With a heavy, deflated sigh, Myren bowed again. “I will continue asking, My Lord.”
I watched him as he left. When Morrigan first stayed here, she gave the air such a drastic lift that it affected everyone that walked these halls. The staff worked harder, and they seemed happier, too. I had never even considered that changing what I thought was such a simple title, could cause such a drastic shift in morale. But the moment that news of her disappearancemade its way through the villages, it became a hidden plague that seemed to affect hundreds.
How could we protectthemif we couldn’t protecther?
I heard the doors to the dining hall open and turned to see one of my guards entering with a paper in one of his hands.
“My Lord,” he greeted, bowing before approaching and holding out his hand. “This is a message from Lord Kaiden. He has requested your presence tonight.”
I sighed. Seeing as I had already eaten through half of my kitchen, I didn’t exactly have the desire to meet with anyone for the remainder of my night. We agreed to meet in the morning, and then we would decide who would be entering the tunnels. I had no desire to. I knew she wouldn’t wantmeto be the first thing she saw after… after what Cain might have…
I’m going to kill him.
My hands shook slightly as I opened the letter, blocking out the images my mind wanted to conjure of what he might have done to her… what he mightstillbe doing to her. But my heart skipped a beat as I read what was on the parchment.
“Plans have changed. We leave tonight.”
What could have possibly changed for us to need to leave early? I knew that the seer had told Kaiden she couldn’t take us until tomorrow. Which meant something had to have happened. My mind quickly shifted to Dez, thinking of how he had spoken of Morrigan since she disappeared—the preposterous idea that he couldfeelher in a way the rest of us couldn’t. It’s not that I didn’t believe him, it’s just that… well… I didn’t want to.
The moment he spoke of waking to the feeling of cuts along his skin, I had to convince myself it was only nightmares. I couldn’t spiral into the possibility that she was enduring that much pain. Dez had turned into a complete wreck. And if he could barely handle the phantom pains of what Morriganmightbe experiencing, how would a mortal survive something likethat? But Dez… He would wake up screaming. He couldn’t eat. Couldn’t feed.
If everything he experienced was true…
Kaiden is right. Fuck what the seer said, and fuck Cain.
Morrigan is coming hometonight.
When I arrived at the castle, Dez sat on the steps in the courtyard.
His head lay in his hands as his fingers gripped at his hair, tugging and yanking against his scalp.
“Dez!” I called out, rushing to his side instinctively as I dropped down and tried removing his grip. “You’re going to pull your hair out!”
He shoved me away, recoiling from my touch in a way that stung my heart. My best friend… Andhehated me, too. “I can’t… I can’t feel her,” he panted.
One by one, I heard the other guys shadowing in with their walkers. It caused a faint stir in the wind, the shadows whipping around us. “Just take a breath, Dez. Everyone’s here. We are going to?—”
Without warning, he fisted the collar of my shirt and lifted me to stand. I didn’t fight him—I didn’twantto fight him. “What don’t you fucking understand?!” he screamed. His blue eyes had begun to glow, and it took only seconds for me to feel it—the push of his magic. My own grief deepened to such despair… It made me physically sick. “I CAN’T FEEL HER!”
“Dez!” Naaz yelled behind me. “Stop this! You’re acting mad!”
“I can’t feel her!” he yelled again, and his voice cracked, the anger melting into an agonizing sadness that left a bitter taste on my tongue. His anguish became my own, and it drained every ounce of strength that I had. Slowly, my head began to reel, and I grasped his wrists, trying to pull him off of me. “I can’t feel her, Cass!”
“Dez,” I whispered with a slight slur of my words, like my body wanted to shut itself down to block out the invasive torment attacking my mind. “Dez, you have to?—”
“Put. Him. Down.”
Both of our heads turned to Kaiden, who now stood in the center of the courtyard. One of his hands gripped the sleeve of a gown worn by a woman almost three times Morrigan’s age. She trembled beside him, and judging by the power that emanated from her, I knew she had to be the seer.
With Dez distracted, I shoved him off of me and placed a good amount of distance between us. Something I never dreamt I would ever have to do.
“How did you get her out of the palace so quickly?” I asked him, shaking my head and waiting for the remnants of Dez’s power to leave my mind.
“I took her,” he answered with an unbothered shrug. Then, without an ounce of compassion, he threw the seer to the ground in front of us.
Kaiden’s rage had returned tenfold. After Morrigan disappeared, he truly had nothing left to keep him grounded anymore. I feared what might happen if wedidn’tfind her soon.
“These holy soldiers have gotten too comfortable in their palaces. I think they’ve forgotten who they truly answer to. And this one…” Kaiden continued as the seer scrambled to her feet.
