Page 14 of Ashen Wings

“Don’t kill her…yet.”

Jace Ashborne leans against the barn door, his full lips curled into an arrogant smirk. The King of Shadow, heir to the midnight throne, stands before me. I blink, praying to Astora this is all just some fucked up nightmare.

“You’ve got enough fight in you to suggest you’re not just some courier,” he says as he approaches on controlled strides. The air fucking bends around him like it succumbs to the sheer power thrumming through him.

His voice is barely a whisper, but far deadlier than the most potent of poisons. A tinge of the Shadow dialect inflates his pronunciation in an irresistible darkness. My knees quiver. Yep, I’ve lost my mind.

“Tell me the truth.” He leans into my space, placing his lips inches from mine. The scent of dew drops and moonlight swirls through me, glazing my tastebuds with an intoxicating thrill. “Where are you from?”

“I already told your attack dog here. Smoke,” I snap.

Jace’s inky eyes stare into mine as if he can see through my very soul. He twirls a loose strand of silver hair around his ringed index finger, and I don’t dare move. Standing this close to death incarnate, I’ve grown smaller than a field mouse.

“I’m finding it hard to believe you,” he whispers, letting the hair slip between his slender fingertips. My stomach nearly evacuates my body.

Jace tucks his hands behind his back and puts space between us. Thank the gods.

“I’m here to track down a shipment of dragonstones. That’s it. If you let me go, I won’t speak of any of this, I swear it to Astora,” I say, the distance reigniting a sliver of courage.

Jace arches his perfect brow. “Interesting that you speak our lost goddess’s name.”

Fuck, I am not handling this well. “You have my word. My lips are sealed once I leave this place.”

“You and I both know even if you’re entirely genuine in that sentiment, I can’t let you leave.”

“Yes, you can.” At risk of playing one too many cards, I continue. “You’re right in that I’m not a courier. I’m not even a Smoke official. I’m just here to retrieve the dragonstones then disappear. That’s it.”

Jace kneels beside the ledger man, now cowering behind his desk. His lip twitches as he retrieves a blade concealed under his loose black tunic. The strings have come undone, revealing the curves of a warrior’s chest. Gods, what is wrong with me? I’m terrified, but my eyes draw to that perfectly sculpted skin like I’m some sort of feral animal.

“Unfortunately, starling, there’s no room for loose ends,” he says, driving his blade through the man’s temple. The body falls limp to the floor with a heavy thud like soaked sandbags on stone.

“Isra, did you take care of Cael already?” Jace asks, rising to his feet. Isra nods, his grip still tight around my waist. “Hmm…no fun, but alas, we don’t have time for this. Deal with her before you return to Roe.”

I jerk forward with my full strength, but Isra’s just too fucking strong. Jace turns his back on us and makes for the door. The growl of a dragon outside sends my blood boiling.

“If you intend to kill me, do it yourself King Ashborne,” I hiss. He stops mid step, the muscles in his back rippling. “Just like your father, commanding someone else to take the blood that falls on your fucking hands.”

The temperature plummets, and the earth trembles. Jace rolls his shoulders as he turns to face us, his midnight eyes darker than the deepest of cosmic voids.

“Oh, this’ll be good.” Isra scoffs. His hands loosen around me, and that terrifies me all the more.

“If that’s what you wish,” Jace says. The shockwave hits me without time to react. One moment I’m standing tall with defiance tight in my chest, next, my knees crack against stone.

Fear itself tethers me to the floor, holding me captive with no chance of escape. Jace prowls toward me with a deadly glint in his eyes. His lips mold into a snarl as he kneels beside me, draping a hand over his thigh.

“Final words before you meet Morvayne?” he asks.

“Fuck you,” I spit. My head whirls. There’s so much to say, yet I’m at a loss for where to start. My life has been a violent one. A ruthless one. It’s left me prepared even for these uncomfortable flirtations with death. My thumb traces the knife tucked in my boot.

“Isra, go make sure Tenebris hasn’t eaten anyone yet,” Jace says, his eyes never leaving mine. Their starry swirls of steel hold me captive until my thoughts go silent. Everything outside of his devastating gaze fades. There’s no room for anything besides of Jace fucking Ashborne and the dark haze swarming me.

Isra mutters a response, but I’m not listening. He’s worlds away now. Are we still in this barn, on this continent? Or have we gone to the cosmos?

“Intelligent enough to find your way over the border. Skilled enough to get your blade in Isra. Brave enough to coat your lips with my name. What an intriguing little creature you are, starling,” he whispers. It’s a rough, primal sound that prickles my skin.

Have I forgotten this man is about to execute me? I suck in a breath, stifling the scent of being a hair's width away from the King of Shadow himself…again. My fingers curl around the hilt.

He pulls his blade from its sheath and raises it toward me. The steel edge tips my chin, leaving the soft flesh of my neck vulnerable and exposed. Every nerve in my body sparks like metal against granite.