Page 117 of Ashes and Lilies
“Run!” he told me.
His command reached into the recesses of my consciousness, and my muscles moved on their own accord. I stumbled back as he turned his attention back toward the others.
They had pulled out guns, and Matheus lunged forward.
That was as much as I witnessed before I turned.
I was honestly going to listen; I’d genuinely planned on it. But I hadn’t expected another man to be sneaking up to Bryce’s vulnerable form.
He hardly noticed me as his wild gaze remained obsessed upon de facto professor, and a hint of insanity touched his thin lips.
What had Bryce said about deadly dealings and danger? My breath caught in my throat as the strangest sense of calmness moved over me.
The man approached Bryce’s face-down form, pulled out a butter knife, and raised it over his head.
There was nothing worse than cowardly attacks. Besides, how annoying would it be to be slayed by such ineptitude? The man had just come out of a kitchen, near all manner of sharp utensils, and this was his choice of weapon.
I couldn’t allow Bryce to be killed in such a way.
Matheus intervened before I could even raise my hand.
He lunged past me and enclosed his large jaw over the man’s face, and teeth tore into flesh as he swung his neck, and the other man fell to the ground, now faceless and dead.
Matheus’s gaze snapped up once more, blood dripping, and he looked behind me. A sense of dread made my body cold, and I turned, even as the wolf moved forward.
“Get the Seelie.” The waiter pointed at us.
So, it was Bryce then. Figured. What rotten luck. He had already been almost stabbed.
“Stay—stay back!” I warned, spreading my arms. “I know he appears unpleasant on the surface, but he’s not so bad once you get to know him. Killing him isn’t worth the hassle. Whatever your grief is, it’s best to ignore it.”
“What?” The villain lowered his arm, and his lips pressed together before he shook his head. “No!” he told me. “That was only Howard seizing onto the opportunity to give that dick what he deserves, but good riddance to him. He was a fool. And while you’re somewhat endearing, we still have a job to do!”
Oh. My stomach sank.
“Get thefemaleSeelie,” he said, now clarifying his previous order. “The short, weak one wearing the giant green sweater. We cannot kill the others; those were not our instructions.”
I swallowed. How unfortunately distinctive. Now, there was no way he was speaking of anyone except me. Besides, there were no other women here.
It still felt strange to think of myself as a fae, though.
A wet nose pushed against my arm. Matheus had moved to my side, and even though I was afraid of wolves, I felt a tiny bit braver by his presence.
But then the moment passed. The man raised his gun once more, and Matheus knocked me down before charging. A loud bang exploded against my eardrums, and as one of the ceiling lamps shattered, something else was thrown to the ground at my feet.
I squeezed my eyes shut and hid my nose behind my forearm, but it didn’t matter.
Before I could recompose myself, a beefy arm was thrown over my face. Within seconds, everything blurred, and I felt myself crumpling into nothingness.
The smellof blood seeped into my awareness, and I struggled to open my too-heavy eyes. I couldn’t think or remember where this urgency to awaken came from. However, something was strange.
It took an even longer moment to realize what it might be.
My arms were numb, my wrists sore, and the scratchy fabric brushing against my knees did little to stop the chill from reaching my bones.
That wasn’t right… I’d dressed for warmth today. I shouldn’t be this cold.
“You’re awake,” a male observed, and my heart stuttered at the nearness. My eyes popped up, and I jumped at the sight of the brown-haired man standing before me.
