When my eyes finally adjusted, and I was able to lower my arm, I realized that almost everyone stood around staring at me. Even Dormius had pulled himself from his daze long enough to join in.
“What the fuck are you all looking at?” I snapped, uneasy by the amount of eyes pinning me down.
Kaiden lowered his eyes first and turned, carrying Morrigan into the trees covered in vibrant, green leaves. But Naaz made his way to me, again, just as everyone else began to leave.
“Don’t take any offense to it, Tristan,” he said quietly, walking at my side. “I think the weight of it all just hit them, and they’re actuallyseeingyou for the first time.”
I scoffed, rolling my eyes and trudging forward. The ground didn’t feel as stiff as it did in my world. The grass was soft and comfortable to walk through, and I could almost smell the water in the air that clung to the plants in small droplets. “What exactly do they think they see,lord?” I asked.
“A boy.”
“A boy?” I laughed. “I am a god. You may have had a few years on me at some point in my life, but my world moves far faster than yours. I’m not a child anymore.”
He took in a slow breath and nodded. “You’re right,” he agreed. “Just another thing your father took from you.” He nodded his head in Kaiden’s direction. “I think you two might have more in common than you think.”
Without giving me a chance to reply, he walked forward and joined his brothers.
Chapter 52
ERIS
Once we arrived at Dez’s castle, his guards scrambled to surround Kaiden and Morrigan.
“Send word to Lyra,” Dez ordered. “Get her, and Eowyn, here immediately.”
Some of them dispersed, and we followed the rest inside, heading straight to Morrigan’s room. Kaiden placed her onto the bed gently, and I walked toward the fireplace, lighting it instantly.I will never take advantage of these gifts again, I thought to myself as energy once again pulsed in my veins.
I had forgotten what it felt like to be mortal—the vulnerability of it. I didn’t know why, but our powers were completely uselessin that world.
When I turned around to check on Morrigan, I saw her body lying stiff beneath the sheets. I cringed at the image of my nightmare masquerading before me… Morrigan’s body gilded in gold…
“Eris,” Naaz called. “I’m going to retrieve Harley. He’ll want to see her.”
“Right.” I looked around and realized I hadn’t seen D in quite some time. “Did Dormius return home?” I asked Naaz just as he reached the bedroom door.
His lips pressed together in a solemn line. “I don’t know what he saw, Eris.” He shot Tristan a slight glance, knowing he was behind the hallucinations we all experienced. Though, if I was being honest with myself, we probably deserved it. “Whatever it was, it really fucked him up.”
Dormius had never really been close with any of us. Even as a child, he would keep his distance and busy himself with anything he could come up with. He carried a lot of secrets, and it didn’t go unnoticed that he never allowed any skin-to-skin contact with Naaz. Whatever he wanted to hide, he knew that Naaz’s power would draw it out easily.
“What now?” I asked Kaiden and Dez.
They stood together on the other side of her bed, away from Tristan. It was hard to believe that I had him on the floor just hours ago. After Morrigan fell, a strange fit of rage took over me.
Had I been the best person to her? No.
But seeing the color leave her body like that… That was worse than any nightmare Tristan could have conjured up for me. It broke the small piece in my chest that I hadn’t even realized existed. I didn’t know what it meant, and I wasn’t sure that Iwantedto know quite yet.
The only thing Ididknow was that I had been willing to kill a god for her. Agod. And I needed to learn how to cope with that awareness somehow.
“I can’t be completely sure, but she might heal faster with blood.” Tristan reached over the bed, pulling her hand into his and caressing her skin with histhumb. “I would offer mine, but…” I could see the nervous swallow in his throat, thick with guilt and shame.
“Maybe it’s best that itisn’tyour blood,” Kaiden sneered.
We had all blamed him the second it happened, but was it really his fault? If there was any truth to what was said, then Morrigan was near death regardless. If it hadn’t been for this soul bond, she never would have come back. He did technically save her life.
The air that fogged between both men held a nauseating kind of tension. But, if I was being honest, most of the hatred seemed to stem from Kaiden, which felt a bit backward. Tristan surely hated Kaiden, but every word Morrigan had spoken in front of him would melt away the anger in his face. I think Kaiden’s true issue stemmed from jealousy.
I mean, fuck, it was hisbrother. His actual brother.
