Chapter Forty
Asher
“ A sher,” Bellamy called from behind me. I had overtaken him once the line of cells came into view so that I would not snap at him for putting Sterling in the dungeons . “Asher.”
“I am not ignoring you, I am thinking and…overwhelmed. Time. Please, Bell, just give me some time.” I continued walking down the paths, an odd and faint sound coming from the distance.
“Are you mad at me? Disgusted?” His voice was hesitant, full of nerves and fear that I had somehow not anticipated. Of course he was waiting for me to explode. How often had I pushed him away and refused to listen? If there was anything I had learned though, it was that remaining alone in my feelings did nothing to stop them from happening.
So I stopped walking. With slow, measured breaths I turned around and faced Bellamy. He looked so very scared as he approached me; a male walking to the noose. I vowed in that moment never to hide from him again.
“No, I am not mad. Not at you, or Adbeel, or anyone but Mia and Xavier. Maybe you made poor choices or mistakes, but so did I. All of us have,” I soothed, reaching up and grabbing his face. He leaned into the touch, his eyes closing as he sighed in relief. “I love you more than anything, Bellamy. We will figure all of this out together when I feel sane enough to do so.”
Just then, a piercing scream reverberated off the walls of the Pike dungeons. A chill clawed up my spine, fear digging into my bones.
“Sterling!” I shouted as I bolted forward. Bellamy was following, saying something I could not hear beyond the pain that was radiating from the cell just ahead. I pushed on, moving towards the open door of bars before coming to a halt. The scene before us was nothing like what I had anticipated.
The sounds were not coming from Sterling’s cell at all, his likely further down the hall. Two males were inside, one against the wall with his wrists held aloft by thick iron chains, and the other no more than a foot away from him, a bloody blade in his hand and red soaking through his white clothes.
“Four brothers and three sisters, that was who your filthy wife made her leave behind.” The words that Ranbir hissed were jarring. I had never heard him speak in such a way, with malice and vengeance in his tone.
Xavier snarled in response, and I watched as the chunk of skin missing from his cheek healed over. The fae king’s body twitched as blood stopped seeping from wounds I could only assume were Ranbir’s thanks for his lost wife. Gods, he was torturing him and then healing him right after.
“You are a waste of space and breath. I would say that this is a spouse for a spouse, but your life is not worth half of what my wife’s was.” And then, without so much as glancing back at Bellamy and I, Ranbir leaned forward and began slicing into Xavier.
He practically dug out Xavier’s flesh, ripping away chunks of skin until he reached what looked like bone.
“Rib cage,” Bellamy whispered into my ear. I dared a peek at him, finding his face stoic. There was an air of indifference to him, like what we were witnessing did not matter to or affect him.
When I looked back towards the pair in front of us, Ranbir had finished slicing and was now using the hilt of the blade to shatter Xavier’s ribs. The king’s screams were surprisingly quiet for the extent of torture he was enduring. Ranbir still did not face us, but I could feel the fury pouring from him just as quickly as Xavier’s blood left the gaping wound in his chest.
“Ranbir, stop!” I surprised myself with the order, though the Healer surprised me even more when he immediately ceased his hacking. Bellamy’s warm hand met my left hip, his thumb stroking my skin through his shirt. “Heal him, please.”
All I could hear was the deep animal-like growl that Ranbir emitted as I approached them. He reached forward and smacked his hand onto Xavier’s cheek, the movement sharp. But the king’s skin began to knit back together, and within minutes Ranbir was panting from the exertion of fixing such a wound.
I gripped Ranbir’s free hand, squeezing it tightly and tugging him away. The Healer followed my lead with slumped shoulders. Once we reached the cell door, I tugged him into a tight embrace. More pain than ever seemed to sit heavy upon him. A lifetime worth of loss so substantial that it was crushing his heart.
“Do not sink to their level. Do not let them make you into something you are not,” I whispered to him, pushing onto my toes and pulling his head down until our foreheads touched. A sob slipped from his lips, and then his arms were wrapping around me too. After a few seconds, he nodded and released me. Not wanting to push my luck, I freed him as well and flicked my head towards the dark corridor. “Go eat something and get some rest. I will handle this, okay?”
No fight existed within Ranbir anymore. He was a shell that had washed up upon the shore, its lovely sea—its home— lost. Pursing his lips, he dipped his chin and then left, not looking back.
“Thank you, Ash. Thank you so much.” Xavier’s words quickly stoked the flame that constantly burned within me. My fury knew no bounds as I whipped around and faced the pathetic male. Bellamy’s hand snapped out, tugging my arm and forcing my body to collide with his.
“Do you want me to stay or should I give you space to do what you must? Give me an order, Princess,” he breathed against my ear. I shivered, a surprising wave of lust making bumps rise on my skin. When I titled my face up towards his I found the same need mirrored on him. “I am yours to command, now and forever.”
“Stay,” was all I managed to say. I needed to focus. To remind myself that there was purpose to what would come. With a nod in agreement, the prince released my arm and slunk back into the shadows of the corridor. I did not hesitate to storm towards Xavier, my magic swirling inside of me like a storm. Like a reckoning.
“I love you, Asher. Thank you for your grace. I promise that I
will—”
“Grace? That was not grace,” I seethed. Xavier’s head reared back, smacking against the stone wall. His eyes were wide, the dark depths pleading. I placed my hands on his head, the contact making it easier to tug on his memories. And while I stole every piece of knowledge we might need in the coming days, I continued to speak. “I do not doubt your feeble love for me. I see it— feel it —here in your mind.”
Bellamy had remained back, his presence a siren’s call. He did not come to me, nor did he speak. Instead, he was a silent beast ready to attack. Waiting patiently for that command.
Xavier began to shake as I took and took, not caring for how it might hurt him. No, I was relishing in that pain of his.
“Perhaps you should have loved me better, Xavier. Maybe if you had loved five-year-old me enough to not torture me then it would not be too late for you now.” Tears welled in his eyes, one or two escaping with each blink. I continued sifting through memories, moving faster and shattered more. My magic was a careless force as it began to shred him of everything that made him who he was. “I did not stop Ranbir because you finally chose to stand up for me against Mia. Ranbir is too good to lower himself, that is the only reason.”
He moaned in agony as I toyed with the power within him, sparking it to life upon his fingertips. I willed him to burn himself, the flames scorching his skin and making the air smell foul. A single scream was all I allowed him before I took those too, ordering his silence.
“Luckily, I know someone who has no qualms with stooping down to your level. In fact, they exist perpetually in that wicked darkness you reside within.” I smirked as I spoke, hoping he saw the vindication in my gaze.
Freeing him from my wrath, I waited in silence. I knew he would speak. His nature would not allow him to remain quiet—small.
“Will it be you? Do you think yourself strong enough to kill the only father you have ever known?” he challenged with a tone of both fire and ice. I laughed, throwing my head back before shaking it.
“Mia requires all of my vengeance, actually. But,” I added, looking back at Bellamy. He was difficult to see, but I caught the way he tilted his head in that perfect way he always did. “I am told that marriage involves sharing. What is mine is yours and all of that stuff. So I feel it necessary to share the fun with my fiancé.”
Bellamy took his turn to chuckle, his form coming from out of the shadows like a corrupt god. I watched in unabashed glee as he came to us with a devious smile on his face and a crinkle at the corner of his eyes. His dimples did not soften him today. Rather, they made him look all the more dangerous. When he stopped at my side, he leaned forward, baring his teeth.
“I want you to know that what is about to happen is not punishment for what you did to me, but for having the audacity to do even worse to Asher.”
And then Bellamy sprung.
I did not flinch when the prince used his black fire to slowly cut through each of the king’s limbs.
I did not cry when the son slowly dug out his father’s beating heart.
I did not mourn when the body of the male who raised me burned to ash.
As Bellamy stood, his body drenched in gore, I latched onto his face and brought our lips together. We stood there and sealed our freedom with a kiss.
***
Sterling was bloody and bruised, his body sprawled out on a small cot in a cell that felt like it was ages away from Xavier’s. I would kill Bellamy for putting the boy in there if I were not desperately clinging to him as proof of his existence, of our freedom and safety. My poor fiancé could not even relieve himself in privacy earlier.
“Sterling!” I shouted, ripping the keys from the wall across his cell and running to unlock the door. The prince jolted awake, his head flinging up as if in a panic. “I am so sorry, let me get you out of there right away!”
“Why are you so eager to help him, Ash?” Bellamy’s question was soft, as if he knew he were nearing an edge but was unsure as to how close he might be to falling. His body was still covered in his father’s blood, and both of us shook with the heaviness of the day’s emotions. “I understand that you became acquainted after realizing what had happened, but why is he suddenly so important to you?”
“Bell, he was being tortured beneath the palace the entire time. He is just as much a victim as I am—more so, really—and he deserves better than this,” I declared before ripping open the door and rushing towards Sterling.
He sat up, a weak smile on his face as he opened his arms to me.
I welcomed the embrace, tucking his head into my shoulder and whispering, “Everything is going to be okay. I am going to get you home just like I promised.”
One of the softest cries I had ever heard met my ears. Tears crawled down my cheeks at the sound of Sterling breaking. Though he did not remember what had been done to him, the trauma must have still been there. Like Lara. Even after I stole her painful memories, she still seemed to exist in a perpetual state of moroseness.
“We will find out how to get your memories back too. Maybe this is some kind of magic we have yet to understand. I will work on it, okay?” He nodded against my skin, still holding me tightly as I bent down before him.
I could feel Bellamy’s gaze on me—us. I knew he was jealous, the taste of it there in the air. For the first time since I had been taken, my magic felt full and free. It was all too easy for the thoughts of everyone in Pike to swarm me now. I took a moment to appraise my mental shields. Maybe it was time for something new. Something better.
As I lifted Sterling to a standing position and tucked his arm around my shoulders, I crafted a new gate, one that sparkled black and silver, the golden lock and red chains bright in my mind.
“Portaling will be easier,” Bellamy insisted, grabbing both of us before I could argue. Sterling cried out as the shadows forced us through time and space, tugging and ripping us apart until we appeared in the startlingly white space that was the infirmary.
“I think I might be sick,” Sterling muttered. Bellamy let out a devious chuckle, to which I responded with an elbow straight into his gut. He keeled over with a grunt that left me smiling.
“Look, now both of you might be sick. How exciting that for once it is not me!” I cheered, slapping both of them firmly on the back before looking towards Ranbir. He smirked, making the hairs that had fallen from the knot atop his head twitch where they framed his face. He was as handsome as ever, his white clothes clean once more. His calm stature and strong jaw were met with a newfound fullness to him. As if he had begun to heal perhaps. Maybe he had needed to hurt Xavier, to find vengeance in something, in order to move forward. Still, I was glad I had not let him continue.
“Life was quite dull without you,” he joked, pushing himself to stand. “You gave me a scare earlier.” We both knew he did not mean the moment in the dungeons.
Xavier was taken care of, we will not speak about any of it again.
My voice in his mind had his eyes closing, a brief nod all he offered me in response before he looked at me once more.
“I know,” I said aloud, closing the space and pulling him into a hug. He laughed, but returned the gesture. “I am so sorry. The things they did…well, it is better left unsaid. Regardless, thank you, as always, for bringing me back and saving me from my reckless self.”
“An honor. Always.” I could hear it in his thoughts, his returned thanks for doing the same for him. With a smile, I let him go.
“Now that the sappiness is out of the way, I need you to look over Sterling if you are well enough. It seems someone,” I paused, looking over my shoulder at Bellamy. He stood straight once more, glaring at Sterling from the corner of his eyes. “Has attacked him.”
Bellamy’s gaze flicked my way momentarily, his chin rising as if daring me to chastise him. Not even a full day of being my fiancé and already he was challenging me.
Careful, demon. I would not want you to forget which of us is truly in charge here.
Careful, Princess. I would not want you to forget what I will do to you if you dare leave me for this mortal idiot.
Unfortunately for you, I rather like the sound of forever, just the two of us.
Bellamy flinched at that, as if my claiming him forever was somehow painful.
I am yours until the day I die.
There was an odd tone to his mental voice, a morose edge to it that made me fearful of his choice of words.
“Well, I am sure I can fix him up in no time. He will probably have guests soon, would not want him to be bloody and bruised for that.”
“Guests?” Sterling inquired as Bellamy walked him over to sit down on one of the beds.
My magic strayed, so eager to be free that even my newly formed gates could not keep it fully contained. I tasted her before she arrived, not even portaling stopping me from sensing her coming.
Noe’s golden brown hair smacked me directly in the face as she appeared in front of me. It was not long until she was whipping her head around as she shouted, “Where is she?”
Even then, I had no chance to reply before she was tackling me to the ground. We smacked onto the hard floors amidst chuckles and shrieks. Noe’s lips began peppering kisses all over my face, her squeals of glee so loud that they seemed to echo. I laughed at her, trying and failing to get her off me.
“Noe, get off!” My demand was spoken between giggles, causing it to lose its effect. She continued on, only stopping when someone lifted her away from me. Damon was cackling as he dragged her backwards, muttering something about her being crazy. Cyprus appeared above me, lifting me by my waist and hauling me upwards. Right as my feet met the floor, I was wrapped into another firm hug.
“We missed you, beautiful,” Cyprus hummed, nuzzling his face into the crook of my neck.
“Nothing but a bunch of puppies,” I mumbled as I returned the hug.
“My turn, move!” Henry practically tore Cyprus off of me, tossing him somewhat to the side.
“Pumpkin, you are looking especially ripe today,” I teased as he smiled down at me. Then he lifted me, spinning us as he held my lower thighs. I grabbed his shoulders, praying to Eternity that he did not drop me. “Put me down you lunatic!”
“Never!” he shouted, pushing me further up and over his shoulder. I squealed, pounding on his back as he began to make a run for the exit. We were met with a fierce wind that shoved Henry off his feet. As the Sun teetered back, I flipped over his shoulder, nearly landing on my face before I was caught by an upwards gust of air.
“Oh please, like we would just let you take her.” Lian’s voice was chiding, but her smile was iridescent as she slowly lowered me to the ground and then ran at me. I caught her in my arms as she dove, the two of us laughing from our place on the ground. When she punched me in the shoulder, I did not so much as complain, too happy to have them there. To know they were real. “Leave us like that again and I will kill you myself, Asher.”
“Noted.” I smiled her way, savoring the taste of their love for me. It was both rich and sweet, like melted chocolate on the tongue.
Standing, I offered Lian a hand up, but she swatted it away. Antagonistic little menace. She pointed behind me, and though I was genuinely concerned for my safety, I still rotated. There, standing back and watching everything, were not only Farai and Jasper—who was healed and whole—but Nicola and Kafele too.
“How?” I gasped out, trying to make sense of seeing Nicola and Kafele here. Safe.
“Tell me you did not think these morons could come up with a plan like this,” Nicola responded, beaming at me with watery eyes. I laughed, moving towards them.
Walking was all I could manage after so many reunions, especially when this one was the most devastatingly perfect. My three best friends tugged me into them when I got close enough, the four of us laughing as we cried. Our lives had changed so much in the last year. Still, we all four breathed, and that was a gift.
“I am so sorry, Ash,” Nicola whispered as she leaned her forehead against mine. “Letting it play out the way it did was the only salvageable future I could see. What they did to you—the lies—I cannot apologize enough.”
“There is no need, Nic. We are all here, together and safe. That is what matters. You are what matters.” I looked over her shoulder, nodding at Kafele where he stood slightly behind his wife. His terror, suspicion, and possessiveness soaked the air around him, his focus honed on Nicola. While I had never been as close to him as I had Farai, Jasper, and Nicola, I most definitely adored him. He was perfect for her. Stoic, fierce, protective, unwavering, cautious. “I am glad you are here too, Kafele.”
“Yes, well, we had very little choice. If Nicola says jump, you either ask her how high or you get your ass handed to you.” They laughed. I did my best to pretend like I was not terrified of losing them all and laughed along.
With that, I turned and faced Ranbir again. He had fully healed Sterling, but his face was scrunched as he held his palm against the prince’s cheek. Bellamy was beside them and watching me, the beautiful pride on his face melting into nerves as he took in my expression.
“Ranbir, is there something wrong with his mind?” Sterling seemed to listen with bated breath, leaning towards me as I spoke. “I cannot find his memories from the last year.”
“I do sense something off. His brain has suffered a sort of trauma. It reminds me of what happened to Lara after you attacked her.”
“Woah there. I fought back. That is an important fact,” I rebutted. Ranbir chuckled, removing his hand from Sterling’s face.
“Regardless, it is similar. Any chance you did it and do not remember?”
“Absolutely not. Maybe if we get drunk tonight I will tell you all about what they did to me and what I did in return, but that is not one of them. They had Sterling in those dungeons for the last year. He was being impersonated by a Shifter the entire time. Why they took those memories, I am not sure, but they did it somehow.”
“You talking about me like I am not here would be funny if what you were saying was not horrifying,” Sterling grumbled, crossing his arms.
“Well, I did try to tell you before,” I teased. “At least now you know I was not crazy.”
“Debatable.”
“You wound me.” I feigned outrage, bringing my hand to my heart. He shook his head, chuckling softly. If only I could help him. For all my strength and abilities, I still could not figure this out. It was infuriating. “We also need to start making decisions about this war.”
“Wrong,” Bellamy cut in, smiling widely as he grabbed me by the hips and pulled me forward. “We have a wedding to plan.”
“Ew, Bell! Why are you covered in so much blood?” Noe asked, scrunching her nose.
“The war takes priority,” I clarified, glaring at Bellamy.
“Meh, wedding first, war later.”
“Bellamy,” I growled.
“Asher,” he crooned.
“Sterling?” I whipped my head around at the sound of the new voice, catching sight of the girl’s golden curls before I really registered who it was.
“Gen?” Sterling asked in response, the disbelief in his tone heartbreaking.
Genevieve stood in front of Henry, the rays of light from his magic fading from her form. She looked beautiful, dressed in clothes that I knew were mine and seemed to fit her just as perfectly as they did me. Tears made her brown eyes glassy and the emotions that flooded her left her cheeks flushed.
Sterling pushed off the bed with wide eyes and open arms, looking as if he might crumble at the sight of her. Brother and sister ran to each other, both of them sobbing. And when he caught her in his arms and held her so tight it must have hurt, I thought it had to have been one of the most lovely things I ever bore witness to.
“Well, with that sorted out,” I said, clearing my throat of the emotions, “back to the war.”
Genevieve took her turn to silence me, letting go of her brother and using her fist to whip herself around. Knuckles connected with my left eye, snapping my head back and sending pain through my neck. Gods she packed a good punch.
Chaos broke loose then, with the majority of the room flocking around me. I grabbed my face, feeling liquid seep from my eyebrow. A really good punch, apparently. With my good eye, I watched as Henry grabbed Genevieve around her torso and held her back, Sterling looking on with a comical face of horror.
“That is for my people you slaughtered, you bitch!” Genevieve shouted, reaching out as if to claw at me.
“People who were attempting to kill innocents!” Noe yelled back, her hands balled at her sides and leaking shadows as she stepped in front of me. Bellamy was shaking from fury as he held his arms around me.
“Leash your girl or I will hang her from one,” he hissed to Henry. It was too much, everyone’s emotions were coagulating, rushing me and attempting to convince me they were my own. Too many reunions. Too many beings. Too many feelings.
Too many.
“Everyone calm down!”
My magic brought each of them to heal, silence overtaking the space. Glorious, sweet silence.
“Genevieve, I am sorry for what I did to your soldiers. I wish there had been other options, but there were not. You are more than right to hate me, but this is not the time or the place to hash it out.” The mortal princess huffed as she slackened in Henry’s arms, his face showing every emotion he felt.
Anger. Lust. Fear. Obsession.
Love.
“No matter what we all want, this war will happen. The rebels in Betovere are active, and knowing Mia, this will push her to make strategic moves. Xavier’s memories will do very little now that Mia is in charge, but we can likely guess what she will do. Her best bet is to continue to make the fae terrify us. She needs those fae more afraid of the demons than angry with their ruler. To do that, she will spin what happened in the Fire Lands as an act of terrorism. Of war. We must be ready and united.”
I looked each of them in the eyes, willing them all to submit. I was a born queen. This was my destiny.
“What is stopping the fae rebels from believing what the queen says about us and joining her cause?” Cyprus asked.
“The rebels know the truth of the demons,” Nicola said.
He faced her, his mouth agape. “How do they know that?”
“Because I am their leader, of course.”
As if on cue, every single one of them—apart from Kafele—stared at Nicola in sheer bafflement. There were no words that could accurately explain how that news felt. When I found out at the dinner table in the Fire Lands, I had no time to truly process it. Was I angry that she had led a rebellion that was willingly killing innocents? Proud of her leadership and initiative? Jealous of her bravery? All of them. Definitely all of them.
Nicola had done something I had dreamt of. She stood up for the fae of Betovere. She had proven just how far she would go to take down the royals. I only wished I would have done the same. I stared at her, trying to think of what to say. Apparently, something else took precedence, because Nicola’s eyes momentarily went wide and distant. Kafele grabbed onto her, tugging her close to his chest as she seemed to go to another place—another time.
“Bellamy, you will have a guest by night’s end,” was all she offered in explanation. Everyone seemed poised to say something in response, but Genevieve spoke first.
“Sterling, we need to get out of here. Mother and father have been—”
“What?” Sterling cut her off. “Gen, I need my memories back. And Asher, she needs me. I have to stay here. I want—”
“Excuse me? Absolutely not! You will not be another one of her pets waiting to be sicced on her foes! You. Are. Coming. Home!”
“No I am not!”
“Okay, okay, we all need to calm down,” I said, stepping between them as they squared off. Genevieve sneered, her gaze flicking to my bruised face. I rolled my eyes, unimpressed with her implied threats. “You will both stay the night and we can all work towards a plan tomorrow.”
“But—”
“No buts. Henry will find you a place to stay here at Pike. Now, all of you leave me alone so I can fuck my fiancé,” I demanded, raising my hand and wiggling my fingers their way. Despite Bellamy having mentioned a wedding earlier, they all seemed shocked to see my ring. Everyone but Genevieve and Sterling cheered, swarming us once more and celebrating in the rare bit of wonderful news.