Voices intruded, someone calling 911.
A woman shrouded in black appeared and kneeled beside her, her piercing blue eyes shimmering with annoyance. “Seems I have to put your bad dreams to sleep or you’ll never last until the meeting. So close, I cannot take a chance now.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Declan snapped at the woman.
She didn’t respond. A wave of her hand, and Darci closed her eyes…
“Oh, dear God!” Darci yanked away from the goddess. “You took away my memories?”
“Indeed. I blocked them. Or else you would have ended up dead, long before themeetingwith your heedless need to run into danger.”
But Darci wasn’t listening. That demon in her nightmares had been coming for Blaéz, not her. Those memories were his, not hers. Because she housed his soul. And if she did…then were the emotions he felt truly his?
Inhaling a shaky breath, a glow of joy lit inside of her, but just as fast, it dissipated. With The Morrigan watching her with that severe stare, her uneasiness trebled.
God, what else could there be?
Darci waited for the other shoe—shoe, hell, this was a damn boulder—to drop because nothing in her life was ever simple. Or without cost she was finding out.
She went motionless, her blood icing as another thought occurred. With her fragmented soul, she would have died at birth if her mother hadn’t made the sacrifice. Once she returned Blaéz’s soul, how long would she have with him?
She squeezed her eyes tight, could barely breathe, the truth ripping through her. Not long. Her mother had survived only for a few days.
“Do this for him and I will grant a healthy babe to your brother and his mate. Your sacrifice won’t be in vain. It will ensure future births of strong infants in your bloodline.” The Morrigan’s voice came to Darci from a distance. She opened her eyes and cut the goddess a stony look. Of course, she’d know of Grace’s miscarriages. She’d have all her damn bases covered.
“You have seven days before the conduit’s incantation fades.”
Seven days.Darci stared in dread at the lethal disc on the table, her fingers crushing the fabric of the t-shirt she wore, her heart twisting in pain.
“It’s always about balance.” The Morrigan cast her a pitying look. “Like I could say nothing to Blaéz once I gave his soul to your lineage to keep until you both met naturally or it would have been lost forever. Likewise, your ancestors accepted this deal knowing death would be the end result. It’s better this way. Mortals were never meant to be consorts to our kind. Dalliances? Yes. My son will eventually mate, but with one more suited. He is a male of worth.”
While she was nothing.
In a swirl of silvery blue sparks, The Morrigan vanished from the bedroom.
Darci tried to hold in her anguish, her shock. Her trembling grew at the impossibility of her situation. A dry sob racked her as she slid to the floor and rocked herself, staring at the disc on the table.
That little thing would give Blaéz a chance at a normal life, but it was one she could never share with him.
Chapter 25
Darci rubbedher clammy palms on her jeans as she made her way downstairs what seemed like years later, even though just an hour had passed. She had to find Blaéz and tell him the truth, but didn’t know what to say or where to start—
Darci faltered mid-step.Declan.
The Morrigan had told her all those things, but she needed to hear it from him.
She ran down the last few stairs to the kitchen, looking for Hedori, but he wasn’t there. Hurrying out, she saw Michael striding toward her. He slowed to a stop. His gaze drifted over her. “Are you all right?”
How could she be when she knew the horrifying truth? The lengths Blaéz had been driven to, forced to hurt himself just to feel, and she had his soul the entire time.
She tried for a smile but it appeared she no longer possessed that ability. She rushed into speech. “I’m looking for Hedori, I need to go to Westwood. I have to see my brother.”
Michael stared at her with those fractured irises as if he could see into her soul. God, she prayed not. He didn’t comment at her boldface lie, merely said, “I’ll take you. Ready?”
She nodded. A touch to her cold hand and he dematerialized them. Moments later, they took form in the park-like playground a few houses from her brother’s.
She pulled in a trembling breath. Now to face Declan.
