Page 148 of Of Realms and Chaos

“I love you, Bellamy.”

Now, go. Take them all and go.

With a final scream of rage, The Elemental, the heir of Eoforhild, General Ayad, the lost fae prince…the love of my life portaled to Jasper, the two disappearing a moment later.

I gasped when Malcolm’s hand landed on my shoulder, his other gripping the log still protruding from my stomach. “This is going to hurt, pretty thing.”

Chapter Forty-Nine

Stassi

He was on edge.

Well, he was always on edge, but there was something particularly unsettling about it today. His hair was disheveled, like he’d been restlessly running his hands through it. Worse, he was pacing.

“I found her.”

He stopped mid-step, his body stiffening. Because it was quite clear I didn’t have her. Turning away from me, he faced the painting, eyeing it with what I could only assume was longing.

“Yet you didn’t bring her to me.” There it was, the disappointment in his scolding tone. If I didn’t love him like family, if he wasn’t all I had, I would surely rip his heart out.

Sol would have. She was always quick to put him in his place. And perhaps little sister would have, too. Though she’d been more tame in her desire to steady him. Until her mind drifted elsewhere, that was.

Oh, how I missed them. Desperately so.

“She didn’t want to come, so I didn’t force her.” Making my way to his side, I hoped to better understand his desire for her, his need to have her. Beyond obsession, I feared there was no reason. His gaze remained fixed on the art, unable to look away.

“Yet you endangered her by siccing one of my creatures on her.” His tone was curt, body tensing as he attempted to calm his fury. Refusing to apologize, I lifted my chin and squared my shoulders. I had nothing to be sorry for. Not when I did what needed to be done. Huffing, he continued, “No matter, soon she’ll be at my side. I still can’t leave with how precarious things are, so I need you to go get her and bring her home.”

Finally, he faced me, those violet eyes alight with desperation. I’d seen them like that before, and I had lost one of my best friends because of it.

“Those sycophants want her too, and they have one of Asta’s descendants helping them.” They would be a problem. Just based on her bloodied and bruised appearance earlier, I knew it to be true. If they got their hands on her, it would be much easier to convince her to follow me, though. Something to consider.

“Disgusting. I still can’t believe she sullied herself.” Crossing his arms, he scowled at the space to my left, clearly thinking of his lost love. The one who, in the end, didn’t choose him. Bitterness like his festered until it killed, and I wondered silently if he would be able to revive himself after it did.

“Is it any different than what you’re doing?”

Than what I want to do with my creature?

“Yes. Asher’s different. She’s…special.” That so-called specialness was why she was in danger, why so many wished to steal pieces of her. Something as remarkable as her magic would leave her shredded and broken, a mess of scraps. Being coveted would do that to someone.

“I don’t think she wants to be here, Padon.” I sighed into the words, slouching by his side. I held no love for the bratty mortal princess, but I also knew what it was like to watch someone slowly rot after dying from the suffocation of the emperor’s love. Seeing that again wasn’t something I desired.

“Go back and get her. We can keep her safe here. Likho misses her, and he has declared her his. They will bond, and then she can play piano and read and rule. She’ll be happy, Anastasia.”

We remained silent for a few minutes, staring up at the painting of Asher that sat above his bed. She was quite beautiful, but nothing extraordinary. Nothing like Asta had been.

“She’ll choose me. We were meant for each other.” This time, both hands went to his head, tousling his hair and rubbing at his face. Oh yes, fate so clearly was on their side.

“And if she doesn’t?”

“She will.”

“And if The Elemental doesn’t let her?” Questions like that weren’t meant to be spoken out loud, and I felt the way it racked through his body, the rage that followed strong enough to shake the ground beneath our feet. Somewhere beyond these walls, things were surely dying.

“Then I’ll burn their entire miserable world to the ground! I don’t know what Char was thinking when he and Sol left, but Stella breathed magic into those filthy creatures for him. For his memory. It all began with his insatiable curiosity. I won’t make the same mistakes they did. I won’t allow my Asher to make the same mistakes they did.”

“I hope your pitch for her is better than that because you sound crazy.” Despite myself, I laughed openly, trying to combat the sorrow that the thought of Stella and her family brought me.

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