10. Asher

TEN

Asher

I watched the colors of dawn bleed across the sky from the balcony, wrapped in a long gray dressing gown, snapping at my rose quartz bracelet.

I’d barely slept, spending most of the night staring at the back of Luke’s head. Lost and helpless, with no idea how to move forward, who to be for him other than a deceitful lover.

Man, this limbo shit sucked. Hard.

A knight patrol flew past, the five of them offering me a nod. I’d be joining them this morning. Not those five, but a fresh team. Back to my old job, leaving Luke here at the mercy of Seth.

Our bond told me no, to never be too far from him. It flared in my core, spiked in my heart, demanding I reject this.

Honestly, another part of me wanted to be out there fighting the good fight. Crystals and candles only went so far to pacify my anger. Kicking monster ass also helped, and I was more than ready for a touch of violence.

I cracked my knuckles, pushing Seth from my head. That’s what he wanted, to get to me, to force my hand. Yeah, I’d attacked him again recently—after he’d attacked Luke. The incident got swept under the carpet, but one more punch would get my ass booted out of here.

The weaver liked Luke, bordering on obsession. I saw the jealousy in his eyes. He’d admitted it, told me how much it hurt to see Luke give me the twinkly eyes. And that made him a risk.

Touch him and lose your teeth.

Yeah, yeah. Right you are, liar…

“Hey, bro.” Dane landed on my balcony, stretching his arms above his head.

“What’s up?” I asked, grateful for his arrival.

“Checking in. Got a message from Carissa about packing your stuff.”

My hands were so tightly balled into fists that my knuckles might pop out of my skin.

Dane retracted his wings, adding, “I’ll meet Tom at the lighthouse in a bit.”

“Cool. Thanks.”

He folded his arms, picking up on my unease. “Talk to me, bro.”

“Nothing.”

He glanced at the closed balcony doors. “Luke sleeping?”

“Yeah.”

He dropped his arm, slipping a hand into the pocket of his black leather trousers. “It’ll be okay. And you know you can talk about anything with me, eh?”

I couldn’t look him in the eye. “I should shut this down.”

“Your attraction to him?” he inquired.

I ran a hand though my hair, giving my knuckles a break. “Yeah. It makes things too complicated.”

“Isn’t that the point of attraction?”

“But I…” Bollocks. I couldn’t get the words out, wouldn’t even let them touch my tongue. They were bullshit, a pathetic denial of my feelings. Blaming the mark, burying my head in the sand. Dead paths. We’d already crossed one line.

There would be no going back from here.

I knew I wanted Luke, felt for him on a deeper level than our current relationship. Wanted more of him, craved his presence, his touch, his smile, his eyes. Everything. But the lie pissed on that big time. How could I take things further with him when it dangled over my head?

“Fuck…” I breathed.

Dane moved closer. “Talk to me.”

“I…I’m alright.”

“You’re not.” He patted my back. “Let it out.”

Gods, I wish I could. So, so much. “I’m…I…” What if I just told him? At least it would ease the pressure, give me a different perspective on things.

Our flip phones buzzed at the same time, killing the idea for now.

“Message from Carissa,” Dane said, checking his device. “Oh.” He looked at me, paling slightly as if he’d seen a Gula Wraith—a nasty creature from back home with a penchant for making your worst nightmares hop from your mind and move into your home.

A tricky curse to break.

I fished my phone from the robe’s pocket, reading the schedule for this week. Morning patrols for my team, along with their names.

Two names stood out, the shock of them hitting me like ten bulldozers at once.

By. The. Gods.

Eden and Billy. My sister and my ex-boyfriend. A name of joy, a name of pain.

“What the pissing hell is this?” I almost tossed my phone, but dropped it back into my pocket instead.

An ugly twinge in my stomach got me pacing. Panic tightened my chest, my hands balling again.

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”

Dane said something I didn’t catch, his voice distant, my anxiety drowning him out.

Rather than punch the air in celebration at my sister coming, Billy’s name overshadowed her. It slammed on every rage button, confused the shit out of me, dragged my soul across barbed wire in a pit of hot coals, and shoved me back to the past. Back to the old me.

“What the fuck is he doing?” My heartrate accelerated. “He can’t come here. He just can’t.”

Dane spoke again, the words muffled.

Billy. Billy. Billy. Gorgeous, a heart-stealer, the man I thought I’d be with forever. By the gods, he took my breath away, only to freeze it and stick the icy shards into me. He’d betrayed me, shattered our future by letting Seth suck him off.

He broke my heart, stoked my fury.

Fists slamming into Seth. Kicking him in the ribs, stomping on his hands, taking it too far. Wanting him to hurt like I hurt, wanting him to ? —

I killed the trip down memory lane.

“Fuck!” I bellowed into the sky, head thrown back.

“Asher!” Dane’s voice boomed in my ears, almost perforating my eardrums.

I definitely heard him that time.

“What?” I snapped, trembling, ready to run for the horizon.

Not Billy. Please. Not him.

“Your G-phone is buzzing!” he yelled in my face.

With a growl, I took a step back and retrieved my vibrating device from my pocket.

It stopped.

Dane cocked his head. “Bro, you need to calm down. Your face is proper flushed.”

“I wanna smash something.” I tugged at my bracelet.

“Take a deep breath. Wait, now my phone’s ringing.” He answered. “Boss? Yeah, he’s up. I’m with him now. I’ll pass you over.” He handed me the phone. “It’s Carissa.”

I took it, ready to unleash a tirade of what-the-fuckery at her. “What’s the meaning of this, boss?”

“I sent the schedule in error,” she answered quickly. “I’m so sorry. I specifically left Billy off the call list. This is Seth’s doing. I’ll fix it.”

Seth. Seth. Seth.

Fuck! Poking me again, testing my patience.

“But Billy’s team leader is now giving me an earful for being picky, and your sister’s giving me hell in your defense.”

Shout out to the older sibling for always fighting in my corner.

“I will fix this,” Carissa reiterated. “Don’t worry. I’d never expect you to work together.”

A mistake, eh? Whatever. Right now, I didn’t care about the excuses, only getting out of here. The tower’s walls were closing in, irrespective of me technically being outside.

Need out.

Need out.

“I can’t talk right now,” I said, handing the phone back to Dane.

I heard Carissa shouting, blocked her out as I vaulted over the balustrade, and unleashed my wings. The robe tore open, not designed to withstand the changes in my body like my red leather.

Oh, well. Let me be naked.

“Asher!” Dane cried.

I left him behind, soaring through the air, making a beeline for the sea. I passed a patrol, ignoring the questioning calls, aiming for…I had no idea. I just wanted to fly, to be free of all of it.

Not free of Luke. Never him. If I could, I’d fly back to get him and take him somewhere hot and beachy and romantic. Live a quiet life, leave the lie back in Brinecrest. If we were somewhere far away, the lie didn’t have to exist. Isn’t that how it worked when fleeing the truth? Reject the reality?

Nope.

A hard, steel-clad nope.

I landed outside the lighthouse, the morning already bright. Seemed like it was going to be a sunny, crisp day.

Whatever.

I stared up at the white building, enjoying the relative serenity of being at the end of the peninsula with the waves.

Dane landed beside me and stood with me for a few minutes before speaking.

“Want to go inside and make yourself less naked?”

I turned to face him. “You’ve seen my balls plenty of times.”

“Never in the morning light.”

I snorted. “Idiot.”

“We’re not packing your stuff, though. I’ve got plans with Tom. You’re not crapping on them.”

I snorted again. “Wouldn’t dream of it. Anyway, I forgot the key.”

Finn’s key, Luke entrusting it to me.

I don’t deserve your trust…

Dane’s lightness brought me down from a ferocious height. A friendly slap in the face to knock some sense into me.

I folded my arms, slowly getting a grip on myself. “What am I doing?”

“Living the life of a man with a beating heart.” His forehead creased. “That sounded a lot more profound in my head. Anyway, the point is, you’re riding your emotions. I’d have lost my shit. But you didn’t. That’s a win. That’s how far you’ve come, bro.” He winked. “Proud of you.”

I smiled, eyes back on the lighthouse. “I just needed a moment.”

“And I’ll let you have it now I know you’re safe.” His G-phone sang. “Carissa. I’ll deal with her.” He moved away, taking the call.

I tuned him out, striding toward the front door with the diamond-shaped window.

Man, I’d come so far, done the work to be a better gargoyle. This shit shouldn’t get to me. I knew that. But I also understood what it meant to be triggered, to be dragged back to a painful place against my will.

At the same time, I wanted better for myself and the people around me. Especially Luke. What would happen to him if I crossed the violent line again? Marked to me while I served a grueling sentence. Yeah, so great for him. Really, really great.

Dane returned, his boots crunching on the ground. “She’s fine. Told her you’re good.” He let out a long breath. “Blimey.”

“I like the zen me best,” I said out loud. “I like the responsible Asher, the one who…” I trailed off, shoulders sagging.

“Don’t blame yourself for this,” Dane responded. “Dickheads like Seth are great at pushing buttons. You’re doing great.”

Wallowing wasn’t my jam, but sometimes I dipped a toe in. Just for a few beats until I dusted myself off and faced the world with a spring in my step again.

“Thanks, buddy. It means a lot.”

“Good. It should.” He threw an arm around me, totally comfortable with my nakedness despite his earlier comment. “I’ve always got your back.”

“Likewise.”

“We’ll stay here for as long as you need.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome, bro.”

“We should be getting back,” I said, rolling my shoulders. “I’m done with being naked.”

Dane nodded. “Your balls are retreating from the cold. Poor things.”

I punched him playfully on the shoulder.

As we flexed our wings, ready to get back on track, the ground quaked so hard Luke’s car alarm went off.

What in the name of the stone gods?

The peninsula shook, the waves churning aggressively. Seagulls panicked, calling out their annoyance as they circled above us. The eyes of the lighthouse’s gargoyle statue flared in green warning.

Monsters?

We lifted off the ground, getting a better scope of the situation as the quaking died off. I listened to the car alarms wailing in the town, and a cacophony of animated human voices.

From what I could make out, there wasn’t any damage, no smoke billowing from a collapsed building or anything. In the east, the terror house still shimmered with its emerald glow, bright even in the daylight.

“Let’s—”

I didn’t finish my sentence, a glittering comet-like thing arced across the sky, launched from the northwest of town.

Not a comet, but a massive cluster of purple motes fresh out of Brinecrest’s mote vent.

And it started falling, its trajectory the peninsula beach.

Ah, bollocks.