Chapter Eleven
Asher
After dinner, I grab a set of fresh towels and head toward Sage's room. A few firm knocks go unanswered. The room's empty. Window cracked open. And then… the unmistakable scent of marijuana drifting in from outside.
I set the towels on the bed and follow the trail. She's perched on the rooftop, legs crossed, oversized sweater hugging her form, a small roll burning between her fingers as she gazes up at the stars.
I clear my throat.
She turns fast, caught, then softens into a sheepish smile. "Sorry. I hope this isn't against house policy. I've been tense… and this helps."
"As long as you don't set the roof on fire," I say, stepping up and pulling myself out to join her, "and… share."
She lifts the joint and passes it over. "Didn't peg you for the type."
I take it, inhale once, let the smoke ease into my lungs. "I'm not. But it dulls the edge just enough." After a pause I ask, "You okay?"
She tucks her knees in, cradling them. "It's been a lot. I've been on the run for four months now. No plan. Just motion. You were right. I don't know where I'm going."
I take another drag, then hand it back. "For someone who didn't grow up in this world, you're surviving better than most."
She gives me a sideways glance, suspicious. "You saying that just to make me feel better?"
The corner of my mouth lifts. "Did it work?"
She pauses. "Yeah. It did."
"Then that's all that matters."
For a beat, we fall quiet. Wind rustles her hair. The stars press in above us. She's more than just beautiful in that moment—she's something wild, worn, and still enduring.
Then—
"I knew it," Kayden's voice slices in. "I come back and find you hosting a rooftop hippie circle."
Sage doesn't even flinch. "Jealous?" she asks, offering me the roll. I take another puff.
Kayden climbs out and sinks down, placing himself on her other side, so now she's between us. "Look at you, Colonel. Partaking in substances. What happened to military honor?"
"I haven't been on active duty in sixty years, my longest retirement. I think I'm allowed a lapse in protocol," I say, exhaling smoke with measured calm.
Sage offers Kayden the joint, but he waves it off and pulls out a flask instead. "Got my own poison," he says, reclining and stretching out with a lazy groan.
"So," he adds, glancing her way, "is weed some kind of sacred nymph ritual, or does it just hit harder now that you're all forest-wired?"
She hums, considering. "It's… more pronounced than before. My senses are sharper now. So yeah, I guess it hits different."
"Perks of being bonded to nature—get high off half a puff. Not bad," Kayden says, eyes squinting at the stars as if trying to count them.
"There are upsides and downsides to being a nymph," she says quietly. "Same as with any supernatural, I guess."
I shift slightly, elbows resting on my knees. "What kind of upsides?"
"We've already seen the plant thing. Green thumb on steroids." Kayden jumps in. "And that whole charm-aura thing, which is handy until it attracts the wrong kind of attention."
"She's also immune to our influence," I add, glancing her way. She's still watching the sky, but her body tenses for a half-second.
Kayden frowns, remembering something. "Right. That delightful immunity. Though you faked it pretty damn well that night at the club. Is acting also part of your nymph powers, or are you just that good at lying?"
She shoots him a dry look. "Acting isn't part of the package. But enhanced strength and speed are."
"You did put down those motel dirtbags like a trained soldier," he admits.
"And then there's the whole immortality bit," Sage adds, more to herself than to us. "Or at least something close. We don't age. But we can still die."
"Yeah, same deal here," Kayden says with a smirk. "Timeless, but not bulletproof. Well, not stake-in-the-heart proof, to be exact. Or head cut off. Or sun-fried. Take your pick."
I watch her for a moment. She's gone quieter, her posture smaller. "And the downsides?" I ask, voice even.
She hesitates. "We're bound to nature. Not just in power, but in connection. That comes with abilities, yes, but also… the ache."
Kayden lifts his head slightly. "The what now?"
"The ache," she repeats, voice lower. "It's like a weight. A background hum of suffering. Nature's suffering. I feel it."
He frowns. "So, like, every tree that gets cut down? Every dolphin choking on plastic? Sounds like the worst newsfeed imaginable."
She narrows her eyes at him. "Not quite that literal. It's… environmental. It depends where I am. Natural places feel clean. Alive. But in cities like Phoenix or L.A. it's harder. It's like being scraped raw all the time."
Kayden lets out a low whistle. "Well, it doesn't take supernatural empathy to dislike Phoenix."
I glance at her again. "You feel it here?"
She nods slowly. "Less than most places. There's forest nearby. Water. Quiet. It helps."
"Is it a physical ache?" I ask.
Sage tilts her head slightly, eyes half-lidded from smoke and thought.
"It's in my chest. Like anxiety, but not.
.. sharp. Darlene says all nature-bound creatures feel it.
Back before industrialization, it came and went.
It never quite fades now. But I found three ways to dull it.
" She lifts the joint. "This helps. And alcohol too. "
"Well, that we can provide," Kayden says, lifting his flask in mock salute.
"And the third thing?" I ask, watching her carefully.
She presses her lips together to suppress a smile, but it tugs free anyway. "Did I say three?"
"You did," I reply, voice low.
"Oh."
Kayden pushes himself up on one elbow, a lazy grin tugging at his mouth. "Well, seeing that blush creeping up your neck, I think we can guess the third one. And it just so happens—we're very generous hosts."
Sage grins, lips curving in amusement. "Does that come with the B&B package? Breakfast, bed, and… bonus?"
"We could definitely provide the third 'B,'" Kayden offers.
"I live to serve," I add evenly, watching her reaction.
That gets her. Sage's gaze flicks from him to me, lingering just long enough to make my skin tighten.
Her lips part slightly, as if she's going to fire something back, but then a gust of wind blows the joint out.
She glances at it and straightens. "I think I'm done for tonight.
Big day tomorrow, right? I'll just go downstairs and grab some water—"
Before she can finish, Kayden rises in a blur of motion, scoops her into his arms, and leaps off the roof.
I swear under my breath and jump down after him, landing beside them in a smooth crouch. Her eyes are wide, her breath caught halfway between a curse and disbelief.
"You—"
"What?" Kayden says, all innocence. "Express service to the ground floor. One of the many perks of being with a vampire."
"You're such a—"
"What? Irresistible? Efficient? Ridiculously handsome?"
"An asshole," I finish flatly, stepping in and pulling her out of his arms.
Only he doesn't let go. And suddenly we're frozen there—me with one arm around her waist, Kayden's hand still on her hip. She's in the middle, flush against both of our bodies, her breath hitching.
The heat of her. The scent. The weight of that tension winding tighter with every heartbeat.
"I should… go," she says, but makes no move to do so.
I glance over her shoulder at Kayden. He meets my eyes, expression unreadable for once.
"Yeah. Maybe you should," he says eventually, releasing her first. I do the same.
She steps back quickly, almost like she's afraid she might change her mind, and disappears inside, the screen door creaking behind her.
I turn to my brother, arms crossing automatically. "Didn't you say yesterday you were leaving?"
His mouth quirks. "I did. But then again… things got a little more interesting here in your quiet little sanctuary."
We both stare at the door she vanished through.
"We're fucked, aren't we?" Kayden mutters, this time without humor.
"Maybe," I say quietly. "We'll see."
We stand there for a long beat, the night air heavy between us.
"She's trouble," Kayden says finally, voice low, but there's something wistful in the way he says it.
"She's in trouble," I correct.
He glances at me, one brow raised. "That too."
"Let's focus on helping her," I add, though we both know that neither of us is unaffected.
In the end, it's her move. She'll have to figure out if she wants to run again or stay.