“A fight to the death for the right to claim us,” Elian responds emotionlessly, and his stone-cold eyes don’t leave mine.
The air shifts when he takes his next breath. “There’s more you need to know,” he says, gritting his teeth. For one tiny second, I think I see a flash of regret in his eyes, but it’s gone so fast I start to wonder if I merely imagined it.
The longer the silence drags on the more the little shards of dread claw their way into my gut. I take a deep breath, shoring my defenses against him because if it’s coming from Elian King’s mouth, it’s going to hurt.
“Spit it out,” I hiss, tired of the silence.
Sometimes the silence is more deafening than the roar.
“Ashley is missing,” he confesses, continuing on like he didn’t rip my heart out of my chest, stomp it into tiny little pieces, and then spit on it. “Her guard called for help, but by the time anyone could get there, it was too late. They found his body, and she was nowhere to be found.”
No.
My heart stutters in my chest as my thoughts start to spiral out of control and I collapse to my knees with a sob, feeling the weight of the world come crashing down around me. I can only be so strong for so long and I’ve reached my damn quota.
Now Ash is missing on top of everything. Exactly what I was afraid would happen.
Godsdammit! I’m supposed to be able to keep her safe. I should’ve listened to my gut!
When will you learn?A voice whispers in the dark recesses of my mind.
This can’t be happening.
This can’t be fucking happening.
“We will find her. Or, I swear to the Night Goddess , I will destroy everything until I do.” I raise my eyes to Elian’s, locking gazes with him.
Shit, I would raze Heaven and Hell to the ground if that’s what it came to. The world would shatter beneath the weight of my vengeance.
For Ashley. My best friend. My ride or die. I would doanything.
And those damn Elders better watch their fucking backs because this whole thing reeks of their meddling. Those bastards have been one step ahead of me this whole time, but no more.
Flames burst from my palms as I rise from the ground with my mind clear and determined. Now that I’ve set my sights on those old fucks, I won’t be satisfied until I watch themburn.
