Page 152 of Ashborne Forged

Instead, we were interrupted by the arrival of Jade, knocking on the door, then entering with her eyes down. “Mistress, you asked me to attend when you returned?” she asked meekly.

I hadn’t. But thank you, God.

“Yes,” I said before Breckon could send her away. “My Lord has graciously returned me early, because I’m very weary,” I said, shooting a look at him. “If you could help me dress for bed, I would be grateful.”

“Of course.” She didn’t lift her eyes, but started straight for the bedroom.

I glanced back at Breckon and raised one brow.

He huffed and shook his head, but didn’t speak, turning on his heel, and disappearing through his door, slamming it behind him.

There was a key in the door lock on this side, and I desperately wanted to turn it, to lock him out. But I knew that would enrage him, for no gain. So, I balled my hands at my sides, then followed Jade into my room, closing that door and locking it, just because I could.

Jade straightened from unfolding a long white nightgown and looked at me with a wary question in her eyes.

“Thank you,” I said quietly. “I won’t forget it.”

“I only do my job, my lady,” she said, then moved to my back to begin unbuttoning the gown she’d buttoned me into before dinner. But while she moved quickly and stayed focused on the task, I could feel her tension, and though I was desperate to speak with Koa in detail, I needed to know. “What is it? What do you want to tell me?” I asked.

She took a deep breath as the bodice of my dress sagged forward and she began on the laces of my corset.

“I removed the key to the lock that was on the other side of this door,” she whispered. “I will keep it with me, so no one else can find it,” she added.

I swallowed at the sudden kindness. “That is very thoughtful of you.”

“Again, it is only my job, My Lady.”

“Then you are very good at your job. And I want you to use that key if you ever find yourself uneasy. Even if I’m not in the room.”

“I… I don’t know that I could—”

“Yes, you can. I’m giving you permission. And in the event that you ever feel the need to lock yourself in—any reason at all—I will make certain any that would challenge you know that you do so on my authority.”

She went still for a moment, then continued tugging at the laces at my back. “That is very kind, my lady. But, may I ask why you would think to offer such a thing?”

I sighed as the laces finally loosened enough to give my lungs space, then spoke to her over my shoulder. “Because, while I am quite privileged to have lived a life of protection, I am aware, Jade. I know how unsettling it is to be under the eyes of a man who sees you as prey. And I imagine that you face that far more often than I do. So, if I can do anything to ease your burden, I would like to. I would like that very much.”

There was a long moment before she opened the last of the laces and lifted the corset from my body. I groaned and rubbed at the reddened skin where the boning had pressed lines in—then sucked in a breath when I turned to find her holding my blade—which I’d slipped into the layers of the corset, alongside the boning, to keep it flat.

For a split second, my mind screamed that she leveled the blade at my chest—but then I blinked. No. She offered it to me hilt-first.

I took it, grateful, and a little sheepish. “Thank you,” I said quietly.

“The thanks is all mine,” she whispered.

50. I See You

~ VOSKI ~

Near. My mate grew nearer every moment.

I wanted to crawl out of my own skin, fly on Kham and get her the fuck back. Instead, I sat sullenly behind my mother on the back of empty, hollow dragons, Kham flying far behind, then later, ahead, as we drew deeper into Fyrehold.

On the fifth day we landed in the field of an estate I vaguely recognized from my childhood, and my heart rose. We would reach the castle the following day, I was certain.

Kham circled at a distance—a great distance. Right at the edge of our capacity to communicate with words. The moment he was able to reach Koa was thrilling, and heartbreaking.

I still couldn’t reach Grace with thoughts, though I could sense her more clearly with every passing hour. It was both a balm, and torment. I stretched for her constantly in the link, begging God to bring us closer, to connect.