Chapter 41
MORRIGAN
As light filtered through my lashes, I noticed a dark figure looming over me.
His black, tousled hair hung from his head, covering his brows. It was more unruly than it had been before. Even the skin on his jaw held a dark stubble, and dark circles shaded beneath his eyes made him look tired. But it didn’t take away from the youthful glow that always emanated from him.
Nor his beauty, even if it pained me to see it.
“There you are, little dove,” he whispered, and my heart betrayed me as it fluttered from the sound of his voice.
It took me a moment to realize that I held his wrist, and the familiar taste of his blood coated my tongue—hot and heavy. I swiftly pulled away, lickingmy lips as I scooted back against the headboard to sit. I had to physically tear my eyes away from him to find Tristan standing on the other side of the room, and some of my tension eased instantly. “What… What happened?”
“You lost control of your power,” Tristan explained, and Kaiden lowered himself onto the mattress, sitting beside me. I didn’t miss the slight flick of Tristan’s eyes as he tracked his movement.
Then, the memory of Mara flashed through my mind, and I sucked in a breath, anxiety crawling over me like icy daggers. “I killed… Oh, Gods, Tristan. I’m so?—”
“You did what was necessary, Morrigan.” Tristan walked up to my other side and sat down, smoothing my hair over my shoulder. “If you hadn’t, I would have.”
“Tristan, she raised you?—”
“And shethreatenedyou,” he pushed on. “I hadn’t realized just how deep her bitterness ran, but nothing—not evenhisdeath—would have quenched that. I never should have made that promise to her.” His thumb found my lip and settled there for a moment, earning an uncomfortable shift from Kaiden.This really couldn’t get any more awkward.“No one will lay a hand on you, Morrigan. I’ve told you this already.”
Reluctantly, I turned to face Kaiden, and Tristan’s hand dropped from my face, but he didn’t move to leave. Kaiden’s tired eyes bore into mine, but all I could see was the way he had looked at Mara. The only words that whispered in my mind were,“She’s not you, Mara.”
A lie,I remembered.All of it.
“Please, let me explain,” Kaiden whispered.
“There isn’t anything more to tell me.” It took an abundant amount of courage to dry up the tears welling in my eyes.I am not weak. Not anymore.“You loved her, Kaiden. And when you saw me…”
“No! I mean… Yes, when I first saw you, I thought of her, but Morrigan, you’re not?—”
“Her,” I answered for him, feeling a sting of sadness in my chest. “I know. You’ve made that very clear.”
Kaiden’s lips pressed together, and I could see the anger and hindrance in his eyes. “If you would just let me talk?—”
“Princess!”
The sound of Azrael’s voice rang through the room, and I shoved off the blankets, ignoring the men on either side. It only took seconds for me to climb off of the bed and meet him across the room. The moment my arms wrapped around his body, every bit of sadness poured from me, replaced with sweet relief.
I pulled away and held both of his arms, forcing him to look at me. “If you ever do anything like that again, Azrael, I swear to the gods I’ll?—”
“I won’t,” he promised, a small smile teetering the corners of his lips.
I wanted to scream at him, tell him how reckless he had been. How he could have gotten allthreeof us killed. But as I looked into his eyes, I couldn’t stay angry for long. Because, truthfully, it didn’t matter. I would do it all again for him.
“He’s been worried about you, too, Morrigan,” my mother said quietly as I stood to face her with Azrael’s hand in mine. Then, her eyes peeked over my shoulder, and a slight blush crept along my cheeks. “Why don’t I take Azrael to the dining hall. You three can… finish up here and meet us there.”
“Thanks, Mom.” Leaning down, I placed a kiss on top of Azrael’s head. “Behave,” I quickly threatened, onlyhalfteasing.
With a small giggle, he followed my mom out of the room, and, once again, I was left alone with Kaiden and Tristan. I saw the question lingering on Kaiden’s face and spoke up before he could ask it.
“He was one of the prisoners in the tunnels. I took him with me when I escaped.”
His expression grew serious. “Morrigan,” he said grimly. “Those prisoners had gifts that were?—”
“Touch him, and I promise you, Iwillfinishwhat Mara started.”
