it to Morrigan.
“Almost done,” I whispered to her.
With a soft smile, she accepted the chalice and brought it to her lips. She closed her eyes as she drank, and I wondered what it tasted like to her. Did she feel the same heat coursing through her belly? Did she want to touch me just as badly as I needed to touch her?
It didn’t take her long to finish it. She placed the chalice down, and the deep, crimson color along her cheeks told me all I needed to know. “What now?” she asked, her pitch slightly higher than normal.
I don’t care what your lords do,I said to her, breaking through every mental barrier to make sure she heard me.But I’m going to drag you back to that room and bury myself inside of you in approximately ninety seconds.
She let out a laugh that she tried to stifle with her hand, while some of the others looked at us in confusion. I hoped that none of them would ever get to do that with her. I wanted it to be ours—our secret conversations together.
“That was the last of it!” Malakai exclaimed, letting a breath of relief slump his shoulders. “Good news, princess, you didn’t?—”
