Page 46 of Broken Arranged Mate
I swallow it down and force a smile. “Sorry,” I repeat, and then, before Dorian can say anything else, I add, “Where is she?”
“Through here,” Kira says, appearing with her arms wrapped around herself. Her eyes are rimmed with red, her red-blonde hair wild and curly around her face. I’ve seen this woman after birthing twins and triplets, and she’s never looked this haggard before. It makes my stomach flip. “In her bedroom.”
I’ve only been into Beth’s bedroom a few times, and I note how Oren hangs back in the living room with Dorian, letting me go ahead. I’m still furious with him, but my body also longs for his, hands twitching at my sides and begging me to reach out for him, to create that connection of skin to skin.
If Oren took me in his arms right now, it might help to assuage the panic and fear.
Kira and I walk into the bedroom together, and the sight I see makes my throat tight. Beth is in bed, the covers pulled up under her chin, and even from here, I can see how frail she is. The last time I saw her, she was too thin—I know that. But I was so busy with everything else—Oren, the wedding, all that visiting—that I wasn’t checking on her. I wasn’t paying attention to her.
The room is dark, still, and smells like patchouli and rose. A mug of tea steams on the nightstand beside her. Without a word, Kira turns and leaves, shutting the door behind her.
“Beth,” I breathe, practically falling to my knees at her bedside. I take her hand in mine, and she squeezes, her skin soft and thin, her fingers much bonier than I remember.
“Ash,” she says, and my name comes out like an exhalation, like this is what she’s been waiting for. She lets her eyes flutter shut, a gentle smile curling over her lips. “Oh, I’m so glad you could come, honey. But then, I knew it would work out like that, didn’t I?”
“What is goingon, Beth?”
She opens her eyes, cutting them to me with what’s almost a mischievous grin. “Well, honestly, love, I’ve known about this for a while. I go around touching my own things constantly—with my gift, it was bound to happen that I would find out my death day.”
Another sob catches in my throat, and I tighten my hold on her hand. “I’m so…furiouswith you right now. How could you not tell me?”
She laughs, “Leave it to you to be honest, Ash. Well, you have your own life. And it’s important that you live it.”
“I’m sure you know my life isn’t exactly peachy right now.”
“The not-peachy times are the ones that make us, dear.”
I bite my tongue against the swell of tears in my eyes. “Beth, are you really…”
“It will be tonight,” Beth nods, clearing her throat and sitting up a bit, pushing that frizzy white hair away from her face and meeting my eyes. “I’ve been sick for a long time. I’ve come to terms with it. And now that you’re here, everything is settled.”
“Now that I’m here?”
“Yes,” she breathes, squeezing my hand and fixing her gaze on me again. Without her glasses, her eyes are smaller, less other-worldly. She’s not even gone yet, and I’m already starting to miss her. “I love you like a daughter, Ash. A daughter I never had. Take this one piece of advice from me—if you would like to have your own children, don’t wait. You can figure things out as you go, but if you wait like I did, you might end up having to adopt quite a few.”
“I would be honored to live my life like you did,” I breathe.
She laughs again, stops to cough, then continues, “Look to the other women for guidance when you need it. Continue to be brave for me.”
“As much as I can, I will.”
For a long moment, I think that’s all she’s going to say. I think that she’s going to leave me, just like that. But then, she takes in another breath and speaks, a bit shakily.
“Tomorrow morning,” she rasps, holding my gaze, “you are going to wake up with my gift.”
Chapter 27 - Oren
Ash cries quietly the entire way home.
The landscape flies by on either side of us, the cacti and sand barely visible tonight. There’s almost no moon in sight, only the tiniest sliver in the sky.
That means the new moon is coming in a few days.
As I drive, my thoughts alternate between the woman in the seat beside me and the never-ending list of things I have to get done.
I think of the dark market—something of a farmer’s market for illegal substances and illicit trading. For decades, it’s taken place on Grayhide lands, and we’ve been working hard to break it up, identity the leaders, and make sure it either dissolves or moves out of our territory.
Above us, the stars dim to pinpricks, so my headlights cut through the dark in stark contrast with the inky black. We’re the only car on the road tonight, and I sweep my gaze back and forth, keeping a watchful eye out for the highway bandits Dorian said have been camping out in the sparser areas between our lands. Yet another thing that we have to deal with.
