I scrunched my nose as I sat up in my chair. “I… can’t leave…yet.” A trail of disgruntled groans rippled throughout the table. “The fire—my fire… I’m not one of the gifted like you all seemed to suspect. Nor did it stem from the bonds.” Tristan shifted uncomfortably on my left. “As most of you are likely aware by now, Tristan is the son of Rosina and Ryuk. And…somehow… our fates tangled themselves together.”
“Morrigan, with all due respect, I’ve had to listen to the riddles of seers for the past few weeks,” Naaz sighed. “Please, just say what you’re trying to say so we can all leave.”
Here goes nothing.
“I, technically, have a piece ofhislight inside of me.” I cringed internally at how dirty that sounded. “The power that emerged—the fire—it washispower… kind of… awakening itself.”
Eris narrowed his eyes at Tristan. “When her room burned down, she was yelling atyou, wasn’t she?”
“I’ve been able to hear him almost my entire life. At some point, after a few of the bonds were in place, I began toseehim as well. I think the blood kind of helped trigger the magic that had been hiding,” I attempted to explain.
While some of them mumbled comments to themselves, Dez leaned forward on my right. “That makessomuch sense,” he laughed. “The wraiths! They were Rosina’s handmaidens. They must have sensed a trace of her in your magic and called to you.”
I nodded in agreement. “They kept whispering something to me.” I had to search my mind for the word I heard that night, and again in the water after the necroviants chased us. “Ecce.”
“Behold,” Kaiden answered from the other end of the table. “That is the old language of the gods. Other than the priests and priestesses, we are the only ones who can still speak it.”
“Speak for yourself,” Dez muttered under his breath.
I shifted in my seat to face Tristan. “The wraiths werehere, too. When Azrael and I fell from the cliff, we landed in water. They said it again as they pulled us out. Azrael had swallowed some of the water, and they were able to remove it from his lungs.”
How did I not bring this up before?
“I can’t imagine that they are the same ones. IfIcan’t leavethis place, I doubttheycan travel back and forth so easily,” he said with a shake of his head.
“What does all of this mean?” Cassius interjected, leaning forward in his chair.
“As a mortal, it seems my body isn’t strong enough to hold so much power—hence the headaches that began a while ago.”
“Could you not just return it to him?” Eris asked me.
“No. And if I don’t do something about it, I may not be here much longer.”
“What do you meanyou won’t be here?” Dez instantly sat up straight, grabbing my hand. “There has to be something we can do.”
I squeezed his fingers as I returned a smile, trying to keep my words hopeful. “There is. If Tristan and I were to complete a soul bond, his light would be connected—whole—once more. And with the attachment tohim, I should be fine!”
They don’t need to know the other potential outcome,I tried to convince myself.
“Tell the truth, Morrigan,” Kaiden boomed across the table. He stood, placing his palms onto the wood and leaned over, glaring daggers at me. “Tell them the real reason you want to do this.”
“Kaiden,” I whispered in warning.
“Tell them how your little fated lover isdying, and that this is the only way to save him—even if it meansyoucould die in the process.”
The room broke out in instant outrage.
“Dying?!” Dez yelled, turning his entire body toward me. “No, princess. That can’t happen. Please, I just got you back, there has to be?—”
“Great. So we traveled all the way here just for you to?—”
“—such a selfish decision?—”
“Everyone shut up!” I raised my voice above the rest of them as I slammed my hands down on the table. “This is no oneelse’sdecision but my own. And myreasonsare none of your business!”
“Itisthe business of those who are bonded to you,” Eris countered, his blue eyes darkening like a building storm.
I released a crude scoff. “Oh, right. The bonds youforcedon me without my consent? My death would break them anyway, so you all have nothing to worry about.”
