Chapter Thirteen
Asher
S terling was not only alive, but he was there above me, breathing heavily with those green-flecked eyes darting between my own. I could do nothing but stare up at him, so baffled by his presence, his action, that I was frozen in place. The sound of Tish talking as she ran to Mia was but a muffled and distant whisper. Sterling did not leave me, did not cower or run. He remained atop me, gasping for air just as I did. When he finally spoke, it made my heart shatter.
“What have you done, Asher?”
What had I done? What had I done! No, what had she done!
“Sterling, if we want to get out of here alive, then she has to die. She will imprison you again if we do not end her now,” I hissed, squirming below him. His hands grabbed my wrists, pinning me to the ground. A wave of nausea rolled through me, the memory of Theon masquerading as Sterling while he violated me flashing behind my lids like a play of horrors.
“I have no idea what you are talking about. I woke up a week before you did, so maybe I have just had time to adjust, but you need to calm down.” He looked away from me, and I found my own gaze turning the same direction. Vision clearing, I caught sight of Xavier standing over Mia as she was healed by Tish. His pale face was even more void of color than it normally was, his black waves tied back at the nape of his neck. He wore all gold, the long layers seeming too warm for summer.
Was it still summer though?
“I am taking my wife to her chambers. She is clearly not well,” Sterling asserted, not giving Xavier the chance to demand my punishment before he leaned back to a crouching position and scooped me into his arms. I clung to him, unsure why other than the fact that I did not wish to be banished to my low level room.
Sterling nearly ran through the dungeons, making quick work of the stairs as well. He only slowed when we had reached the shining gold hallways of the palace above, a deep breath of relief skating across my cheek. Though I was fine to walk, Sterling did not set me down. That protective and possessive grip on me seemed to call attention to his words from before.
My wife.
No. Gods no.
“I am not your wife.” It was all I could do not to scream the words. Had he been fooling me in the dungeons? Was he just as ambitious and manipulative as Theon? No. That could not be it.
“While I might not remember the wedding, I am told we completed our vows before being attacked, so I think that makes us husband and wife,” he offered, the barest hint of a smirk flashing across the left corner of his mouth.
“What do you mean? Sterling, you have been trapped in the dungeons since you arrived. You have been imprisoned! I do not know what they are doing to convince you otherwise, but you know the truth.”
Pausing midstep, he seemed to think my words over. I used his moment of thought to press my hands against his chest and shove, forcing him to let me go. My hands and knees took the brunt of the force, but I ignored it in favor of scrambling away from him and pushing up to my feet.
“Why are you doing this?”
“I do not—”
“What is the last thing you remember?” I asked, cutting him off.
“Dinner. It is fuzzy, but I remember it.” There was surety in his voice, as if it was the only thing he knew to be true.
“Dinner? What dinner?”
“The night I arrived. Queen Mia said that the black magic likely stole my memories. Did it steal yours as well? What do you remember?” His query was paired with outstretched arms, as if he were begging to understand. Lips quivering, I walked up to him.
“Everything. I remember everything.” Tears slowly crawled down my cheeks, the last dregs of my sanity seeming to fade away. “I need you to remember too. I cannot be alone in this, Sterling.” With ice cold, shaking hands, I pressed my palms to his cheeks. Magic flooded from my fingertips and into his mind, searching—seeking truths I was desperate to find.
Only to come to an abrupt halt just after I left the dinner in his memory.
Everything after that was endless darkness. A year of nothing.
Sterling did not remember. He did not remember and everything was wrong and I was losing my fucking mind.
I stepped back, pulling my hands away like his skin was a flame. Eternity above, I needed out. Mia had to die and I had to get out of this horrible golden prison.
Bellamy, I needed Bellamy. He was real, I knew it with every fiber of my being. My eyes darted down to my smooth skin. To my long strands of dark waves. To my hands that were free of calluses.
“You attacked the queen, Asher. Trouble will come if we do not get you to your chambers so you can rest. I am your husband, let me take care of this. Let me take care of you.” Sterling’s hand slowly wrapped around my bicep, which was—gods, it was smaller . Softer. My muscles were gone, the hard-won firmness of my body a mere memory.
Or was it? Had I made everything up? Did my mind dream of something better?
No. It was real.
With one last wipe of my hands on my skirts, I turned away from Sterling and started darting towards the winding staircase that would lead me back to the main level of the palace. Fresh air would help. Yes, I just needed to get out of this suffocating place and think. They had to have freed me from my cage and constructed this lie for a reason. What had Mia said after I killed Theon? Something about her love molding me. That was all this was. An attempt at once more making me into their creature. Their killer.
I had already taken care of one of their loose ends after all. Theon was likely becoming more of a liability than an asset, and I had taken him out. Not that I would regret such a thing. As I bound down the stairs two at a time, I thought of the way he had defiled Sterling’s face. How he had been a part of Sipho’s death.
Blood rushed to my head, making me dizzy as I made it to the bottom of the stairs, nearly causing me to lose my balance. So much death, and in the end, much of the blood was on my own hands.
“Ah, another pity party. Sorry I did not brush my fur for such an event.” Wrath’s voice was both a welcome and a terrifying sound. Sweat dripped down my spine, and I found my head automatically tilting down. Locking gazes with Wrath, I tried my hardest not to think about what it meant that I was seeing my dead friend. “Can one be dead if they never existed?”
“Stop that. You know you existed!” My shout reverberated off the empty walls just before a set of rushing steps sounded behind me.
“Asher stop! We need to get you to bed!” Great, the mortal prince was chasing me like a stray dog. Just what I needed in that moment.
“Leave me alone, Sterling!” With that, I jumped over Wrath as he smirked up at me and dashed for the doors that would give me freedom, even if only for a moment.
“You cannot run from your own mind, Strange One,” Wrath muttered as he kept pace with me. I wanted to kick the little vermin, but I was fairly certain my foot would go through thin air and then I would most definitely throw that pity party.
“Watch me,” I spit as I pushed myself to run faster. Sterling called out for me to stop, to wait for him. When I did not listen, I heard him yell at the guards to help him. No one was going to force me back into that prison again.
What would Bellamy do?
Portal. Bellamy would portal away. And had I not done that when I attacked Theon? Had I not willed myself past those bars? Whatever I was, I could portal.
That would be my confirmation that it had all happened. If I could do this, then I would not only have a far better chance of killing Mia and Xavier, but I would also know without a shadow of a doubt that it had all been real.
“You cannot portal. The likelihood that you simply made that up is far higher than you being able to bend time and space to your will.” Wrath was really starting to aggravate me. Ignoring him, I pushed on, trying to pick up pace as I summoned my magic.
Work, please just work.
“Take me to the lake. Take me to the market. Take me anywhere but here.” The world went dark as I scrunched my eyes together, trying to push out my magic. The sounds of someone quickly approaching left my heart racing. I knew I had failed before I even opened my eyes.
Just as I prepared to give up and seek another way, I ran right into someone.
Grunts left both of our mouths as we smacked heads, but whoever it was remained upright, catching me by the waist and stopping my fall. Heavy breaths mingled together, but the delicate arms that wrapped me in a hug and the radiant dress with full skirts that caught my sight made my gasps stop.
I knew those dark curls, those gentle hands.
Nothing could make me forget her.
“Nicola?” I breathed her name like a prayer. A salvation.
“Hi, Ash. I have missed you,” my best friend whispered.