23. Asher

TWENTY-THREE

Asher

L uke blew my mind, but not in the good way. Bolts of lightning forked in the air, linking him to the monsters, fire and water taking out the gas mask humans.

By the gods, he was a sight to behold. Radiant and terrifying, the hub of pure power. His hair stood on end, his arms outstretched like some human-worshipped messiah. Those eyes were full of white fire, the essence of Luke gone, this deadly weapon in his place.

I shivered, feeling him hum down our connection.

Shit. What should I do? Fly over there? Wait? If I interrupted him, I might make things worse.

Man, look at this carnage. The stink of burning human flesh reached my nostrils, the whimpering of the poor victims filling my ears. With the fighting on pause, gargoyles and able-bodied humans helped the injured and comforted the traumatized. I wanted to join them, but my attention stayed on my mark.

I inched closer to him, ready to swoop in.

Seth and Luna were gone, along with Billy. I ignored every creeping thought about him, too wrapped up in this moment to give a shit. He was insignificant compared to Luke’s wellbeing.

My mark lit up like the sun, the lightning destroying every target. The monsters melting, the humans exploding under a tirade of precision strikes from the water and fire. People screamed and Luke went spinning.

I flew after him, pouring everything into my speed. I caught him on his descent, cradling him against me.

“I’ve got you.”

His temperature ran hot, his clothes and hair soaked in sweat. I flew him away from the scene, aiming for the Brinecrest tower. I’d rather take him to his lighthouse, but safety first, followed by a shower and rest. Everything else could wait.

“I’ve got you,” I repeated.

He moaned, lifting his head. Strands of auburn hair clung to his forehead, his eyes bloodshot. “Asher. I…”

“Don’t speak. Rest.” I sheltered him from the cold. “We’ll be home soon.”

He passed out.

“Sleep, Lukey.” I kissed his forehead, gathering speed.

As I crossed Brinecrest’s western border, six knights greeted me. For a minute, I expected a row, an attempt to wrestle Luke from me on Seth’s orders. Neither came. Instead, they provided an escort to the tower, every one of them steely-faced and silent.

Yeah, no trust here. Unease reared its familiar head, biting down on me. This was too easy breezy.

By the gods. What next?

I landed on the mission room’s balcony, hurrying inside. Eden greeted me, following to the corridor.

“Where are you taking him, Cookie?” she asked.

“To rest.” I didn’t mean to sound so cold. My distrust put me on edge, a coiled spring ready to snap.

Eden jumped in front of me. “Slow down.”

I moved around her. “Don’t, Eden.”

She kept pace with me. “Maybe take him to the med bay. He doesn’t look good, Cookie.”

Slowing slightly, I checked him over. He shivered, his skin far too pale, glistening with sweat.

“Shit.” I glanced at her.

She smiled sympathetically, her creation a true gift from the gods. Always supporting me, always flying my flag. “Come on. He needs medical care, and you need a scotch green tea.”

Spot on there, sis.

I hesitated, glancing left and right, suspicion a spider scuttling on my nerves.

Eden stroked my spine. “I’ll be right with you.”

When I swallowed, I thought I tasted ashes. “What if they take him from me? I won’t let them. I can’t. I’ve had enough of Seth setting the rules. I’m his protector. I keep him safe. And I can keep him under control.” Tears ran down my cheeks, catching me off guard.

He’s my Luke. He’s special. He’s the sunlight dancing on the ocean, the cherry on a sundae. He’s every sweet thing, and he’s mine.

Bollocks to the short period of time we’d known each other. I knew this was right. I’d marked his heart, and he’d marked mine. We were more, moving forward.

Meant to be.

“It’s okay, Cookie.” Eden put her arm around me. “It’s all going to be okay.”

The lie rotting in my core arrived on my tongue. “I… I… I’ve got to tell…” Shit. My mouth went dry. Fear of Luke overhearing, of him hating me, of him never being in my arms again. Of us never getting the chance to go further, beyond sex and attraction, exploring a life together.

Imagine a world without him. Man, I couldn’t get the image up. He was part of my life, part of me completely.

We had to live without this lie. “I have to tell you something, sis.” I pushed through the dry mouth. “Something about Luke. Something I need to tell him after telling you.” Gods, was I really gonna do this?

The smell of almonds reached me first, followed by the sound of footsteps, and the faint scent of bergamot.

I recoiled from the smell, despising it. My teeth clenched, the rest of me braced for impact.

Seth and Billy arrived side by side, my ex keeping his head dipped while Seth stood tall and shirtless. Fresh from a shower, his wet hair slicked back, looking much better.

“There he is,” he said.

I made sure to fix my gaze to him, standing tall and firm against Billy’s presence. “Yeah. Here I am.”

Luna arrived, sweeping past Seth with a silver bag. “Hand him over.”

“Piss off,” I retorted, moving back.

Seth chuckled, not seeming one bit bothered by his experience at the café. “Now, now. There’s no need for childishness, Asher.”

My chest rumbled. “No one touches him.”

Puff, puff went the turd. “I see.”

“Good. Now leave us alone.”

He smirked, the action testing my limits. “I cannot allow you to go skipping around this tower with such a deadly man in your arms.” He looked me up and down. “Although, I’m guessing you’ve never skipped anywhere.”

Funny. Cool. I’d play along. “I once skipped to go eat steak at the Beef Hut. You know the place in the dining district of Marble City? The one with the candy-striped tables cloths?”

I knew Billy did. We’d been there before on a few dates. I’d skipped to our first one, whistling, so happy he’d finally said yes to meeting up with me.

Cheating slime.

Cheating, irrelevant slime.

I liked this dismissive energy I’d mustered. Yeah, bollocks to him. Bollocks to heartache, and hello to Luke.

“Chef’s kiss,” I added.

Seth cocked his head. “Are you trying to delay the inevitable?”

“No. Because there ain’t one.”

“I see.”

If he said that one more pissing time…

Seth snapped his fingers, gargoyle knights flooding the corridor. Eden moved, pressing her back to mine. I tensed, letting off a warning growl and held Luke closer to me, ready to kill if I had to.

“No one touches him!” I barked.

The knights drew their weapons.

“Can we talk about this?” Eden tried.

“Talk about what?” Seth countered. “Your brother’s foolishness? How he puts us all in serious danger?”

Gods, my fists were ready to take him out. “He’s not dangerous.”

His laughter took me to the darkest edges. “Of course he is. You’ve seen it for yourself.”

“I—”

“I don’t care, Asher.”

“I can?—”

“Silence!”

He wouldn’t let me plead for a chance to prove Luke didn’t need the bracelet or the daily doses of potion. There were better ways, such as the truth.

But the Finn memory remained a potential bomb. And I’d let him sit in the café with the possibility of that memory coming back to him.

By the gods. Shame on me.

Seth tossed his joint over his shoulder. “We’re done here.”

“He’s mine!” I blurted.

Seth licked his lips, impatience drawing lines across his forehead. “We’re done here,” he repeated.

He snapped his fingers and the knights swamped me.

I kicked and punched and roared, Eden trying her best to intervene. But the crimson mist came crashing down, every furious instinct firing. I cracked a guy in the side of the head, I broke someone else’s nose, all with one hand crushing Luke to my chest.

In no time, they tore him from me. I lost it, storming toward Seth, determined to snap his neck. I barreled through the bodies, my bloodlust boiling me down to base instincts. A machine delivering uppercuts and injustice.

“I’ll fucking kill you!”

Billy cut me off, another hurdle to kick down.

“Asher!”

My sister leaped into the closing gap, delivering a knockout right hook to my head. The rational part of me understood the necessity of her move as I went down, blacking out before I hit the floor.