He makes his careful way down the aisle, moving like a predator. Silent. Sure. Asher is the only one who doesn’t step aside at his approach. He plants himself in the center aisle like a wall, obstructing Lys’s exit.
“What the hell is your problem?”
Lys stares dead ahead, cold and intractable.
“Snap out of it,” he orders. “It’s over.”
“Asher,” whispers Poppy.
“Did you hear me?” Asher cuffs Lys’s collar, drawing his gaze. “Pull it together, asshole.”
“Asher, stop,” says Poppy. “It’s no use.”
Asher ignores her. “I know you hear me.”
Lys checks him hard, his strength unnatural, sending Asher flying into the nearest pew. Camellia rushes forward with a cry, skidding to a stop as Lys brushes past her.
He doesn’t spare another look in Shea’s direction. Not once. Not even a glance. He heads, instead, for the wide double doors that lead out into the night. The first pale glimmers of dawn shine through the stained glass, turning the sanctuary murky with light. She feels like she’s drowning in it.
She rounds on Asher the moment Lys is gone. He’s busy pulling himself from the pew, his hands clutched protectively over his ribs.
“What the hell was that?” His gaze cuts to hers. “You didn’t want to weigh in?”
The confusion in his eyes breaks the dam. Shea charges, slamming a fist into his chest, knocking him back against the pew with less force than Lys had managed but with double the fury. Asher does what he can to shield himself as she rains blow after blow against his ribs.
“This isyourfault,” she cries. “You’re a traitor. None of this would have happened if it wasn’t for you. We trusted you.Hetrusted you.”
“I won’t apologize,” says Asher, catching her wrists against his chest. “I had it under control.”
“Yeah?” She tears herself out from his grasp. “Does this feel like control to you? Is this a victory?”
His jaw tightens. “I handled it.”
“No. I don’t accept that. You should have told me what was happening. We could have figured it out together. That was what we promised.”
“That promise was broken the second you set foot in the Gravewood.”
And there it is. His anger has claws. It snatches the breath clean from her lungs.
“You were gone,” she whispers. “I did what I had to do to protect my family.”
“Yeah? Well, so did I.”
She can’t stand the sight of his face. She turns away from him, stomach sick. When she starts down the aisle, he follows.
“It’s over,” he tells her. “It’s done. Whatever happens next, we’ll be okay. We’ll figure it—”
“Don’t.” She rounds on him so fast, he flinches. “Don’t say another word. Not one more. I never want to speak to you again.”
Asher looks as though he’s the one with the stake in his chest. All the blood drains from his face, leaving him white as a sheet. Behind her, Camellia is crying openly.
“Shea, wait a minute.” Poppy’s touch alights on her arm. “Let’s think this through.”
“Don’t touch me.” She shakes Poppy off, launching up onto her toes in an effort to get right in Asher’s face. “You’ve ruined everything, do you understand that? Lys was all I had left.”
Asher’s eyes flash. “You had me. You’ve always had me.”
“Not anymore.” Her voice shakes. “You’redeadto me, Asher Thorley.”
