Page 163 of Stone Temptation

“I’d been out for a walk that night to clear my head,” he continued. “When I reached the cove, I saw the brothers arguing rather heatedly. Finn screamed at Luke, and Luke launched himself at him. When he grabbed his arm, the magic left Finn. I felt it move from his body to Luke’s—seeing as I wove it.” He pulled out a joint. “Luke has double the protection.”

I struggled to comprehend anything beyond total shock. “But wouldn’t he notice?”

“Not when the memory is buried. It must stay buried. The lie the potion places inside his head is necessary. If he finds out, he might go on a rampage.”

Shards of guilt skewered, his pain already mine. “I can’t lie to him.”

“You have to.”

This would annihilate Luke. But how could I lie to him? Gods, I never lied. It went against my nature, my upbringing, everything.

I tugged on my bracelet. “No.”

“Then you doom us all.” Seth lit his joint.

“I can’t… What the fuck…”

“I know it’s a lot to process. Until we can manage Luke properly, this is how it must be.”

I’ll rip your jaw off for saying that! “Manage him?”

“He is a weapon we can use. He is our hope of closing this job on Earth once and for all.” He lit his joint, the wind seeming to avoid him. “Wouldn’t you love to go home properly. No more rotations?”

This went against everything I stood for, the principles of this marking and my unfurling heart.

Luke…

“Why would the king want this ring around? He must know what it is.”

“I don’t know, Asher.”

“Fuck.”

“You will report in every day,” Seth said. “A six-month supply of the potion will be delivered here within the next hour. As his bodyguard, it is your job to make sure he takes it daily. I will keep you informed of any progress we make on finding Ember and the king. As will Carissa.”

Failure to fucking compute, my head caught in an earthquake. “Think I’m gonna spew.”

“Have a stiff drink and a hot shower. Fuck his brains out if it makes you feel better.”

My arm shot out, hand closing around his neck. “Watch your mouth.”

He shoved me hard, taking advantage of my shock. “The old Asher keeps rearing his ugly head, doesn’t he?”

I growled, wanting to fly into the stars and roar out my rising anxieties.

When I wished for more action in my life, this wasn’t what I had in mind.

“Fuck!” I bellowed at the sea. “Fucking fuck!”

Seth turned away from me. “I’ll be in touch. Be sure to stick to the plan unless you’re ready to deal with an apocalypse.”

“No. Luke wouldn’t?—”

“You don’t know what he’s capable of. Goodnight.” He walked away, his fur coat billowing behind him.

I fell to my knees, heavy with defeat.

Lying to Luke was pure betrayal. Plain and simple. And I was his yellow. His color. And he was my human rainbow claiming pieces of heart. But how did that serve the greater good?

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