Chapter 52
ERIS
Once we arrived at Dez’s castle, his guards scrambled to surround Kaiden and Morrigan.
“Send word to Lyra,” Dez ordered. “Get her, and Eowyn, here immediately.”
Some of them dispersed, and we followed the rest inside, heading straight to Morrigan’s room.
Kaiden placed her onto the bed gently, and I walked toward the fireplace, lighting it instantly.
I will never take advantage of these gifts again, I thought to myself as energy once again pulsed in my veins.
I had forgotten what it felt like to be mortal—the vulnerability of it. I didn’t know why, but our powers were completely useless in that world.
When I turned around to check on Morrigan, I saw her body lying stiff beneath the sheets. I cringed at the image of my nightmare masquerading before me… Morrigan’s body gilded in gold…
“Eris,” Naaz called. “I’m going to retrieve Harley. He’ll want to see her.”
“Right.” I looked around and realized I hadn’t seen D in quite some time. “Did Dormius return home?” I asked Naaz just as he reached the bedroom door.
His lips pressed together in a solemn line. “I don’t know what he saw, Eris.” He shot Tristan a slight glance, knowing he was behind the hallucinations we all experienced. Though, if I was being honest with myself, we probably deserved it. “Whatever it was, it really fucked him up.”
Dormius had never really been close with any of us.
Even as a child, he would keep his distance and busy himself with anything he could come up with.
He carried a lot of secrets, and it didn’t go unnoticed that he never allowed any skin-to-skin contact with Naaz.
Whatever he wanted to hide, he knew that Naaz’s power would draw it out easily.
“What now?” I asked Kaiden and Dez.
They stood together on the other side of her bed, away from Tristan. It was hard to believe that I had him on the floor just hours ago. After Morrigan fell, a strange fit of rage took over me.
Had I been the best person to her? No.
But seeing the color leave her body like that… That was worse than any nightmare Tristan could have conjured up for me. It broke the small piece in my chest that I hadn’t even realized existed. I didn’t know what it meant, and I wasn’t sure that I wanted to know quite yet.
The only thing I did know was that I had been willing to kill a god for her. A god. And I needed to learn how to cope with that awareness somehow.
“I can’t be completely sure, but she might heal faster with blood.” Tristan reached over the bed, pulling her hand into his and caressing her skin with his thumb. “I would offer mine, but…” I could see the nervous swallow in his throat, thick with guilt and shame.
“Maybe it’s best that it isn’t your blood,” Kaiden sneered.
We had all blamed him the second it happened, but was it really his fault? If there was any truth to what was said, then Morrigan was near death regardless. If it hadn’t been for this soul bond, she never would have come back. He did technically save her life.
The air that fogged between both men held a nauseating kind of tension.
But, if I was being honest, most of the hatred seemed to stem from Kaiden, which felt a bit backward.
Tristan surely hated Kaiden, but every word Morrigan had spoken in front of him would melt away the anger in his face.
I think Kaiden’s true issue stemmed from jealousy.
I mean, fuck, it was his brother. His actual brother.
“I’ll do it,” Dez offered immediately. “Is there anything specific I need to know? Or would it be just like any other offering?” His question was directed at Tristan.
“On days where my episodes were more exhausting than others, sometimes I couldn’t completely control myself. It might be best to have someone nearby.”
“I’ll be here,” Kaiden interjected. “Why don’t you go make sure none of your monsters make it through the gate while you wait on the wolf.”
“I think you’re being a little harsh, Kaiden,” I quickly inserted myself, unable to stand the wounded look on Tristan’s face every time his eyes even glanced at Morrigan.
Swimming with shadows, Kaiden’s eyes landed on me. It was a clear sign that his pent-up fury would burst sooner rather than later. “This wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for—”
“Us,” I reminded him. “This wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for us. If we had done our jobs. If Cass, Dez, Naaz, or I would have been honest with her. If you had been kinder to her. If Cain hadn’t been such a—”
“Cain,” Kaiden growled before stomping toward Tristan. “Where is he?”
“In my dungeon, still.” Tristan stood at Kaiden’s level, but his eyes remained on the girl lying still on her bed. “I can retrieve him while you and Dez help her.”
“I’ll go with you,” I offered.
With a curt nod, Tristan released Morrigan’s hand and walked toward the bedroom door, leaving without another look over his shoulder. Before I followed him out, I gave Kaiden a pointed glare.
“I understand a little of why you’re angry, Kaiden, but you need to figure out how to stifle it before she wakes up. Not only is he a god, but he is your brother. One who is now tethered to Morrigan for the rest of her life.”
Small pools of shadows slipped from beneath Kaiden’s pants. “I know that, Eris.”
“Good. None of us like this,” I reminded him. “But if you love her as much as she thinks that you do, you’re going to figure out a way to be okay with this.”
“I already promised her I would—”
“All of this, Kaiden.”
His brows pulled together slightly in confusion.
“Just as he isn’t going anywhere, neither am I. Neither is Cass… Naaz…”
Kaiden sucked in a slow, deliberate breath and rolled his eyes as he turned back to Morrigan.
It was the only real response I would get from him anyway. But Dez had a little smirk on his face that I wanted to punch off of him. So, before I could spew any more infatuated declarations, I turned on my heel and followed after Tristan.