Chapter 24
Chapter
Twenty-Four
R emy stepped forward, his fingers stained red as he held out the three silver throwing stars. The blood was drying, darkening the edges, but the metal still gleamed in the fading light.
“I believe these belong to you,” he said quietly, voice softer than I remembered. Too careful, like he thought I might break.
“Not anymore.” My tone was cold enough to freeze the air between us.
He hesitated—just for a heartbeat—then tucked them into his pocket. “I’ll clean them... have them returned.”
“Don’t bother,” I said tightly. “Keep them. Consider them a gift.”
His jaw clenched, and his fingers flexed like he wanted to reach for me. “Ashe...”
I crossed my arms tightly, forcing my voice to stay calm. “Why are you here, Remy? The truth this time.”
“The truth? I live here.” His breath hitched, and something like regret flickered across his face before vanishing beneath that careful mask of his.
“I was tasked with infiltrating the Order. The king suspected someone was collaborating with the Blood Fae— someone inside our kingdom. I was assigned to get close to your father, to get information.”
I barked a bitter laugh, sharp and humorless. “Well, congratulations. I guess that’s one mission you excelled at.”
“You were never part of the assignment,” he said quickly. “I didn’t know who you were when we—” He stopped, mouth tightening. “When we met.”
“ Met? ” I scoffed. “You mean when you seduced me? Lied to me? Took my virginity like it was some kind of bonus to your mission? How nice for you.”
“It wasn’t like that,” he said firmly, stepping closer. “I?—”
I moved back, shaking my head. “Don’t. Don’t you dare stand there and pretend any of this meant something to you. That I meant something to you.” My voice wavered, betraying me.
“You did,” he said fiercely, voice low and raw. “You still do.”
“Don’t!” I snapped, the fury bubbling over. “I loved you. I trusted you. And you used me to get close to my father!” The words tore from me, each one a wound that refused to close. “You think you get to stand here and say I still mean something to you?”
His mouth opened—maybe to defend himself, maybe to lie again—but I didn’t give him the chance.
I slapped him. Hard.
The crack of my palm against his face echoed through the courtyard, and for a breathless moment, we just stood there, both of us frozen.
His head turned slightly, but he didn’t flinch. He didn’t even raise a hand to his stinging cheek. Instead, he just stared at me like I’d gutted him. Like he knew he deserved worse.
“Ashe...” Zander’s voice cut through the silence, sharp and low.
I turned to find him striding toward us, his gaze locked on Remy. His eyes were as black as night, and power crackled around him like lightning in a storm.
“Is there a problem here?” Zander asked, voice dangerously calm.
“No,” I said before Remy could answer. “We’re finished.”
“We will never be finished,” Remy said, his voice low and unwavering.
I couldn’t look at him. My eyes burned, my chest tight and hollow. Everything inside me was tangled—fury, heartbreak, and something else I refused to name.
Zander stepped closer to him, his anger radiating off him in waves. “I read your report,” he said coolly, voice like ice. “Engaging stuff. Your infiltration of the Order is impressive. Right up until you met Cyran’s virgin daughter.”
Remy’s head snapped toward him, and the look he gave Zander could have melted steel. “I never reported that she was a virgin.”
Zander’s eyes darkened, flickering like lakes of onyx. “And yet it’s in there.”
My face flushed with heat. Embarrassment crawled up my spine, twisting my anger into something more volatile.
“I know why Solei didn’t like you,” I said, my voice like a knife sliding from its sheath. “She called you the Ass-Saulter. I thought it was because you were a better killer. Guess I know the truth now.”
Remy’s gaze flicked back to me, and for a heartbeat, I thought I saw something real—something vulnerable—flicker in his eyes. But it was gone too fast.
Zander moved beside me, stepping close enough that his arm brushed mine—a silent wall between me and whatever Remy was still trying to say.
“You should rejoin your squad,” Zander said, his voice low but edged with warning. Then he turned slightly, just enough to glance over his shoulder. “I believe your business with Prospect Rebec is over.”
“Hardly,” Remy hissed, his voice dark and coiled.
My fingers clenched tightly into fists as Zander took my arm and guided me away. I barely kept myself together—my breath shaky, my thoughts spiraling. Each step felt like walking a blade’s edge, my heart twisting with every word Remy had said.
We will never be finished...
I walked back to my squad and when I stumbled Riven grabbed my arm.
She didn’t let go of me until I was seated on my bunk. Even then, her hand lingered on my shoulder like she was afraid I’d shatter.
“For fuck’s sake!” Jax growled as Naia slammed the door behind us.
He paced the room like a restless predator, muttering curses under his breath.
Cordelle sat quietly on his bed, flipping through his ever-present journal, though for once, he didn’t seem to be writing.
Ferrula leaned against the wall, arms crossed and eyes cold.
The tension in the room was suffocating.
Naia was the first to break the silence. “He really played you like that?”
I shrugged, forcing indifference I didn’t feel. “It’s standard practice in the Order,” I said bitterly. “I’m just not used to being a mark.” My voice cracked slightly, and I hated myself for it. “I guess I should be.”
Riven’s grip on my arm tightened.
“I’ll kill him,” Jax snarled. “I swear to the gods, Ashe, I’ll gut him like a?—”
“No.” My voice was sharp enough to cut through his rage. “Don’t. He’s too good. If you try, you’ll die—and that would break my heart… worse than it already is.”
Jax stopped pacing, his hands flexing into fists before he exhaled heavily. “Fine,” he muttered. “But I won’t forget this.”
“I know,” I whispered.
Naia’s face twisted in frustration. “I know how to hurt a man,” she offered with a dangerous smile. “Trust me, I can make him pay without throwing a punch.”
I shook my head. “No,” I said firmly. “Remy can take more than any of you can dish out.” My voice wavered. “He… he had a rough childhood…” I trailed off, my mind spiraling into memories that suddenly didn’t make sense. Did I ever actually know him?
“Actually…” My throat felt tight. “I don’t know shit about Remand Saulter.”
The room stilled again. Even Jax stopped pacing.
“You knew him better than anyone,” Riven said softly.
“Did I?” I shot back, bitterness curling my words. “I knew Remy Cole . The man who kissed me like I was his entire world, who promised me a future I didn’t know I wanted. But Remand Saulter?” I swallowed hard. “He’s a stranger.”
“I still say we gut him,” Jax muttered, but the fire in his voice had dulled.
“No,” I repeated, quieter this time. “I’ll handle it.”
“You don’t have to,” Riven said gently.
I met her gaze, and something twisted inside me. Grief, rage… maybe even hope. “Yeah,” I whispered. “I do.”
Naia shifted on her bed, pulling her legs beneath her as she exhaled heavily. “I know what it feels like,” she said quietly. “Loving someone who betrays you.”
“You do?”
She nodded. “My fiancé cheated on me with another woman.”
I blinked, surprised by the sudden confession. “I’m sorry,” I said softly.
Naia snorted, but there was no humor in it. “Don’t be,” she said with a wink. “Jax and my brother beat the living shit out of him. And his little lady friend left him right after.”
I glanced at Jax, who was still standing by the door like a sentinel. “You’ve known Jax a long time?”
“Since I was a kid,” Naia said, shooting him a grin. “My brother brought him home one day, and he never really left.”
Jax’s face softened, his usual cocky smirk replaced with something warmer. “They took me in,” he said. “My family… they were killed in a house fire when I was nine. I owe them everything.”
Naia smiled back at him, a rare gentleness in her expression. “You made our family whole,” she said. “Especially after Darmon died.”
Jax’s hand briefly clenched at his side before he let out a slow breath. “I was blessed,” he said quietly. “My own family hardly acknowledged me before they were gone. I got a second chance… and a little sister.”
Naia grunted. “I’m not little anymore,” she reminded him with a smirk. “And I can kick your ass.”
Jax chuckled, the sound deep and warm. “Of course you can,” he said. “I trained you.”
We all laughed, the tension in the room breaking just a little.
For a while, we just talked—about Jax’s early years, about the mischief he and Naia had gotten into as kids, about Naia’s relentless stubbornness that had driven her brother mad and Jax equally proud. The conversation drifted from training mishaps to drunken nights and bad decisions.
I smiled at my squad mates, but I couldn’t stop the memories from creeping back in, no matter how hard I tried. Remy’s face, his smile—the one he saved just for me. The warmth of his hand sliding up my arm, the way his fingers would curl beneath my chin just before he kissed me.
I remembered that night beneath the balcony of the tailor’s shop in Brosha—the warmth of his body behind mine as we hid in the shadows, pressed close to avoid a patrol. His breath had been hot against my neck, his lips brushing my skin.
“We shouldn’t,” I’d whispered, but I had turned to face him anyway. He’d cupped my face, his thumb tracing my lower lip.
“I can’t help it,” he murmured, and then he kissed me. Not like he was testing boundaries—like he already knew I belonged to him. And I had let him claim me. I’d given him everything that night, trusted him with my body, my heart—my soul.
Later, I remembered the morning light on his face, his hand tangled lazily in my hair as we lay in a mess of sheets. The way he kissed the inside of my wrist, murmuring promises against my skin that I had believed... until now.
“Ashe,” Cordelle’s voice cut through my mind like a knife, yanking me back to the present. “Your eyes are glowing.”
“What?” I blinked and raised my hand—fingers trembling as crackling sparks of electricity danced between them. The sharp scent of ozone filled the air.
I clenched my fist, willing the power to die, but it wouldn’t obey. The sparks intensified, arcing between my fingers like living serpents.
“Kaelith,” I whispered desperately.
You called me, Rider, her voice rumbled through my mind, calmer than I expected.
I didn’t mean to. I was just... thinking.
Your emotions fuel your power. Focus, or you will burn your squad along with your own body.
I drew in a shaky breath, pressing my hands into my lap. I forced my mind away from Remy’s touch, from his voice and his lies, from the promises that were never meant to be kept.
Slowly, the sparks faded, flickering out like dying embers. My breath came in shallow gasps, and Cordelle knelt in front of me, his hand resting lightly on my knee.
“You okay?” His voice was softer than usual, almost hesitant.
“Yeah,” I said, but my voice shook. “I’m fine.”
But I wasn’t. Not even close.