“He isn’t here.” I lowered my hands to hers, holding them tight, and was far too selfish to let them go. “He’s still in… It’s a long story.”
“But you’ll tell me?”
“Everything.”
“Morrigan!” a higher pitched voice called from the other side of the hall. Just as I turned, Eowyn slammed into my side and wrapped her arms around my neck. “You’re okay,” she whispered into my shoulder. “Gods, Morrigan, we were so worried.”
I didn’t know why, but I began laughing. The familiarity I felt having both Eowyn and Lyra at my sides made me almost forget every bad thing that had happened over the past couple of months, replacing them with nothing but… love. I craved to hear their voices every night that I slept in those tunnels, and Ilongedto see them again each day I was in the Netherworld.
“I missed you guys so much,” I laughed, but that laughter slowly died into tears. Before I knew it, Lyra had joined the embrace again, and we all stood in the middle of the hall, holding each other as we cried together.
“Don’t leave us again,” Eowyn whispered as she kept her head against my shoulder.
“I won’t let her,” Lyra answered for me.
When a throat cleared nearby, I turned to find Eris and Tristan standing by the doors that led into the courtyard. My heart dipped into my stomach at the sight of him. Where his markings had once been on his face, only faded, white scars remained. Both of his eyes had the faint blue glow shining in them, and his lips were tilted into the saddest smile I had ever seen.
“You weren’t there,” I said to him, pulling away from the three-way hug, but keeping a hand on each of them. “When I woke, you weren’t?—”
“We, uh,” he peeked over his shoulder before returning his gaze to me. “We had something to retrieve.”
I wasn’t sure if you wanted me to be there.
I pressed my lips together as his thought slipped into my mind and tried not to react. I was positive he didn’t mean for it to.
I finally released Lyra and Eowyn to walk around Tristan, finding Cain standing behind him. His ankles and wrists were chained in the obsidian shackles, and he looked even worse than when I had seen him last.
“Hello,princess,” he said with a cocky, bloodied grin—his wounds appearing relatively fresh.
“We’ll take him down to the dungeon,” Eris said, tugging at his chains as he began to walk away. But Tristain remained in his spot, staring at me like he didn’t know what to say.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered finally, “for not being there.” His eyes trailed to the girls behind me, and he shifted uncomfortably on his feet. “This… This is a lot. Everything here is different. Theairis different.I’mdifferent. And there’s this blinding fucking light in the sky?—”
“Tristan,” I stopped him, bringing my hands to his cheeks. “You have nothing to apologize for.”
A deep pain reflected back at me in his eyes. I could almostfeelit. It was remorse… regret… guilt. The bond allowed me to sense it, and beneath those emotions—if I really listened close enough—I could hear his heart beating.
“You died,” he said under his breath, careful not to let the girls hear.
“But I’m here,” I answered with a smile.
I pushed up onto my toes, pulling his face toward mine until my lips pressed into his. It felt like I hadn’t kissed him in years. But it was cut short as we were both reminded of Lyra and Eowyn behind us when one of them cleared their throats.
I turned around to see a blushing Eowyn and averyconfused Lyra with her arms crossed over her chest. With one eyebrow cocked, she nodded her head in Tristan’s direction. “So… are we going to get an explanation at some point?”
“I’m going to help, Erin,” Tristan said, quickly making his way to abandon the confrontation.
“Eris,” I corrected him.
“Yup! That’s what I said! Erik!”
Laughter bubbled in my chest while I watched him leave, and I saw both Lyra and Eowyn staring at me as he disappeared as well. Lyra turned around with her tongue pressed into her cheek.
“Long story, huh?” she asked.
I offered a guilty shrug and tried to play it off with an innocent smile.
Dropping her hands, she walked toward me with Eowyn at her side and wrapped an arm around my shoulder, pulling me close. “Good thing I have time,princess.”
