A Curse of Shadows - Page 89
I wince, hating that I’ve done this to him, but I don’t want either of us to have regrets when this is all over.
“If I’m wrong, if Noen is lying, I’ll kill him myself,” I say, placing my hand on Asher’s heaving chest. “Just help him stay alive long enough for us to find out the whole truth.”
Slowly, he turns his gaze until his fiery eyes land on mine. “I fucking hate this.”
“I know,” I say softly. “So do I, but we’ve already lost enough. Let’s make sure we have all of the information before we lose anymore. He meant something to you while I was gone. If he really did this, he isn’t going to get away with it, whether he dies now or in a few days. At least if we wait, there will be no questioning if we’re making the right choice.”
His sharp stare cuts over to where Noen still sits, unmoving. “My only hesitation in killing him right now is for your benefit, not mine.”
“Maybe that’s true right now, but if we learn Noen didn’t actually do anything, what then?” I press. “Will you still feel nothing toward his death?”
Asher’s teeth grind together and his chest rumbles so loudly, the vibrations move through my own body.
“Fucking hell.” He stomps toward Noen’s battered form and snarls. “You better fucking deserve this.”
I watch with pride as my mate makes the right choice. I understand his anger, but this is just one of the reasons why we were meant for each other. To support one another when our own emotions are too heavy for us to see reason.
When Asher comes storming toward me after giving Noen some of his blood, I expect him to blow past me and straight out the door, but instead, he grabs me by the waist and throws me over his shoulder. “You’re done in here. For good.”
That, I can be okay with. I shouldn’t ever have a reason to come in here again. Even though I offered to kill Noen myself if I’m wrong for trusting him, I know Asher would never let me do that. Not even if I begged him to allow me that moment.
Well, maybe then, but still. He’s too good to me, either way.
From my position, I see Mali slip back into the room, hopefully to continue keeping watch and nothing more.
Asher remains silent as he marches through the dark stairwell and I want to say something, but I have a feeling giving him some time to process what I’ve asked of him is necessary.
He exits into the main part of the castle again, and I assume he’s going to put me down, but instead, he growls at the nearest group of people and keeps walking once they scatter out of the way.
“Asher Josiah Cromwell, I taught you to behave better than that.”
Sosheena’s voice sounds from up ahead and oh, how I wish I could see the two of them glaring at each other right now. I try to wiggle out of Asher’s grasp, but his fingers dig further into my thighs. I guess I’ll stay right here.
“Your office,” she demands. “Now. And unless Isla’s legs have suddenly stopped working, put her down.”
Again, what I expect doesn’t happen. He actually listens to her and when I can see his face, it’s almost as if he’s turned to stone. The tension in his jaw is so tight, I’m surprised it hasn’t cracked.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, guilt nearly consuming me.
He looks down at me and while he’s still rigid everywhere else, the sorrow shining through his eyes speaks volumes as he says, “No, I’m sorry. I just need time and, more importantly, information. You were right and I’m only furious because I thought we were close to being done with all of this, but if Noen didn’t do this, and Declan wasn’t working alone, I feel ten steps farther behind.” He grabs both of my hands. “I can’t fail you again.”
With every ounce of love and confidence I possess, I say, “You won’t. No matter what happens, we can’t control our fates. This is going to work out exactly how it’s supposed to, and however that is, it will never be your fault.”
He shakes his head. “We can’t talk about this right now.”
What he really means is that he doesn’t believe me, but that just tells me that I’m going to have to do my best to make sure we get the happy ending I know we deserve.
“Let’s go see what your mother wants, then.” I take a step to the side so he can lead the way.
Asher wraps an arm around me, holding me with the utmost care again, all while he still thrums with a vehemence so intense that I’m not surprised I don’t see any of the staff moving through the castle like normal.
Gods, I hope Sosheena isn’t about to tell us something to make this morning any worse.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
ASHER
Nothing so far this morning has gone how I expected. Hell, the same applies to pretty much every moment since Isla arrived. I’m trying to control my rage for her sake because I don’t want to be angry that she has this incredible heart, and yet I struggle.
