Page 63 of Hidden Sacrifice
Walking through the hallways, I passed the door where my mistresses would stay whenever I invited one back to the castle for the night. Inside my head, part of me screamed to go to the door. There was someone behind the door that I needed to get back to. I hadn’t realized I had stopped walking until I felt the slight pull from Mother.
“How about you go ahead, Mother. I will be after shortly,” I muttered, freeing my arm as I headed towards the door.
“You can’t suggest you would rather be with some whore than have a nice dinner and conversation with your mother?” she bit out, harsher than my mother would.
“I’ve missed talking with you, Mother. I’m afraid I have somewhere else I need to be.” I was only half interested in the conversation as I was more focused on the tug inside me. “Goodbye, Mother,” I said firmly, my head shifting up to look her in the eyes; they had changed to some form of hazel now.
I wasn’t sure what was going on, but every instinct I had told me to get through the door. I had to get to someone, the person I wanted to be with more than anyone else. And that person wasn’t my mother. I shot for the door, and a scream sounded behind me; turning the handle I slipped through.
Morrigan.
The fog and confusion suddenly left my mind as I remembered who I was and where I was. A slight body crashed into me, but I knew immediately it was her. Mor hugged me tightly like she had been afraid.
“Sorry if I took a while, Darling. My mind was fucked with a bit,” I said, wrapping my arms around her. Reassuring her that everything was fine.
“I saw you die,” she whispered, her voice raw like she was holding back tears. “I saw you all die.” She buried her head in my chest, and I noticed that at least all of us had made it to this place.
Jasper, Justice, and Jax wore identical expressions of heartbreak as our mate attempted to shove those horrors deep down so we could keep moving. She could take as long as she needed for all I cared.
“We have to keep going,” Wren said softly but with a firm edge. “That was the hard part; now we can look for your answers. You know your weakness now, girl. Use the information. Don’t let knowledge break you.”
I felt Mor take a deep breath, calming herself before looking up at me. I could see the tears threatening to spill over and acted on instinct, grabbing her by the collar and tilting her head up.
“Trust me, Darling, I’m not dying until I’ve at least fucked you,” I growled out before claiming her lips with a hard kiss, stealing that deep breath she just took. I pulled back and knew I had a smug look as Mor’s face was entirely serene.
When she opened her eyes, I saw them faintly clouded over as she exuded calming energy.
Time to get some answers.
CHAPTER21
MORRIGAN
Keeping my calm mental shield wrapped tightly around me, I pushed down any lingering emotions from the nightmare I had just witnessed. They were all here, alive, and well. Yet my mind continued to flashback images of their glossed over dead eyes looking up at me unnervingly still. The tiny trickle of blood flowing out of Justice’s mouth, his limbs a tangled mess.
Wren started to walk away from the stone sanctuary and onto the path that would lead us further into the veil. I pushed all the fears deep down inside me, trying to build a mental room for them just to lock the memories away. Forever, if I could. Then I took a deep steadying breath and followed Wren. It was time for me to get answers finally.
It was just a larger version of the lonely island I had arrived on. The sandy path twisted around the landscape, evading the occasional dead tree. The air all around had a faint smell that strangely reminded me of lemons. The air was thick and hung like a dense fog, leaving us in a small bubble of visibility as we traveled the well-worn path.
“Up ahead, there is an altar. Place your object there, and we can try to summon your killer.” Wren pointed up ahead to the faintly visible circular offshoot from the path.
A large tree framed one side with long empty arching branches that provided a roof. I noticed a faint glow and several large objects positioned strategically around the space as we got closer.
We approached the alter, Jax swinging a backpack around to grab whatever item they brought to summon my killer. I still couldn’t fully understand how we were simultaneously here and not here. Wren went over to the small flickering torch, removing it from the holder attached to the large stone. Jax pulled something suspiciously like a bone from the pack, setting it on the altar.
“Is that what I think it is?” I asked as Jax flung the pack back where it belonged.
“If you think that is his ulna, you are correct, Fox,” Justice said enthusiastically.
“Yup, it’s a bone. Do I even want to know why or how you have a bone from my killer?”
“I took a few things the day we went to the human realm to investigate the missing souls,” Jax said, looking mildly apologetic.
“You decided to take part of his arm, though? Really?”
Jax shrugged. “It came in handy, didn’t it.”
“I have the hand,” Justice said with a bright smile.
