Page 83 of Crown of Light and Ashes
"You dare touch my wife? I'm going to peel your soul from your body, layer by agonizing layer, until there's nothing left but an echo of your screams."
In the heartbeat that follows, Damir scrambles off Nesilhan, backing toward the rear wall. The sight of him retreating feeds the predator inside me. Good. Run. Make it more satisfying when I catch you.
I move toward Nesilhan immediately, my shadows extending protectively around her even as others form deadly points aimed at Damir. "Are you hurt beyond what I can see?" I ask, my voice softening to a gentleness reserved only for her, even as my shadows continue to writhe with murderous intent.
Before she can answer, a silver blur streaks through the shattered window—Banu, her tiny form radiating fury that rivals even my own. Her usually playful demeanor is gone, replaced by something ancient and terrible. Her hair whips around her in a silver storm as she hurls herself directly at Damir, tiny fists glowing with fairy magic as she pummels his face with surprising force.
"You absolute monster!" she screams, her wings beating furiously as she lands blow after blow. "I saw everything from outside! I couldn't get in because of the barrier—that wasn't Damir's magic, it was something else entirely!"
Emir appears in the doorway behind me, taking in the scene with a soldier's efficiency. His hand immediately goes to his sword as he moves to block any potential escape route for Damir, who remains pressed against the back wall, eyes darting between his attackers.
"My lord," Emir begins, his voice tight with controlled rage as he assesses Nesilhan's condition.
"Secure the perimeter," I command him without turning. "Ensure there are no other threats nearby."
With a quick nod, Emir steps back to organize the guards outside, while I extend my shadows to pluck Banu away from Damir swiftly. "I need you to tend to Nesilhan," I tell the fairy, my voice leaving no room for argument. "Your healing abilities are needed more there than your anger is needed here."
Banu whirls in my grasp, her eyes blazing with manic light as her hair literally sparks with residual magic. "What took you so long?" she demands, though she immediately moves toward Nesilhan once released. "I've been trying to break that barrier since it appeared!"
In any other situation, I might obliterate her for such insolence. But something in her fierce protection of Nesilhan strikes a chord. I merely raise an eyebrow.
"Traffic was terrible," I reply dryly, then I turn my full attention to Damir, who presses himself further against the wall as my shadows encircle him. "Now, would someone like to explain why my guard kidnapped my wife?"
Banu emits a sound of pure frustration. "Because it's not Damir, you oblivious shadow-twit! It's Aslan! He's been possessing Damir's body since you killed him!"
Aslan. The lover I tore apart in the forest. The man whose blood I licked from Nesilhan's cheek. Impossible.
Yet as I look closer, I can see it now—the way Damir's body holds itself, a subtle shift in posture that isn't his. And more tellingly, the flicker in his eyes as they shift between Damir's flat black and a distinctly different amber.
My blood roars in my ears as understanding crashes through me. He's been here all along. Watching. Observing. Seeing me withNesilhan. The thought of this man—this dead man who refuses to stay dead—witnessing my most intimate moments with my wife sends a surge of possessive rage coursing through me so powerful that the cottage walls crack.
"Is that so?" My voice drops dangerously low as my shadows thicken around me. "How inconvenient for you to have died only to find yourself in my path again. It's almost as if the universe itself wants me to kill you. Twice."
"Kaan…" Nesilhan begins, her voice hoarse and pained.
"Not now,hatun," I interrupt without looking at her. "First, I need to demonstrate what happens to those who touch what's mine."
Emir returns from the perimeter, his expression grim. "Area is secure, my lord. No other threats detected."
"Perfect timing, Emir," I say, never taking my eyes off Damir/Aslan. "You're just in time for a fascinating anatomy lesson. Today's subject: how many times can one’s consciousness experience death before madness sets in."
Banu hovers over Nesilhan, her small hands already glowing with healing magic as she presses them to the worst of my wife's wounds.
"You can't have her," Damir growls, but his voice shifts midway, becoming higher, desperate—Aslan's voice emerging from Damir's throat. "She never belonged to you. She loves me."
The words strike something dark and jealous inside me. My shadows respond instantly, lashing out to wrap around his throat, lifting him from the ground.
"Loves you?" I laugh, the sound empty of humor. "A dead man? How pathetically romantic." I stalk toward him, my shadows dragging him to meet me halfway. "Tell me, did she call your name when I took her against the wall? Did she beg for you when she came apart beneath me?"
I lean closer, my voice dropping to a whisper meant only for him. "Did you watch, trapped in that stolen body, as she surrendered to me again and again? As she begged for my touch? How exquisite that must have been for you."
His eyes widen with hatred and pain, exactly the reaction I crave. My shadow hounds materialize around me, their red eyes glowing with hunger as they sense my murderous intent.
"You remember my friends, don't you?" I gesture to the largest hound. "They've missed you. Particularly your screams."
The hound lunges forward, massive jaws clamping around Damir's leg. But instead of tearing it off, my shadows prevent complete separation, keeping the limb attached by mere threads of sinew. The pain must be excruciating—all the agony of dismemberment without the mercy of completion.
His scream splits the air—Aslan's voice unmistakable now. It's not merely loud; it's a sound that seems to vibrate at a frequency designed to induce nausea and terror. A primal, inhuman wail that makes everyone in the room flinch. Even Emir, hardened by centuries of Shadow Court brutality, turns his face away momentarily.
