She looked at her hands.
“Thank you for the beautiful dress.”
Fear-one, courage-zero.
“The beauty of the dress pales in comparison to the angel wearing it.” He sounded exasperated. Then he tilted his head, his eyes igniting into a firestorm, and his mouth twisting into a scowl. Yep, he was angry. “What are you doing, Hailey?” he said bitterly. “I saw you kissing him,” he accused, his voice slow. “You promised me there was no romance between you and Pádraig.” He leaned close to her and whispered, almost pleading, “Do you have any idea what I do to students who lie to me?”
Hailey gasped, her heart quickened.
Jaycen… Unwittingly, her thoughts turned to the southern belle, who was still writhing in agony inside a steel cage in the White Forest with nothing but the sub-zero wind chill to keep her company. Never had Asher spoken to Hailey with such animosity, and for a beat, she wondered if he might tie her soul. Her throat tightened, her eyes went wide, and she instinctively took a retreating step back. She didn’t know what to say and stood locked in his intense gaze while her brain floundered and her heart rose in her throat.
He stared and squinted, but then his brow knitted together. And she knew in that instant that he—the all-powerful Envoy—was hurting.Shehad hurthim, very deeply she’d hurt him, and her heart shriveled.
Asher looked away. He must’ve seen her remorse and taken pity on her, because when he looked back his eyes were soft.
“He’s not the gallant knight you think he is, my dear.” He stroked her cheek as he said it. “He will hurt you.”
“Well, he never threatened to rip my soul out,” she whispered, blinking back tears. “Where have you been anyway? With Cobon?” She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
Asher closed his eyes and inhaled loudly. “I only want to rescue you,” he told her apologetically. “I know I’ve been neglecting you—forgive me, please. And no, I haven’t spoken to Cobon for quite some time.”
What was he doing? His voice was kind. He was staring at her with those gorgeous eyes, full of adoration and heat. Not an hour ago, she’d decided he was a hideous monster, and now…
Hailey trembled and not from the cold. The intensity, the electricity between them sent a shiver down her back, and she raised her shoulders against it.
“Are you cold?” Asher seemed perplexed.
“No,” she said, unable to look at him. She could feel her cheeks flush. Asher regarded her curiously for a moment, then without warning, he grabbed her shoulders and guided her against the wall next to the door. Grasping her chin with one hand and wrapping the other around her waist, he pressed his mouth to hers, hard and hungry. His lips molded to hers, and she kissed him back, running her fingers through his silky hair and melting into him as he pressed the full length of his body against her. This was what she wanted. This was what she craved—love, passion—from the one creature that could rescue her from a fate worse than death.
Oh, it was heaven! He held her there, kissing, caressing for minutes, hours, maybe. She didn’t know. She didn’t care. She didn’t want him to stop.
When he was finished, he held her close. “It upsets me to see another touching you,” he breathed against her lips, still caressing the back of her head. He leaned back and flashed his eyes at her. “You belong to me. Do you understand?”
Hailey blinked rapidly, unable to find her voice.
“Answer me,” he commanded, grasping her hair and pulling so hard it hurt.
“Yes,” Hailey squeaked, her eyes wide, and she was trembling again, this time from sheer terror.
“Yes, what, Hailey? I want you to say it.”
Hailey blinked again. What the hell was happening?
“Yes, Asher. I belong to you,” she said obediently, and he sighed deeply, releasing her head and rubbing it gently.
“Will you tell me why you think I have a soul?”
She didn’t feel like chatting with him anymore. She wondered how fast she could run in her new heels. But wrestling her sudden urge to flee was her paralyzing terror and the realization that—there was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Plus, she was still sort of reeling from his kiss and needed a moment to slow her breathing before she could even begin to feel ashamed for wanting him to kiss her again. And right now, she couldn’t sort ANY of this out, because he wanted an answer.
“What do you mean?” she asked, searching his violet eyes. “You have a soul… I’ve seen it in my dreams.” Plain as day. There was the Aethereal light of his “body” and a second, completely different glow at his core, which hummed and pulsed like an operatic heartbeat. She’d seen it many times and very clearly on theTraumzeug.
“I don’t have a soul, Hailey,” he said. “Envoys are pure energy.”
“I think you’re wrong, Asher. I think you know you’re wrong. I think you know you have a soul, but you don’t want to admit it. Maybe that’s why the Envoys are going mad?” She emphasized the word “mad” maybe a little too much and had to recover. “You wouldn’t be able to love me if you didn’t have a soul.”
She wasn’t sure what he was feeling really qualified as love, but she was floundering and suddenly wishing she was safe with Fin again…at the cabin…tucked in his arms…
Asher’s eyes calmed down, but he didn’t step back. He still had her pinned to the wall.
