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Asmo lifts his face, his eyes finding mine, then Griffin’s. “Someone’s crossed the wall.”
21
Valeria
“What do you meansomeone has crossed the wall? How would you know that?” I glance between them, urging them to elaborate, to give me some kind of context.
Asmo holds up his hand, revealing the dark, inky circle on his palm. I traced its smooth outline easily a dozen times while I waited for him to wake up. “It’s the boundary wall in the forest—” He points to the pin-point of light around the rim. “And this means that someone touched it. Someone who’s not of my or the queen’s bloodline.”
I drop my gaze, head twisting to the side as I process what he’s admitted. “But it would have a light for me, wouldn’t it? I’m not your blood relative or the queen’s.”
“The deal we made linked your life to mine and therefore the wall now recognizes you as me. Griffin’s mother is my biological aunt, so we share blood. The ghosts are tethered to the boundary itself.” He examines his palm, probing that light. “For this to happen, something else is out there.”
That’s how he knew I’d crossed that day, when I’d fallen out of the tree.
“So, what do you want to do? Go see who it is? We can’t just wait for them to knock on the door. It might not even be a person.” The echo of Griffin's boots against the stone floor fills the room as he crosses it in five long strides.
“That’s exactly what I plan to do.” Asmo twists his lips, his eyes becoming vacant as he retreats into his mind.
“You’re healing. Do you even have magic right now?”
Asmo jerks his head up, the gentle, sweet demon I’d just danced with gone. It’s been replaced by his scowling, deadly alter ego. The man I met when he first came to this keep. Only this time, I know he won’t hurt me and for that alone, I refuse to cower.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I snap, crossing my arms over my chest, lifting my chin. “It’s an honest question. You just used blood magic to raise the dead. And this time yesterday, you didn’t even have a shadow. So, if you want me to be okay with you going out in the woods to hunt down whoever crossed that wall, you better fucking show me.”
Griffin’s eyes widen, revealing more white around those bright blue eyes than I’ve ever seen. As for Asmo, he doesn’t seem to even blink, but the scowl relaxes just a bit.
“Careful, Starlight, I might start to think you care.”
I grip my crystal pendent, feeling it thrum against my skin like the beat of music. My senses explode as magic tingles in currents over my arms, up my throat, ready to obey my command. For now, it simply gives me strength as I storm forward, closing the distance between us. “Of course I care. You tethered my life to yours. Magic or not, I die if you make a mistake. Now, show me, or Griffin and I will go investigate while you tell the gargoyles the party is off.”
Asmo inhales deeply, his chest rising. Without looking away from me, he lifts his hand and flames burst to life, forming a circle around us. Griffin jumps back just in the nick of time.A sword materializes out of thin air and he quickly fastens it around his waist before discarding his shirt and handing it to me in a balled-up heap.
My breath catches at the sight, whether from the spontaneous flames or sheer astonishment, I'm not sure. But I choke it down and force my eyes to narrow into lethal slits as he clears his throat.
“If you’ll excuse me…” He trails off, stalking through those flames as if they’re nothing.
I know they’re real. I can feel the heat radiating against my calves. They’re not some optical illusion conjured by him. He’s immune. Not even his clothes catch on the flames, as if protected by magic.
“They’ll go out in a moment. Stay here and keep everyone inside,” he says without a glance back.
“It’s not like I have much of a choice, do I?” I call after him. Griffin turns to me before following Asmo out the doorway, mouthing an, “I’m sorry,” and leaving me alone in the circle of flames.
As promised, they don’t last long.
They burn out right as some of the gargoyles enter the throne room, the scent of various foods mingling with the earthy tang of soot that now mars the marble floors. Not wasting a second, I sprint past them and crouch under trays to avoid crashing into them. But as I reach the front door of the keep and stare across the clearing, scanning the forest edge, Griffin and Asmo are nowhere in sight.
I want to chase after them. Part of me believes my gift, my ability to bend light, could make us all invisible as we go to see who crossed. Despite Asmo’s sudden shift in attitude, I know why he wanted me to stay. If I had gone, I’d likely be another person he has to protect—a distraction.
Ultimately, until I learn how to use my magic to protect myself, I’m far more useful here. If for some reason whoever crossed got past Asmo and Griffin, I might be able to hide the gargoyles by disguising a doorway. If all three of us went, we’d be leaving the people he nearly died to resurrect defenseless.
Though, I wish he’d just said that instead of becoming grumpy again. I’ve never seen someone flip so fast before.
Just as I’m about to go back inside, a voice comes from behind me. “Don’t worry, my lady. He’ll be fine. They both will.”
I spin around, my eyes widening in shock as the dry air stings them. Leaning effortlessly against the doorframe, one of the gargoyles smirks at me—a man, younger but obviously older than me based on the creases in the corners of his stone eyes.
“You can talk…” It’s not a question. It’s a fact.
