“I’ve kept her safe here in my castle. I couldn’t risk letting her turn into one ofthem.”
Sucking in a quick breath, I tried to calm the tremors shaking both of my arms. “You… You did this… forme?”
“Morrigan,” he replied, his voice dropping to an almost whisper. “There is no limit to what I would do for you.”
I stared at him for a couple of seconds longer before my mother turned my face back to hers.
“You’re safe now, Mor. No one will hurt you here. No one will ever hurt you again. I won’t allow it.” Her eyes were red and swollen from crying. “I’m sorry, baby. I’m so sorry for everything. I’m sorry for turning you over to those monsters, for Maeryn—” Her breath caught, lips quivering as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks.
“No,” I told her. “You were the only good in my life. You didn’t have a choice. Iknowthat now. I love you. I wanted to tell you that the moment Maeryn read your letter. Don’t apologize to me, Mom. There was never anything for me to forgive.”
Crying once again, she pulled me back against her chest, and we remained there, holding each other. I could have stayed there all night. For days. It was a memory I would lock away and keep frozen in time, hopeful that it would never end.
But a hand touched my shoulder, and I looked up athim.
“You need food,” he said softly. “I’ll leave you and your mother here for a while. We can… talk when you’re ready.”
Even with the gratitude I held for him that warmed my heart, I still couldn’t stop the apprehension of trusting him just yet. Still, I nodded in agreement. “Where… Where can I find you?”
He shared a glance with my mother. “Bring her to the garden when she’s ready.” With a simple nod from her, he turned and walked out of the room.
I took my time with my food, scared that if I ate too quickly, it would make me sick.
I didn’t miss the glances my way from my mother as she took me in. I knew I had lost weight… alotof weight. My limbs ached just from sitting in the wooden dining chair. It was impossible to hide the result of Cain’s torture for… however long I remained in those tunnels.
I filled her in on the important details as we sat together, avoiding anything that wasn’t necessary for her to hear. Like Aamon’s visits to my room every night. The physical torture of breaking my bones so that Cain could heal them—hoping that by drinking his blood, I would become more complacent. Azrael had been there for some of it, and he kept quiet as I spoke to my mother. As if somehow, even at his age, he understood my need to block it all out.
Was he hiding something as well?I wondered to myself. What had he been subjected to before Cain took me? That was a question I would never dare to ask him. If, one day, he wanted to speakhistruth, I would be there for him. But it wasn’t my decision.
By the end of it, I could see in my mother’s eyes that she was holding onto her composure by a small thread. She released a shaky breath that sounded like she had been holding it for far too long. Tightening her grip on my hand, she leaned back in her seat. “He will get what’s coming to him, Morrigan. Don’t you worry about that,” she hissed under her breath. “I’m just so happy that you’re here and safe.” Then, her gaze turned to the boy beside me. “Both of you.”
Azrael’s head leaned against his open palm with his elbows on the table. His eyes were already closed, and a sweet, soft snore slipped from his lips with each breath.
“I couldn’t leave without him,” I told her quietly. “I don’t know if there were more children. I would have taken more?—”
“Stop it.” The demand in her voice caught me, and she leaned forward, brushing a curl behind my ear. “Do you even know what you did, Morrigan?”
My brows knitted a tight crease as I stared at her and shook my head.
“You saved hislife, flower. Who knows what Cain would have done to him.Youcould have died if anything had gone wrong. Did you even think about that?”
I suddenly felt a possessive pull toward Azrael as she asked me that, almost offended by her question. “I didn’t care aboutmylife. I couldn’t just leave him behind, Mom. He didn’t ask for this, and if saving him would have cost me my life, then?—”
“Exactly,” she interrupted me again. Her head tilted to the side as she gave me a smile, one that could only be carved from a mother’s love, one I had seen for so many years, but onlynowrecognized. “You are so strong, baby, and you don’t even know it.”
Before I could think of a response, she pushed out of her chair and stood. Rounding the table, she carefully lifted Azrael, his head slumping over her shoulder as he remained fast asleep. It reminded me of the days that I would fall asleep in the garden as a child. She would wake me and pick me up before taking me back inside, humming her melody in my ear to lull me back to sleep.
“I think it’s time you two talked,” she whispered before offering her hand. “Come. I’ll show you the way, and then I’ll take this little man to his bed.”
Chapter 14
MORRIGAN
My mother escorted me through the hall, stopping in front of a large pair of doors that I assumed led outside.
“He’s out there,” she said, keeping her voice quiet, “in the courtyard.”
A small fluttering began in my heart as if it had its own set of wings. I turned and placed my hand on one of the doors.Don’t be scared, I told myself.You know him… kind of.
