Chapter 22
Chapter
Twenty-Two
Ash followed Kira down a long corridor, exhaustion sweeping through her as she hefted her pack to her other shoulder. Still, the fatigue didn’t stop her from absorbing everything around her.
While this place had that timeless feel outside, inside it felt alive, as if it breathed warmth through its stones, unlike the many castles she’d explored in England.
Wall sconces cast amber light over massive paintings of hunting scenes and landscapes. Trailing greenery from silver urns atop marble pedestals created an atmosphere of eternal luxury. The polished wood gleamed rich and dark, but the faint scent of beeswax made her head swim.
“This place is beautiful,” she said as they passed tall marble statues and two-seater couches set against the wall. “Like something out of a museum.”
“I thought so once, too, but now it’s just home.” Kira cast a brief look around. “By the way, you have an amazing gift. Don’t worry, most of the women here have some sort of power that appeared suddenly.”
“Mine started about three months ago…” Ash tightened her grip on her pack. “I’m still trying to learn control, but it’s tough. Are you psionic as well?”
“No, not psionic.” A smile warmed Kira’s hazel eyes. “But I do have abilities—long story. I’ll tell you when you’re not about to face-plant from exhaustion.”
Ash laughed, shifting her pack again.
“I like your backpack,” Kira said. “Looks like genuine dragon scales.”
Ash fingered the ridged straps. She wasn’t sure if they were real, only that the pack was flame-resistant. “I picked it up in Lemuria, along with some clothes.”
“So, what’s it like there?”
Ash frowned, searching for words to explain.
“You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to,” she said quickly. “Living in this castle, this life with our mates, I totally understand secrecy.”
“It’s not secrecy,” Ash murmured. “It’s just…hard to explain. Beautiful and terrifying all at once. The dragons—” She gave a small laugh, shaking her head. “They’re incredible. Utterly stunning, but they scare the life out of you.”
“I can imagine.” Kira smiled, smoothing back her messy strands of hair. “At least Race found you and kept you safe. So, you and Race, huh?” she teased.
Heat flooded Ash’s face. Oh, boy. She brushed back her hair, not sure what to say. “Er-hm—”
“I don’t mean to pry—heck, who am I kidding? I totally do.” She scrunched her face, causing Ash to laugh. She leaned in close. “We girls here always said Race would meet someone he likes, but our mates?” She rolled her eyes. “They, of course, insisted otherwise.”
“They…took bets about Race?” Ash asked, unsettled by the thought.
“Oh no.” Kira’s dimples flashed as she opened the lift doors. “It’s just their belief. But we are going to rub it in that we, as usual, know better.”
Okay, she could get on board with that. She followed Kira into the small metal space. “I actually met him while I was in the Himalayas…” She gave Kira a quick rundown of what had occurred, as they ascended.
“Wow.” Kira’s mouth fell open as they stepped out into the corridor. “That,” she grinned, “is total Hallmark.”
Ash huffed. “Maybe, but really scary.”
“And his dragon’s stunning,” Kira said, pushing open a huge, dark wooden door.
Ash frowned. She’d actually never looked at Race’s dragon properly, only knew it was mammoth-sized, entirely black, and frightening.
“Here we are. Race’s quarters.”
She followed Kira into a small foyer. With a soft hum, the lights flickered on—
Her jaw nearly hit the floor at the sheer luxury of the place.
Granite walls soared up to meet curved beams, and a massive bed of taupe and navy sprawled beneath a carved mahogany headboard.
Opposite, a glass wall revealed the snow-dusted parapets against a storm-darkened sky, the room merging seamlessly with the world outside.
“Those glass panels actually fold back into doors,” Kira said. “So, this is the bedroom, and the doors opposite—” She waved to her right. “One leads to the dressing room, with a bathroom beyond, and the other to a living room.” Kira disappeared through the first door.
Shower first. Maybe then she would feel a little less sluggish.
Ash opened her backpack, upended her things on the bed, and rummaged through them. “Damn it, everything needs a wash.”
“Bathroom has all you’ll require,” Kira called out, joining her again. “Holy crap! The obsidian dagger—you have it?”
Ash frowned at the woman’s excitement as she picked up the blade from the bed. “Sort of. I should return it to Race. We were leaving the house where we stayed, and it was just sitting on the table, so I packed it.”
“And?” Kira demanded. She looked like she’d burst out of her skin.
“And we left for the portal to get here—”
“No, no, not that.” Kira waved it off. “I meant when you first touched it?”
“Oh…” Ash hesitated, remembering the odd moment. “It’s silly, really. It glowed—or I thought it did. Race said it was just the lamplight reflecting off the blade.”
Kira started to smile, her dimples deepening. “And its warmth seeped into your palm, like a connection, yes?”
“I guess so.” Ash eyed her warily, unsure where Kira was going with this or why the sudden interest in Race’s dagger.
She dropped the weapon on the bed and steered the conversation toward something that actually mattered.
“Mind if I use your washer? I’ve run out of clean clothes.
” She picked up the leggings. “I could reuse these, I suppose.”
“Just leave your things in the bathroom hamper for now. I’ll get you something fresh.” Kira’s brow furrowed, her gaze intent in a way that made Ash’s skin prickle.
A little uneasy, Ash remained silent.
A low whine drew her attention to the glass wall. A storm had started, and snow pelted the pane like tiny fists. She hurried across. “The weather’s getting worse. Won’t it pile up out there?”
“No,” Kira said, joining her. “The entire castle and the surface here is warded. You’ll get the storm, but the snow will melt and drain. Look.”
Sure enough, the granite surface had several patchy layers, with the snow already melting. “It’s so pretty here.”
“Ash?” Kira turned to her, looking a little undecided. Then she shrugged. “Do you mind if I check something out?”
Something in her tone had Ash tensing. “What?”
“Don’t look so worried, it’s nothing bad, I promise.” She smiled. “Humor me. Summon the obsidian dagger.”
She blinked. “Why would I do that?”
“Testing a theory. Just call it to you, please?”
Ash clenched her prickling fingers. Kira had been kind to her, but how the bloody hell was she supposed to summon it?
She held out her hand, feeling like an idiot. Dagger, come to me…
Oh, this is ridiculous—
The weapon materialized with a rush of warmth, its weight settling solidly into her palm as if it always belonged there.
“Eeep!” Ash stumbled back, the breath punched from her lungs. She stared at the blade, heart pounding. “What the bloody hell just happened? Race said only he could summon th-the dagger.” Her voice trembled. “Maybe it’s my abilities. They can go haywire. I mean, I drenched Michael’s study.”
“Don’t be scared,” Kira said softly. She held out her hand, and a similar weapon took form on her palm. “See? This one once belonged to Tyr…”
Ash’s mouth fell open.
Kira smiled. “It happened to all of us women here. The obsidian daggers—Race’s, Tyr’s, all the Guardians’—they were never truly theirs. The weapons were waiting. When their true mate first touches the blade, it glows…and bonds.”
“What are you saying?” Ash rasped.
“Race’s obsidian dagger belongs to you,” Kira said, her eyes shining. “It means you’re his destined mate.”
All she could think of was his careless dismissal when she told him the dagger glowed—then not so long ago, he told Dagan he didn’t want a mate. She stood there, feeling as if she were careening down the same hill she’d fallen down not so long ago with Paul.
Bile rushed up her tight throat.
He knew.
“You okay?” Kira asked, her eyes dark with worry.
Ash blinked, nodded, and forced a smile. “Yeah. That explains everything.”
What? That she wasn’t good enough. Not for the long haul.
“Oh, good. I’m so happy for you both.” Kira rubbed Ash’s arm, her relief palpable. “I’ll go get you some clothes.”
The door shut behind Kira, and Ash squeezed her eyes shut as her newfound happiness splintered.
He knew.
And he chose to stay silent.
Tears stung her eyes as she stalked the length of her room, trying to breathe, to understand.
But the familiar ache of rejection ripped open old wounds.
She’d been there with Paul, but this cut deeper, leaving her raw and bleeding.
She wasn’t someone who rushed into anything.
With Race, everything had spiraled so fast, taking her along in its gravity—
The crash shattered her.
Her throat tightened, the prickling sensation growing and spreading through her. She couldn’t handle being in the same hurtful situation again, especially not with Race. He could have told her the truth. Hell, it wasn’t like she couldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer.
But then he promised her nothing but a good shag.
Stupid, stupid, Ash. You don’t learn, do you?
A deep, gut-wrenching pain broke free. She was the idiot who’d let her heart get involved.
Damn you, Race—
She pounded her palms on the wall, hard.
Her powers exploded, and lightning broke free, striking the ceiling beams. The entire room shook. Lamps toppled and shattered, sconces burst with a shower of sparks. Darkness swallowed her, broken only by jagged forks of light ricocheting off the walls and stinging her skin like needles.
Too hollow, too heartsick to care, Ash slid to the floor and wrapped her arms around her knees. The tears she’d been holding back blurred the flashing light as something inside her finally broke.