Page 60 of Heir of Blood and Moonlight

“It’s weird, I know,” Wes said. His focus shifted past me. “You have a lot of new friends.”

I turned my head, looking over my shoulder to see Bastian standing in the doorway. I could feel his confusion. He was probably wondering who the hell I was talking to now. I flashed him a tight smile, and he nodded once before backing away.

I turned back to Wes, wondering how much he knew about my relationship with Bastian and the others. “I don’t know what to say,” I admitted.

Wes’s lips curved. “You don’t have to say anything,” he said, walking around the foot of Micah’s recovery bed with smooth, gliding steps. “I just wanted you to know I was here.” His smile turned lopsided. “Oh, and to tell you to stop being dumb.”

I guffawed weakly. “Thanks.”

He stopped well within my reach, and I looked up into his heartbreakingly familiar features. He had always been big for his age. It was the reason the other boys left me alone when he warned them off me. But for some reason, I assumed I had built him up in my head, making him larger than life. He was no Ash, but he wouldn’t have looked out of place beside Bastian and Gavin.

Wes reached for me, raising a ghostly hand to my face, and I braced myself for the fresh heartbreak of his fingers passing through me.

I sucked in a breath when his cool fingertips touched my skin. A faint tingle tickled my nerve endings, like a gentle electric current charged his ghostly form. Our eyes widened, our shocked expressions mirroring one another.

“I can touch you?” he asked, clearly not believing it himself.

“I—” I let out a sound that was part laugh, part cry. Tears spilled over the brims of my eyelids, streaming down my cheeks. “I didn’t know,” I said, the words wobbly and weak. “It seems like I don’t know anything about anything.”

Suddenly, Wes’s arms were around me, and I fell into his embrace. Ragged sobs racked my body, and my fingers clutched the back of his shirt.

“Holy shit,” Bastian said. “Is that aghost?”

I sniffled and pulled back enough that I could see Bastian standing in the doorway once more. Apparently my touch made Wes visible to others. “This is Wes,” I managed between heaving breaths. “Micah’s dad.”

“Holyshit,” Bastian repeated, his shock pouring across our bond.

“I feel like I already know you, man, but it’s nice to finally meet you,” Wes said, extending one translucent arm toward Bastian.

I watched with fascinated disbelief as Bastian stepped forward, closing the distance between us and the doorway, fullyexpecting his hand to pass through Wes’s. But it didn’t. Their palms slapped together, and my breath caught. It was like Wes was here, in the flesh. It was like he wasreallyhere. My chin trembled and fresh tears streaked down my cheeks.

“If you hurt her,” Wes added, “I’ll make your life a living hell.”

I choked on a laugh, or maybe it was a cry. A yawn cracked my jaw, and I hid it behind a raised wrist.

Wes released Bastian’s hand and peered down at me, his concern etched into his ghostly features. “You’re running on fumes, Soph,” Wes said. “You should get some rest. I’ve heard the chatter around the house. You’ve got a big day tomorrow.” His eyebrows danced. “Your first rescue mission.”

I recalled what I had to do to prepare for the mission to track down and rescue Thane—acommunionwith my three bound consorts who were here with me. My cheeks flamed, and I buried my face in the front of Wes’s shirt. Did he know that part? My first foursome was mere hours away. How was I supposed to get any sleep knowingthatwas coming?

How much did Wes really know about the true nature of my relationship with these immortals? He said Amaya had explained what I was and what I could do, but did that include details about a queen and her harem? I wasn’t sure how much he had seen of what happened between Bastian and me in my office, but I felt comforted by the knowledge that he hadn’t witnessed any of thecommunionsthat had happened in the loft or upstairs in the warded residential wing. Ghosts weren’t allowed to enter either of those places.

Wes buried his cool fingers in my hair and tilted my head back so my face was angled up toward his. “Go with Bastian,” he said, leaning his forehead against mine. “I’ll keep an eye on our boy.”

“I want him to meet you,” I said, my voice tremulous. “As soon as he’s awake. Before I leave tomorrow, just in case—”

“Nothing’s going to happen to you tomorrow,” Wes said vehemently, “so don’t even say it.” He shifted his attention to Bastian. “Right? You won’t let anything happen to her?”

“Never,” Bastian swore.

That old smile that had imprinted on my heart reappeared on Wes’s face. After a brief hesitation, he pressed his lips to mine, that cool tingle adding an edge to his sweet kiss. I melted against him, savoring the stolen embrace.

A quiet sob tore from my chest when he broke the kiss. I didn’t want to let him go again. Not ever again.

Wes skimmed his fingertips over my jaw as he stepped backward, and then his hand fell away.

“That is so fucking weird,” Bastian muttered, peering around like he was looking for someone else in the infirmary. It took me a moment to realize he could no longer see Wes. Something about my touch seemed to drag the ghost further into the land of the living, giving him a physical presence.

Stunned by everything that had just happened, I didn’t fight Bastian as he took my hand and pulled me out of the room. I craned my neck to see Wes’s shimmering, ghostly form for as long as possible. He held my stare until I moved out of view, leaving fractured pieces of my heart trailing behind me.

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