Page 63 of To Ashes and Dust
Hurt flashed across her face before her brows furrowed, her anger hot over my skin, and she bristled. “Even if I did talk, I doubt it’d be enough. I swear, the way you act, it almost seems like you want to be alone the rest of your life. It’s people like you who end up alone in their final moments—” Her words fell short the moment they left her lips. Pain danced in his steel eyes as they widened. She hesitated a moment, the silence hanging between them so potent. Her lips parted as if to say something, her hand lifting, but she retracted, and shoved past him, storming for the door.
I stood, ready to follow her, but Vincent lifted his hand, and I paused. He sighed, rising from his stool before getting off the phone. “I’ll go talk to her.”
Barrett’s gaze followed Thalia as she shoved through the doorway, Vincent hot on her heels. My heart dipped at the regret and anguish in those steel eyes.
His shoulders sagged, and he rested his elbows on the counter. His eyes burned into the bartop as he hung his head. “Sorry you had to see that, Cas.”
God, he’d called me by my name. Despite the annoyance I felt when he called me spitfire, it felt oddly weird for him to call me Cas. This was so unlike him. I’d never seen him so worked up like this. What had happened to his sister?
“What’s going on with you two?” I asked, trying to be as gentle as possible as I slid onto the stool beside him. “Every time I think you’re gaining ground and getting closer, something happens.”
“Noticed that, did you?” He groaned before taking a sip of his drink.
The sarcasm in his tone made me wince. “We all have.”
“It’s just...” He sighed. “It’s hard.”
“Why? She likes you Barrett, and it looks like you like her too. I think you guys could be good for each other, if you’d just stop putting your foot in your mouth. Are you trying to push her awa—” I clamped my mouth shut. When had I become so comfortable with Barrett that I felt I could talk to him like this? “Oh my God... I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I shouldn’t be butting in. Forget I said anything.” I pushed off the barstool to leave him alone, but he grabbed my arm, stopping me.
“Don’t. You’re fine, spitfire.”
A strange relief washed over me to hear him say the name, and a grin forced the corner of my lips to curve. “You’re never going to stop calling me that, are you?”
He shook his head, that cocky grin returning, and I’d never felt more relieved to see him smile.
“So, what’s going on with you guys?” I asked, resting my elbows on the bar as I settled back onto the barstool. “If you don’t mind me asking, that is.”
“It’s... complicated.”
I fidgeted in my seat. “If you don’t want to talk about it... or your sister, I won’t push you. I just want you to know I’m here if you need.”
“What happened to Cali... I—” His eyes flickered, and a flash of hot anger washed over my skin before icy claws of sorrow replaced the heat. .
What happened to Cali... My heart lurched at the unspoken meaning behind those words, and the laws that seemed to somehow play into it.
“We don’t have to talk about it, Barrett. If you’re not ready, it’s ok.”
He drew a deep breath and took another drink.
God, I shouldn’t pry, but I wanted to help him talk about something,anything. I wanted to help him at least work through the issues with Thalia, even if just a little, but I barely understood or knew what was happening between them.
“I heard Thalia... I heard she was mated before.”
“She was.” For a brief moment, he almost seemed relieved to change the subject, but it was short-lived. His steel eyes dulled with a sadness I’d never seen before. “He was a friend of mine.”
Was. Damien had clarified as much. Thaliawasmated, but what happened? She never spoke of him, and Damien had said it wasn’t his story to share.
Barrett went on, fidgeting with the empty glass in his hand, the glow of the nearby neon light catching the rings decorating his fingers. “His name was Micah. I met him around the same time I met Thalia when I joined The Order. They were already a thing when I met them. You would’ve liked him; he was a male you could always count on.” A soft laugh slipped from his lips as his eyes grew distant. “Thalia regularly scolded us for getting into trouble together. Constantly told me I was a bad influence.”
He took a deep breath, the empty glass ringing as he set it on the bar. “I can’t tell you how many times she kept me from getting kicked out of The Order. I didn’t always have Damien to get me out of trouble.” His eyes shifted to me. “I actually knew you before I knew him.”
I remained silent, absorbing everything he told me. He’d known me. I wondered which one, surely not Moira. I didn’t think he was as old as Damien. Maybe Elena or Lucia? Had he fought in the Fall of Kingdoms? My mind pooled with so many questions.
It was difficult to resist the urge to reach out to him, to see Thalia when she was younger, to see the man who she’d been mated to, but it was a boundary I wouldn’t cross.
“They were mated when they completed their training and took their vows as warriors. They weren’tmateslike you and Damien are, but they were happy.”
My brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”
