Page 125 of Of Realms and Chaos

“You said nothing about riding a dragon,” I accused, shooting her a playful glare. Ranbir patted her hand, waving goodbye to everyone as he turned. A part of me wanted to stop him, but I knew how I felt when I did not know if Asher was alive. Knowing she was gone forever would crush me. He deserved the space to mourn, no matter how long it took.

Asher threaded her hand in mine, the other firmly locked in Farai’s. There was a deep sense of relief on his face as he looked down at his best friend, the gratitude of seeing her alive beside him lifting his shoulders when they had hunched for so many weeks.

“Well, I was just explaining to everyone that I not only met the God of Death and Creation, a truly psychotic male by the way, but that I also got to meet and ride a dragon. Two actually. I am surprised you all believe me. It sounds ludicrous when I hear it spoken out loud.”

“Seeing as a talking cat follows you around and you can literally kill people with your mind, I think you attract ludicrous things,” Noe countered, giggling when Asher’s face scrunched in thought.

Sounds of sparring grew louder, Damon’s shouted instructions echoing off the mountainsides. Lian groaned, waving bye to us without saying a word. I turned to see her approaching a group of mortals from Heratt, only one of them accomplishing the set of stances that Damon was ordering them to do.

“Well, that is our cue to get to work. Noe, I need you with the mortals from Gandry. Farai, go ahead and take over for Cyprus. He is with the soldiers from Behman.” They both nodded, each placing a kiss on Asher’s cheek before they left. She watched Farai with a contemplative gaze, her hand tightening in mine.

“You did not find Jasper.” Her whispered comment was expected, but not easy. There was a blankness to her tone that made me fear for whatever was running through her mind. As strong as she was, no one could withstand the blame of every horrible thing in the world, not even her.

“We will. Plans are being set in place to retrieve both Jasper and Nicola. Farai was under the impression that Nicola would be able to find both you and Jasper—though you seemed to have found us first. Still, we will get them here safely, Asher.” Each word was slightly less sure, almost strained. Lying to her was like swallowing acid, especially when I still felt Luca’s cold skin, Pino’s ripped clothes, and Winona’s bloody hair. I feared telling Asher that her friends would be safe when I knew how easily friends were lost forever.

“They would all be safe if I had stayed home,” she muttered, an indignant tone to her voice. Every time I saw her, Asher seemed to grow angrier, like she was collecting her broken pieces and slowly burying every soft and vulnerable one beneath them. But without all of those shards of herself, she would never be whole again. I wish she understood that.

“Asher,” I said, turning to place both of my hands on her cheeks and forcing her to look at me. She sighed before letting those beautiful gray eyes land on mine. “I am proud and thankful, just as so many others are. You have already changed the tide of this war. You might blame yourself, but I was the one who took you, not the other way around. Selfishly, I wanted you. Because the mere sight of you makes my heart stop.”

“Apparently, I make many hearts stop.” It was a mumbled sentence, her eyes darting in the direction Ranbir had left.

I wanted to shake her, to explain how important she was, to remind her that she was the savior in this tale. “I see you, all of you, and I am not afraid. You are my magnificent storm of a creature, and no matter what, it has always been you.” It was all I could think to say, and I hated that it was not more.

“You mean since Pino showed you our future, which you refuse to tell me anything about,” she corrected, a small smile lifting her lips. I returned hers tenfold, mine lifting my cheeks and making my chest ache. Gods, she was everything.

“A part of me thought I would never deserve to be loved, but I think, even then, I knew my equal was out there—that you were out there. You are the beginning and the end and every moment in between, Princess. You are mine.” My lips met hers, likely drawing the attention of those training. But I did not care. Let them see. Let them talk. Soon, Asher would be on that obsidian throne and they would bow. We all would.

“Equal is pushing it, but I love your ambition,” she murmured against my lips.

I chuckled, pulling away slightly. Her face was flushed, those full lips swollen from the hours spent against mine. I had done exceptionally well braiding her hair, which was another thing I had Winona to thank for. Realizing Asher would be mine one day had been overwhelming at first, but when I finally saw her, I knew that I had a lot to learn. Hair alone took months to perfect.

Shrugging, I leaned down until my lips were nearly touching her ear. “You are right. I could kick your ass in a fight.”

“Oh, please!” she shouted, pushing against my chest.

I stumbled back, unsure of when she had gotten quite so strong. At least I knew that Henry had been telling the truth about maintaining her daily training schedule.

“How about we get into the sparring circle and see?” Reaching forward, I quickly flicked her nose, earning a soft huff of wonderful annoyance.

“Fine.” Tossing her braid over her shoulder, Asher strutted over to the nearest free ring. I followed, my eyes honed in on her swaying hips and a smirk lifting my left cheek.

Though she put up a valiant fight, I did, in fact, kick Asher’s ass.

***

“You guys are more than capable of being without me for a month, and you act as if I cannot simply portal to you in a moment’s notice.” Damon scoffed at my words, sitting back against his seat. To my left, taking the head of the table, was Asher. She was studying the new model of Alemthian with an innocent and desperate sense of wonder. The war council members did not see it as endearing like I did. Every move she made was calculated in their eyes. They thought me a fool in love, bewitched. I could practically feel it.

Killing Finnick had been a mistake, I understood that. Not only from the numerous times Adbeel scolded me on the fact, but also because it made me seem unstable and obsessed—which I was, but the truth did not always set one free.

I could not bring myself to regret it though, especially earlier when Asher had come up behind me as I was painting. Her arms had wrapped around my neck, hands draped lazily down my chest. In my ear, she had whispered filthy things about the last time she had watched me paint, and all I could do was picture a future in which we always had that peace. A future Finnick would have stolen if given the chance.

“You are our crown prince and our general who has already taken weeks off. Gallivanting around the Mortal Realm with your stolen whore is not among your chief responsibilities!” Elrial was not one to mince his words, even if said female was currently staring at him like she wanted to roast him on a spit. Gods damn me, I wanted her to. She was smart when it came to politics, though, and more than capable of handling herself. Having as much confidence in her as I did was soothing, and I found myself placing my hands behind my head and leaning back, preparing for the show.

“Well, as the residential whore to your oh-so-glorious general, I would like to point out that there is something to be said for how incredibly moronic you must be to need a babysitter a quarter of your age. Truly, are you so incapable that you wish for your prince to lose the chance at crafting an alliance simply so you do not have to—what—breathe without him present?”

Marjorie snorted from Elrial’s side, her head nodding in approval. She looked to Rakon beside her, who was drawing on a piece of paper. My newest captain was always quick to lose focus, and I watched as Vala nudged him to attention. Lian was to my right, Damon between her and Henry. My other four captains—Ilslad, Jerrinte, Quinn, and Kyrie—were all present, too. As were Nrista and Onyx, the other half of the remaining war council members. It was a large group, but still, silence hung heavy in the air, the unspoken words swinging before us like a noose.

It was Nrista who spoke first, my war council members determined to all suffer a slow and painful death. “You do not belong here, Princess Asher.”

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