Page 53 of Crown of Ashes

“No, but I think I’ll start.”Her head swings as she scans the space around us.“Where are all the people?”

“Hiding. A Never Cat is strolling through the streets,” I tease. Luri snarls, and my face falls blank. “Jeesh. Fine. No jokes. They’re below the castle.”

A gong-like sound rattles the world around us. Luri spreads her feet out, arching her hand around me to keep us upright. My eyes dart toward the rounded dome above us, scanning over the translucent barrier to find streaks of color in pinks and blues shooting from the origin. Something is hitting it, and I really fucking hope it’s our army asking to come inside and not the enemy, ready to pillage the castle.

The sound comes again, then again, as if they’re knocking… because that’s not creepy at all.

“Get on. Let’s go greet our visitor.”

“I’d rather not…” I say, worrying my bottom lip. Her lips roll back until a guttural growl rumbles in her throat. Goosebumps pepper my flesh, and the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck raise. “Going!”

She bows down, allowing me to swing onto her back with ease. No sooner do my hands weave into her blood-soaked fur, she leaps and bounds off toward where the streaks shoot up from. The cobblestone streets are vacant and the shops are all boarded up tight. It’s a cute and quaint little village, especially for being in Hell.

We weave through street after street, working our way toward the town line where the cobblestone paths end and a lush green field begins. The paved roads turn to dirt trails, carved by horses’ hooves over time. Until finally, we spot the edge of the boundary.

Luri slows as we take in a group of twelve or so men. Most of them are in the High King’s colors. A crimson red, and striking silver. While others wear casual clothes, as if the High King pulled them off the streets, but ultimately it’s who is leading the pack that has my head screeching to a stop and my hackles up.The man I just killed,or so I thought.

His hands are pressed against the barrier, fingertips splayed wide as he peers through it, spotting us with a crooked grin slathered across his face. I’d give anything to smack it off him, but these waters should be tread carefully. He’s capable of dropping the boundary, which is the only thing protecting us from the war outside our door.

“Stall. Stall as long as you can.”Luri steps closer to the threat, carefully placing her feet as if we’re meandering through a minefield.“We have to buy time until the men return. If they get in, so can the High King and there’s no one left here who can fight. All the men are with—”

“I fucking know, Luri,” I seethe through my gritted teeth.

Thrusting my chin up, I feign false confidence as Luri stops in front of the boundary, placing only a couple of feet and a good-for-nothing film between me and the man who almost sent me to a shallow grave.

“Fancy meeting you here.” The power in his voice echoes through me, and I let out a shaky breath, but I’m careful not to show it. His lips slant higher until that damn grin turns sinful and morphs into all pearly white teeth. It’s wolfish by nature and makes my insides seize.

My gaze roams, nearly unable to help myself from staring. The resemblance is too uncanny. It’s as if they’re carbon copies, but one has been put through a paper shredder and pieced back together with scotch tape.

His chest is gnarled with scars, but they do little to take away from the bulging muscles beneath his skin. Veins pulse and stretch into webs over his shoulders, and become more prominent in his forearms. Two more are raised below his belly button and disappear beneath the waistband of his pants. His amber eye watches me, intrigued by my curiosity, but I can feel the heat from his stare, though it never moves away from my face.

Blood stains his flesh, splattered by war. Streaks of it run down his body, nestling in the winding valleys of corded abs, contouring them. Though it’s not the carnage that screams alpha male, it’s not his honed body or sinister smirk. It’s the way power rolls off him that has me in knots, tempting me in every form of the word.

I drag my eyes back to his fast, snarling in disgust as if he’s lacking. There’s not a lick of truth to the scowl, but I’d prefer to press his buttons than admit he’s dreamy. Even with the scars and clouded eye.

“I’ve heard of this story,” I say, dismounting from Luri but not leaving her side.

“What story?” His voice is deep and mesmerizing, like a damn siren beckoning me to the rocky shoreline. Only I’m not dumb. I won’t step foot in those murky waters.

“The one where the big bad wolf threatens to huff, and puff, and blow my house down.”

He chuckles darkly, crossing his arms over his chest. “I’d say the beast is already inside.” His eyes drop from my face to Luri, who’s doing everything she can to look as if his presence doesn’t interest her. “And who might this be? I saw you riding in the clearing before…” he trails off, making an explosion gesture with his hands.

“Luri. My familiar.”

“Familiar…” Asmodeus roves his gaze over us both. The image we must make. She’s coated in blood, making chunks of her hair matt together, and I’m no better. My skin is sticky from it. “So, you’re a witch? I’ve never met a witch with power like yours before.”

“He’s curious. I can smell it on him. Keep going.”

“That would be because I’m only part witch. My father was an archangel and my mother was one of the strongest witches the world has ever seen. I’m hotheaded,” I say, letting fire ignite around one of my hands, “but Luri here, is all bite.” She rolls her lips back and snarls, the vibrato in her growl so low it makes my heartbeat pick up and sends a thrill down my spine. “So, what can I do for you?”

“You fought well… just not well enough.” Asmodeus lifts his gaze back to my face. His fingers dance across the barrier, feeling…Testing. It’s like he can see the layers of the spell and is searching for a loose thread that will unravel it.

Only I know better. This is a ploy…I think.Witches are the only creatures who can pluck threads on spells–to make them better or tear them at the seams. I know his lineage, and Kai can’t see magic like that. Asmodeus won’t be any different, since they share the same parents.

“What is he doing?”Luri asks, shifting in place. I don’t answer her. I’d rather not reveal my uncertainty to the public. Choosing to instead run my hand over her shoulder, I soothe her nerves until a purr explodes from her throat.

“Who all is left inside the keep?” Asmodeus furrows his brow as he speaks, then his hand stops ghosting the boundary and his pupils flare wide.He found the thread.

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