Page 11 of Ashes of Honor

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I should’ve?—”

“What are you talking about?” I questioned, her dilated pupils and wide eyes raising my level of concern. The situation was bad, but finding one person was no cause for panic.

“The cavalry … those motherfuckers. I need a meeting.” She took off ahead of me, kicking up dust.

I caught up, wrapping a firm grip around her wrist and pulling her to a stop. We needed to keep a level head. Irrationality would be damning. “With who?”

“Ronan.”

“What good is that gonna do?” I scoffed. There wasn’t much we didn’t agree on these days. She took a step back at my hesitancy, hurt crossing over her exhausted features. “He’s not going to tell you shit.”

“This … this isexactlywhat I was afraid of,” she cursed herself. “Why I wanted to keep Seth’s betrayal a secret. The reason I didn’t give him the opportunity to cause chaos here.”

I let her speak. Let her voice her frustrations for a brief moment before I put them to rest. Seth was the only one to blame for his actions. Everyone else was collateral damage in the fallout of his shit. They could only respond to his fuckery, not prevent it.

“I didn’t think … I forgot he could?—”

“This isn’t on you.” I interrupted, unable to stop myself.

“No. But his reaction to the accusation will clue me in on enough. I need to know what we’re working with, and he needsto believe that he’s knocked me down to the point I can’t get back up.”

I sighed, knowing there was no stopping her. My only option was to follow her to hell and back. “Whatever you’re thinking about doing is a bad idea.”

“Yeah.” She shrugged, used to running with her bad ideas and coming out victorious. “But if we don’t know how many eyes are on us, then anything we do from here on out is subject to getting us killed.”

Alexiares

“γαμ?.”

Amaia slowed in her steps and narrowed her eyes in the direction that had me cursing. “What? That means fuck, right? Who is that?”

We were back to the area I’d met her in earlier. A dark, hooded figure leaned against a tree with their back turned toward us. The hair on my neck raised at the sight of danger. A Covert soldier would be a welcome surprise at this point. At least then I could get some of this frustration out.

“Lola,” I said, coming to a walk a few steps ahead of Amaia.

She caught up, curiosity written all over her face. “So what’s the problem?”

“If she’s here, it means she wants something.”

The relationship I had with Lola was … peculiar. She scratched my back, I scratched hers. Sure, there were moments where things seemed familiar to say the least, but I never lost sight of what the base of it all: reciprocity. I gave Lola what she wanted.

“It’s not like we have anything to give her,” she mumbled with a shrug devoid of all hope. “First my home, then my family and my people. Next up, my sanity.”

“Not sure you ever had that one, Princess.” I smirked.

“How can you be sure that’s why she’s here?” She kicked a rock up the path as we got closer, her hand falling to a place of comfort at my waist. I leaned into her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, appreciating the warmth radiating off her even though it was hotter than hell out. “Maybe it’s just to help.”

“We don’t help people for free. No one does.”

“We?” She grinned, nudging into me. “Go on. Enjoy a few minutes before we have to do business. If I had the chance to see Prescott again, I’d do the same.”

Lola tilted her head and studied Amaia a few feet from our approach. Amaia’s face lit up despite what she knew was coming her way. They had gotten along relatively well. Lola wasn’t exactly the warmest person in the world, let alone to newcomers. My woman pushed to the tips of her toes and I leaned down, letting her kiss that spot on my cheek that made me want to kick my fucking feet like a school girl. She brushed past Lola, greeting her in passing, then made her way back toward North Gate.

Silence passed between us. The only sounds being the insects that decided to repopulate the earth thanks to Riley’s gifts. Gifts that weren’t particularly a favorite of mine. I swatted away a mosquito as Lola strolled toward me with open arms.Admittedly, the sight of her made me a little happy. I’d genuinely thought I’d never see her again after leaving St. Paul. Even if I didn’t die in this war, it was rare to see someone you crossed paths with in another area unless it was intentional.

“Mi chiquito, Sabueso.” The nurturing she was capable of came out full force with a kiss to both my cheeks.

“Claro.” I rolled my eyes, still keeping up the ‘I don’t give a shit’ act on the off chance anyone was out here lingering. “That’s enough.”

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