Page 11 of Moonlit Guardians
“It burns you, doesn’t it?” he insists.
“What?”
“That I think of her when I’m with you.”
“No, I don’t fucking care anymore.”
“You made one crucial mistake, Morrigan.”
I look up at him and scowl. “What mistake?”
His smile is broad. “You fell in love with me.” Then he chuckles.
“You don’t know your place,” I start.
“Control me all you want, Morrigan, but I will never love you.”
Variant storms out of the bathing room and I cast a spell to refresh the water of my bath. I step back into the warm water and scrub my skin until it’s raw. Never have I felt so humiliated. For Variant to belt the name of…herin such a moment of intimacy... My mind reels with anger.
Abedon would never…
Though his mistress was darkness itself, he was never unfaithful.
The pain I feel in my heart forever amazes me. Millennia have passed since I betrayed Abedon with Silvanus’ help, and yet I love him now as I always have. And, yes, Variant spoke the truth when he said I love him. I do. But it’s a different love to that I felt with Abedon.
My betrayal of Abedon wasn’t out of spite or scorn, but love. He was out of control. He wasn’t the man I vowed my life to. But here I sit with thoughts of his affection still surfacing in my mind.
Variant is a boy, by comparison. I was a fool to have ever thought he could stand at my side.
And he is a fool for ever admitting as much as he has to me.
He will never have Eilish,I vow to myself as I watch the rising steam from my bath.I will kill her while he watches.
CHAPTER FOUR
EILISH
Mercenary Stronghold
The sound of the quill pen scratching across the surface of the paper lulls me into a state of tranquility. Each day I sit here and I write the story of what has become of my life, hoping there will be a time when these words bring enlightenment to others. The flickering light of the candle beside me washes the room in an amber glow.
I’m serene. I’m floating, barely contained inside my skin. I’m at peace. Strange though it may be, I feel as if making love with Cambion has given me this... this euphoric vibration at the center of my being. At least until the knock on my door startles me out of my thoughts.
“Who is it?” I call.
“Aima,” she answers. “King Galmer wishes to see you.”
I set the quill down and fold the leather journal in a swatch of silk before placing it beneath my mattress. The faint blue light peeking in behind the curtains signals the coming of dawn on the horizon. I greet Aima on the other side of the door. She leans against the wall in the corridor with her hip cocked. Her eyes take me in with a smile.
“You look like shit, glowbug.”
The nickname is new... and surprising.
“Aima... we should talk about…”
She lifts her hand and shakes her head. “Look, I was shocked when I saw Theren. But I’m a big girl, Eilish. I’ve loved and lost before. My history with Cambion is proof enough of that.” Sadness enters her inky black gaze as she stands taller. “Looking back on the days when I first met Theren, I think part of me knew his heart belonged to someone else. He always looked like his mind was off in another realm. His father was... Eliothwasn’t a good man. He tortured Cambion and Theren, disguising the mistreatment as lessons. But after a while, Theren’s smile returned. Most recently, I suspected he loved someone, but I never thought it was you.”
“Thank you for your understanding words,” I offer as I walk beside Aima with my head high, not wanting to give the people of this sanctuary in the desert any reason to doubt me. “I don’t doubt that Theren loved you. I think it was simply a matter of him meeting me first.”
