Page 138 of Tower of Ash and Darkness
My breath hitches when his other hand cups my cheek. The tenderness in his touch is devastating, the weight of his gaze as he cradles my face threatening to unravel me entirely. In this moment, the world narrows to just this—justhim.
But then, as if realizing the precariousness of the moment, Casper steps back. His fingers trail from my cheek as he moves away, his jaw tight. The forest is alive with the sound of rustling leaves and distant birdsong, yet it feels eerily quiet in the threads that bind us. Casper straightens his shoulders, keeping his voice low and urgent.
“We need to talk.”
As my gaze shifts over his shoulder, movement catches my eye—silent, stealthy. Callum emerges from the shadows behind Casper, his steps soundless on the forest floor, like he’s been waiting there all along. There’s no surprise in his expression, only the keen awareness of someone who never stopped watching. Before I can respond, a voice cuts through the air—low and edged in steel.
“Yes, we do.”
I whip my head toward Jason, his jaw set firm, his darkened eyes burning as they lock on Casper with unrestrained animosity. Casper’s lips curl into a faint, biting smirk, his gaze flicking briefly to me before returning to Jason.
“I wasn’t talking to you,” Casper says, his voice a low growl.
Jason stiffens beside me, his shoulders taut. A glimmer of gold catches my eye, and there she is—Celaena. Her hair cascades over her shoulders as she steps into view, her hand slipping possessively around Jason’s arm. Her eyes sweep over me, calculating, and cold. She looks at me like a predator studying its rival, filled with distrust—a suspicion I can’t fault her for. After all, I’m her lover’s wife.
Jason reaches for my arm, an instinctive attempt to protect me, but before his fingers can close around me, Casper moves like lightning. In an instant, he pins Jason against the rock and presses his blade to his throat, the cold steel a promise of violence.
“Don’t you dare touch her,” Casper snarls, his fangs bared, his voice vibrating with barely contained fury. “Not after you’ve had your filthy hands on another.”
Jason’s expression doesn’t waver, his dark gaze locked onto Casper’s with the quiet defiance of a man who has nothing left to lose. The air between them crackles, and I stand frozen, their animosity pressing down on me like a physical force. Celaena gasps softly, her hand reaching for Jason’s arm before her fingers tighten instinctively around him.
I take a step forward, my hand reaching out in some futile attempt to stop this, but Callum intercepts me with a subtle shake of his head, his warning clear without a word spoken. There’s a fierceness in his dark eyes that betrays his outward ease. His jaw is tight, and the way he looks at Celaena and Jason carries a simmering disdain, as if their presence itself offends him. When his gaze shifts back to me, there’s something else—a flicker of guilt or regret, fleeting but undeniable.
I look back at Casper, searching for something familiar—but his eyes shift, the vibrant green swallowed by a pitch-black void. An unsettling emptiness that chills me to my core. I force myself to hold my ground, refusing to show the fear that threatens to surface.
“Casper…” I whisper.
His gaze snaps to mine, the slight crease between his brows deepening as he reads the unsettled look in my eyes. A flicker of concernpasses over his face, but he says nothing. Instead, he turns back to Jason, his jaw set.
“Are you going to tell her,” Casper says softly, his voice steady despite the storm raging inside him.
“Or should we?” Callum adds, tilting his head in a way that feels predatory.
Casper’s blade gleams in the faint light as he releases Jason and steps back, his intense stare never leaving Jason’s face. But when I speak, the sound of my voice pulls his attention to me.
“Tell me what?” I demand, my voice trembling with frustration and the weight of so many unanswered questions.
Jason adjusts his cloak, his gaze darting between Casper and me. The agitation in his frame is palpable as he hesitates.
“Lailah, let’s go,” he says, his voice low and insistent, but I don’t move.
Jason steps closer, but before he can reach me, a dagger whistles through the air, embedding itself into a crevice in the rock behind him and pinning his cloak to the wall.
I whirl around to find an infuriated Callum, slowly smirking, a teasing challenge that sends a shiver through me. Jason yanks the dagger free and tosses it to the ground with a loud clatter, but it’s Callum’s steady, provocative gaze that holds me captive.
“No, Jason,” Callum says smoothly, “I think you’ll tell her here.”
Jason glares at Callum, his fists clenched at his sides, but he doesn’t argue. His jaw tightens as his eyes meet mine, softening slightly.
“Lailah,” he starts. “Whatever this is, I’ll tell you when we’re safely in my lands, in our private chambers.”
I can barely contain the anger bubbling beneath my skin.
“No,” I snap. “You’ll tell menow. What’s going on?”
Jason hesitates, his jaw tightening, and for the first time, I see something in his face that unsettles me—guilt.
"Promise me you’ll hear me out before you become angry," Jason says, his voice careful, measured.
