Page 51 of A Queen Of Broken Realms
We leave through the cauldron in the basement, theShub Lugalsoldier who was our driver following after us, and once safely back in the Shadow Realm we shut that corridor and leave it under guard. We check on the status of the realm with one of the soldiers, and when Ashen is satisfied that all is still safe, we walk in silence to House Urbigu where the corridor to Cairo awaits. When we take it, we arrive at the Reaper house in the suburbs of the city, the memories of this courtyard flooding back to me from months ago. The mosaic fountain still trickles, the scent of limestone dust and cooking spices still perfumes the air. Ashen smiles as he takes my hand and we walk toward the house, and I think he must be remembering that time too. It seems simpler, even though it wasn’t all that long ago. It’s a funny trick of memory, because fighting both love and loneliness wasn’t any easier than fighting an elusive enemy with my new husband at my side.
We walk through the house and into the garage, pulling the canvas from the two Triumph Scramblers and rolling our motorcycles into the afternoon sun. I follow Ashen through the busy streets as we drive into the heart of the city, to Khan el-Khalili market, parking at the same cafe as we did the last time we came. I pull my helmet off, remembering how Ashen grasped my handlebars, how the lights of the cafe and the passing cars illuminated his pained, almost desperate expression. I remember the feeling of his hand on my cheek, and my fingers trace my skin as I hear his words echo from memory.
If you’re trapped in the Realm of Light, I will still find you.
And just as he promised, he did.
My hand falls away and Ashen is watching me. He reaches out to catch my fingers and gives them a kiss. “Come, my sentimental vampire,” he says as my cheeks heat with a blush. His warm smile grows wicked. “Let’s get the old man and go home so we can make love and figure out our next moves with these stones.”
“Oh, you’ve got it all figured out, don’t you,” I say as I twine my fingers with Ashen’s and we start walking.
“Of course I do. Planning is a large part of the role when you’re Master of War.”
I snort a laugh as Ashen takes my helmet with his free hand. “I don’t know if planning sex breaks counts.”
“The job description leaves much room for interpretation.”
“I dunno. I think I might need to talk to HR. You’ve been pulling jaws out of faces, taking eyeballs… I’m not sure that would reflect well on your performance review.”
Ashen scoffs. “You know I…perform. Do I not exceed expectations?”
“I’m not sure, I haven’t seen this job description of yours. If it includes being broody and ragey, glaring at friends, threatening angels, and outbursts with swords, I’d say you’re killing it. Pun fully intended.”
“You know me, vampire,” he says, nuzzling just below my ear as I lean into him. Gooseflesh erupts across my neck and prickles down the backs of my arms. “I aim to please.”
I laugh as we draw near to the entrance of Mr. Hassan’s building. “You do, don’t you. Maybe you deserve a raise. Maybe a new title.”
“Such as?”
“I dunno. Maybe King?”
I watch as Ashen’s playful expression turns serious, his lips setting into a grim line. He takes my hand once more as we enter the building and start up the winding staircase, the door drifting shut behind us to muffle the sounds of the market outside. “I am more effective as your consort. Some things the Shadow Realm demands are not pretty or pleasant, but they still need to be done, and I can do them. But aking, that is not me. I’m not ready.”
I pull Ashen to a stop on a landing, scrutinizing the worried crease crinkling his brow. The invisible thread between us seems to pull tight with his anxiety, scratching at my mark as it tugs. “You don’t want to have an equal say?”
“No. I don’t. I don’t deserve one.” I open my mouth to argue, but Ashen’s hand leaves mine to caress my cheek. I wrap my fingers around his wrist and lean into his palm, watching as his gaze shifts across my face. “I can be the darkness to your light. I belong where I am.”
“I’m not that light,” I say with an eye roll. “I fed someone to a snake just because she was a crusty bitch.”
A breath of a laugh escapes from Ashen, his scent flooding my skin. “To be fair, you didn’t know she couldn’t come back.”
“Still. No guarantees I wouldn’t do it again.”
Ashen smiles and presses a kiss to my lips before taking my hand once more. “I know you. You wouldn’t.”
“Ye of too much faith, demon. Those are probably words never spoken before in this realm, by the way. If you’re not—”
I cut myself off, the words dying on my tongue in a flood of venom. I take in a breath to be sure, but it’s not my imagination. I know it.
It’s blood.
CHAPTER19
Ilook down at my feet. There’s a tiny drop on the next stair up, another two on the step after that.
Ediye.
Panic surges through the chambers of my heart as we rush up the stairs. We reach the landing of Mr. Hassan’s where his apartment takes up the whole floor. The door is ajar. Ashen pushes it open with his elbow, the motorcycle helmet still clutched in his hand like a club, his dagger in the other.
