Before I could react, she pulled me forward into a hug that meant more to me in this moment than I could have expected. It was different. It was the love of a mother, one I had felt but didn’t know it at the time.
“You were always enough, Morrigan. You were neverno one. You are everything—everything tome—and I love you so much.”
I didn’t bother to stop the tears as they fell from my eyes. Instead, I slid to the floor with her and returned the embrace. “I love you too, Mom.”
“You were always enough, Morrigan.”
Her words replayed in my mind as Tristan and I sat together. She was right. Fuck Maeryn and what she thought of me. Screw Cain… Aamon… and every ounce of pain they had inflicted. I was more than their torture.
"Morrigan, you’re bleeding again,” Tristan said quietly. “Maybe now is a good time to take a break?”
Lately, it seemed like the more I used my magic, the worse the nosebleeds became. I hadn’t told Tristan that I’d begun experiencing themoutsideof using my magic as well. Occasionally, I would wake up and feel it dripping down my lips. Usually, they would be accompanied by a short headache that would eventually pass.
“No,” I insisted. “I can do this.” Because I could.
I had spent my entire life doubting myself.I am more than my fears… stronger than my past. A stupid nosebleed wasn’t going to hold me back from what IknewI was capable of.
With my eyes closed, I directed all of my focus into building the walls in my mind, brick by brick. I pictured the walls of my old home—the ones that kept me trapped, hidden from the world. The walls of my attic… my prison. Every single wall that held me in like a bird in a cage.
That’s when I felt it rising, protecting me instead of isolating me.
“Morrigan…” Tristan said warily, his voice sounding distant now that I had lost myself within my own mind. “Slow down, please.”
Suddenly, it was like a lock clicked into place, and I felt the walls form a tiny box. “Do it,” I whispered. “Try it now.”
With a heavy sigh, I could hear Tristan shift against the grass. Then, there was a push on the wall. It was heavy enough to form tiny cracks, but I reinforced them quickly. Different parts of my shields were attacked, one by one, and I continued to patch them up. Eventually, they began to crumble a little, and with one last shove, I sucked in a sharp breath before falling forward.
Tristan caught me against his chest, and I felt it rumble with laughter.
“That was amazing!” he exclaimed. With one of his hands, he lifted my face to meet his gaze. “You did amazing, Morrigan.”
My eyes were heavy, and I felt warm liquid sliding over my upper lip, but I feltgood. Even if only for a moment, I was able to block out the power of agod.Who’s laughing now, Cain?
I quickly wiped away the blood and smiled up at him. “I told you I could do it.”
“I never doubted you.”
We sat there, me leaning into his chest, and the both of us staring at each other for a while. The longer I looked at him, the hotter the blood pumped in my veins. And judging by the way his eyes kept flicking down to my lips, I knew he felt it, too.
No fighting it, right?
“I think I want to kiss you,” I whispered, and I watched his throat bob in response.
He didn’t respond, just lowered his lips until they barely brushed mine. Energy buzzed between us, begging for friction, and when he finally kissed me, I felt like my insides were melting. I shifted my body until I sat on his lap, straddling him, and tilted his head up so I could deepen the kiss.
He tasted familiar, like I would know who he was just by the feel of his lips against mine. Now that I had done it once, my body continued to crave more and more each day. It was becoming hard to hold back from the pull between us, that damned tether seeming to tighten by the minute. But kissing him like this felt like all the strings wrapped around my lungs were releasing their grip, and I was breathing again for the first time.
His hands found my hips, digging his fingers into my skin like he was holding himself back. I didn’t know what I wanted, truthfully. Part of this desire tugged at my hips, begging them to move against him to see how deep our connection really was. But then I felt my head swimming again, and I pulled away from him just before a small bead of blood slid down my nose.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, climbing off of his lap and placing my hand below my nose. “Gods, that’s so embarrassing.”
Tristan smiled as he stood and removed a piece of cloth from his pocket. He pulled my hand away from my face and gently wiped the blood from my skin. “Why don’t you go rest a little. I’ll have Mal keep Azrael company, and after,” he leaned down, pressing a kiss to my forehead, “I have something I’d like to show you.”
Without warning, he lifted me into his arms, carrying me as he walked back to the castle. I hummed when my head rolled onto his chest, his smell burning an imprint into my nose that had the tether buzzing with happiness. “What is it?” I asked quietly, my eyes slowly beginning to droop as a slight headache sprung across my temples.
“Something I needed to make sure you were ready for. Somethinglongoverdue.”
I couldn’t fight it any longer. The last thing I felt was being placed onto soft sheets, just cold enough for comfort, and I fell asleep.
