33. ACHERON
Ash wanted to skin the entire council alive.
The interrogation they had planned for Sophie was pointless. It did nothing but paint her as someone who could not be trusted, just as they wanted it to. He should have fought against it when Sophie suggested that he pull rank, but he didn’t think Vestes would be so cruel. By the time she ingested the serum, it was too late. They had to see the interrogation through.
That’s my fault for wanting to see the good in people. I should have known.
And now, Sofreya lay shivering in his arms as he flew across the Isle. The look in her eyes, of shame and fear, haunted him. She’d come so far since arriving in the Godlands, he hoped that he had not set her up for failure by letting her run into the damned interrogation room with no defence.
Please be okay. Ash moved quickly into his villa, shoving his front door open with a whip of his powers. Cal jumped up from where he lay on the couch, a whimper escaping his lips.
“Make room, buddy, she’s not feeling too well,” Ash said quietly, as to not rouse Sophie. She had fallen asleep a few seconds into their flight, the truth serum leaving her drained and dry. Gently, he lay her down on his brown leather couch, heaping blankets around her to make her comfortable.
More blankets maybe?
She stirred. “Ugh, I’m going to be sick,” Sophie groaned, turning farther into the blankets he’d cocooned her in.
Acheron moved quickly to his kitchen, pulling together a concoction of herbs, berries and ginger to help with the nausea. He crushed the ingredients with a push of magic and poured it into a cup. He moved back to sit on the coffee table, just by Sophie’s head, careful not to knock anything over with his wings. “Drink this. It’ll help with the nausea.” Ash held the cup out for her.
Sophie fluttered her eyes open and propped herself up on one elbow, a little hazy and slow but much better than when they were in the interrogation room.
She took the cup with trembling hands and took a few sips before handing it back to Ash. He set the cup down on the coffee table so she could reach for it when she needed to.
“Thanks,” she muttered before lying back down.
“Oh, I didn’t do this for you. I just don’t want you projectile vomiting all over my expensive leather couch.” Ash smirked.
Sophie’s eyes flew open and narrowed on him. If looks could kill . . .
“I take it back, you giant carrier pigeon,” Sophie groaned, a little more angrily this time. She huffed into her blankets but after a few seconds, a small smile grew.
The whole flight home, Ash swore he forgot how to breathe. Seeing her so distraught, almost curling away from his touch, did something to his chest. He never wanted to feel that again. He thought he’d brought her to the slaughter. Broken her. But here she was. His Sofreya. His starlight. She did not break after all.
Two hours passed as Sophie lay on his couch, recovering from the effects of Veritas. Ash had spent the entire two hours stress-crocheting – a task he wholly threw himself into. He learnt how to crochet a few years ago to manage his stress and channel his anger. Deymos and Eros had teased him when he first started, but he managed to get them into it too. The thing about crocheting was that it brought them into the present, ways away from the past where their minds often lingered and lost control.
Ash was halfway through a pink and purple jumper he promised to crochet for Tenerife when a knock rapped at his bedroom door. He didn’t have time to stow away his hooks and the half-done jumper when Sophie pushed the door open. She paused and she took him in, her starlight hair mussed and her mouth slightly ajar.
Fuck.
Ash realised all too late that he was sitting in his rocking chair, shirtless, feet propped up on an ottoman surrounded by a rainbow of yarn. His enemies would pay a hefty sum for this sort of information.
Quicker than a flash of lightning, Ash threw the jumper and hooks into the air, not caring where they landed and rushed to the door. He pushed Sophie back into the living room, quickly shutting the bedroom door behind him.
Sophie took a step back, her face still pulled into confusion. “Wait, wait. What did I just see?”
“Nothing. You saw nothing.” Ash felt stupid saying it.
Sophie crossed her arms, a huge grin on her face and she looked up at him with brightness in her purple eyes.
By the Fates, I’m never going to see the end of this.
Sophie closed in on him, pushing a finger into his bare chest. She was wearing one of his t-shirts. It fell just short of her knees. In his shirt, she looked like his and Fates be damned, it sent him into a possessive arousal.
“First, it was the spicy book collection and now this . . .” she almost hissed. “You, my friend, are keeping dirty secrets.” She smirked.
Ash couldn’t stop his roguish grin as he, instead of swatting her hand away, pulled her arm closer. She wasn’t expecting it so she fell into him. Their bodies perfectly and sinfully lined up with just the fabric of her shirt keeping distance between them.
Ash watched her intently as her throat bobbed. He leaned down, pulling her closer so that he could whisper in her delicately pointed ear. “Glad to see you’re awake.” Ash smiled. He swiftly skirted around her. The place where she’d been perfectly lined up instantly fell cold and he so badly wanted to pull her back.
Clean slate, Ash reminded himself. Rustling his wings, he shook off the arousal as best as he could. He needed to busy his hands. He needed to focus on anything else but Sophie and how she looked in his shirt, bare faced and sleepy eyed.
Cal. Food. That’s right, I’ll fix a bowl of food for Cal.He moved to the kitchen. Wait. What was he doing? He was the lieutenant of the fucking Tienthan. “Hey, I was thinking . . .”—Ash poured in some dog food and fresh vegetables into a bowl—“if you’re up for it, maybe we could go for an adventure this evening?”
Fates fucking help him, Ash was nervous. Not even the council or being in the presence of Zeus himself made Ash nervous. Yet, there Sophie stood, five-foot-nothing and full of attitude. She had Ash quaking at the knees.
Ash popped his head out from the kitchen when a beat passed, and Sophie did not answer. She was leaning on the edge of the couch, her hands beside her and his shirt slightly hitched up on her thigh. There was softness in her face. It honestly looked like she was going to cry.
“You’re the one that crocheted me all those things, aren’t you? The sun, little Calypso and the two draekins,” she said softly.
Ash did not say anything. He just watched her, waiting to see how she would react.
“And the kids at the Home for Lost Children . . . they all had knitted jumpers.”
“Well, that was a team effort between Eros, Deymos and I—”
“Thank you,” Sophie breathed, her eyes watering just the slightest. She ran across the room to hug him around the middle. Her movements were so quick it stunned Ash into place. He was still flying half-mast and holding Calypso’s food in his hands for Fates’ sake.
Shit.
“Who knew such a brooding angel full of bravado was actually just a big ol’ softie?” she said into his chest. He could feel her cheeks pushing up against his skin in a stupid smile that knocked the wind out of him more than he wanted to admit.
Softie?! It was not a word he would ever use to describe himself. She looked up at him, nuzzling into him with a silly grin. Ash gently pushed her hair away from her eyes, memorising every line of her face before he pushed her away abruptly with his palm on her forehead.The sound of her protest was all he needed to rumble into laughter.
“Get dressed! We’re going on an adventure!” Ash howled, popping Cal’s bowl of food down for him to devour. Calypso spun around in circles, his flaming tail wagging furiously before digging into his food.
“Asshole!” Sophie called after Ash. It only made him chuckle more.
With a flick of the wrist, Ash dressed himself in a dark, loose-fitting shirt and pants – perfect for flying in the evening summer sky. “I’ll be back in five minutes. If you’re not ready, I’m throwing you over my shoulder!” Ash smiled, making his way out the front door.
Clean slate, Ash reminded himself again, but he knew all too well that he was powerless when it came to Sophie. She had him by the balls and she didn’t even know it.