A Kiss of Ashen Twilight (Ashen Twilight Series #1) (26 page)

“And you don’t think she’s coming back?”

Jace shook his head. “I don’t think she’ll be back anytime soon. No.”

Rich raised an eyebrow. “And how do you feel about that?”

“I—” Jace took a breath, choosing his words carefully. “What’s in the past is in the past.”

“Oh, I’ve heard that one before.” A deep voice entered the room moments before Gael stepped in straightening out his dark navy silk. The men greeted each other.

“Julian and the others are on their way up, you’d be happy to know.” Gael turned to Jace then to Rich. “And I, for one, can tell you this man is lying.”

Rich threw his head back with laughter. “Didn’t have to be a psychic to know that one, my friend.”

“It’s not like there’s any way to get in contact with her,” Jace said holding his arms out. “Besides, how in the world can it be? An Aziza Fairy and a Nightwalker. How freakin’ ridiculous does that sound?”

Gael and Rich looked at him with stone faced expressions. Jace shifted under their gaze, unsure if he had something hanging out his nose, or if his pants zipper was down. “What?”

“After all you’ve seen, you’re seriously asking that question?” Gael walked to Jace and patted his shoulder, before leaning in to make his case. “There are always ways to a woman, Jace. If you want her bad enough.”

“Yeah, well I’m beginning to think that Julian was right.”

“Well, I’m glad someone is finally coming to his senses.” Julian stepped into the conference room with Daoine and Michael behind him. Jace, Rich and Gael all stood with their postures erect as the elders walked toward the table.

“Words I thought Jace would never say,” Michael snickered. He gestured for Rich to sit near him and Rich promptly walked over to his seat.

Julian walked over to Jace who stood tall with his hands folded in front of him. “Does this mean that you are ready to take your place at this table?”

Jace looked around at all the men aligning the houses, both regents and Patriarchs from one generation to the next. Something had changed in him since Ariya came into his life. He had put his existence on the line more times than he could imagine and although the idea of enjoying himself under the moonlit sky still appealed to him, the allure was not the same. Now he had a bigger responsibility to uphold. He nodded and took a seat next to Julian who smiled with pride.

“Gentleman,” Julian began as he opened his jacket. “Let this meeting of the Ashen Twilight leaders come to order.”

II

Chapter 9

A
riya slammed her palms against the silk bedspread and bolted upright. Her chest heaved as she stared into the darkness. It was the second time she’d had this dream in the same month. The night air enclosed all around her, she ran into endless shadows. She couldn’t see in front, nor at her sides, nor behind her but still she kept running and running. He was near. She could
feel
him despite not quite understanding how, where or why. Suddenly she was lifted out of the air by an unseen creature. She felt it wrapping around her, digging into her skin and ripping into her wings. She opened her mouth to scream though nothing came out as she was hauled into the night air. The sky was quickly brightening with the sun. A gunshot rang out somewhere and she was freed in midair. Her body sailed down toward the bright green forest. The air slammed against her face and body as she sailed down to her impending death.

Then she awoke. Always at that part, she awoke. Perhaps it was a good thing. She didn’t want to feel the impact of her body slamming against the ground. Nor did she want to test the theory of how it would affect her real consciousness.

Why was she dreaming of the elemental when they had destroyed it?

After many nights of calm, peaceful dreams this came.

She had tried to recapture the lost time she had left behind and she hoped to regain what little innocence that still cornered her mind. Before leaving, she already saw her family brutally murdered one by one. After she entered the mortal realm, she was introduced to the near death and acts of blood and flesh that Jace had introduced to her.

Jace—

What must he think of her now? She was sure he must have already found the ring. As time passed in the mortal realm, she wondered if he believed she wouldn’t return. After all, she never gave him an answer to his question and leaving may have destroyed whatever was brewing between them. He was still surrounded by death’s curse and she hadn’t made it any easier on him.

Death was a way of life in the mortal realm and the heightened whimsical nature she felt in this realm always felt like an arm reaching out for her. Since arriving, she had wanted to wrap herself in its sweetness before it was safe to see him once again.

Ariya pushed the sheets off and leaned over the side of the bed, putting aside the nagging feeling that something may be wrong. It wasn’t too long ago her townspeople held a ceremony to officially crown her as their Queen. She felt uneasy taking such a position. After all, she had just come of age and the past several weeks were enough to force her into maturity faster than she had imagined.

Slowly she slid off the silken sheets and stood. She immediately missed the cushions that cradled her body every time she rested within its folds. It felt like unimaginable bliss itself for the emptiness of the palace—except for the ladies in waiting and the Aziza Amazon guards—made it lonely. If she could go back to her own room knowing her family was still in the home and Shya and Rhea were just a few feet away in their own homes, she would gladly give this all up in exchange for their warmth and love again.

Outside, night was still upon the grounds of the Aziza. Through her window Ariya could see the moon; pale, glowing high above the velvet sky. The sweat that had formed on her body cooled as it evaporated in the air. Her wings fluttered to life, shaking off the dampness in between the soft cloudy gossamer gown clinging to her warm body. The long hem around her ankle shuffled behind her steps as she went into the hall. The palace stood as it had before the elemental. With the help of Cidra, the guards and the Aziza of the surrounding lands things were on their way back to the way it had been. Her family plaque, a gold slate with their visages carved in the metal, was erected above the front door. She stepped outside onto the balcony and looked over the dark forested grounds. A soft wind blew the trees swaying back and forth. As she walked among their grounds earlier that day, the rustling trees and stalks of grass whispered to her of what the elemental had done in its path of destruction. Her hands formed into fists at her side. She had to remind herself it was someone else who caused this. Someone behind the elemental, not the creature itself, according to the book from the library. In essence, the elemental was only doing its master’s bidding. Yet who had called it? Who could have known of the Aziza’s existence?

Ariya peered up at the moon with these questions in her mind. She calmed herself down with the thought of Jace. The smell and feel of him that had come to give her comfort each night she slept in his bed. Strange how she felt more at home with him nearby, as if he himself was home. She knew the Aziza moon of Aido-Hweda was not the same moon of the mortal realm overlooking the Ashen Twilight house. It probably wasn’t even night time back in
Phoenix
. How long had it been for him? She couldn’t help wondering what became of Jace when she left him. Deep down, she hoped he wasn’t angry with her and would understand her actions for leaving. Did he miss her like she did him? Perhaps he felt the connection as she did the more time passed. She clutched her chest as she leaned forward against the railing of her terrace. He was a part of her heart. Now that she had shared her blood with him, she was a part of his. Would he remember if she were to return?

* * * *

Jace walked along the quiet street with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his coat. He would have to return home later that evening. Class would start in a few hours but first he needed to feed. His body pulsed with need. The past few weeks he had done the same thing. Wandering the streets in search of an unsuspecting female to indulge in. Not since Shelly had he brought any back to his home. The thought of it reminded him of Ariya. Only her presence was now welcome within his walls. He cursed himself for not moving on. She had obviously forgotten about him since she left or else he would know how she was doing and what happened.

Jace gently shook his head to rid his thoughts of her. Right now wasn’t about her. It was about him and the task at hand. He had narrowed his feed to only certain women now who were near the end of their lives and ready to give into the sweet rapture of death.

A distant howl broke out in the evening air breaking into his thoughts. Rich was nearby hunting among the dark shadows in his true Lycan form. He had been walking around with his mind in a daze for the past few weeks and Jace only got to see him a few days in between his trips in and out of town. He wouldn’t speak about what he was up to and Jace had a hard enough time trying to enter his thoughts. The Lycan probably cloaked his thoughts on purpose. Still he promised the share his news soon and if Jace had learned anything in his life it’s that patience is much less taxing than banging your head against the wall. Things come in time.

Jace leaned against the wall as he smelled a figure nearby. Sweet, blood and a rapid beating heart cornered his mind, raising the hunger deep within. Then a tall lithe figure came into his view. The rapid pumping blood flowing throughout her body would be perfect and more than inviting to flow straight through his lips and into his veins and heart. He would take her right now among the building’s shadows. He would bring her to the edge and ecstasy of death as he consumed her blood. Yet he couldn’t bring himself to indulge in this stranger. Instead, he watched her like a predator would his prey. With a sigh, he pushed off the building wall and continued walking back toward his apartment. Tomorrow he would try again, but for now he would indulge in a cold glass from his fridge while he prepared the teaching guide for tonight’s art lesson.

* * * *

Upon dawn’s light of morning, Ariya had changed into a thin white gown wrapped around her shapely body like a cloud. The dream had returned again and this time she saw the ancient battle mixed with a very modern setting. Something was brewing back in the mortal realm concerning the Ashen Twilight House. She tried to push it away with the idea that Jace and the other immortals would handle it, but the feeling only grew stronger. Now that things had settled back to normal here at home, it was safe for her to cross realms once again.