“And wewillfind her, Dez.”
“How did they retrieve her blood from the scroll?” I asked, accepting the cup.
“They scraped it from the scroll after it had dried…carefully.” The corner of his lips twitched into a small smirk before quickly dropping again. “Now, drink up. I don’t have time to babysit you all day.”
I quickly lifted the drink to my lips, shoving aside all trepidation and gulping down the blood. Though it tasted nothing of Morrigan, it left an aftertaste that reminded me of what it felt like to kiss her. As if her essence swirled with the blood, leaving behind a whispered memory of her light.
Once the drink was gone, I braced myself for the sickness that would surely follow. The nausea rose—my stomach battling with whoever had offered themself this time. As it crept up my throat, I tensed and tried to make my body accept it.
“Hold it in, Dez,” Kaiden insisted.
Right, like I’m notalreadydoing that.
After a few agonizing seconds, the nausea subsided. It didn’t offer nearly as much energy as Morrigan’s would have, but I could feel some of my fatigue beginning to fade. It was… enough. Enough for me to stand without falling over my own feet at least.
“Good,” Kaiden sighed, sounding almost as relieved as I felt. He stood and walked to the door, sliding the pouch back into his pocket, taking the last of Morrigan with him… again. “I’ll hang on to the powder for now. We’ll only use it in extreme circumstances. Hopefully we find her before it begins affecting Cass, or Eris, or?—”
“Ifwe find her.” The words slipped from my lips before I could stop them. I didn’t mean it. Or… maybe I did.
As I turned to Kaiden, all of the heat had left the room, quickly swallowed by the coldness in his black eyes.
“We. Will. Find. Her.”
Chapter 2
DORMIUS
Ihad always kept the world around me at arm’s length.
As a child, the guys always seemed to naturally gravitate toward one another. The six of them would play together outside of the palace, run through the halls, and constantly stir up trouble for the priests and priestesses at every chance they could get. But me? I stayed quiet most days. It wasn’t because I didn’t like them or didn’twantto find a place to fit within their little “chosen family.” I just felt… different.
I had no other way of putting it.
That only intensified when we were told the “chosen queen” had been born. Once she was grown, my knowledge of hertruepurposeleft a sick feeling in my stomach upon meeting her. The innocence radiating from her at the Unveiling almost left a crack in my heart. From my seat in the throne room, I could see the way she looked at Dez. He had used his influence to calm her nerves, unbeknownst to her at the time. But even without it—without the natural allure he emanated to those around him—she saw something in Dez.
If she hadn’t, Morrigan never would have forgiven him so easily.
Iwouldn’t have been gifted a grace that sweet.
“My lord,” Stefan, one of my guards, called out, yanking me from my distant thoughts. “Lord Kaiden has requested your presence at dinner tonight. He sent word to the others as well.”
Turning his head over his shoulder, he carefully eyed the lingering guards that stood along the wall, before leaning in and lowering his voice.
“Are you alright?” he asked in a quiet whisper.
I shook my head, hoping to rattle my brain enough to clear my thoughts of everythingMorriganrelated… if only just for a little while. “I’m fine.”
“You’re not.” With careful discretion, he slid his hand near the arm of the throne, allowing it to brush gently against my own. The contact sent a chill down my spine, and my eyes flitted across the guards’ faces around us. “You’ve barely eaten anything all week. You need to?—”
I stood abruptly, interrupting his words and brushing past him. “I’ll be in my study.”
Before he could say another word, I exited the room and waved off the guards who attempted to follow. Speaking so openly in front of them would raise too many suspicions. With Morrigan gone, everything felt so… upended. The people stirred with unease, wanting answers that they were all rightfully owed. We were supposed to protect her. Keep her safe.Keepher…
By the time I reached the door to my study, I was feeling dizzy from breathing so heavily. I could have done something more. I hadagreedwith Kaiden when we all decided to ignore the conditions of the gods’ so-called “prophecy.” When we unanimously decided that we couldn’t subject a girl—aninnocentgirl—to be a… a…
The door opened and Stefan slipped inside, closing it quietly behind him.
“I should have done something, Stefan,” I panted, placing a cold hand against my forehead. “I knew what they were doing. I knew they planned to move forward with it. I should have told Kaiden. I should have toldher?—”
