“Meaning what exactly?”
“Morrigan can find him.” Laying it out plainly, I was glad that he didn’t beat around the brush about it.
Understanding what he meant by that, I knew the witch had given him that scar on his cheek when she first sought him out. If she could sense him with the curse broken, that meant she already had a day on us to come.
“What’s the plan?” I demanded to know.
“If you’re up for it, I figured we could get the ceremony done when you finish your bath. That way, we can leave in a moment’s notice, if we must.”
“I’ll hurry,” I replied, knowing time was of the essence when it came to having the upper hand. When he stood around in the bathing chamber, I gave him a pointed look to leave. He got the hint then, awkwardly pointing that he was heading out.
I let myself relish in the burning sensation of the hot water for a few more minutes before finally knowing I had to get out. My aches were a little less thanks to the heat, but I knew they’d come back until I rested them properly. Finding my clothes, I figured I’d be summoned by the men, so I made sure to grab my pants and shirt with my boots. They never told me if the ritual would be inside or outside, so I’d be prepared for anything.
Placing the towel around my hair, I spun it to sit on the top of my head to keep the dampness off my back. In the hallway, I found Cullen lingering by the door, looking at me in fascination when he saw it. “What are you doing with that?”
“Drying my hair. It’s too cold outside to let the air do it, so this is the next best thing to not get my clothes wet. I know women having long hair is appealing to men, but they don’t know what it requires to maintain.”
Right before I could begin my walk down the lit corridor, Cullen grabbed my wrist to stop me. He ripped the towel from my scalp, but before I could argue and ask why, his palm was shooting warm wind in my direction. The surprise caught me off guard, silencing any words that wanted to come out.
Within a matter of minutes, my hair was completely dry. My waves were spun properly without frizzing too much as I ran my fingers through it to feel what chaos might be unleashed.
“You’re forgetting you have mates with every element. Thirsty? Have Alasdair get you some water. Want to sleep in, but it’s too bright? Have Cian darken the room. If your hair needs dried, I have wind for that.” Cullen waved me to follow, leaving me speechless in his wake. How was I ever going to get use to this?
“T-thank you,” I finally stuttered out as I hastened my steps to catch up to him.
“You’re welcome,” he whispered in return while leading me to the library. It seemed like we were going to end the ritual where it all began.
Entering, we found all the others inside. They were circled around some runes drawn in blood on the ground. Each of them at a point on a six-sided star, but one spot was empty after Cullen took his.
Taking it as my cue, I began walking to the empty slot. Cian stopped me, pointing to the center inside. That’s when I noticed the little ring on the ground that had belonged to Philip at the tip of the empty slot. He was the sixth prince. Turning my head to Cullen, I wanted an answer while trying to keep my composure. Only mornings were for tears in secret. “How is this supposed to work without him?”
“I’ve been doing some research. Thanks to you two being an embodiment of true love, your souls merged. His left a mark to brand inside of you, giving us his essence. Between that and Cian’s blood that is closely related to Muir, I’m hoping this works.”
“Hoping?” I asked as Bain moved beside me to prick my finger. I hissed, but it ebbed quickly as he collected it to add to Cian’s vial of blood before dumping the combination on the ground where the ring was.
“Without Muir being here, this is all a guessing game based on loopholes we’re hoping work. This ritual was outlawed centuries ago, so we haven’t even seen how the real version goes.” Cullen handed around a knife for the other men to slit their palms.
Once everyone was bleeding, I reopened the wound on my hand that I sealed the blood promise with yesterday. The flesh was tender, but the pain was gone the instant magic filled the room.
We were all engulfed by mists of every color, representing each of them. Fergus had a magical bear collide into him from it being the symbol of his kind. Once it did, we watched as horns of a stag took the sides of his head. His wings were earthy, brown with moss edges, and it fit his so well as he grew an extra foot with it.
Alasdair was next as a wave of magic replicated his water to crash into him. We all took notice how he grew scales of the fish variety, shiny and iridescent when under the light. His horns were made of the sea’s floor being coral in different colors. His wings were iridescent as well, allowing light to travel through them.
Bain had a fire phoenix blast his way, creating a beautiful canvas of red flaming wings against his dark skin. His horns were volcanic rock, embodying his people.
Cullen had wind blow against him, swirling all around like a wind carrying leaves. His wings were gold and red, creating the fall look. Leaf veins were even the structure inside his wings. His horns mounted like roots growing out of his scalp, twisting like knots on a tree.
Cian was last to be hit with a burst of light, being from his mother’s line as the darker half. His horns came out pure red in pointy tips, as his wings were like a bat to showcase his darkness. All of them were amazing, and their crests made better sense to me after seeing glances of their rings.
When the magic came to me, it shot from their stomachs into mine, piercing me from every direction to become the center of their primal power. A gasp left my mouth when a voice trickled in to tell me of my immortality.
17
Briar
The sensation of the bond enhanced even more as the ritual finished. Just like Cullen assumed, Philip’s essence lived inside of me. I could feel him as though he was a living thing that existed somewhere else… that place being inside my soul.
I only had a moment to relish and take in the rest of their bonds before a raging cry filtered through the window. As it did, more followed in a warning to us that something was coming. I had no doubt that the ritual’s magic helped reveal where we were for Morrigan to find easier.