Chapter 36
Chapter thirty-six
Bridget
Bridget sat on the edge of the armchair, her fingers twisted in the hem of the oversized blanket someone had draped over her after they’d returned. Her eyes were fixed on the slow, steady rise and fall of Cade’s chest. He hadn’t stirred since they’d arrived back in Astraeus.
They’d brought him back to his room, hopeful that a familiar setting would calm him whenever he awoke. She knew it wouldn’t be easy. That he’d be unsettled. Confused. Maybe even angry.
Even though relief pulsed through every inch of her body, she could hardly look at him.
Every time she did, she felt the sensation of the sword piercing through his chest. Heard the sound of his flesh being ripped open.
A fresh wave of nausea churned in her stomach as her gaze drifted over his body again.
Her eyes lingered on the bandages wound around his chest, dark with dried blood.
She turned her face away and pressed her knuckles to her mouth. It didn’t matter that it hadn’t been her, not really. It had been her hand. Her body. Her theft of Vega’s curse that had sent them down this path.
Beside him, Nylah slept curled on top of the blankets, one arm thrown over his chest. She hadn’t moved since they returned.
But Bridget couldn’t blame her. The thought of being separated from him right now almost destroyed her, too.
And the room was too quiet. Too full of things left unsaid.
The tick of the clock on the wall sounded like a heartbeat.
At the far end of Cade’s room, Stellan stood near the window.
His silhouette was as still as glass. His arms were crossed and tension radiated from every inch of him.
His eyes tracked something beyond the mountains.
Maybe beyond the reach of Astraeus itself.
He hadn’t spoken much since they’d returned.
But he hadn’t left their side either. Bridget was grateful for that.
Delphine and Archer had rushed to help Finn, still unconscious and fighting whatever threads of Vega’s magic lingered in him.
And Cassia and Castor, cursed and traveling through time for the crown. She closed her eyes and hoped they both knew what they were doing. That she’d told them enough.
With a deep breath, Bridget’s eyes moved back to Cade. She didn’t realize she was crying until a tear slipped onto her wrist. She quickly wiped it away.
“Do you think the bond is broken?” Bridget asked softly, her voice barely more than a whisper.
She still remembered the brittle snap inside her chest when his heart had stopped beating. A sudden emptiness, like someone had cut the cord tethering her soul to the world. But whether it was the bond breaking or her own heart shattering, she couldn’t say.
Stellan finally turned from the window. His gaze slid to Cade, then lingered.
“Based on the energy coming off of him,” Stellan answered roughly. “Yes, I think it’s broken.”
Bridget tried to mask her tears with a laugh. “That’s good.”
It was. It had to be. So why did it feel like something inside her had been hollowed out?
Thunder grumbled low in the distance, rattling the windowpanes.
The storms hadn’t stopped since they got back.
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen the sun.
Vega’s doing, most likely. They were close to Cavamyne.
Whatever blood magic she was twisting to restore herself the Sanguis was seeping into the earth, poisoning everything in its path.
Bridget looked back at Cade, her hand inching closer to his, though she didn’t dare touch him. “What do you think it cost him?” she asked quietly.
Dread pulsed through her veins. Even though Stellan said it was normal for him to still be asleep, that he was recharging, whatever the hell that meant, she couldn’t help but think something was wrong.
Stellan didn’t answer at first. His jaw clenched as he stared at Cade, his throat bobbing with the weight of whatever he wasn’t saying. “Whatever he wanted most,” he murmured at last.
Bridget’s chest twisted. The statement could mean so many things. But she’d learned enough about ancient spells to know that desire could be a dangerous currency. Magic didn’t choose kindly. It took what it could twist.
But whatever had changed about him when he woke up, it didn’t matter. Bridget glanced at the dark clouds behind Stellan. Vega was out there. Gathering strength.
Cade had to wake up. Sooner rather than later.
Because darkness was rising. And Vega was coming with it.