Page 116 of Ashes and Lilies
“So,” I began, watching as he quickly finished his beverage. Was he nervous? But that couldn’t be. Still, he appeared to begetting drunk. This would be the perfect opportunity to discover his weaknesses.
After all, I’d never be able to trust him until I first knew how to defeat him.
But I would have to be subtle.
I leaned back and swung my toes over the floor. “What would be the best way to get rid of you? Can I dump a vial of poison into that wine glass?”
“No.” Bryce didn’t seem offended by my question. “Poison won’t kill me. And now it’s my turn. Why are you trying to involve yourself in our world?”
The unexpectedness of his query made me pause. “What do you mean?”
He stopped twirling his once-more refilled beverage and glanced up, his sharp eyes meeting mine. “Wouldn’t it have been better not to worry about the danger and politics? The Cole family’s antics pale compared to anything the fae might do.”
I knew there was much more out there than I currently understood, but the implication of Bryce’s words sounded terrifying.
“It is a deadly business to be the Xing,” Bryce continued, his tone somber. “You have three generations of Er Bashous active: myself, Gregory, and my father. We can handle things. Wouldn’t you rather live a normal life?”
“What?” I asked him.
“Were you safe?” he pressed, studying me. His bright eyes were sharp, sending a chill down my spine.
“Eh…” I tilted my head and studied him. “Sure,” I answered. “My parents were okay.”
What was wrong with him? Why was he being so nosy?
“What aboutbeforethey came into your life?” Bryce frowned, and my blood felt like ice.
The colors faded along the edges of my sight. My focus was a dark tunnel; I could only see his face.
I wasn’t sure how I could speak, but I managed. “W-w-what?”
“I think—” Bryce took another sip, and his words started to slur together. “I think I might have made the worst mistake of my life…”
His voice trailed off, and he slumped forward onto the table.
“Bryce?” My heart jerked as concern for him washed over me, and using his name no longer mattered. I jumped to his side, trying to move him so I could see his face. “Bryce, what’s wrong?”
Finally, I could turn his head, and relief made me feel lightheaded. He was still breathing. That was good. But he was unconscious.
After all that posturing, had he really been poisoned? And by his shady business associates, no less. Who would have thought?
My, my, my, what kind of shenanigans did he get up to when no one was looking?
It was then that our waiter and two others stepped from the shadows.
“You’re coming with us,” the waiter said, pointing at me. I stood, stumbling over my feet as I moved backward. But I didn’t have time to speak before the sight of them was cut off.
Matheus now stood between me and my potential kidnappers. When not slouching, he was nearly the same height as Titus, and held out his arm as a muscle in his jaw grew tight. Despite the situation, my heart sped up at the sight of his scarred features, and there was an unsettled feeling burning in my chest.
Who’d hurt him?
His bright silver eyes flashed, and even the floor seemed to rumble with the low-humming intensity radiating from his chest.
“Get out of here,” he said, and a chill shot through me. Theway he carried himself, the growl… I was an idiot for not seeing it before.
He was a wolf.
I was unable to escape from my spiraling thoughts. My body remained frozen as he closed his hand around my arm, and my skin felt cold when he touched me.
