Page 89 of All the Chaos of Constellations
Wrath consumed him. A wave of uncontrollable violence slammed into him, spurred by her refusal to listen to him. To believe him. To trust him. He whipped away from her, blind with fury, and stalked toward the edge of the faerie pool. Releasing a shout of frustration, his fist collided with the boulder nearest him, crushing the stone to dust beneath the might of his anger.
Novalise gasped, and he spun back to face her, raking a hand through his hair. His chest heaved as she clamped one hand over her mouth, her eyes suddenly wide with fear. With understanding.
“My mother was right,” she whispered hoarsely, flinching as he turned around to face her. “You are exactly like your father.”
The hollowness of her words hung in the air between them.
There was a distance between them now, a gaping chasm carved by her anger, by the truth of her sentiment. His heart splintered, the pieces of it falling at her feet. He’d been a fool to give it away to her.
He grabbed his shirt from one of the smaller river stones and tossed it over his shoulder.
“Asher, wait.” Novalise’s voice cracked, and the bond wavered, shuddering. “I’m so?—”
“Just go,” he said quietly.
She froze. Silent tears spilled down her cheeks, twinkling like diamonds in the moonlight.
“Ash.”
Her voice nearly broke him.
“I stayed away from you because I feared heartbreak. I was certain, with every fiber of my being, that I would be the one to hurt you, and I knew that if I did, I would never be able to live with myself.” He forced himself to meet her tearstained face. “Not once did I ever consider that it would be you who hurt me.”
A strangled sob escaped her, but he stepped back, the space between them growing cold and empty.
“Do not follow me, Lady Novalise. Go and marry the shadow prince, go and do exactly what’s expected of you.” Asher fisted his hands, his nails biting into the flesh of his palms hard enough to draw blood. “And while you’re saying your vows and swearing your fidelity to an assassin, I will ensure Queen Elowyn breaks the bond between us.”
Exactly as he should’ve done so many moons ago.
Novalise’s sobs carved out the remnants of his soul.
Asher turned then and walked away from her, rejecting her for the final time. His magic raged, the bond cracked, sending a crushing ache of despair through him. The pain was unlike anything he’d ever known. But no amount of punishment would ever be enough to make him forget the severity of the wounds left behind by Novalise’s words.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-FIVE
Novalise dropped onto the damp grass, broken. She hugged her knees into her chest as the tears continued to fall. Beside her, the flames from Asher’s fire dwindled, then snuffed out completely. Tendrils of smoke curled into the air, vanishing on the summer breeze.
What had she done?
She’d been furious with him for the claims he made against her mother, even more angry with herself for denying the fact that what he said seemed to hold a sliver of truth. But her emotions had gotten the best of her, and she’d unleashed all that pent up bitterness on him. Then she’d spat out the one thing she knew would hurt him the most. It was a malicious and cruel act, when in fact, she was more furious with herself.
For years she’d held onto the resentment, she’d tolerated it while people spoke about her like she wasn’t standing in the room with them. In silence she’d suffered the condescension, she’d allowed every decision to be made for her, she’d followed the rules, and she’d kept her opinions to herself.
Now she wanted control of her life. She wanted to take it all back and prove her own worth. There was more to her than a pretty face, and she was more than perfect marriage material. She was powerful, full of an ancient magic that had once disappeared from her bloodline. Unfortunately, the one who believed in her, the one who convinced her she could defy the stars and rewrite her destiny, had just abandoned her.
And while you’re saying your vows and swearing your fidelity to an assassin, I will ensure Queen Elowyn breaks the bond between us.
Novalise gasped as another strangled sob broke from some shattered piece inside her.
She’d hurt Asher. Severely.
When he walked away, the bond jerked so violently she thought for certain it would snap in half. The pain that followed was intolerable, scouring through her with a vengeance, scorching her from the inside out. Her knees gave out, shoving her to the ground in despair.
They would never recover from this, not after what she said to him.
She’d been heartless. Cruel and unjust.
The look in his eyes when he left her, the way the warmth in his eyes went cold, would haunt her forever.
