“I’ve seen your death too,” she said. “And not the one that resulted in you becoming a vampire, but yourrealone. The one that will take you from me forever… and I can’t shake the feeling it’s coming soon.”
CHAPTERFIFTY-FOUR
Asher didn’t speakas he digested this information while staring at the water. He was the first person in centuries she’d warned against death, she’d seen his, and it was coming soon…for both of them.
Because if something happened to him, she wouldn’t survive it. And that scared him more than his death. He’d been born and raised with the knowledge one wrong step could get him killed, he’d accepted it years ago, but he would not allow something to happen toherbecause of him.
“We’ll make sure that doesn’t happen,” he said. “You’ve stopped deaths before, and we’ll stop this one. Because I am far from ready to die, and there isnoway I’m leaving you. I’m going to be by your side forever,” he vowed.
He’d just found her; he wouldn’t lose her now.
Brie held him tighter as she tried to convince herself that when his time came, shewouldstop it like she’d stopped others.
“How do I die?” Asher asked though he wasn’t sure he wanted the answer. Maybe some things were better off not knowing, but it might be worse in this case.
“I don’t know. I don’t always see the way it happens, only the aftermath. I know where you are when it happens. I’ve never been there before, and it’s not something I recognize from pictures, but I’ve seen what it looks like.”
“So, I’ll leave that place when you recognize it.”
She wished it were so simple, but fate always had a way of twisting things around and turning them into something different. She didn’t say that; she’d already told him the worst. What came next, they would defeat together….
If they could.
“I’m not leaving you.” He bent to kiss her temple. “There is nowayI’m going anywhere. I just found you, and I won’t lose that. This is the happiest I’ve ever been in my life, and I will enjoy it forever.”
Brie’s fingers dug into his back as tears burned her eyes. The sweet, simple words burrowed their way into her heart.
“So will I,” she admitted.
“I love you, Brie. I love your spirit, strength, determination, and ability to continue to love and fight for others when you hadeveryreason to turn your back on humanity and everyone else. I love everything about you.”
Unable to keep it back anymore, she sobbed as she cleaved to him. She burrowed her face in his chest as he cupped the back of her head and held her close. It had been centuries since she was loved.
No, that wasn’t true. Cabo and Zina loved her, but they didn’t know everything about her. Asher did, and he loved hermorefor it. She’d been so alone in this world until Cabo and Zina entered her life and became her new family, but she’d still felt alone in her mission and memories.
Now, she had three vampires standing by her side and supporting her as they worked to uncover a way to destroy the demons. One of them was her mate, her other half, and the man who owned her heart. The other two were her best friends and the family they’d created together.
“Everythingabout you,” he whispered while her tears dampened his shirt.
When Asher kissed her temple again, Brie instinctively sought more contact. She turned her head toward him and lifted her mouth until their lips met. Joy and longing speared her as his mouth claimed hers in something sweet and loving that soon turned more demanding as her fingers twisted in his shirt.
She didn’t feel the hardness of the ground when he took her down to it, or the coolness of the earth as her clothes came off. But she felteveryinch of his flesh as he claimed her with his bite, body, and whispered words of love.
When they collapsed onto the earth, and he rolled over to lay beside her, she curled against his side and rested her hand on his chest while lifting her face to the sky. Birds flew overhead; their wings propelled them onward as they dipped and swooped, and their friends sang from the trees. Sitting on the end of a branch, a squirrel munched on an acorn.
“I love you too,” she whispered as she stroked Asher’s chest. “More than I ever believed possible after I lost my family.”
Asher closed his eyes against the wave of happiness crashing over him. He squeezed her as joy swelled until he swore his heart would explode. This amazing, beautiful woman had given him her heart, and he would cherish it forever.
“We’re going to get through this,” he vowed.
“We have to find the final stone,” she said.
“Do you have any idea what it looks like or where it might be?”
“It’s a red-orange color and surrounded by silver. I don’t know if that means it’s encased in something or what, but there’s at least a ring of silver around it.”
Asher’s hands stilled on her as an image of Willow’s sword formed in his mind. But it couldn’t be. For one thing, the stone wasina sword.
