“Asher.” I sucked in a sharp breath. “I’m scared.”
“Me too, my love. It’s going to be fine. In fact—“
He never got the rest of his sentence out. If he did, I never heard it. Something grabbed me by the hair; I felt myself falling.
Everything went black.
Thirty-Two
“Wren Richards.”
My eyes jerked open. I looked around; it looked like a courtroom. The stragglers, the survivors of the Ascendency’s army were gathered in the room, even out into the hallway. From where I was, I could see Asher: his hands were tied above him and he was slumped over, his long hair obscuring his face.
I tried to move, to reach for him, but my hands were bound tightly behind me. I saw Soleil and Kane, Bastien, Palmer, and Joy-Again; there were several others from our group bound and tied.
And standing in front of me was Tobias Coulthurst.
The recognition must have dawned on my face with some kind of expression; he laughed. “Yes, Wren. Let it sink in. My son is the archduke but I—I am the Ascendency. I bought you for him to distract him; to keep him at home and give him energy. No more late nights, no more chasing after him when he was out on that ridiculous motorcycle. He exhausts us, Wren, honestly. I managed to kill all the others, but Asher was always his mother’s favorite. She begged for his life.”
“I thought your reign was over, that your father squabbled it away.”
“A nice backstory, yes. And it gave me the opportunity to get a lot accomplished over the last few years. Don’t get me wrong, I have a fatherly affection for my son. That’s why I chose you, I figured your body and your pretty face with be enough to keep him happy.”
“But I fell in love with her.” Asher straightened up slightly, sweeping his head from side to side to try and force his hair back. “You never thought we’d fall in love.”
“No. I didn’t. You hated her at first and that was perfect—it would have been even better if it stayed that way. She wouldn’t have to die if you could have just kept your heart to yourself.” Tobias swept his hand out to the others. “And all these good, strong fae too. They have to die because you fell in love. What kind of man are you?”
Asher spit at him. “I’m a better man than you.”
Tobias grabbed him by the hair, jerking his face up. “If I didn’t swear to your mother on a blood oath to leave you unharmed, I’d run you through with my sword and teach you a proper lesson. That’s as far as my leniency goes, Asher. Test me again and that will be your last.”
I twisted my arms, trying to get the ropes loose. They were tied too tight. I could already feel my fingers going numb. Panic welled my in my chest and I started breathing harder. I couldn’t see a way out of this; my sister was bound and gagged. Kane, Bastien, and Palmer were tied as well. How could we get free? There had to be a way out, it couldn’t end like this.
But I couldn’t think of anything. My mind was racing; there was no way out of this. I was going to die, I was going to be separated from Asher forever. I couldn’t handle that. “Why are you doing this?”
“Why?” Tobias snorted, turning his attention away from Asher and back at me. “I shouldn’t even have to give you a why. I own you. I own this entire realm—without me, things would change. We’re poised on a precipice and with change, comes death.”
“Does it? And how do you know?”
“I raised Asher better than that, to be better than you. And then he found love!” Tobias raised his hands up above his head, his laughter echoing throughout the chamber. “Love so strong that his bracelet cracked. He found passion and desire. And now, he’s going to lose it. He’s going to watch you die so he learns the futility of life; of warmth. Ice is predictable. Love is not.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “And what’s so bad about that? Don’t you love Meleri?”
“No. Our marriage was arranged; she was brought into my life to breed and provide me with an heir. She met her obligations and, because she has lived up to her end of the bargain, I will live up to mine. I’ll allow her son to live. The little archduke, the heir to the Ascendency.”
“You’re a fucking bastard.” Asher struggled against his bindings; he looked at me in a panic. “I love you, Wren. Every moment of my life has paled in comparison to the time I spent with you.”
Tears streamed down my cheeks. “I love you, Asher. More than this life—more than anything. I don’t mind dying but the thought of being separated from you…it breaks my heart.”
Asher’s face crumpled, his beautiful green eyes filling with tears. He again struggled against the chains, he strained to get closer to me. “Da, no, you can’t do this.”
“You only have to watch her die, you pathetic excuse for a man. I’ll have the others exterminated once you’re back at the estate.” Tobias waved his hand to a guard standing to my right. “Stand her up. Get her in position.”
The guard jerked me up to my feet and pulled me back several steps. Another man, this one near the wall, pulled on a lever. From above, right in the center of the room, a noose lowered from the ceiling.
Death by hanging. I shouldn’t have been surprised—Tobias was going to make Asher watch every last, bitter struggle I had leaving life.
I swallowed hard and took a deep, full breath. I looked at Asher and tried to smile. “I’ll always love you.”
“I love you, Wren, beautiful girl.” He strained against the ropes. “Da—stop it. Stop this before it’s too late.”
“It’s already too late, Asher.” Tobias motioned at the guard. “Bring her forward. The boy has to learn what it means to follow the rules.”
The guard behind me tugged on my wrists and then, strangely, I felt them pull apart. I was free.
He slid a knife into my hand, pressing his face close to mine. “Fly away, Little Bird. Go to him.”
Avi.
I sucked in a sharp breath, but he slid his hand to my lips. “He loves you, Wren. You deserve a love like that—like his. I always promised I’d save you, Little Bird. And I mean to keep that promise.”
He kissed my cheek softly. And then, he pushed me away.
“What the—“ Tobias’s jaw went slack, he gaped at him. “Someone stop him!”
I ran to Asher, slicing through the ropes holding him in place and cutting him free. I went to hand him the knife; someone jerked me away.
Tobias. He yanked me over to the noose, tugging it down over my face. “See? Love is so unpredictable. So useless.”
Avi was slumped over near where I’d left him; his throat splayed open. Blood was everywhere, it flowed across the floor in rivers. There was so much blood; I’d never seen that much…not even after Vale…
“You’ll die.” Tobias tightened the noose and then pushed me away. I stumbled digging my toes into the floor to try and keep myself upright. Tobias rolled his eyes and whirled around, holding his hand out to Asher. He stopped, the knife I handed him poised out “And you. Treason? I’ll deal with you later.”
As he turned to motion for someone to pull the lever—or lunge for it himself—his foot skidded into Avi’s blood. He slipped, his arms windmilling out as he tried to regain his balance. Stumbling, sliding, and tumbling, he fell forward—
—And right into Asher’s knife.
I watched him reel back, glaring up at Asher with confusion. He pulled the knife from his throat; blood flooded out. “How…how could you?”
Asher shrugged. “You told me not to move.”
Tobias’s jaw went slack and he slumped over. His mouth was still moving, his fingers pawing at the floor like he was trying to hold on to life.
Asher kicked the knife away from him and ran to me. I pushed the noose away and threw my arms around him, jumping up and anchoring my legs around his waist. It was over—Avi saved me.
And love—me and the boy with the most beautiful green eyes in the world—was my future. My destiny.
My claim.
The End
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Heather Hambel Curley, Claimed: Faction 3: The Isa Fae Collection
Claimed: Faction 3: The Isa Fae Collection Page 29
