My head turns sharply toward him. “How?”
“It is my profession to know things.” His gaze lowers back to mine. “Information is the purest form of leverage. Knowledge is the ultimate bargain.”
A hollow feeling opens in my chest. “Do you think less of me?” I whisper. “For using dark magic like that?”
His expression hardens. “I could never,” he says firmly. “You were protecting yourself. I am glad you did.” He continues, quieter now, “It means I do not have to worry about you.”
I look away, and a tear slips free before I can stop it. He notices instantly, and shiftscloser.
“Ada.”
I shake my head, but he reaches for my chin gently, guiding my face back toward him.
“What is wrong?” His voice carries a low, dangerous edge now. “Did he hurt you? Did someone else?”
“No.” My voice wavers. “Not like that.”
“Then tell me.”
I draw in a breath that does not calm me.
“The ring is still working,” I say. “He loves me.”
Ashford’s eyes narrow slightly.
“But it is not natural,” I continue. “The magic bends the feeling. It twists it. What was once merely pride has become obsession. What was once irritation has become suspicion.”
His hand tightens where it rests against me.
“I can see it in him,” I whisper. “The way he looks at me. It is devotion, but it is warped. As though the ring feeds something dark inside him. I am afraid of what his love is becoming.”
Silence crashes down between us.
Then Ashford sits up abruptly.
“Fuck!” he swears, the word sharp in the sacred space. He rises to his feet in one fluid motion, pacing once before stopping. “I should have examined the binding more closely,” he mutters. “I assumed it would temper attachment, not distort it.”
“It was my choice,” I say.
“Maybe so. But it is my responsibility,youare my responsibility.”
He turns back to me and kneels, taking my hands and pulling me gently to my feet.
“I will not have you afraid in your own home,” he says, voice low and resolute.
“I am managing—”
“You are enduring,” he corrects quietly. “That is not the same.” His hands resting reassuringly at my waist. “I am taking you back to Acheron.”
The name sends a ripple through me.
“I will study the ring. I will set it straight.”
“How do you want to do that? Bending magic is dangerous. And what if you cannot do it?”
His expression shifts—something fierce, almost frightening. “Then I will find another way.”
“Malric—”
