Chapter 60
MORRIGAN
The next day finally arrived, and I received a deeply anticipated visit.
I didn’t know why, but the nerves in my stomach were absolutely ravaging me.
When the knock on my door came, I fixed my dress as if I had someone to impress.
It might have just been a day or two for him, but for me…
I hadn’t seen him for two months. Two months of not knowing what happened to him.
Once my courage finally made its appearance, I opened the door, and, suddenly, none of it seemed to matter anymore.
I stared up at him, and every sound in my head quieted.
The bruises… His face was covered in them.
The skin beneath his eyes was purple and yellow, and his lips had small, almost-healed, cuts all over them.
It took everything in me not to react.
“Morrigan,” he whispered.
My bottom lip trembled as I fought for control over my anger, and sadness at the state that I had left him in. “Dad,” I answered in a strangled voice, and he pulled me into a hug that enveloped my entire body.
Neither of us spoke for a very long time. But once we found the strength to pull away, he sat with me in my room for hours and requested to hear every part of what happened after I disappeared. I told him of my mother, and that she was gone now—truly at peace.
And little by little, all of the pieces felt like they were putting themselves back together. That was almost two days ago.
First, we would find a way to break the blood bond I shared with Cain. With me being… whatever I was now, I didn’t know if that changed the way our bond worked. Tristan has said the blood of a god was the only thing needed to create a soul bond. Did I have that with Cain now, too?
Regardless, once we severed it, Cain would be put on trial before the people, and his crimes would be announced in front of all of them. After that, he would be executed.
I would be the one to kill him.
His life was mine to take. No one else’s.
“Morrigan?” a familiar voice called from my door as it cracked open slightly.
I turned to find Dormius stepping inside, his hands were trembling, but his eyes held a new clarity that I hadn’t seen since before he came to save me.
“Come in!”
His gaze turned to the bed where Malakai’s lycan form snored loudly.
Both he and Tristan had been sleeping in my room for the past couple of days.
Tristan didn’t feel very comfortable here, and it would probably be a long time before he did.
But he took walks with Azrael every day, exploring more parts of the castle and Dez’s grounds.
Whenever Tristan left the room, Malakai insisted on “standing guard”—though his idea of protecting me seemed to be sleeping through every minute of it.
“You could honestly scream and he wouldn’t wake up,” I laughed, hoping to lighten the uncomfortable tension between us. “I didn’t know that you were coming to visit today. I assumed I wouldn’t see you until Saturday.”
“There’s…” He shot one more glance at Malakai before walking toward me. “There’s something I need to talk to you about.”
“What is it?” I asked, standing from my vanity.
Nervously, he blinked a few times as he stared at me and then turned back toward the door. Then, another man walked inside, this one a little taller than D, with shoulder-length brown hair. He wore a blue guard’s uniform, and had a helmet tucked into his side.
I tilted my head in confusion. “I don’t think I need any more people on my guard,” I insisted. “Truthfully, I probably don’t even need guards anymore.”
As I laughed, I realized that neither of them seemed to join in. Their faces were taut and serious, full of shared anxiety.
“What’s going on?” I asked both of them.
The guard stepped forward first, dipping his head into a graceful bow. “My name is Stefan, Your Grace.”
Guess we’re back to titles again.
“We can do without the bowing,” I mumbled. “And my name is Morrigan.”
Stefan’s lips curved into a grin, and he glanced back at D, whose eyes hadn’t left the floor. He wasn’t even looking at me. Why would he bring one of his guards to my…
I carefully watched the way Stefan’s eyes softened as he stared at D, waiting for him to speak.
“Oh,” I said aloud, not meaning for it to slip past my lips.
D’s hands balled into fists, and I could see his chest rising and falling in heavy breaths. Stefan wasn’t just his guard.
“So, this is… He is...”
“Yes,” D answered under his breath.
I dipped my chin, watching both of them quizzically. “Okay… I’m sorry,” I extended my hand for Stefan to take and shook his. “It’s very nice to meet you, Stefan. I’m just a little confused right now.”
D cleared his throat and took a step forward. “I understand that this is a lot to take in. And… I would appreciate if you refrained from telling—”
“Did you just want me to meet him? You both looked like you wanted to puke when you stepped into my room.” I chuckled nervously. “I just don’t understand why this feels so secretive.”
D’s eyes widened as they met mine, and he lowered his head closer to me. “Morrigan,” he muttered quietly. “This— Us… It’s illegal. It’s not allowed—”
“Oh, you can’t be serious,” I scoffed. “Why should anyone care who you’re with? It doesn’t affect them. That’s preposterous, D.”
“If the priests find out, Your… My Lady, they could have me executed,” Stefan chimed in.
Oh, great… No pressure. I put my hands on my hips as I tried to think it through. The lords couldn’t change the laws of the priests or priestesses. But… a god could…
“Tristan will handle it,” yawned Malakai.
Both men jumped as they turned to him. He had shifted back to his mortal form at some point and now lay naked on my bed. I grabbed the small perfume bottle from my vanity, throwing it at him, and landed a good shot on his shoulder as he yelped in pain.
“What was that for?!”
“No shifting in my bed!” I yelled at him for the thousandth time. “Get some damned clothes on or shift back, Mal!”
“They really do exist still,” Stefan said breathlessly.
D turned to Stefan, whose eyes were stuck on Malakai. He quickly elbowed him, and Stefan blushed as he looked away. It took every ounce of restraint for me to not laugh at the interaction.
Once Mal pulled on a pair of pants, he sauntered over and casually leaned his elbow on my shoulder, like I was a resting place for his arm.
“Those fucking priests have always been a godly pain in my ass. You see, us lycan don’t give a shit about who you want to fuck. Gods… Even I’ve taken my fair share of co—”
“Shut up!” I snapped at him. “The last thing I want to talk about is your sexual escapades. Go find Tristan.”
Malakai rolled his eyes, leaving the room without so much as a shirt on his back. Once he was gone, I faced the two men that remained.
“We will figure this out,” I promised them. “I can assume this is… Is he what you saw?”
D gave a slow nod.
Without asking, I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around him. He seemed stiff at first, like he wasn’t sure how to react. But eventually, his arms found my back, and I felt his head settle on top of mine.
“It’s nice to finally meet you, D,” I whispered to him.