“And then we deal with it,” Naaz answered from across the room. He approached us with a wine glass in one hand, sipping from it casually like none of this bothered him. “Ryuk wanted him dead. A child. Regardless of what he is, we’ve spent the last three hundred years erasing the history of a goddess who did nothing more than fight for her son. And we supported the man who damned him to begin with.”
My shoulders slumped a little as I thought about it—really thought about it. “How do we know we can trust him? I whispered. “What if he’s just like his father?”
As if on cue, the doors to the dining hall opened, and Dez, Kaiden, and Morrigan walked in. Behind them followed the god and his man-wolf. I was even more surprised that Kaiden hadn’t completely ripped his head off yet. He was so damned attached to Morrigan; I didn’t understand how he could be okay with any of this. But here he was, standing mere feet away from the man soul bonded to the love of his life.
Hisbrother. Kaiden was a fucking half-god.
“Cassius, Eris, Naaz.” I turned to find Morrigan already standing beside us with a smile on her face that almost resembled the very first one she had ever graced me with. “I haven’t seen you guys all week.”
It seems wealltook turns avoiding her these past few days. I couldn’t get the taste of the foul blood from my mouth since that nightmare. Too muchguilt seemed trapped inside of me to even enjoy the slight happiness I could see on her face, something I had wanted to see for quite some time now.
“I didn’t think you’d want to see us,” Eris answered honestly. “I thought it was best to give you some time.”
Morrigan tilted her head. “I know we left things on… not very good terms. But, things are different now.I’mdifferent.”
“I can see that,” I answered faster than I could stop myself. But it was true. The thin, white line in her eyes was all the proof anyone needed. Morrigandiddie. Her heart had stopped beating. And when she came back… “Does this mean you’re one of them now?”
She shrugged, forcing a smile on her pink lips. “Maybe. I don’t really know what I am right now.” Taking a step forward, she stopped in the center of our little circle. “What I do know is that I missed you.Allof you.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat as she gazed up at me, and I almost felt more guilty from the lack of anger in her eyes. Why was she so calm? I betrayed her trust. I bonded with her first. I kissed her. I?—
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you. I’m sorry I kept it from you. When you were gone, I thought I would never see you?—”
“I forgive you,” she said before I could finish. “All of you. I mean it. We have a lot of work to do with Tristan here now. This isn’t a time for fighting—for grudges. I want to know that I can trust you guys.”
“And the bonds?” Naaz asked. “Do you plan to breakallof them now?”
“Do you want me to?” She turned her head toward him curiously. The question was a genuine one.
“What if we don’t?” Eris chimed.
Morrigan’s smile was bright as a blush crept along her cheeks. Then, she lifted her wrist to Naaz. “You should all drink a little. Everything that’s happened… It couldn’t have been easy. Let me lift some of the burden.”
Naaz had a shocked expression as he stepped forward, taking her wrist in his hand and eyeing her for approval. After she nodded, he lowered his lipsand pierced her skin delicately, moving as slow as he could. Morrigan’s lashes fluttered a little, and for a second, it seemed like she might have been enjoying it.
Naaz only took a little before releasing his grip and moving to lick the wound, but a white light shone from the two small holes, stitching itself together again.
I’m not going to get used to that.
She then moved to Eris, and he took her other wrist. He fed quickly, then placed a kiss against her skin as it healed itself when he was finished.
Once she stopped in front of me, she didn’t lift her wrist as she had done for them. I was honestly worried that she would make me beg again. Instead, Morrigan moved her hair over her shoulder, revealing the bare skin in the crook of her neck.
“No more lies,” she said to me, a promise she needed me to make.
“No more lies.”
I took agonizingly slow steps toward her, wondering if she would change her mind at any second. When I reached her, I placed one hand on her waist, and the other tangled itself into her hair as I cupped her cheek. She tilted her head to the side for me and closed her eyes in anticipation.
Lowering my lips to her neck, I brushed my nose against her skin and took in her sweet scent that I missed so gods damned much. “I missed you,” I breathed against her.
When her hands lifted to my shirt, gripping the fabric, I let my canines slowly sink into her neck. It took far too much effort for me to not groan at the taste of her. Once her blood coated my tongue, gone was the foul, disease-infested blood I had been forced to drink in that nightmare. In its wake was the sweetest wine I had ever tasted. Morrigan was everything perfect in life. I knew from the day after we bonded that I would never get enough of her taste. It had nothing to do with the actual blood itself, but everything to do withher.
Maeryn spent almost her entire life trying to break Morrigan down. But every memory of Morrigan that I had was filled with smiles, laughter, and a strength that I could only ever strive to have in my life.
Only a woman with a heart as gracious as hers would find a place for each of us in it. I didn’t know how the fuck it would work, but with Morrigan there? I would die trying.
When I let go, I kissed her skin and pulled away, but Morrigan stopped me before I could take a step back. She quickly closed the distance between our lips and planted the softest kiss.
