Page 96 of Slayer

Outside, instead of heading for the dorms, Asher dropped heavily onto the armory steps and sat, face in his hands as he peered out into the night sky.

I stopped, then turned back. He stared at the trees at the center of campus like they might explain everything he didn’t know how to say.

“You okay?” I asked, sitting beside him.

“Yeah. I am.” He sounded oddly relieved.

I frowned. “Okay. I mean, I saw Daphne crying, so I hope she’s okay?”

He shrugged. “I’m not sure. She just broke up with me.”

Shock flared through me. “She did? Why?”

He stayed quiet, and I winced.

“Sorry. That was probably too personal. I mean, you guys have been off and on before, right? I’m sure she’ll take you back.”

He tilted his head. “I don’t want her to take me back. And this is the first time Daphne’s broken up with me. I’m always the one who ends it.”

My heart pounded. “You are? Then why do you always get back together?”

He exhaled slowly. “Honestly?”

I nodded.

“Because she’s fragile and I’m afraid she’ll hurt herself, and I love her too much for that.”

Something twisted painfully in my chest. Hurt herself? Had she ever threatened it?

“Has she gotten help for that? Spoken to someone?” I asked.

He nodded. “For years. But it’s like no matter how strong she is, how hard of a fighter and badass vampire killer, her own mind is her biggest enemy.”

That statement hit me hard. It was a truth I think everyone could relate to at some point in their life. We were our own worst enemy.

“So I’ve stayed with her to be her safe place,” Asher said.

“That’s really sweet,” I said softly.

“No, it’s not. It’s cruel.” He stared into the darkness, then stood and brushed off his pants. His green eyes locked on mine, intense and unguarded. “Because I’ve been with Daphne since we were twelve, and I’ve never wanted to kiss her as badly as I’ve fantasized about kissing you.”

Then he turned and walked away while I stayed there, frozen.

Am I still concussed, or did Asher Voss really just say that to me?

I lay awake for hours that night, replaying his words until sleep finally claimed me.

CHAPTER

SIXTEEN

The next day, I met Asher and three others outside a special restricted building called Veil Stone Headquarters. There were half a dozen hunters, armed to the teeth, flanked around the building.

“Guarding money?” I asked.

Was this a bank?

“Something more valuable than money,” Celia told me. “Each school has a piece of the Veil Stone. A magical rock that was found to have special powers, I guess is how you would describe it. It’s what the arcanists use to make rune wafers, hunter marks, draw runes on buildings, you name it.”