Redemption (28 page)

Asher lifts the Angelic Sword, moving toward
Jade as Morgana finally pulls herself out of her shocked state and
grabs her throwing stars.

Jade stands strong with a tight grip on the
Angel Blade. My vision begins to blur as I move in an out of
consciences. I attempt to focus on my blood dripping off the blade
so I don’t pass out.

“Harm me and Deacon will end you,” Jade
warns.

“Threat or promise?” Asher asks. He lunges
for her again but she’s faster and vanishes.

“FUCK!” Asher shouts, looking around at the
empty area.

I produce an odd gurgling noise from my
throat, catching Asher’s attention. He prowls to me and kneels.
“Fuck. Siren, hold on, yeah?”

I can’t answer him but I blink a few times,
hoping he understands. Asher takes off his shirt and gently wraps
it around my neck to soak up the blood. Within moments, I feel his
healing energies being pushed into me as the pain begins to
subside.

My vision starts to focus and I see
Morgana’s face over Asher’s shoulder.
This would have been a
good time to pass out.

“She’s lost too much blood, Asher. We need
to get her back and into stone state.”

Lovely. Now she cares about my
wellbeing.
I inhale and my eyes shift behind Asher then widen
in fright. Jade’s face suddenly reappears behind him. She has the
Angel Blade lifted so she can pierce him through his back, into his
heart. My heart is erratic and sinks in despair. I try to speak but
the injury to my neck won’t allow me to, instead I thrash
around.

“Easy, siren. You’re going to be okay,”
Asher soothes.

Morgana sees my expression and follows my
eyes behind her, now seeing Jade. Instantly, she jumps in front of
the blade, shielding Asher and pushing his body into me.

“Get down, Asher,” she shouts before
screaming in pain.

It all happens so fast my mind almost
doesn’t process it. Asher rolls off me and twists, now aware of
what’s happening. Jade is sneering at Morgana with the Angel Blade
buried in her heart. Crimson liquid flows out of the deep
wound.

Asher stands. Angelic Sword in hand, he
charges at Jade while she yanks the weapon out of Morgana’s heart.
The beautiful gargoyle’s body crumbles to the ground next to me,
limply.

In an instant, Jade vanishes, teleporting
again. Asher scans the area, but she’s gone. He spins back around
and his eyes roam over Morgana’s body, which is now turning into
stone. His face falls in pain as he crouches next to her. With soft
eyes, he brushes the hair off her face in an intimate way. He turns
her head so she’s facing me as Asher strokes her hair.

“Fuck. I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he says sadly
in her ear.

When the granite is halfway up her body, my
daggers fall out of her belt. My eyes lock onto hers with
understanding. She took them. She set me up. She’s the traitor.

Her eyes meet mine in apology. Once the
stone reaches her neck, she mouths a name to me before her face
morphs into granite. Seconds later, her stone body crumbles and is
nonexistent. I close my eyes because it’s not Deacon’s name she
mouthed. It turns out our traitor is bigger than all of us and when
Asher finds out, it will destroy him.

When I reopen them, the dust of what is left
of Morgana blows in the light spring breeze. At the sight, my body
succumbs to my wounds and I slip into unconsciousness.

***

I struggle to open my eyes. The light is dim
in the room, but it still causes searing pain when I attempt to
see. Finally, after several tries, my eyes flutter open. I gaze
around Asher’s bedroom. All the curtains are pulled. The sound of
faint beeping draws my eyes to the left.

A heart monitor stands next to his bed.
Lifting my arm, I see an IV attached to it.
What the hell? I
thought I healed myself in stone state.

Asher’s face comes into view. “There you
are, siren.” His voice is raw.

He looks exhausted, like he hasn’t showered
or slept in days. He leans over me. A tight, grim smile forms at
the corners of his mouth and he brushes the hair off my face.

“Hi.”

“Hi,” I croak out. My neck is throbbing.
Automatically, my hand lifts to touch it and Asher quickly takes
the hand and interlaces our fingers, pulling them away from my
injury.

“You’re still healing. Don’t touch it,
okay?” he says in a hushed tone.

I attempt to nod, but can’t. My throat is
dry and I need some water. “Water?” I rasp.

“Here ye are, lad.” Fiona’s voice wafts over
me as she hands a small glass to Asher.

He brings a straw to my mouth, encouraging
me to sip. The cool liquid feels amazing. When he thinks I’ve had
enough, the cup is pulled and handed back to Fiona.

“Better?”

I smile my response. “Why have I not
healed?” I say with great effort.

“Jade was using an Angel Blade. It’s the
only demon weapon that can actually kill an angel.” He winces.
“That’s why it burned. It’s going to take a little longer for you
to recover from the wound. It wasn’t deep and when you are fully
healed, it won’t scar. The burn caused the most damage. It’s why
you’re having difficulty speaking and why you were paralyzed, which
has already worn off. The pain should subside shortly, and you will
be fully recovered in a day or so. We have an IV for fluids and the
heart monitor is because your heart gave out twice.” His pained
voice trails off.

My eyes widen. “It did?”

Asher’s eyes close and then reopen. “A side
effect of being paralyzed. Your heart went into shock, though we
didn’t know that at the time. Fiona’s been here taking care of
you.”

“You look exhausted. Are you okay?” I lift
my hand and place it on his cheek.

Asher nods at my question before turning and
kissing the inside of my palm. “I am now.” He looks sad. Memories
begin to flood me as I recall what happened.

“I’m sorry about Morgana,” I say with
sincerity.

“Me too, siren. Me too.”

“She was the traitor, Ash. She set me up and
took my weapons.”

“Yes.” Asher inhales deeply, closing his
eyes tightly. “Jade tricked Lunette. She sent the poser demon as
Lady Finella to get word of the meeting through Nassa,” he
explains. “We think Morgana knew all along. Marcus, as you can
imagine, was devastated to find out. He also feels extremely
guilty. As do I.”

“Come here.” I motion for him to get on the
bed. Careful not to move me, he slides in gently lifting my body so
I can lean on him. He strokes my hair in a soothing manner. I
squeeze my eyes shut. I know Asher didn’t see Morgana mouth the
name of who she was working with. I need to figure out how to tell
him because when I do divulge who it is, Asher’s world will shatter
into a million pieces.

20
Redemption

I awaken to the smell of cigarettes and
spice. I’ve never really been comforted by Gage Gallagher’s scent,
but it’s beginning to feel a lot like home. I look over to see him
sleeping in a chair in the corner of the room.
That can’t be
comfortable.

I scan the room but Asher and Fiona are
nowhere in sight. Frowning, I sit up. The IV is gone and so is the
heart monitor. My neck feels a thousand times better and I can
actually swallow. I lean over to collect the water next to my bed,
waking Gage up in the process.

“Hey,” he says in a groggily sexy voice.

“Hey, yourself,” I answer, glad that my
throat isn’t rasping.

“Need help, love?” He points to the glass
and moves to the side table to pour me some water. When it’s full,
he hands it to me and sits on the side of the bed.

I sip the liquid slowly and watch him. Like
Asher, he looks tired.

“Thanks.” I offer a small smile.

“How are you feeling?” he asks with soft
eyes.

“Better.” I sit up taller, feeling less
weak. “I didn’t mean to wake you. Have you been sleeping well?”

“That’s a loaded question, love.” He winks.
“I’ve been having…nightmares.”

I peer down at my hand. “What kind of
nightmares?”

His eyes slide to the left as he focuses
outside. “Your injury was similar to Camilla. It forced old wounds
and feelings to the surface.”
Oh shit. I forgot Camilla’s throat
was slit.

My eyes squeeze tight and I snag his hand.
“I’m sorry, Gage.”

“It’s okay, love. You’re still with us.” His
voice is tense.

“Did Asher tell you all about Morgana?” I
question and take another sip.

Gage’s eyes meet mine. “He did. What I can’t
figure out though is whom she was revealing the information to.
Morgana didn’t have a direct line to Deacon. I know this because
for a while, I was his right hand. So that tells me she was working
with someone else. Any ideas on who that could be?”

I swallow a mouthful of water and shake my
head. “Nope.”

Gage just scans my face. “You’re a terrible
liar, love.”

My face pales. “Am not.”
Brilliant,
Eve.

Gage studies my face before dropping the
topic. “I am truly happy that you are okay, love. I know we’ve had
our differences, but you’ve sort of grown on me, and I would hate
to see something happen to you.” He squeezes my hand before letting
it go.

“Thanks for staying last night.” I point to
the chair. “That couldn’t have been comfortable.”

Gage lets out a small laugh. “Don’t get any
ideas. I have a job to do, just as you have. I was on protection
duty last night.”

For some reason, that stings. I thought Gage
and I were getting closer. “Okay,” I draw out and study his
heartbreaking expression. The thing about Gage, his pain runs
deep.

An unpleasant frown forms on his lips. “I
couldn’t save her. It nearly killed me. I don’t plan on living
through a repeat of history with you.”

“Gage—”

He cuts me off.

“Camilla the reason I agreed to protect you.
No matter what the bad blood is between Asher and me, no one should
ever suffer the loss of the love of his life. No one stepped in and
prevented Camilla’s death. I can. I will. I’m going to see this
through, love.” His vow is sincere. “You’re protected with me.”

“I’m not Camilla,” I say in a quiet
tone.

“That is true, you are not her. Though,
there are similarities. You are a stubborn human female who fell in
love with her protector, and I do believe that you just had your
throat sliced,” he deadpans. “So forgive my need to shield you from
her end result.”

I absorb what he’s said. “I don’t sculpt and
I’m not from Spain. So there’s that.”

His lips twitch. “I’ve seen your sketches
and an artist you are not, love.”

We just hold one another’s gaze and smile,
trying to lighten the mood.

“You’re my redemption, love,” he says in a
distressed tone.

Confused, I pull my brows together. “I don’t
understand.”

“Aye, da lass ‘tis awake.” Fiona’s warm
voice slithers through the room. “Mornin’, luv. ‘Tis good ta see
ye.” She pats my face before narrowing her eyes at Gage. “Da lads
are lookin’ fer ye, boy. Ye best be gettin’ down da stairs.”

He stands, letting go of my hand. “Yes,
ma’am.”

My brows rise. “Wow. You’ll have to show me
how to do that, Fi.”

“It’s best not to give Fiona lip. Her swats
hurt, love.” He winks and leaves.

“Let’s get ye up, lass, and bathed. ‘Tis
time fer ye ta rejoin da world.”

I place my cup down. “Yes, ma’am.”

That earned me a swat. Gage’s right. It does
hurt.

“Don’t ye be fresh, lass,” she scolds and
helps me to the bathroom.

***

While I am thrilled to see Fiona again,
enduring her overbearing mothering is starting to grate on my
dignity. After bathing and I mean…she bathed me, followed by a
session of force-feeding me soup, I finally escaped to venture down
to the second floor and find Asher.

I’m just about to enter the conference room
when I hear Keegan’s angry voice.

“Every moment you spend with her, Asher, you
strengthen the bond. I suggest you break it before it destroys you
both when you each need to fulfill your destinies.”

“Did you fucking misunderstand what I said
at the summit? Eve is my intended and she should be treated as
such. Regardless of your wants in this matter, it is not up for
discussion,” Asher responds coolly.

“I can’t stand behind this, Ash,” Keegan
answers in a quiet tone.

“Then don’t,” Asher states.

“What happened to clan first?” Keegan asks
in annoyance.

“EVE IS MY FUCKING FAMILY,” Asher shouts.
“She’s just as much a part of this clan as anyone else. Your
continued disapproval of us is going to force my hand, brother. I
suggest you take a different approach,” Asher warns.

Keegan lets out a cold laugh. “What are you
going to do, Asher? Finally step into your royal role and have me
sentenced for disloyalty?”

Silence.

“Well, at least you’ll be living up to your
bloodline,” Keegan spits and storms out.

Hearing Keegan’s exit, I quickly jump into
another hallway so he doesn’t see me before I make my way into the
quiet room. My vision lands on Asher, who is sitting in a chair
with his head in his hands.

I walk over to where he’s hunched over and
kneel down in front of him. Wordlessly, I wrap my fingers around
the leather bands on his wrists and gently pull his hands out of
his hair, away from his face then place them securely around my
waist.

I cup his face and force him to look at me.
His eyes are red and watery. The idea of him breaking down like
this rips my soul in half. I lean in so my mouth is within a breath
of his.

“I love you,” I whisper across his lips
before placing a light kiss on him.

When I pull back, a single tear falls down
his face. With my thumb, I wipe it away. At my movement, he
tightens his hold around my waist and pulls me in a firm embrace.
All I want to do is rescue him from all of this.