“Is it…” Azrael breathed out heavily. “Did you…”
Suddenly, the sound of rushing feet ran our way from inside the castle. I twisted to find Morrigan sliding to a stop at the doors.
“I felt… Actually, I don’t know what I felt. What did you just—” Her words paused as she peered down at Azrael, and without speaking again, she ran to him, lifting the boy into her arms. “Oh, gods, Azrael... I've been looking for you!"
“Princess, Tristan… He-he?—”
“Azrael asked me to remove his light,” I finished for him.
Morrigan reeled back to look at Azrael, confused. “Why would you do that?”
“C-Cain used to tell us we were monsters. He said that if we ever left the tunnels, they would h-hurt us. That we didn’t belong up here…” Morrigan’s eyes glistened with unshed tears as she listened to him. “I want to belong here. With you.”
She pulled him back against her, tightening her arms around him. Malakai took it as his cue to leave, and bowed his head as he made his way down the steps. He likely needed to check on his pack. They would be lurking somewhere in the woods, and the agreement was for them to remain on castle grounds until everyone felt comfortable enough to let them roam. Malakai agreed with that decision. They hadn’t been in this world for three centuries. Weallneeded some adjusting.
I moved toward Morrigan and Azrael, placing a hand on his back as I gazed down at her.
Something was different. The power I sensed in her… I could feel it in my bones, but it wasn’t justmineanymore.
“You willalwaysbelong here,” she whispered to him, and hearing her tell him that healed some part of the child inside of me that died long ago.
Chapter 59
KAIDEN
Ahand rested across my chest as I stirred awake.
Naturally, I assumed it to be Morrigan’s hand. So, you can imagine my surprise as I reached to grab it, only to be met with callused skin and fingers twice the length of hers. My eyes opened instantly, and I grabbed their wrist, wrenching them from my skin. When Dez released a loud yelp of pain, I turned my fury toward him.
“Why are youtouchingme?” I seethed.
“I was asleep!” he yelled back, rubbing his skin that I had roughly grabbed. “I’ve never met someone who’s such a dick after a good fuck. I don’t knowhowMorriganputs up with you.”
I rolled off onto my side, and groaned when I realized that I was still naked. Had we all fallen asleep? Where was Morrigan? Grabbing my clothes from the chair nearby, I quickly threw them on, not bothering to slip into my shoes as I speed walked out of the room. As much as I enjoyed what we did, that was the last thing I wanted to happen the second Morrigan came back. I had too much to say, too much to apologize for, and I just… I needed to talk to Morrigan.
She wasn’t with Lyra or Eowyn when I passed them in the halls, and they advised me to check the gardens. But as I reached the receiving hall, I paused when I sawhimstanding and talking with Eris.
Naturally, my body felt cold as I watched him, the territorial side of me wanting to ring his neck for what happened to Morrigan—for his mereexistencein the first place. But then, Eris chuckled at something that he said, and I watched him scratch the corner of his mouth as if to hide it. Something about the interaction made an unwelcomed feeling sink into my chest, taking over the anger that had been there before.
Guilt.
I found Morrigan sitting on a few decorative stones in the garden.
She had changed into a shirt and pants, that I was sure had come from Lyra, and she just looked… different. It wasn’t the bright blue eyes that now shone with white, iridescent power. It was something in the way she held herself that hadn’t been there before. She watched the young boy that the lycan had brought back as he picked several flowers across the field.
I could stare at her for hours. Just sit down in the grass and watch this new version of her, filled with such a confident glow. I would almost have assumed she was a different person entirely.
But as she sensed my presence and turned, smiling when she saw me, I knew it wasmyMorrigan behind that bright, white line circling her irises.
I walked to her, sitting down on a stone beside her, and followed her line of sight to the boy. “Can I ask?”
Her happy smile faltered a little, turning bittersweet. “In the tunnels, Cain had a lot of people with gifts like his as prisoners. He made Azrael…” Her eyes glazed over for a moment, recalling something that she seemed to bury. “Cain made him do pretty horrible things. He was blindfolded for most of his time down there. He had never evenfeltthe sun. Never knew what snow looked like.”
Her shoulders rose and fell with a deep breath as she seemed to center herself. I couldn’t help but watch her. The way her lashes slowly absorbed the tears that glossed her eyes. The way her teeth dug into her bottom lip in a nervous tick.
“When Harley and I devised a plan for me to escape, I knew I couldn’t leave without him—” She gasped suddenly, and her hand gripped my bicep. “My— Harley. Is he?—”
“He’s okay,” I assured her, and her entire body relaxed in relief. “He still needs some rest. Give him one more day, and I’ll bring him by tomorrow.”
