Page 133 of A Curse of Breath and Blood

The Morrigan chuckled. “Oh, but I would, my fair king. Too bad the blood has already been bound. There is no reversing it until the wielder is dead.”

He clenched his jaw. “If you take too much from her, I will kill you, Morrigan.”

“I am already dead, my king, but you can try. Besides, I think you’ll come to find you will need me before too long.”

Tharan raised his chin, studying the Morrigan and how confidently she sat there. “Go on.”

“I know little more. I do not venture where the darkness lingers. But there are those who travel to the land of shadow, and they say those who live there are biding their time, waiting for an opportunity to escape into the land of living again and reclaim what they lost.”

Tharan tucked the information away for later.“Thank you, Morrigan.”

She nodded.

“One last thing before you return to the world beyond.”

The Morrigan held him with an inquisitive stare.

“Don’t kill her before I make her mine.”

She gave him a small smirk. “Perhaps when I am free, I will call you mine. You never know.”

“Be gone.” He waved her off, and she disappeared the way she had come—into a cloud of smoke.

Aelia slept silently as Tharan climbed into bed next to her.Intertwining his hand with hers, he replayed the fight in the castle in his mind, guilt plaguing him for not doing more to protect her.

Aelia flinched in her sleep. Her eyes fluttered open, a slight smile tugging at the corners of her pink lips. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but instead, she nuzzled her face into his chest. “Thank you for taking care of me, Tharan.”

He ran his fingers through her ebony hair. “You’re welcome,” he said, kissing the top of her head as she slept. “I promise I will not fail you again.”

50AELIA

Tharan tendedto me as I healed, delivering soup for nourishment and assisting with mundane tasks. Far from my most glamorous moment, but if Tharan found it repulsive, he didn’t reveal it.

He slept next to me at night, allowing me to rest my head on his chest. The powerful sedative the healer had given me provided me a brief respite from my nightmares.

Once I regained my strength, we headed back to the Woodland Realm. Arion bobbed his head contently as Tharan led him through the snow-slicked streets.

I cleared my throat nervously. “So, uh, do you want to talk about the whole me conjuring an Army of the Dead? Or are we just going to act like it didn’t happen?”

He gave me a sideways glance. “I was wondering when you would bring it up.”

I tossed my head. “Yes, well, I sort of made a deal with an ancient goddess.”

Tharan didn’t say anything, so I continued.

“I knew I needed a backup plan, and well… if I’m being honest… I had nothing to lose.”

“Nothing to lose?” Hurt flooded his voice. “You had everything to lose. You had your sister, your freedom, m—” He stopped himself from saying what we both knew he wanted to say.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking,” I blurted out.

Tharan brought Arion to a halt. “Perhaps I was not clear about my intentions, Aelia.”

My chest tightened.

His expression softened. “I’m falling for you. I want you to be mine forever. So, if you’re planning on making a deal with an ancient deity… at least tell me first.”

I let out a breath of relief. Years of being reprimanded for the slightest indiscretion set me on edge. Gideon burst into a rage anytime he perceived my actions as a threat. After a while, I stopped telling him things. I’d been on my own for so long that I didn’t know how to have a partner.“I’m sorry. I’m not used to being part of a team.”

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