Malakai’s words were interrupted when Morrigan began to cough. Every single eye turned in her direction as she tried to clear her throat.
“Sorry… That was weird... It’s nothing, I’m just—” She coughed again, and this time, blood sprayed from her lips onto her hand. Her eyes shot wide, and every bone in my body turned to ice. “Get Azrael out of here right now.”
“What’s wrong?” the boy asked, moving closer to Morrigan.
As she turned away from him, Malakai reluctantly snatched him up and began walking out of the throne room. I could see the struggle on Mal’s face with each inch he put between Morrigan and himself.
“Wait!” Azrael yelled. “No! Stop, Mal!”
“Sorry, little wolf. It’s past your bedtime,” Malakai said curtly, dragging him out as the boy twisted in his arms.
Morrigan had her hand covering her mouth as they left, and the second the doors closed, she hunched over. Blood spilled from her lips so violently that I could feel it in my own chest.
“Morrigan!” I wrapped my arms around her. “Gods… Morrigan… I?—”
“What’s happening?!” Dez asked with a shaky voice. “Is this… Is this a part of it? I thought he said we were done!”
“No.” I wasn’t sure who answered him. They kept speaking to me, but I could barely hear any of them.
Morrigan lurched again, and I felt like my own blood had begun to drain from my body each time it fell from her mouth. “I-I’m sorry…” she cried, clutching my wrist with her hand. “I’m so sorry.”
She ripped away from my grasp and began stumbling back before her foot slipped, and I watched her fall.
Chapter 46
KAIDEN
Everything happened so quickly, but I watched it all in slow motion.
One moment, Morrigan was fine. The next, she began coughing, which, in turn, caused her to heave up practically every ounce of blood she had just swallowed.
And then, she was falling, and my instincts carried me to her before she could land on the floor. The second she was in my arms, time seemed to speed up again, and all I could hear was the sound of yelling as it burst like a storm throughout the room. Tristan, Eris, Naaz, Dez… They were all screaming at each other, but Morrigan… She wouldn’t stop coughing.
“I’ve got you,” I assured her, clutching her to my chest.
“I… don’t…” She coughed between words, and slowly, her eyes began to glow. They brightened until they burned as loudly as they did the day before. But this time, I saw red veins creeping along the whites of her eyes.
“No,” I said under my breath. “No, no, no…” Blood slowly pooled beneath the inner rim of her eyes and spilled over, streaming down her face.
“What’s happening to her?!” Dez screamed.
“Dez, you need to calm down. You can’t help her like this?—”
“Fuck you, Cass!” He quickly interrupted him. “Let me go!”
“K-Kaiden,” Morrigan sputtered. “What’s… What’s happ?—”
She couldn’t even finish her words, and I was trying to find just one to console her. Iknew… I fucking knew, and I let her go through with it.
“Morrigan…” Tristan dropped in front of me and leaned over her. I watched as she struggled to move her eyes in his direction. “I can fix this. I can?—”
“No,” she gargled through the puddle of blood in her mouth.
“Morrigan, this wasn’t supposed to happen.” Tristan had tears in his eyes, and it was hard not to stare at them. It was almost like I could see it now—whatever strange connection they had.
“Fix her,” I hissed.
He didn’t look up at me or even acknowledge my presence. His eyes remained on Morrigan’s as he grabbed her hand and clutched it tightly.
