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“What the fuck are you talking about?” Dragan asks.

I shrug which causes pain to blast my entire body. It takes me a moment to catch my breath. I need to heal myself but I currently lack the strength. “Morrigan’s spell tore… out my darkness and forced it to overcome me. In doing so… she locked away my empathy, free will, and all the goodness I’ve ever possessed.”

“Keep explaining,” Baron demands.

“I was trapped in… my own mind, unable to escape the grim… reality Morrigan forced on me. All the while, I was unaware of my actions… until Eilish touched me on the battlefield,” I explain. “Shewas the one who set me free.”

The gargoyle paces. “How do we know youarefree? How do we know this isn’t one of Morrigan’s plans, and that you won’t turn dark on us again?”

“You don’t.”

“What?” The perplexed expression on the Stone Lord’s face causes me to chuckle until my broken ribs insist I don’t.

“As much as you’re afraid to trust me, and afraid that I might not be entirely free of Morrigan’s spell... I fear it far more than any of you.”

Pyre shakes his head and drops to one knee beside me. “What does the Midnight Queen intend to do once she has all that power? What’s her plan?”

I press my lips into a thin line. If I give them what they want, they’ll surely kill me once they know everything. I can’t risk my only chance of staying alive. Not yet. Not until I see with my own eyes that Eilish is alive. I trust no one, not even myself, with her safety.

“I’m not telling you anything. You’re the ones who released Morrigan in the first place.”

Searing pain bursts from my chest as Pyre punches my sternum. I feel him grip my heart as magic forces its way into every fiber of my being until I no longer know where I begin and he ends. His eyes are white as snow and sightless, yet he sees everything. Everything that I ever was and ever will be. He pulls back, stumbling slightly as he stares down at his hand in awe.

I look down, staring at the seared earth, unable to meet that unsettling gaze any longer. He knows the horrors of my past and the things I fought to keep hidden for many years. And yet... he says nothing.

I watch his boots retreat from my line of sight as he walks away. The others chase after him and I’m left on my own once more. Morrigan will send forces after me. It’s only a matter of time before we’re running for our lives again.

Part of me wishes they would leave me here, now that Pyre knows everything.

CHAPTER EIGHT

CAMBION

Mercenary Stronghold

“Then I nearly gets my ass blown clean the fucks off by some stupid ballmunchin’ spellcaster with bad aim,” the annoying sprite says. “My poor little wings was tryin’ to keep up, but they sneaks out the door before I could get there. Then, Noni takin’ her sweet fuckin’ time to poof us back here,” he continues to complain while shoveling handfuls of food into his mouth.

I pinch the bridge of my nose and wait for him to finish chewing obnoxiously before I ask anything else. Flumph smacks his lips and grabs a bread roll from the table before he burps loudly, only a few inches from where I sit.

“I seen your dickhead brother. He less crazy than he were, no doubt, but he still ain’t good.”

“I need to know if my brother is safe?”

“Safe as can be ‘spected with him’s body all broke an’ shit. Thought he were gonna fall right over when they were fightin’ them pain in the ass Unseelie fuckers.” Flumph begins to gulp down a pint of ale as I stand and walk away from the table.

I search the Hall of Clans for Eilish, but she’s nowhere to be found. Aima stops me as I make my way towards the barracks.

“She isn’t there, Cambion.”

“Where can I find her?”

Aima shrugs as Myerdoth appears at her side. “Last I saw, Lady Fulthain was near one of the outposts. I think she’s practicing making her wings appear and disappear at will.”

“Out in the open?” I ask, unable to hide my surprise. “Pyre says there are demons out there.”

“There are demons everywhere,” Aima says with a roll of her eyes. “Eilish isn’t helpless, Cambion.”

I know Eilish is more skilled now than she was before I took the mirror to Oronrel, but she still shouldn’t be out on her own. Aima and the stoic gargoyle head off to find Kolvar as I make my way to the south gate. The sentry sees the emblem on my tunic and opens the gate for me.