Page 85 of Of Vows and War: Special Edition
Snorting, he rolled his eyes and leaned down to kiss my forehead. All I could do was smile back. How beautiful was it, to just sit there and delight in him?
“How were things here? Tell me you did not murder too many beings while I was gone,” I taunted. Bellamy mock gasped, rearing his head back towards the headboard and flicking me in the nose.
“How dare you insinuate such a thing!”
We laughed together, and for a moment everything was perfect. Of course, nothing stayed perfect.
“There is something I need to tell you,” Bellamy said. There was suddenly a firmness to his voice that put me on edge, as if he were trying to force himself to say whatever it was.
“Okay, tell me.”
“I need you to get dressed first.”
“Well that sounds foreboding,” I joked, trying to relieve the air of the tension that was flooding it.
“I wish it were not, but you should probably be prepared for something not so great.” So much for easing the tension.
“Ew,” was all I could say.
We got dressed in silence, Bellamy pulling my old training leathers over my head with a look of fondness on his face that made my heart clench. And my thighs, admittedly.
When we were both clothed and Bellamy had braided my hair back, he pulled out something I never thought I would see again. Sipho’s necklace—my necklace—dangled from Bellamy’s pale finger. With a dashing smile, he walked behind me and secured the silver chain around my neck. Lifting my fingers to graze the small amethyst, I sighed in contentment. Now fullydressed and ready, we left our room hand-in-hand and walked down the hall.
Though my mind had been cycling through the potential things Bellamy could say, I had not guessed we would stop before a door at the end of the hall that I knew to be vacant.
“Bellamy, what is happening? No one lives in the room next to Damon’s,” I said, pointing at the door before us. Bellamy cringed, his face pinching together. Instead of responding, he knocked on the door three times.
“Come in,” a deep voice responded, the accent the same drawling and slow rasp as Bell’s. Pursing his lips, Bellamy stared at me one last time before nodding and opening the door. His strong arm wrapped around me, tucking me behind him as we stepped through the door. I managed to peek around him, endlessly curious about what we were doing there.
The room was rather plain, almost entirely empty save for the enormous bed against the far wall and a chair nearby. A male laid there beneath bright blue blankets, smiling warmly at Bellamy. I recognized him from the battle in the Fire Lands. It was King Adbeel Ayad.
“Hey, Adbeel, how are you feeling?” Bellamy asked, nerves cracking his voice.
“I am fine, but where is she? Safe? I made sure Ranbir only healed me minimally so he would be strong for her,” King Adbeel rambled.
Her? Who was he talking about?
“Actually,” Bellamy said just before sighing heavily. Squinting, I did my best to understand, going so far as to let my mental gates open.
Bellamy stepped to the side, revealing me to the king. I was engulfed by emotions. First, the fear and nerves from the male to my right. He thought of our love—of our demise. They tasted bitter at the back of my tongue.
But then came the king’s feelings. They were the opposite. He thought of his family, of his wife. His daughter. His son. He was overwhelmed with joy and disbelief. There, in the depths of it all, was the sweetest joy.
“Um, hi, I am Asher. I have absolutely no idea what is going on, but it is very nice to meet you.” I took a step forward, waving sheepishly. Gods I probably looked like an idiot. This was my first time meeting—wait. I knew what this was about. “You are about to tell me what it is you have been hiding.”
Peering over at Bellamy, I caught sight of his visible flinch. Okay, so it was bad. I always knew it was something important, but I rather thought it would be self-serving. It was the reason I felt compelled not to meet him for so long. But just then it seemed like I had been wrong. Maybe this would hurt more than it would heal.
Neither male spoke, both of them opting to simply stare at me. Did I have something on my face? Was my skin melting off? Had I suddenly become the most wretched looking creature in existence?
“Okay, well, I will start I guess,” I muttered. “I am so sorry that I delayed this meeting. I wish I had a better way to explain why I did it. Or any way at all. Truly I feel like I should—”
“Asher—”
“—have a better excuse but I just wanted—”
“Asher!”
“What?”
