Page 22 of Ashes

“I’d die to save her,” I said immediately. “We all would.”

“I’m scared for her to stay and scared for her to go,” she said softly. “She’s been through so much.”

I released Sirena’s hand and got to my feet, going to Cady and kneeling in front of her. A tear slid down her cheek. I reached out and swiped it away.

“You’re a good sister, Cady. You remind me of my sister, Abby. She fought for me too.”

Cady sniffled again.

“We’ll do everything we can to make sure Sirena is OK. We want her back too.” I leaned in cautiously and gave Cady a hug, hoping she wouldn’t knee me in the groin.

Her small body shook against mine as she hugged me back. She stayed in my arms for only a moment before she pulled away and wiped quickly at her eyes.

“Thank you. I’m glad she found someone like you, Asher.”

“Ashes,” I said, getting to my feet and going back to my seat. “Everyone calls me Ashes.”

“Why?” She tilted her head and studied me.

“I have impulse control issues. Fire in particular. I’m a moth to the flame one might say.”

“You set fires?”

I nodded wordlessly, the anxiety rearing its ugly head. I tried to keep my shit together when I could. The lighter pressed to my thigh in my pocket was calling my name. I was desperate to open and close it.

I shut my eyes, trying to focus on keeping it together.

“Ashes, hey,” Cady called out.

I opened my eyes and looked at her.

“It’s OK. Whatever you need to do. I won’t judge you for it.”

I breathed out and let go, pulling my lighter from my pocket and flicking it opened and closed five times. Pause. Again. Five more times. Pause. Again. Five times. Five times. Five times. Breathe. Fuck. I let my leg bounce, the pent-up energy vibrating through my body.

Cady offered me a smile before she turned her attention back to Sirena.

Church and Stitches may think Cady was a pain in the ass, but I liked her. If they could see her as the doting sister the way I did, maybe they would too.

At least I hoped so because if my thinking was right, Cady wouldn’t stay home for long either. Not if Sirena were here.

We all did crazy things to protect those we loved.

Cadence Lawrence would be no exception when it came to Sirena.

I knew it right down to my bones.

ASYLUM

Iran as fast as I could, forcing my body to endure the burning pain in my chest. It was in my nature to push the limits. It had only gotten worse as I’d aged.

I often took a similar route through the woods like Church did when he ran. Sometimes I followed him, lurking in the dark forest. He was fascinating to watch. Dante Church was an admirable machine. Clever, too. Protective of our Rinny.

Normally, any man with eyes on what belonged to me would upset me. For some reason, while the jealous monster inside me reared its head on occasion, it wasn’t nearly as dangerous when it came to the watchers.

It was still ugly and unpredictable though. I supposed that was a danger in itself.

The only reason I hadn’t struck them down was because of our Rinny. I saw the way she looked at them. I knew her heart better than she did.

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