Memory
300 YEARS AGO…
Laughter overcame the dining hall as the men enjoyed eachother’s company, drinking their wine.
My Saturdays now consisted of these dinners together—seven men all sprawled around the table, and not a beat of silence between their curses and laughter.
They weren’t what I expected, and that was being generous.
With Kaiden’s hand in mine, I picked at the remaining food on my plate, already full from the amount that had been placed onto the table. Though, Cassius had basically devoured half of it on his own.
How does that man keep his physique?
“Tell us, My Lady,” Cain called out from the opposite end of the table. “You’ve spent weeks with us every Saturday, yet we know practically nothing about you.”
Kaiden’s hand stiffened oddly in my grasp at the question, but I didn’t mind it. “With the amount of talking you all do, I assumed you would have asked, My Lord,” I teased lightly.
Cain’s lips quirked up into a smirk. “She’s got a bite, this one.”
Kaiden’s grip still hadn’t let up. “She does,” he answered stiffly.
Therewas always an unspoken thickness that clung to the air between the two of them. I didn’t understand it, and Kaiden never spoke of it, so I remained in my place.
Cain brought the wine to his lips, taking a long sip but keeping his eyes locked on mine. “You should bring her around more, brother. She’s good company.”
“She’s my company,” Kaiden said.
Chapter 16
MORRIGAN
Ididn’t realize that I had fallen asleep until the sound of screaming rang through my ears so loudly that it caused them to ring.
I quickly covered them with my hands and looked around my room. It was like they were here… butweren’t.
They began again, and something in my chest seemed to push me out of bed—similar to the feeling of when the wraiths summoned me, but with my will still intact. I decided to allow my feet to follow the path that they were drawn to, pausing every couple of seconds when another scream tore through my head.
The yelling became clearer as I walked through the halls, and I realized that they were masculine. But it wasn’t Azrael.
Finally, I came across a familiar door that I had barged into only a couple of days prior, and I sucked in a nervous breath as my feet pleaded to move forward.
I shouldn’t,I thought to myself.This is his room. He’s a grown man… god? Whatever he is, he doesn’t needyourhelp.
I forced myself to take a step back, when another scream pierced my ears, and my conscience began to win the battle over my mind. “Gods dammit,” I muttered, just as I pushed through his door.
I rushed to his bed, expecting to see him thrashing and kicking—somethingother than him lying still on his bed, not even moving an inch. I cocked my head, confused as I watched him. I hadheardthe screams.
Great, Morrigan. Now you’re a creep who’s watching a stranger sleep in his bed.
With a roll of my eyes, I turned on my heel to leave, but thenanotherscream had me stumbling into the wall as I covered my ears. I turned back to him, and he was still unmoving. But the more I actually examined his body this time, I realized he wasn’tbreathingeither. His chest didn’t rise or fall. He appeared stiff as a board against his sheets.
I pulled my brows together and approached him once more to confirm my suspicion, and as I carefully knelt onto his bed, Tristan’s body suddenly began shaking violently.
“Oh, gods,” I breathed out, quickly scrambling toward him to lift his head. My breathing picked up into heavy pants as I tried to think of what to do. I had never seen something like this before. “Mom!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, hoping she’d hear me. “I need help!”
Tristan’s eyes began to flutter, and it looked like he was trying to open them. That’s when I also noticed that the little black veins on his face were… spreading. It was extremely slow, and almost impossible to catch. But as I narrowed my eyes and surveyed them, I watched each of the lines slowly crawling over his skin.
Tristan jerked hard, and I did the only thing I knew to do. I reached down to grab his hand, hoping he would feel my touch. “I’m here, Tristan,” I whispered to him, then turned over my shoulder again. “Mom!”
