Morrigan…
“I can’t, Dez,” he whispered. Tears fell down his cheeks, sliding over the white scars where the black markings had been before the bonding.
“She did this for you…” I tightened my fist and took in my last breath. “If you can’t bring her back, then I have no choice but to?—”
Thump.
My eyes snapped wide, and at the exact same time, so did Tristan’s.
“Did you hear that?” I whispered to him, not wanting to alert the others quite yet.
He nodded once.
Thump. Thump-thump.
I snapped my head to the side, where Kaiden still sat on the floor, holding Morrigan’s pale body. The thumping began again, each time like a pulse trying to start, but fading after a couple of beats.
“Gods…” I breathed out, dropping the obsidian shard and running to Kaiden. I dropped to my knees beside her. “Morrigan!”
“Dez, stop,” Kaiden pleaded, his face completely drained of any emotion. “She’s not?—”
“Hey, princess,” I whispered, pulling her head toward me and caressing her cheeks. “I hear you. I hear you, sweetheart. Keep going.”
The pulse began again, pushing a little further than before.
“She’s still alive,” Tristan said nearby. I heard his footsteps grow closer, and the tension in the air thickened as he knelt down on my other side.
“That’s impossible,” Kaiden growled at him. “Her heart stopped beating. She isn’t breathing, and her skin is as cold as ice.”
“No.” I grabbed his hand and brought it back to her face, where the smallest bit of warmth had started to return. It was a gradual return, and easyto mistake for my own body heat, but the pink that eventually blossomed on her skin was the only confirmation Kaiden needed.
“Morrigan?” he called to her. He pulled her back, ripping her from my grasp, but I didn’t care. I could hear it, and he couldn’t. He needed to see it for himself. “Little dove,” he whispered in her ear, clutching her face to his. “Come back to me, little dove.”
“She’s going to be weak.” Tristan kept his voice low and reserved. “She needs fresh air… warmth… You need to get her out of here.”
Home,the thought came to my mind quickly.She needs home.
“Do you know the way out?” I asked him.
“I’ll lead you there?—”
“You’re coming with us.” I interrupted him, standing and turning toward the white-haired lycan who looked about ready to rip my head off. “We don’t have time to wait for you to gather your wolves, though. We need to take her backnow.”
“Dez!” Eris yelled. “You can’t be serious! We can’t let them come?—”
“Morrigan made us promise,” Naaz reminded him.
“Here…” Tristan left my side and walked toward the table. He grabbed the dagger, slicing a clean cut on his palm before dripping blood into one of the chalices. Once he was done, he handed it to the wolf. “This will get you past the gate when you’re ready. I can’t leave?—”
“Go with her,” the man said, placing a hand on Tristan’s shoulder. He smiled at him, brandishing his sharp canines. “But make sure to tell her not to milk this. Honestly, she’s incredibly dramatic sometimes.”
I turned away from them, staring down at Morrigan in Kaiden’s arms.Don’t worry,I whispered in the depths of my mind, hoping that our bond would carry my words to her.You’re going home, princess.
Chapter 51
TRISTAN
Icouldn’t even bring myself to touch her as we scrambled from the castle, and I led them to the bridge.
