The truth of what Mal and Conah had just told me was still settling. It hadn’t hit yet. I’d created her. With my will. With some mystical power I didn’t even know I had.
“Fee … what the fuck am I?” Her voice was a tremulous whisper, a far cry from the tough persona she’d projected in front of the guys. “What the fuck am I?”
I’d never seen her like this—unsure and frightened. Her fear tightened my gut and chilled my bones. I didn’t completely understand it either, but I knew what I felt. I believed the reality of our relationship.
“You’re mine.” My tone was strong and confident.
She raised her head and locked her tear-rimmed gaze with mine. “I’m not real. I’m a figment of your imagination. I’m a … a thing.”
Fuck, no. I joined her on the bed and slung my arm around her shoulders. “You’re real, Cora. You’re solid and warm. You’re real. You’re my best friend, and maybe you did start out as a wish, but you took on a life of your own. You are your own person.” I squeezed her shoulders. “You’re my best friend, and you’re here. That’s all that matters.”
She didn’t say anything, just crawled up onto my bed and curled up under the duvet. I lay down behind her and wrapped my arm around her.
“Can I sleep, Fee? Can I please just sleep for a while.”
“Of course you can, babe. I’m here. I’ll be here when you wake up.”
Long minutes passed, and eventually, her breathing evened out. She was asleep. I don’t think I’d ever seen her sleep before. I’m not sure how long we lay like that with me listening to her breathe before a dark shadow slid across the room and onto the bed beside me.
“How issss she?” Cyril asked.
“You heard?”
“I may have caught the tail end of the conversssation.”
“I don’t know what to do, Cyril. I don’t understand any of this.”
“Do you need to understand it?” he asked.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, does what she is matter?”
He was right. It really didn’t. “Nothing’s changed … not really. She’s still here. She’s still my best friend.”
“Exactly, and that’s what she needsss to focus on. I’m a sssnake, you’re a demon, and she’sss a tulpa.”
He made it sound so simple, and maybe it was.
“There’s something else,” Cyril said. “After you left, I overheard the males speaking. I believe there may be more they aren’t telling you. They, however, don’t believe it’ss an issue yet, whatever it may be. But you may wish to presss them.”
Secrets. I was beginning to hate that word. “I’ll speak to them, but right now, I need to focus on Cora. She needs me. I’ve been running around doing a whole load of stuff, and we’ve barely spent any time together. I need to fix that.”
There was a knock on the door.
“Get that. I’ll lie with her,” Cyril offered.
I climbed off the bed, allowing him to take my place, and then padded across the room to the door.
Azazel stood outside my door. I blinked up at him in surprise. He was the last person I’d expected to see tonight.
“A word,” he said.
I stepped out, closed the door behind me, and stood facing him. He was so fucking tall and broad that he blocked me in. He looked down his nose at me, so his lashes fanned against his cheeks. Dark lashes contrasting with his silver hair. His eyes were milky right now, making me wonder once again what he was seeing when he looked at me. The mark on my chest throbbed softly as if reminding me what he was meant to be to me. I resisted the urge to rub it.
“Grayson and his pack are safe,” he said tersely. “The Rising Pack graciously agreed to waive their right to blood recompense. They’re working things out.”
I didn’t need to ask what that meant. “Thank you.”
He inhaled and held his breath a moment before letting it go. “You were reckless today.”
I opened my mouth to argue with him, to tell him where to shove his judgment, but he cut me off with a glance.
“But you saved lives. You fought well, and you survived. You’re ready.”
Wait, what did he mean, I was ready? As in, no more need for training. No more one-on-one sessions with him?
A hollow pit opened up in my chest. “I could still do with training. Sparring. Just to stay in top form.”