Cian moved to the window in order to see what was happening outside. There was an ease in his shoulders that relaxed him enough to turn back with a small smile. “All their creatures of Faerie are returning to their natural forms. The wolves are no longer black.”
I thought that would make us all feel better, but I saw how Briar looked at her dagger. She studied the black blood against the cool metal as though it fascinated her in other ways. There was still a surrounding glow on her that we weren’t quite sure of, but I knew Áine’s magic wouldn’t hurt her long term.
Alasdair groaned in the distance, telling us he was okay. Briar began to cry, but it wasn’t bloodied tears this time. With a quivering lip, I knew something else was bothering her.
“Little Rose?” I whispered her nickname to draw attention away from the battle.
“I thought I’d feel better,” she whispered in a way for the others not to hear. “I thought that if I killed the woman who took Philip from me, I’d be filled with endless joy for avenging him. But all I feel is empty. All I feel is that my purpose is over, and I’m not sure where to go from here.”
“You go with us,” I reminded her. “You are going to be the queen who helps make our kingdom great again.”
She didn’t reply as her eyes went back to the sleeping host of dark magic. Briar had placed the same curse upon the woman who did it to her in the first place.
When the lines of magic stopped channeling out of Morrigan, Briar got up and immediately went to the sleeping form. Without her actively draining the core, she was no longer our greatest enemy. Seeing her sleeping almost made her look human, but I wouldn’t be fooled so quickly.
Squatting down, Briar placed the dagger over Morrigan’s throat in a way to study the difference in color. Without giving it a second thought, brier sliced Morrigan’s neck wide open. She nearly decapitated the witch, revealing much of her meaty throat to us.
Gathering her bearings, Briar stood over the entity that took her kingdom and family away. She looked rather vicious in ways the sweet maiden should never have had to. I was just glad she was our mate and not our enemy.
“She’s finally dead,” Briar told the rest of us when the gurgling of blood stopped choking Morrigan. There was no more rise and fall in her chest as her blood began to pool all around her body. In order to kill the woman, Briar first had to curse her. It was the only way to get our core’s power restored and to weaken the witch.
27
Briar
Hollow.
It was like my own core had no more life to give as I sat in an empty void of my soul. I avenged everyone I loved, slaying the beast who took my world, but I didn’t take the burden of my loss away.
It had been several minutes since I announced the death of Morrigan, but I could see my men waiting for me against the far wall. My skin still glowed as though I was angelic, but I knew I was more demonic than anything that could be good. The loss of all this weighed heavily on my soul, and I hated it. Knowing there was nothing left for me, I headed toward the five men who offered me a sliver of sanctuary during my damnation.
Just as my feet began to carry me their way, the necklace around my neck began to grow heavier. The same glow that came from my skin began to radiate from inside the little jar. My hands worked fast to open the cork on the top as I dumped Philip’s remains into my palm. The others came to join around me as we watched the bone fragments have a yellow glow to them.
“What the hell?” Cian was the first to remark on it.
No one else said anything because we had no idea what was happening. After a few minutes, the bones in my grasp began to shake on their own, causing me to drop them against the ground. They never stopped quaking as we watched it happen. It was Fergus who stepped up beside me, placing his hand against my heart to feel the slowing rhythm of it.
“You carry his essence,” he stated.
“What do you mean?” The man who held an affinity over the earth, felt connections and vibrations of all living things as well.
“Our magic has been restored to the core, and Faerie recognizes Briar as the one who did it. They also recognize there is an essence inside of her that is not hers. Thanks to Áine giving Briar the last bit of her magic, Faerie is using it to offer her a reward as a thank you.”
Just as he finished, the glowing hue that was once inside of me began to leak in lines from my fingertips as though it was being sucked from me. The magic began to spiral over the little fragments of bone, lifting them from the ground.
We all held our breath as we watched and waited for whatever Fergus meant. The same conclusion became the hope for us all, but none of us spoke it to not jinx it. My heart began to hammer as the light grew brighter around whatever it was creating. We couldn’t see inside of it to know, so I tried to wait patiently.
Once all the magic had drained from me, it tightened around whatever object was in its center. In a blast of light, we were all blinded momentarily. When I opened my eyes, I almost couldn’t believe he was standing before me.
“Philip?” I cried his name in question. Shouting again in rejoice, I didn’t even give him time to look up before I was running toward him.
“Briar!” He caught me in his hold, tightening his grip to never let go again. I knew I was covered in my own blood and some of Morrigan’s, but that didn’t matter right now.
Sobbing into his chest, I couldn’t believe I was feeling the warmth of his body again. I had him back. Now, I felt complete inside of myself. The bonds my soul created between the six of them we’re now complete. The emptiness inside of me began to ebb away as I celebrated in our new victory.
Philip let go of me long enough to look up at his brother and friends, seeing them in the room that had once been filled with chaos. “You all did it. You did what I couldn’t do a century ago.”
“So,” Alasdair began. “No hard feelings about mating your true love?”