Page 131

“Well, Asher, you do have a habit of surprising me. I must admit, you certainly have... interesting taste.”

Behind me, Asher hasn’t moved or said a word since the chair scraped.

“Take your hand off my husband.”

Sebastian raises one perfectly shaped eyebrow, looking from his son back to me. “You’ll have to excuse him. Asher has always been rather... intense.” His gaze lingers on me. “And you’ll have to forgive the entrance. I came to bring flowers to a very sick young man, only to find myself set upon by my own child at his bedside. Hardly what I had in mind.”

For a second, I see wet skin under my hands and the first scar beneath my mouth.

Nine years old.

What must it have been like to grow up with this man? I never had parents, and that hurt in its own way. But I didn’t have to go home to someone I was afraid of.

“That’s not what this is, and you know it,” Asher snaps, his hand closing around my shoulder.

Sebastian’s eyes flick to it. “Two minutes.”

For a second, Asher stays exactly where he is. Then his fingers tighten against my shoulder before he lets go. “I’ll be right back, stormbird.”

He walks past me and through the door without looking back. Sebastian follows, the door swinging shut behind him with a thud.

“Well.” Onyx shifts beneath his blanket, still looking towards the door. “He seems nice.”

Nobody says anything.

I keep looking at the door as Ryven’s slate buzzes. Seren is still by the window, arms folded, watching the same spot I am. Ryven glances down at the screen, then reads whatever is there twice.

“That’s Ash,” he tells Seren. “He wants us to take them out.”

“Out where?”

“The archaeological halls. Says Jade has to see them, and he’ll come collect him afterward.” Ryven stares at the message for another second. “Fucking lunatic is messaging me with his old man standing right in front of him.”

Seren pushes away from the window. “Ryven. A word before we leave.”

Ryven looks at him, then follows him into the corridor, pulling the door almost closed behind them.

When the room goes quiet, I turn to Onyx. He lasts about two seconds before throwing his arms around me again.

“Brother...” I breathe in his familiar scent and squeeze him a little tighter.

“I’m okay,” he says into my shoulder. “Honestly, JaJa. I’m okay.”

“I know, but... yeah.”

“No.” He pulls back just enough to see my face. “You don’t. You keep looking at me like I’m about to stop breathing.”

“I’ve had years of practice checking whether you’re still breathing.”

He laughs. “Hey, I’m serious!”

“So am I.” I press my shoulder against his, and he squints at me.

“So what about you?”

“What about me?”

“What do you mean, what about you?” His grin spreads across his face. “You disappear into the Hunt and come back with a man chasing you all the way from Tempest, hauling you back to make you his husband. And you weren’t going to mention that?”