Restraint (The Revelation Series Book 2) (34 page)

His eyebro
ws draw together as pain crosses his face. “When I realized you were nowhere in the house, siren, I thought Deacon had you again and it almost fucking destroyed me.”

A tear slid
es down my cheek. “I-I didn’t know what to do. I just reacted.”

Asher says nothing as the rain drips off his face and mine
, soaking into our clothes. He just stares at the water while draped in darkness.

“
All I knew was I needed to save you,” I say, my voice uneven.

“
No, you didn’t.” His voice is low but has the same effect as if he shouted.

“Ash
—” He doesn’t let me finish.

His head snap
s to the side, his eyes filled with distress. “Did you even stop for one second to think about how your actions affected me, or the rest of the clan for that matter? Let’s not even discuss the fact that you drugged us all with fairy potion and then snuck off into the night without a protector while Deacon is God only knows where and could have done who knows what if he caught you again.” His voice is eerily calm.

As the rain pelts against my skin, I shift my eyes back t
o the ocean because I can’t stand his disenchantment with me. Instead, I try to form the right apology while the frigid droplets of water run down my face.

I let out a quick laugh.
“Like you considered me when you had me removed from the chamber after promising you’d be by my side. You’re always so guarded. You constantly ask me to trust in you but the truth is, Asher, you don’t trust in me. If I had just been included in the strategy meetings, plans or your general thought process of attack, maybe…just maybe I wouldn’t need to go off and do stupid things like tonight,” I offer as a lame argument.

Asher’s indigo eyes glow, illuminating the
resentment and disappointment in his face. “That’s your defense, Eve?” Doubt laces his every word.

I exhale.
“What do you want me to say, Asher? What do you want me to do here? What can I do to make you realize this isn’t about me?” I beg, my voice hysterical now.

Asher turns sharply toward me,
his eyes narrow as he takes a step at me. “THIS. IS. ALL. FOR. YOU. EVERYTHING I DO IS FOR YOU!”

I t
ake in a sharp breath. I need him to understand the depth of what I feel for him, because it’s the motivation for my actions this evening. “I couldn’t survive if anything happened to you. If you no longer existed in my world, it would destroy me.” My voice is soft.

He contemplates my words for a moment.
“By the grace, you are the most infuriating woman,” Asher grounds out in exasperation. His gaze meets mine and his hand reaches out to touch my wet cheek.

In that moment
, I look into his dejected eyes and my heart breaks into a million pieces. I mourn the life we had and the one we’ll never have. “I love you,” I speak softly into the rain filled night air. I hope it’s enough and he’ll embrace me, but I know the minute I told him how I felt, it was all over.

I don’t even notice the coldness anymore because I’m empty inside. In the depths of my soul, I know
any second he’s going to walk away from me, this, us.

Rain pelt
s against his face. My body leans toward him as the tears escape my eyes, rolling down my cheeks, mixing in with the frigid rain.

Asher’s eyes scan my face
, memorizing every detail. I need him. I need him like I need air. He pulls away, leaving me vacant and chilled.

“I will protect you, always
,” he promises.

My eyes shift up and lock onto his. “By leaving me?”
The question is harsh.

He exhales
a shaky breath. “If that’s what it will take to keep you safe, I’ll do it.”

M
y body trembles with fear of losing him, so he grabs my upper arms to still me.

“Listen,” he commands
, tightening his grip around my body so I can’t flee.

I sha
ke my head in terror. “No, you can’t. Who will protect me if you leave?” I sound hysterical.

I clench his
wet shirt, not wanting him to go.

“The clan will
until I can come back to you, and siren, I swear I will come back to you,” he

vows
.

“I ca
n’t do this without you,” I say, begging him.

“You won’t have to.
My family will watch over you. I have no choice, siren. They’ve made their ruling. As a member and royal figurehead, I must oblige. It’s the only way until I can clear things up with the council.” He exhales before speaking again. “Even if that means walking away and living the rest of my life off our memories.”

I pull him closer.
“No, Asher,” I grit out through clenched teeth, the tears flowing.

He holds me
firm as he looks into my eyes. “I don’t regret one moment with you, not one second. I will always choose you over me. I will protect you, always.”

“It sounds like you’re leaving forever
,” I say through my tight throat.

Pain marring his face, he
grabs my wrists and pries me off him, taking a step back.

I stand there
wet and speechless, about to watch him walk away from me.

“Ash
—” He cuts me off by opening his wings. “Don’t do this,” I plead.

“
Ilem jur pri tú-tim, ew tú-tim pri pos-tim ali ide in-zen, mání, vas-wís, ew ter-ort.

Esta
-de ai esta Ilem de, Ilem pos-tim in-saengkt pri, tú-tim,” he says in Garish.

It’s the same thing he said to me the first time we went into stone state together.

My eyes plead. “Asher…”

He
watches me, his face stoic. “Forever,” he says before he disappears into the rain filled dark sky.

My knees buckle as I fall to the ground in shock and disbelief that he
actually left. My breath is gone. My hand goes over my heart, trying to relieve the ache of emptiness that’s forming.

He’s gone.

I’m alone in the darkness.

CHAPTER 7

Quí an-mání ú por lem, í ku an-in ú dur: Any harm you bring her, I will destroy you for (Garish)

Lem
-de an-wís dur ú re kat ante ámo ku ulem hiúman, in-saengkt: It’s unwise for you to fall in love with your human, protector (Garish)

Gres-por
ku ágra-lem, rap: Leave with your protector, now (Garish)             

CHAPTER 8

Cartref
merch Croeso duw: Welcome home Daughter of God. (Welsh)

CHAPTER 9

Anvolde
lem ansa lók, esh anten skítas de volde lem: The wingless ones cannot speak, and lack the intelligence of the winged ones (Garish)

CHAPTER 11 AND CHAPTER 22

Ilem
jur pri tú-tim, ew tú-tim pri pos-tim ali ide in-zen, mání, vas-wís, ew ter-ort. Esta-de ai esta Ilem de, Ilem pos-tim in-saengkt pri, tú-tim: I promise you forever, and forever you shall have my heart, soul, mind and body. With everything that I am, I will protect you, always. (Garish)

CHAPTER 13

Dia
duit (pronounced dia gwit): Hello (Irish)

Nice tae
meit ye, Eve!: Nice to meet you, Eve! (Scottish)

Coming Soon

Redemption:

The Revelation Series

V
olume 3

Keep reading for a sneak peek at the first chapter of
Redemption.

For bonus material, please visit:
randicooleywilson.com

Excerpt from
Redemption

On the morning the darkness first descended, it settled into every fiber of my
existence. The emptiness materialized deep within my veins, wrapping itself around each organ. Starting with my heart, then my lungs, and finally, it crept its way into my soul. 

The empty days are consumed by loneliness and the nights by endless
grief. The darkness pushes me further and further into desolation and I feel as though I’m treading water, and at any moment, my body will just give up, forcing me to sink into the murky rivulet.

I’m drowning, because in
spite of everything, I still belong to my gargoyle protector, Asher St. Michael. Each and every heartbeat belongs to him. Every single one of my breaths, they’re all for Asher. Though I’m the one who was left behind, I know in the deepest corners of my heart, he’s hurting too.

Sitting on the window bench in my room, I inhale a shaky breath, while using the back of my hands to wipe away the escaped tears.
Crap. I didn’t think I had any left to shed.

As my fingers brush over the surface of my cheeks, I’m reminded of the lifelessness my skin now suffers from. It used to be filled with heat and desire. Now, it’s cold and
unfeeling. The large organ is enveloped in an invisible armor, preventing life and warmth from penetrating it.

My gaze lifts to the dreary clouds, my only connection to my protector. Large hazel eyes reflect back at me in the glass windowpane. Mocking me, filled with sorrow. Without thought, I rub my chest, trying to relieve the emptiness his absence is causing. I keep my focus trained upward, at
the heavens. “I miss you, Ash,” I whisper into the empty room.

I remind myself of the last word he said to me before disappearing into the rain filled sky. “Forever.” The rest of my gargoyle sentinels, the London clan, his family, found me sitting on the wet grass, in the cold rain. Soaked and
weeping. My body rocking back and forth in an attempt to comfort itself, while my mind slipped into a catatonic state. The only sound that fell from my lips was his name, spoken softly over and over again.

Each day, I go over in great detail, the last moments we shared on the rocky cliff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. I attempt to discover a clue or
inkling of something, anything, I could have said or done that would have changed his mind. Made him stay with me. Fought for us. The energy wasted. I always come up empty handed. My eyes close as I inhale while memories flood me and then float away, a daily occurrence.

“I’ve got you Eves. You’re safe. We’re all here cutie.” Callan’s voice was the first I’d

heard before he lifted me into his protective arms.

His words weren’t comforting though because he was
mistaken. They weren’t all there.

Asher was gone. Vanished into the inky heavens.

“Where the fuck is he?” Keegan’s angry tone cut through the downpour.

“I don’t know,” Abby answered as her face locked onto mine filled with worry.

I only stopped saying his name long enough to utter. “He left.” Then I went silent for what would be three weeks.

The night following, Asher’s disappearance, he reached out to Michael with instructions for the clan. The only piece of their conversation the archangel would share with me, was that Asher was safe and under the watchful eyes of the council. Then he informed me I would be returning home the next day to Massachusetts, under the protection of the London clan. That was all. No,
I’m sorry. Or, I’ll see you soon. Michael said nothing that would indicate my dark prince would return.

I squeeze my eyes tighter as Lord Falk the Royal Gargoyle Council of Protectors leader’s words
drift through me. “Mr. St. Michael, it has been brought to the council’s attention that you are in violation of our laws. You have been accused of having infringed upon the oath you swore to uphold with regard to your loyalty to both the human race and your charge, Eve Collins. What say you?” The accusation thrown out during the tribunal held at Domus Gurgulio Castle in County Kerry, Ireland.

After Asher made it clear the council didn’t have any solid evidence to support the
charge, the council, of which he’s a member, decreed he was no longer appointed my protector while they continued to investigate the allegation of misconduct.

Due to lack of evidence, they weren’t formally able to charge him with violating his protector oath, a sentence that carries a punishment of eternal stone petrifaction. For that, I’m grateful. Knowing he’s somewhere
breathing in the world eases the pain, a little.

I glance over at my bed with longing. It would be so easy to crawl back into it like those first few days. After removing me from the
rainstorm, the clan brought me back to their home, La Gargouille manor, in Wiltshire, England.

They placed me, fully clothed, in a warm bath and coaxed me into eating and talking. I refused. Instead, I walked into Asher’s room, grabbed the Property of London shirt he liked me to sleep in, changed into it, and curled up in the fetal position in the middle of his bed. Surrounded by his scent of smoky wood and leather.