Page 29 of Ashes

Sin rubbed his eyes and looked at his lap, not saying a damn word.

“I’ll explain it to you this way. As much as I know you want to kill me and bury me beneath a new hot tub…” He shot a quick look at me, a smirk on his lips.

I crinkled my brows. I’d never said that shit out loud.How the fuck… ?

“You won’t. You may try, but you’ll fail. I’m not alone, you know. I’m neverfucking alone.I know all. I. SEE. All.” He rubbed his hands down his thighs and shot a look to his right and he muttered something I couldn’t make out before he looked back at us.

“You think you’re saving her, but you’re not. You think you’re protecting her from me. You’re not. She’ll never be free of me. Ofus.I’m entwined deep into her soul. I amher roots. I’m the one who’ll keep her from losing her mind, even though I brought her to the brink of madness. You’d be wise to release her to me.” He gazed at us each in turn, settling on Sin last. “Right, Sinclair?”

I shot a look to Sin as Ashes frowned at him. Sin studied Asylum for a moment. Shit was going on he wasn’t telling me. Something niggled deep within my mind, but it didn’t make sense. I pushed the nagging thought away, deciding I’d unpack it later.

“What do you plan on doing with her?” Sin asked, his voice rough.

The corner of Asylum’s lips twitched. “Hold onto her and never let go. Ifwelet go, she’ll suffer.”

“Are you threatening her?” I snarled at him.

He shook his head. “I am not. I’m only being honest. You want her back. I want her free. We are not the same.”

“Free from what?” Stitches finally broke his silence, glaring at him.

“Free from the madness. The restraint.The fear.Only I can set her free. I’m her warden. Her punisher.Her redeemer,” he explained, his words soft and dangerous.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.

“And in her fear of me, I will set her free. Wouldn’t you like that? Her running back to you because she’s afraid of me?”

I did fucking like that idea.

To get her back, we’d have to let him break her.

But why would he do that if he wanted her so badly?

“If you honor our arrangement, I promise to return her to you when the time is right,” he said.

“You’re just going to give her back? Like a broken fucking toy?” Stitches asked, snorting and shaking his head. “You’re a fucking lunatic. No deal.”

I held my hand up to silence him. I ignored the incredulous look on his face and focused on Asylum.

“How do you know you can bring her back?”

“Because she’s always listened to us. You may be a god to her, Dante, but I’m her devil. The demon from her nightmares. We’re the voices who’s been with her since we first laid eyes on her. And good girls always do what the voices in their heads tell them to do.Iam her voice now.” He surveyed me evenly, challenging me.

“Where I’m from, good girls worship their god, not their demons.” I pressed my palms to my knees, shifting forward.

“Where I’m from, we let gods think that.”

We stared one another down for a moment.

The truth of the matter was, I wanted her back in whatever way I could have her. I knew Asylum enough to know he’d make our lives miserable if we didn’t play along. Who knew what he was planning if we failed to keep our agreement.

As much as I wanted to kill him right then, he probably had a safety net in place making it impossible. Once he walked out of here if we didn’t honor the bet, he’d rain hell down on us. On specter.

If we kept to the agreement, we had a very real chance of getting her back.

It was an ugly gamble, but one I was willing to take. For now. Because I’d be watching and planning too, and the moment I could, I’d take my specter from him. Then I’d kill him.

It had been a long time since I’d planned a murder. This could actually bring me some enjoyment.

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