Page 40 of Of Vows and War: Special Edition
She spun around to look at me, her face draining of color and her fists bunching at her sides.
“Olivander Adams. I know him. Sort of. Yuza met with him a few times. Be careful. He is a powerful Shifter. He is also an ass.” I chuckled softly, putting my hand on her small shoulder. None of us knew much about Yuza. Lian was slow to speak of her. But we understood how deeply her memory and loss hurt Lian. The Air shrugged off my hold, shaking her head as if to rid herself of the thoughts that likely swarmed her like insects. “Where am I to go?”
“She says you need to stay here. Probably to make sure the captain follows through with her plans. But you cannot be seen by Ash. I do not know why, but if Nicola says not to then we should follow her command.”
Lian grimaced, but nodded. Neither of us wanted to be on this ship with these pirates. Bellamy would be furious when he found out I was leaving her alone with them. Sometimes he acted like he was our father, as if he was responsible for all of our safety. Lian would be fine on her own though. She could kick any of their asses with her eyes closed.
“Well, at least I will get to see Asher. Even if just from a distance. Bellamy will be wonderfully jealous,” she said with a smirk.
“Me too. Whenever you are allowed to speak to her, tell the little brat that I will drop kick her into the next millennia for being a self-sacrificing dumbass.”
Chapter Nineteen
Bellamy
“What are you doing?” I asked as I leaned against the doorframe.
“Thinking. Planning.” Adbeel did not so much as look up at me as he continued to walk, his gaze down and mouth moving with silent words.
“It looks like pacing to me.”
“I am a king, I do not pace.”
“Ah, yes. Sorry. That planning looks more like walking quickly from one spot to another and then back.” Approaching him, I took a seat at the chair in front of his office desk. This was the first time I had been in the space since Adbeel and I argued last. Since I told him about Malcolm. Now, I noted that thetraitorous prince’s portrait had been taken down. Erased from existence.
“I am not in the mood for your sarcasm, nor your presence.” Ouch.
“I take it you are still mad.” There was no denying it. Just as it was true beyond a doubt that I deserved the wrath Adbeel held for me, waiting to be set free.
“Of course I am mad! You had no right to hide her from me!” he yelled, finally looking at me. His billowing blue top moved with every lift of his hands, his silver trousers catching the light of the fading day through the windows in the office. My eyes caught sight of the waves as they barreled towards The Royal City.
“You are right,” I admitted. Salt water sprayed up the side of the cliff that held the castle. What a beautiful place for such a horrible conversation. I breathed in the air that reminded me of my youth. The adolescence that Asher should have had.
“She is my blood, my granddaughter.” He did not so much as acknowledge my words as he pointed my way with his entire hand. His dark eyes blazed with fury. Eyes that Asher did not have, somehow. The first of his line to not possess the nearly black shade of iris.
“She is,” I agreed.
“I thought the youngling had died with my son and daughter. Now I come to find out that not only is my son still alive, but so is his—”
“Adbeel, I know I fucked up.” My words silenced him for a moment. I took the chance to plead my case, however poor it was. “At first, it was completely selfish. I found out who she was, and I panicked. Pino had shown me so many moments of our lives together. He had given me something I first thought was a gift, but later realized was a curse. For months I watched her, had her followed, and dreamt of her. But I did not know how totell you when Pino was so insistent that she had to find out with you.”
At that, he sighed, sitting down in his bleached driftwood chair. He waved his hand, urging me to continue on. Nodding, I sat straighter and attempted to convey what had gone through my mind the last two years.
“When I finally had her with me, I wanted just a bit of that time he had shown me. To love her and know peace with her before I told you both the truth and faced the possibility of losing her. Then, when I took her to the Royal City, you were gone. Haven was attacked the next day, and she became obsessed with earning her right at happiness. It was as if she could not pause for even a moment. I think she feared speaking to you and discovering what I was keeping from her would somehow be self-serving. That if she thought of herself for once then she would no longer deserve whatever joy might come of it.”
Adbeel seemed to straighten up at that. As if the sound of who Asher truly was to her core intrigued him. Perhaps it did. She was what a queen ought to be.
“Still, you deserved more than that. I should have pushed her. I should have, for once, chosen something other than my own wants. I should have done better. There is no way to take it back, but I will bring her home to us. That I can promise.” My words were determined, fierce even. Yet, Adbeel did not seem settled by them. Did he not believe me? Did he not think me good enough for his blood? He knew who I was. What a monster I could become.
“No, Bellamy. I will be getting my granddaughter. The Capital shall burn. If that bitch queen does not surrender her, then she will watch her entire realm turn to dust. It is as simple as that. They want a war, I will give them one.” He stood then, moving to grab the sword that hung on his wall. A trophy of past battles. A memory of another life.
I thought of the note I had received from Henry earlier. Of how important it was to not make hasty moves, no matter how much it pained me. But I would not ignore another Oracle’s orders.
“We have a plan. An Oracle lives once more. She grew up with Asher, and she has implored us not to move just yet. Asher’s safety and the future of our world hang in the balance.” So ominous was my tone that Adbeel whipped around, staring at me with wide eyes that seemed to water as I spoke. “She says we are to wait a few weeks.”
“Are you truly asking me to once again leave my granddaughter in the hands of sycophants? Tyrants?” I merely stared at him, trying to plead with my eyes. Not only for his agreement, but for his undeserved forgiveness as well. “You have one month. After that I will get my granddaughter, the future be damned.”
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