Page 70 of The Enemy to the Living
“Great fight.”
I only grunt in response, but he doesn’t seem to take offence; compared to his attitude when I was in here earlier, he’s cheered up some.
“I meant to thank you… for before. Sorry I ran off on you.”
I say nothing and he takes a breath, gives me another grin.
“We should prepare something next time. You know, if we go up against each other again.”
I walk over to the sink in the corner and start washing the blood off my skin. The scratches have clotted, but they won’t heal for a little while—no matter what I felt inside the cage.
And I’m still reeling about that, too. I can’t dwell on it now. That’s for later. For when I’m back at the flat, maybe, or—
I jerk my head up. The door! The door is there, the one I went through the first night. I snatch up my T-shirt and pull it on, then shrug on my jacket.
“What do you think?” the troll asks. “About next time?”
Another fight. Fighting him didn’t give me the same violent catharsis as the others, but it was—
Fun. It was fun.
“Yeah, okay,” I say, though I know if the Hunt is watching this place, it won’t be long before things really change.
“Cool.” He says nothing when I open the door at the back of the room. I poke my head out and look—it leads to a different alley, like last time, so I sneak out of that and down to the street.
Asher might not be out front, but I’m not betting on him not being there, not after earlier. I can’t see him. I need somewhere quiet, somewhere I can be alone.
It doesn’t take me long to find it. I find a park a few streets away and vault easily over the low fence, letting out a sigh when I settle in the grass. Drew goes out running a couple of times a week, I think, and has started taking Dax with him.
I might not have my wolf, but I still need nature. I lie back, breathing in the scent of it.
What made him wake now? My eyes drift shut, and I replay the fight in my mind. We were circling each other. I knew how to take him down. I could see it. He’s fae, sure, but in that moment, he wasmine, my prey, my—
My wolf stirs again. I inhale a ragged breath, squeezing my eyes even more firmly shut.Come on. I’m here.
Asher’s face flashes into my mind, and unlike in the cage, my wolf doesn’t slink away. He’s not close—not nearly close enough for me to even think about shifting, but that doesn’t matter. I can’t breathe for the joy bubbling up in my chest.
I think of Asher again, of waking up to his face close to mine, of the way he hesitated when I kissed him.
I think of his nervous question earlier tonight and smile, even if the feeling is bittersweet, because that really is what he was worried about, wasn’t it?
My wolf sniffs the air and I know he’s going to leave again, but for the first time inmonths, I feel truly whole.
I lie there for a while still, the air growing cooler around me. My senses are already a little sharper, the scratches on my body slowly healing. Every time a worry rises, every time my mind slips, trying to replay the way I yelled at Drew or the deal I struck with the twins or the vampire I killed or my parents—I push it away and let my mind float, lost in the moment.
I come back to myself only when I hear soft footsteps on the grass. Breathe in, breathe out. I know who it is before he even lies down next to me.
“I didn’t see you come out,” Asher says. “I was waiting.” His hand rests next to mine, the space between our fingers warm.
“Went out the back.”
“You didn’t want to see me?”
I reach for his hand instead of replying. I didn’t, maybe, but I’m glad he’s here. He grips my hand like it’s a lifeline and when I roll over onto my side, not opening my eyes, Asher just wraps his other arm around me and holds me close.
“How did it go tonight?” he asks, then huffs a faint laugh. “No, I know. Seems better than last time, though.”
I hum in agreement and press my face against his throat.
