Redemption (14 page)

We sit in comfortable silence for a moment
before Ainsley the Duchess of Sprites enters the study. She seems
jittery and unfocused. “Forgive the intrusion, your grace. I’m
afraid Lucian awaits you in the rose garden.”

I smile at Ainsley and she responds with a
curt nod back. Odd.

“
Thank you, duchess. Eve, sorrowfully, I
am obliged to take my leave and convene with the werewolf. I do
hope you understand.”

“
Of course, your grace. Thank you again
for having me today.” I stand and hug her.

“
Until we meet again,” she promises
before blowing her golden fairy dust at me, returning me to the
earth realm and Asher’s arms.

My eyes flick open before I blink a few
times, adjusting to the bright sunlight filtering into my room. For
a moment, I stretch and bask in its warmth before turning to my
side to greet Asher. My heart sinks when I see the bed is empty
beside me. Downhearted, I rub my palm over the warm spot he was in
last night.

A small smile crosses my lips at knowing
that he’s back, followed by a ball of worry knotting in my chest
about the council. They may have not found evidence but his
newfound stance on us isn’t going to help keep him safe either.
Damn stubborn gargoyle.

I shift my focus to the pillow and see a
note with two words that make me groan in annoyance at him.
Training Room.

10
Breathing You In

“Do you forgive me now?”
I plead with Callan while standing across from him on the mat.
We’re both out of breath having just finished a round of
hand-to-hand combat training. He’s watching me, trying not to break
out into hysterical laughter.
Asshat.

“I’m not sure, cutie. My wing is still
slightly bruised. It hurts every time I twitch it. Why don’t you do
it again and then we’ll see,” he bellyaches.

“What? You said I only had to do it once.
This is ridiculous.”

He rubs his hand over his extracted raven
wing, now healed. However, Callan being Callan, continues to hold
it over my head while giving me puppy dog eyes.
Crap.

The sad part is its totally working.

“Does that face work with Abby?” I squint my
eyes in disbelief.

The adorable gargoyle wiggles his eyebrows
at me. “Did last night.”

I scrunch may face. “Ewe. Way too much
information, Callan.”

“I’m in pain, cutie,” he argues.

“No, you ARE the pain,” I retort.

He shrugs and chuckles. “One more time and
then I promise to stop.”

I sigh facing him. “Fine,” I reply through
my tight jaw.

Callan jumps up and down, clapping like a
fan-girl.
Good Lord.

“I, Eve Marie Collins, agree that Callan
Thomas St. Michael, is absolutely correct. Fruit flavored ice cream
is not, in fact, an appropriate ice cream flavor. Furthermore, I
hereby solemnly swear to never order black raspberry ice cream
again in the presence of the greatest gargoyle to ever live, Callan
St. Michael.”
Christ, this clan is nuts
.

Callan is tearing up he’s laughing so hard.
“Torturing you is so much fun.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “You suck,
gargoyle.”

That earns me a headlock. “If you fight, it
will only make it worse for you.” He laughs.

Suddenly, the air shifts in the room. Callan
lets go of my neck and I straighten myself out.

“I see now that Asher is back, you’re no
longer allowed to run free, love,” Gage muses.

“It’s easier to get Eve trained in a
controlled environment, Gage. If you have an issue with it, take it
up with Asher or the council,” Callan warns.

Gage smirks. “Running on a piece of
machinery and hand-to-hand combat training won’t help her. Demons
will still outrun her. You are providing her with a false sense of
security.”

Callan’s face goes red as he steps up to
Gage, chest to chest. “What the fuck is your problem, man?”

Gage doesn’t back down. “My problem, as you
so eloquently put it, is that she is not adequately experienced to
fight in a war between Heaven and Hell.”

Callan tips his chin up. “She’s human,
asshole. Of course she’s not capable enough to fight. We’re simply
trying to show her how to keep herself alive, if the need should
arise.”

Gage laughs. “Good luck with that.”

“HEY!” I shout before stepping in between
the two heated gargoyles. “I’m standing right here. If you want to
talk about me, include me. Otherwise, stop it. Both of you.” I turn
to Gage. “It would be impossible for me to fight off every demon
that attacks me. The St. Michaels are training me to
self-defend.”

Gage’s face goes soft. “That isn’t possible,
love, even with your extra gifts.”

I swallow hard, knowing he’s right. “Well, I
have to try.”

“Try in the name of the ascension, or love?”
Gage asks with a questioning stare.

I force my shoulders back. “Both,” I respond
firmly and leave the training room.

I’m in my head, talking to myself, again. I
keep going over all the ways my life sucks as I make my way back to
my room. I need to shower and get ready for class because I’m
running late. I rush by the
tension room
when I hear Keegan
and Asher’s voices.

“What are you asking of me, Asher?” Keegan
sighs, sounding tired and defeated. It’s very unlike his usual calm
and cool tone. The change stops me in my tracks to eavesdrop.

“I need to hear from you that if something
were to happen to me, you would step up and claim the throne,”
Asher states calmly.

My heart drops. What is he talking
about?

“Define something happening to you,” Keegan
asks with caution lining the question.

“I love her,” Asher states. “The oath is
broken.”

Silence.

I pinch my eyes shut and squeeze.
Shit
.

“It’s not the bond or the divination. It’s
her. I want her. Forever,” Asher commands.

More silence.

“Say something, Keegan,” Asher demands of
his brother.

“It’s not allowed, Asher. There are rules,”
Keegan reminds him in a cold tone.

Asher exhales roughly and sits back on the
couch. His eyes focus on his older brother.

“I’m the next in line. I could petition the
council and change the oaths,” Asher argues.

Keegan rubs his hands over his face,
obviously exhausted with Asher’s thought process. He studies my
protector for what feels like an eternity before his face finally
softens.

“When we were kids, there was this tree at
Wiltshire manor, in the gardens. Do you recall it?” Keegan waits as
Asher shakes his head. “It was tall, lush, and beautiful. It had
these light pink flowers that would fall all around it. Anyway, Mom
would sit under it for hours while reading.”

Asher smiles briefly before it drops. “I
don’t remember. What does this have to do with what I’m asking,
Keegan?”

“When I used to walk back from my training
sessions, I would pass Dad’s office and glance in. He would always
be standing in the same place, at the same time every day, looking
out the window. I never knew what he was so infatuated with, until
one day, I walked by as he was called into a meeting. Begrudgingly,
he tore himself away from the view and left. I marched over to the
spot and saw Mom sitting with her dress floating in the light
summer breeze, reading. She looked so peaceful under the tree,
surrounded by sunshine and pink petals. Like an angel bathed in
light.”

“Sounds like a nice memory to have,” Asher
says, his voice quiet, wishful.

“It took me years to figure out why, for
those thirty minutes each day, the king of the gargoyle race would
just stand there, watching his mate. In our position, the darkness
is overwhelming. She was his light. His refuge. His place of peace
in the shit storm that is a protector’s life.” Keegan stands and
moves toward the fireplace, his back now to Asher. “If you think I
am unsympathetic to your feelings for Eve, you are wrong, brother.
I’m mated. I grew up with the same parents you did. I watched them
dote on one another, as did you. I understand love, Asher. I
identify with the need for light in a world of darkness.”

“Then you grasp what I am asking?” Asher
confirms.

“Yes.” Keegan exhales roughly. “However, my
answer is no.”

Asher is quiet. I fidget, realizing I’m
going to probably miss class today. My heart hurts for Asher. It’s
all I can do not to go into the room and punch Keegan in the face.
Keegan turns slowly and moves toward the coffee table, sitting so
they are eye to eye.

“There are rules in place for reasons,
Asher. A protector is forbidden to love his charge because it
clouds your judgment and ability to protect her. Even now, you come
to me, asking this of me, knowing that there is a war on the
horizon. A war in which, Eve will die if you don’t protect her. If
you love her the way you claim to, the way each member of this clan
feels you do, then you must stop allowing that love to cloud your
protector judgment.” Keegan’s voice is softer now.

“My love for her enhances my protector
instincts,” Asher argues.

“Asher, you were just removed as her
guardian for this very accusation. Stone petrifaction is the
punishment for breaking your oath. Yet here you are, declaring your
undying love for her. Placing yourself and this clan in the line of
fire. Once again,” Keegan whisper shouts.

“I know. I don’t need a lecture or
reminder,” Asher grits out of a tight jaw.

“On the contrary, brother. You do. You are
not only a protector but next in line to rule our people. That is a
great responsibility. Something that you’ve never taken lightly,
until her.” Keegan positions his elbows on his knees, reining in
his temper. “I can’t do it again, Ash. When Mom and Dad went
missing, I was too young to step into the role of clan leader. I
did. Out of love for this family. Out of sacrifice. Someone needed
to be there to pick up the pieces up and move us forward. I will
not fail you. You will be the next king. There is no question.”

“You are failing me by denying me
happiness,” Asher spits out.

“By the grace, grow up. You are not a child.
You are the next king. Start acting like it,” Keegan scolds.

“If it was Kenna, would you feel this way?”
Asher asks.

“What?”

“If you were next in line and McKenna was
your charge, would you deny yourself?”

“I am a gargoyle. I am bound to my oaths, my
race and my kin, above all else.”

“If I choose her, what will you do?” Asher
questions.

“Asher.”

“Tell me, brother? If I choose her over
everything else, will you step up?”

“It’s my role within this clan to step up,
your highness,” Keegan seethes.

“Have you always been this fucking nosey, or
is eavesdropping a new thing with you?” Kenna barks from behind me.
Crap.
I didn’t even hear her approach.

I whip around. “It’s nice to see you too,
McKenna.”

“Fuck off, blood of Eden,” she spits.

I cross my arms. “Why do you despise me so
much? What have I ever done to you?”

Her sapphire eyes glare at me. “You exist.
It’s that simple.”

“Want to know my theory?” I ask, knowing she
doesn’t.

“No,” she barks and walks past me, down the
hallway.

“I think you’re afraid to like me,” I yell
to her back while following.

She releases a light laugh. “Oh and why
would that be?”

I pause for a moment. “If you’re partial to
me, then you can’t protect Keegan.”

McKenna turns and narrows her eyes at me.
“Enlighten me.”
Fuck, she’s intimidating.

I stand taller. “If you embrace me into the
clan and allow Asher to love me, you think he will be taken from
you. Leaving Keegan to step into his role, like before, when he was
forced to lead this clan when Garrick left, and that terrifies
you.”

The warrior just stands there, glaring at
me, unmoving. I notice the slight tick in her right eye and that
confirms all I need to know. I’m right. It’s about Keegan, not
me.

I drop my voice in comprehension. “It scares
the shit out of you because you love him. Not like the love that
most people share though. It’s the earth shattering, can’t breathe
without him, kind of love. The kind where you would lay down your
life for him. Right?”

“My love for Keegan is not insight, blood of
Eden,” she states coolly.

“No, it’s not. What is, though, is that
beneath the thick skin you hide behind is a scared woman who is
afraid that the man she loves will suffer at the hands of his
brother and the woman he loves. The fear is because you witnessed
Keegan picking up the pieces before, when Garrick and Vivian
disappeared. I think that terrifies you, Kenna, because you don’t
want to see him suffer again. Your heart wouldn’t survive having to
hold him while he cries behind closed doors. In front of the clan,
he’s the strong one. The true leader of this family is Keegan. He
is the one who steps in and keeps everyone together and on track.
In that role, there is no room for grieving or fear. So as his
mate, you take it on, because for every tear that he silently let
slide, I know that you held him, wiping them away while a piece of
you died. That…that piece of insight is why you can’t bear taking
on his pain and suffering, again.”

McKenna gets into my face so fast that I’m
fearful for a moment. “Don’t presume to know anything about me or
my mate. You have no right to psycho analyze anything I do. You.
Know. Nothing.”

“Maybe not. I do know this, breathing him in
is what keeps you alive and whole. It’s why you fight so hard and
are completely guarded. You’re protecting him. We’re on the same
team, Kenna. I feel that for Asher. I’m not a threat. I’m not the
enemy. I’m not going to stop loving and protecting him,” I vow.