Page 134 of Of Realms and Chaos

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When our eyes were heavy and our bodies sore, I held her tightly within my arms, breathing her in and basking in the feel of her skin against mine. I found myself humming a tune, playing with the long strands of her hair. Oddly enough, it left me with the realization that Ash still did not have a birthday.

“Have you ever heard of a birthday?” I asked her, knowing the answer before she even spoke it. Her eyes fluttered open, head tilting back to look up at me. My fingers continued to massage her scalp, wishing I could exist in this moment forever.

“A birth day? Is it a day when many are born?” She rested her chin on my chest, those gray irises alight with curiosity. I smiled down at her, placing a quick kiss to her nose.

“Sort of. A birthday is one day each year when you celebrate your birth. In Eoforhild, demons remember which day they were born and throw parties and get gifts annually. It is a tradition of sorts.”

A look of disbelief pinched her face, her lips turning down in a frown. “That seems horribly self-centered.”

Laughing at her take, I recalled Lian and Ranbir’s initial reaction to the idea of birthdays as well. They had not understood it either, but now we celebrated their chosen birthdays each year, and they eagerly counted down the days to them.

“Believe it or not, the day you were born is worth celebrating. Maybe you could pick a day? That is what Ranbir and Lian did. Me too, when I was old enough for Adbeel to explain it to me.” She was silent for a few minutes, the only sound around us our synched breathing. When she did speak, there was an unexplained air of awe to her voice.

“When is Star Festival?” she asked, backing away to fully look at me. I furrowed my brow, trying to recall what day it was.

“Actually, it is in two days if my mental calendar is correct. I am surprised you even know what that is seeing as it is a holiday of the gods. Why do you ask?”

With a dazzling smile, Asher sat up and kissed my cheek. “If I am going to be selfish, then I think I better go all out.”

***

The next morning, amidst planning and preparations, I offered the couple across the way an apology along with a bag full of gold coins. Asher had giggled as she listened to their thoughts of bewilderment when I went to their door to explain and then gasped in surprise when they fell to their knees upon realizing who she was. While we worked on celebrating both Asher’s birthday and Star Festival, I realized just how important she had become to the world, and I smiled at the thought.

Chapter Forty-Three

Asher

Bellamy was being ridiculous, and Noe was not helping.

The two of them were acting as if this celebration needed to be life-changing. They both were running around, yelling as they put up decorations and ordered around soldiers like slaves. Of course, Lian was having the time of her life making fun of me as I internally panicked.

“You know, they probably think you are forcing them to celebrate you,” she whispered into my ear as we stood watching Noe berate a young demon recruit for misplacing a chair. Her golden brown hair had been tied in a knot atop her head, and she wore a loose teal dress that highlighted her tan skin perfectly. Despite that beauty, she was utterly horrifying to watch.

“Shut up, Lian. You know I did not want all of this.” I shoved into her side, which only further lifted the corners of her mouth, the smile crinkling her almond eyes. It was unsettling to see.

“Ah, but they do not. I wonder how much they loathe you right now.” With that, she shrugged, winked, and walked away. My hands formed fists, nails digging into my palms. From my anger, I found my magic slinking into her mind and breaking through her flimsy wall of air.

Trip.

And then she fell, her hands and knees smacking into the ground. Eyes wide, I lifted my hand to my mouth in surprise, baffled at my own audacity. Lian turned, glaring at me and flashing me her middle finger before standing. A mortal man chuckled, and before I knew it, he flew backwards from a particularly violent gust of wind. We all watched her stomp off, and I knew that someone would surely pay for what I had done in the form of a brutal training session.

“Every day you remind me why I love you so much, little brat.” Henry’s arm wrapped around my shoulders, his body leaning into mine enough to nearly make me stumble. Damon pushed against my other side, scoffing at Henry, his effervescent silver hair making Henry’s appear particularly orange.

“You almost knocked her over.” His voice was scolding as he stepped away from me, that quiet and casual presence somehow taking on an air of authority. Henry did not seem to care as he rolled his eyes Damon’s way.

“Yeah, you almost knocked me over!” Shoving back at him, I groaned when he did not so much as lose his balance. Stupid little carrot.

“Oh, please. You are fine, and you just tripped poor Lian.” With a wave of his hand in Lian’s direction, I was put in my place. He had me there.

“Touche,” I admitted, slumping under his weight. When his hand came up to ruffle my hair, I swatted at him and stepped further into Damon, who barely backed up in time to not be run over.

“By the way, I wanted to warn you that my mother is here and eager to meet you. Which spells doom for Alemthian because if the two of you end up liking each other, then I suspect world domination will not be far away.” Scoffing at the mere thought of such a thing, he glared down into my eyes, preemptively loathing me for whatever crimes future Asher would supposedly commit under his mother’s guidance.

“Why me? What do I even say?” Nerves found their way into my already unsteady mind, leaving me a disheveled, slightly sweaty mess as I stood beside them. She was going to hate my guts.

“Seeing as you are probably going to be her queen one day, I imagine she wants to measure you up. She appreciates a strong and independent female. That, and she quite enjoys parties.” With that, he lightly smacked my cheek and walked away, heading for Bellamy. I glared, eager for whatever argument would likely stem from him bothering the prince. With everything he just dumped on me, knowing I was already stressed out and guilt-ridden, I hoped Bellamy put him on his ass.

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