He gave me zero protest.
As Kaiden marched off, Dez joined me under the sheets, and I snuggled close to him, lying on his chest. I had missed this so much—just the scent of him. It enveloped me in a tight cushion of safety and familiarity. I could stay here for hours, just basking in his warmth.
“Will you tell me what happened?” I asked. “What you guys saw that’s making everyone act so strange?”
I felt him shake his head above mine as his hand came up to caress my back, tracing a line down my spine.
“Nothing close to the things you’ve survived, princess.” He planted a kiss on the top of my head, and my eyes slowly fluttered closed.
“Rest, beautiful.”
No one actually seemed bothered by our impromptu nap, and I was surprised to find Tristan waiting patiently in the dining hall as the rest of the lords helped themselves to a seemingly endless spread of food.
When I entered, all eyes fell on me and Dez, and I felt an odd sense of nostalgia from it.
Eris was the first to speak. “Do you plan on telling us what exactly is going on, and why I was stuck in anightmarefor gods know how long?!”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah… It’s nice to see you, too, Eris.”
Making my way past their chairs, I gave each of them a once-over. Cassius gave me a small nod, as did Naaz. But when I got to Dormius, he didn’t so much as meet my eyes. I reached out to touch his shoulder, butbefore I could even graze his clothing, he flinched away violently. Crazed blue eyes met mine, and the skin beneath them was red and swollen. Just as quickly as he had raised his head, he faced forward again, burying his head into his hands as he muttered to himself.
“He’s been like that since he got here,” Eris said, suddenly standing beside me. I tilted my head up to him, staring at his usual brooding face, his dark blue eyes gazing back at me.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered to him. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happ?—”
Before I could finish, Eris pulled me into a tight embrace that I never would have expected from him. He buried his face into my hair and wrapped his fist in my curls as he held me against his chest.
“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, just loud enough formeto hear. “I’m sorry for all of it.None of this… None of this is your fault, and I…” He released a shuddering breath that I felt rattle against my own chest. “We should have protected you from the second you were born, and we failed at that. I just hope that one day, if you’re ever ready, we can beproperlyintroduced again.”
His warm embrace disappeared as he stepped back, and I found myself missing it—which surprised me even more. Once he fixed his shirt, he stepped aside and let me pass.
Tristan appeared just as confused, like he wasn’t quite sure how to decipher the tone of the room.
He didn’t understand. A part of me absolutely hated them for the secret they kept from me—what they were prepared to force me to do.
But when I sat in that cage, sore and broken, it was memories of our dinners that kept me sane.
It was Cass’s laugh, Dez’s eyes, every argument with Kaiden, and every blush on D’s face whenever Dez would make an inappropriate joke. I would think back to the day that Eris saved that man, and every time Naaz helped me in the library.
Maeryn and Cain had taught me what true hate felt like, and I could never actuallyhatethese men. They were the family I had always craved in my life, and now, after almost three months of being apart, the animosity was gone.
They weremyfamily now, whether I wanted it or not.
And if Tristan wanted a soul bond, he was going to have to acceptthem,too.
Chapter 43
MORRIGAN
Tristan left the head of the table open for me, and as I sat down, every pair of eyes seemed to track my movement.
Well… every pair but D’s.
“I want to apologize for whatever you may have experienced when you first got here,” I began. “I know you thought you were saving me, but I promise that I’ve been relatively safe here.”
If I exclude the part where I was chased by necroviants and had to fight off almost one hundred vampyres…
“Good, because I wouldloveto go home now,” Naazannounced beside Eris.
