Page 27 of Of Vows and War: Special Edition
No. Gods no.
“I am not your wife.” It was all I could do not to scream the words. Had he been fooling me in the dungeons? Was he just as ambitious and manipulative as Theon? No. That could not be it.
“While I might not remember the wedding, I am told we completed our vows before being attacked, so I think that makesus husband and wife,” he offered, the barest hint of a smirk flashing across the left corner of his mouth.
“What do you mean? Sterling, you have been trapped in the dungeons since you arrived. You have been imprisoned! I do not know what they are doing to convince you otherwise, but you know the truth.”
Pausing midstep, he seemed to think my words over. I used his moment of thought to press my hands against his chest and shove, forcing him to let me go. My hands and knees took the brunt of the force, but I ignored it in favor of scrambling away from him and pushing up to my feet.
“Why are you doing this?”
“I do not—”
“What is the last thing you remember?” I asked, cutting him off.
“Dinner. It is fuzzy, but I remember it.” There was surety in his voice, as if it was the only thing he knew to be true.
“Dinner? What dinner?”
“The night I arrived. Queen Mia said that the black magic likely stole my memories. Did it steal yours as well? What do you remember?” His query was paired with outstretched arms, as if he were begging to understand. Lips quivering, I walked up to him.
“Everything. I remember everything.” Tears slowly crawled down my cheeks, the last dregs of my sanity seeming to fade away. “I need you to remember too. I cannot be alone in this, Sterling.” With ice cold, shaking hands, I pressed my palms to his cheeks. Magic flooded from my fingertips and into his mind, searching—seeking truths I was desperate to find.
Only to come to an abrupt halt just after I left the dinner in his memory.
Everything after that was endless darkness. A year of nothing.
Sterling did not remember. He did not remember and everything was wrong andI was losing my fucking mind.
I stepped back, pulling my hands away like his skin was a flame. Eternity above, I needed out. Mia had to die and I had to get out of this horrible golden prison.
Bellamy, I needed Bellamy. He was real, I knew it with every fiber of my being. My eyes darted down to my smooth skin. To my long strands of dark waves. To my hands that were free of calluses.
“You attacked the queen, Asher. Trouble will come if we do not get you to your chambers so you can rest. I am your husband, let me take care of this. Let me take care ofyou.”Sterling’s hand slowly wrapped around my bicep, which was—gods, it was smaller. Softer.My muscles were gone, the hard-won firmness of my body a mere memory.
Or was it? Had I made everything up? Did my mind dream of something better?
No. It wasreal.
With one last wipe of my hands on my skirts, I turned away from Sterling and started darting towards the winding staircase that would lead me back to the main level of the palace. Fresh air would help. Yes, I just needed to get out of this suffocating place and think. They had to have freed me from my cage and constructed this lie for a reason. What had Mia said after I killed Theon? Something about her love molding me. That was all this was. An attempt at once more making me into their creature. Their killer.
I had already taken care of one of their loose ends after all. Theon was likely becoming more of a liability than an asset, and I had taken him out. Not that I would regret such a thing. As I bound down the stairs two at a time, I thought of the way he had defiled Sterling’s face. How he had been a part of Sipho’s death.
Blood rushed to my head, making me dizzy as I made it to the bottom of the stairs, nearly causing me to lose my balance. So much death, and in the end, much of the blood was on my own hands.
“Ah, another pity party. Sorry I did not brush my fur for such an event.” Wrath’s voice was both a welcome and a terrifying sound. Sweat dripped down my spine, and I found my head automatically tilting down. Locking gazes with Wrath, I tried my hardest not to think about what it meant that I was seeing my dead friend. “Can one be dead if they never existed?”
“Stop that. You know you existed!” My shout reverberated off the empty walls just before a set of rushing steps sounded behind me.
“Asher stop! We need to get you to bed!” Great, the mortal prince was chasing me like a stray dog. Just what I needed in that moment.
“Leave me alone, Sterling!” With that, I jumped over Wrath as he smirked up at me and dashed for the doors that would give me freedom, even if only for a moment.
“You cannot run from your own mind, Strange One,” Wrath muttered as he kept pace with me. I wanted to kick the little vermin, but I was fairly certain my foot would go through thin air and then I would most definitely throw that pity party.
“Watch me,” I spit as I pushed myself to run faster. Sterling called out for me to stop, to wait for him. When I did not listen, I heard him yell at the guards to help him. No one was going to force me back into that prison again.
What would Bellamy do?
