Heart of Ash Read online

  “Maybe you should lay off the sugar a little. How about a piece of fruit? A pear? A fig?”

  “No way.” She pulled the tray onto her lap, like she would cut me if I tried to take it away. “I’m happy as a lobster.”

  I didn’t bother correcting her. “What did you talk about . . . with Dane?” I asked, wondering if he’d mentioned our kiss.

  “We talked about Rhys.” She grinned, her chipped tooth peeking out. “How nice it’s going to be when we’re all together again.” She grabbed a rolled-up piece of paper from the other side of the bed. “Look, he brought this.”

  I unrolled it to find blueprints.

  “He’s building a whole wing just for Rhys, so I can visit him any time I want. With safety glass and everything.”

  “Safety glass?”

  “Because of his blood, silly.”

  It felt like I’d been punched in the gut. I hadn’t thought of that. If Rhys didn’t want to be with us, if he wanted to harm us, he’d have to be contained. What kind of life would he have? He’d never be able to be with Beth . . . in that way. He’d never have children. Dane was building this to make sure Rhys couldn’t hurt anyone ever again. As much as the plans gutted me, I couldn’t help but feel a surge of tenderness for Dane. The way he cared for Beth. The way he wanted to care for my brother. For me.

  “There’s a meeting about Rhys. After that we’re going to make a plan of our own. I think we can do this. We’re going to find him. We’re going to help him, no matter what.”

  The clock in Beth’s room struck eleven.

  “I have to go,” I said as I sprung to my feet. “But I’ll come check on you later this afternoon.”

  “Take your time,” Beth called after me as she went back to her book.

  I caught myself practically skipping down the stairs. I told myself it was just so I could find out more information, but I knew it had something to do with that kiss.

  If I pressed my fingers against my lips, I could still feel him there. And God help me, but I couldn’t wait to feel that again.

  21

  AS SOON AS I entered the bustling room, a hush fell over the crowd, but the dark whisper persisted.

  My friend from last night, Mrs. Bridges, patted the seat next to her. As much as I wanted to sink into the background, be a fly on the wall, Katia would never give away her power that easily. They may not think much of Coronado, but they were in his home, and he was my immortal mate. We needed to show strength, now more than ever.

  Dane was standing off to the side, speaking with a few of his guards, but when our eyes met, it was as if he’d understood everything. I remembered feeling like that in Quivira. We didn’t need words to communicate, because we were perfectly in sync. I forgot how seductive that could be.

  He signaled one of the guards, and a chair was brought over, set down in front of the front row. That said everything.

  “Now, to the matter at hand,” Dane said as he pushed a button to lower the screen and dim the lights.

  Before he started, he gave me the strangest look—it was as if he were apologizing for something in advance. But the moment he closed his eyes, I felt his nerves evaporate.

  When his eyes opened, they focused in on me with an intensity that registered in every molecule of my body, an undeniable attraction, but the anguish, the guilt had vanished.

  As he went over the details of the recent casualties, I couldn’t help noticing that there was something hypnotic about the way he took the stage, commanding the attention of the room. I’d heard of people taking on roles when they had to perform, but this was something else entirely.

  “We’ve identified three culprits who we believe are responsible for these killings,” he said as a photo of Spencer and Teresa popped up on the screen. They were walking on either side of a person slumped in a wheelchair, wearing a baseball cap. It was Rhys. It was the same photo that Dane showed me in Barcelona, but this was the full image.

  I wanted to scream out, Why is my brother in a fucking wheelchair? but I bit my tongue.

  The three of them were together. This was undeniable proof. But maybe Rhys wasn’t doing it by choice. Maybe he was hurt or they were drugging him.

  “Where was this photo taken?” a spindly woman with a thick German accent inquired.

  “It came from a port surveillance camera, Valencia, four days ago. We’re assuming the boy in the wheelchair is the source of the blood,” Dane said.

  “Who are they?” a man from the back called out.

  “We’re still working on putting names to faces, but these individuals don’t appear to have a digital footprint, which leads us to believe they were raised off the grid.”

  “Maybe someone from that cult of hers in Kansas,” someone murmured. I recognized his voice as one of the men outside my window this morning.

  “I’d watch your tongue,” Dane said as he paced the stage. “Katia believes there’s someone paying for these murders, someone who has inside knowledge of the council. Someone in this room.”

  A rush of electricity swept through the crowd.

  I clenched my hands into fists. Why would he say that? Get them all riled up like that.

  “Funny they would target Rhinebeck and Perry and Wells,” Mr. Davenport said. “Your biggest critics on the council.”

  “What are you implying?”

  “Merely stating a fact.”

  “Have there been any demands?” Mr. Bridges asked. “They must want something.”

  “Only the betrayer knows what they want. But Katia is narrowing her scope as we speak. She said last night was very . . . enlightening.”

  The crowd became restless. I was afraid to turn around, afraid they could see my fear.

  “How do we know it’s not her behind this?” Mr. Jaeger said, stoking the flames. “Or if she’s even Katia?”

  The hush that fell over the room was deafening. Even the familiar whisper held its tongue.

  Dane lowered his chin, staring daggers into Mr. Jaeger, and it gave me the chills. “Is this all because she didn’t remember your thirty-second encounter in the rose garden hundreds of years ago? Or maybe you’re the one behind this. Maybe you want to use this boy’s blood as a weapon, and now you’re getting rid of anyone who would stand in your way on the council. You’ve always had a fondness for war.”

  Mr. Jaeger stood, knocking his chair to the ground, but the others took hold of him.

  A satisfied grin tugged at the corner of Dane’s mouth. A cruel streak I didn’t recognize. “If any of you have even a sliver of doubt, it will be quelled tonight. After dinner, a special package will arrive—the sheets from the Queen Isabel, from the cabin of our murderer. One whiff and Katia will be able to tell us everything about this immortal killer.”

  When Dane met my eyes again, something ripped inside of me. A schism in the atmosphere. I knew that face. It was the same smug expression he had when he left the sacred circle in Quivira, with my mother’s ashes still clinging to the bottoms of his boots.

  The man standing before me wasn’t Dane—this was Coronado. It was so subtle. The way he held his head a little higher, his shoulders squared, like he was wearing armor all the time. While Dane moved with youth, Coronado moved like a man of the world.

  I sank back in my chair, watching him, trying not to think about everything he’d done to my family, what he’d done to Dane . . . to me.

  “And when we catch this boy, this killer of immortals”—Coronado looked right at me, as if he were taunting me—“we’re going to find the deepest, darkest vault and send him straight to hell.”

  I bolted from my seat. “Dane. Enough.”

  He closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them, I felt Dane, the boy I fell in love with, come flooding back to me, full of shame, regret, and sorrow. “Until tonight,” he said softly as he cleared his throat.

/>   As the immortals filed out of the room, I stood there, unable to move, unable to blink, trying to come to terms with what I just witnessed.

  When the room was finally clear, Dane reached out to touch me and I flinched.

  “Why didn’t you tell me? Warn me?”

  “I told you I have to rely on Coronado to get through certain things.”

  “But I didn’t think you’d disappear . . . become an entirely different person.”

  “Like it or not,” he said, his eyes welling up, “he’s a part of me now.”

  “But how could he tell them that? You know I can’t do any of that.”

  “Do what?”

  “Find the immortal killer by smelling dirty sheets.”

  “Is that what he said?” he whispered, staring off toward the screen.

  “Yes! He promised them all a brilliant demonstration after dinner tonight.”

  Dane took a deep gulp of water, his brow knotting up in confusion.

  “Wait. You really don’t know what he said? You’re kidding, right?”

  “Things can get murky in the transition.” He rocked back on his heels as if he felt woozy. “Look, I don’t know why he said that, but it’s not the worst idea. It’s a great diversion and we’re so close—”

  “If I hadn’t said your name, pulled you back, what would’ve happened?”

  “I would’ve come back eventually. But the important thing is that you did pull me back, just as I was able to pull you back from Katia in Quivira.”

  “But I don’t have any powers, or have you forgotten that, too?”

  “Pretend, like you did last night. You were amazing. Remember that we’re weaving a narrative—”

  “For them to ‘retire’ us?”

  “A narrative where Rhys doesn’t have to die.”

  I knew Dane had come back to me, body and soul, but I couldn’t stop picturing what that was like, seeing Coronado’s cruelty shine through Dane’s eyes . . . move through Dane’s lips. And I couldn’t shake the feeling that Coronado loved seeing me squirm.

  “Ashlyn,” he whispered as he reached out for me.

  “No.” I backed away. “I need space right now. I don’t know what Coronado’s playing at, but I don’t like it. A friend told me to listen to my instincts . . . and my instincts are telling me something isn’t right here,” I said as I turned to leave.

  “We were able to track the gold,” Dane called after me. “I didn’t get a chance to tell you before the meeting.”

  I stopped. “What do you mean?”

  “Twenty gold bars were auctioned off at Sotheby’s last month.”

  “So . . . they were probably mine.”

  “No. Yours bear a Q with a line through it.”

  “How do you—”

  “Because I’ve bought every bar,” he said softly. “The ingots I’m referring to were your mother’s work. And they had Spencer’s fingerprints all over them.”

  The memory of Spencer slitting my throat and stealing the case full of cash and ingots flashed in my mind.

  “We’re tracing the money as we speak,” he said. “It was funneled into an overseas account. Spencer wouldn’t know how to do that. He’s getting help from someone. Someone who’s probably here with us right now.” Dane glanced toward the door. “Within forty-eight hours, we should be able to trace the account to an address. And hopefully, to Rhys. We just need a little more time.”

  “But how can I trust you? When half of you belongs to someone I hate? When he can take you over so easily?”

  Dane’s knees seemed to buckle as he grabbed the edge of a chair to steady himself.

  “Are you okay?” I asked.

  “Of course he’s okay,” Lucinda snapped as she entered the room, helping him to a seat. “But he needs his rest.” She grabbed my arm, escorting me to the door. “You’re only making things worse. I don’t know what you’re doing to him, but when they find out you’re nothing but a cheap imitation, who do you think they’ll punish first? Or do you even care?”

  “What?” I asked in shock.

  “A little advice . . .” She pushed me into the hall. “A seasoned immortal would never expose their feelings in that way, so recklessly. They’re on to you. You should run.”

  She shut the door, locking it behind her.

  Lucinda knew who I was.

  She knew the truth.

  22

  I RAN OUTSIDE to the formal garden . . . to the hedge maze. I needed air, but more than that, I needed to find a place away from prying eyes, away from his scent. I ran until I hit the center of the maze, a large rectangle, with high hedge walls all around me. As I sank to the ground, I wept—for myself, for Dane, for my brother, for everything that had gone so wrong.

  Seeing him like that—being possessed by Coronado—was almost too much to bear, but Dane had taken care of me, stood by me, when I was possessed by Katia. He brought me back every single time. He didn’t judge me; he didn’t love me any less. Why couldn’t I do the same for him?

  A murder of crows rose from the hedge maze, all at once, circling overhead like a warning.

  As I got to my feet, I heard footsteps approaching through the maze. A single heart pounding. It wasn’t Dane. It wasn’t Lucinda.

  Wiping away my tears, I backed against the far hedge, preparing myself for anything. Whoever this was, they’d followed me here. This wasn’t a chance encounter. The scent of wood smoke, juniper, and wild rose hit my senses.

  “There you are,” Julie Bridges said as she peeked her head around the corner.

  I let out a sigh of relief, my shoulders dropping at least a few inches.

  “Am I interrupting?”

  “Not at all. I was just heading back in,” I said as I tried to walk past her, but she blocked my path.

  “Can I have a moment? Woman to woman.”

  But Julie wasn’t here to chitchat. She wanted something. I could smell it on her.

  “It’s about Coronado,” she said. “The council would like to offer you a remedy. A gift, if you will.”

  “What kind of gift?” I asked.

  “Immurement.” She swallowed hard. “Retirement. We can take care of that for you . . . if he’s a problem.”

  “What kind of problem?” I asked as I took a step toward her, feeling a strange dark heat move through my limbs.

  “Maybe he’s getting in your way.” She stepped back. “Maybe it would be easier for you to concentrate if he were . . . out of the picture.”

  “Are you offering to get rid of him as a gift?” I said as I pinned her against the hedge. “Or are you threatening to take him away from me as punishment?” I asked, feeling the darkness rise to the surface.

  “That’s entirely up to you,” she said with a shuddering breath as she watched the black silk ribbon uncoil from my wrist and slither up her arm, to ease around her neck.

  “All you have to do is find the immortal killer, and all of this will end,” she blurted. “You and Coronado will be free.”

  “Squeeze,” I whispered, summoning the black strand to tighten around her throat. “If any harm comes to Coronado . . . they will answer to me. To the Dark Spirit. Are we clear?”

  Her eyes bulged, her face was so red I thought it might explode, but she managed to nod.

  “There now,” I said, and the black strand released, slithering down her arm to coil once again around my wrist.

  She fell to the ground, clutching her throat, gasping for air.

  “And the next time the council has a message, they may come to me directly. No need to send a sacrificial lamb. Or there will indeed be sacrifices.”

  23

  WITH A FIXED gaze, I walked back to my room. I wasn’t even sure what happened back there . . . if it was the ribbon or just my imagination, but I was afraid of what I might do if I saw one of
the council members right now, afraid of what I was capable of. I wondered if this was the darkness taking over. If this was the beginning of the end.

  As I opened the door to my room, I found Lucinda inside, packing my belongings.

  “We have no use for these. Dane wants you to keep them as a token of his appreciation.”

  “I’m not leaving.” I took the clothes out of her hands. “Not until I find my brother.”

  She clutched the amulet around her neck and gave me the strangest look, like she was desperately trying not to cry. “You need to leave.”

  “Look.” I let out an irritated sigh. “I get it, you don’t like me. You had some kind of relationship with Coronado. But things are different now. We’re blood bound—”

  She took in a hissing inhalation of breath as if my words had offended her in some way. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. What that even means. Where were you when he needed you? You weren’t here to put him back together again. You have no idea what he’s had to endure. The agony he’s gone through to try to gain control. To reach you. You didn’t listen to him cry himself to sleep every night, worrying over you.”

  “Well, I’m here now.”

  “And what about tonight? The immortals have gathered to watch a brilliant display of dark magic.”

  “All I have to do is smell a sheet and act creepy, which isn’t much of a stretch for me these days.”

  “A child’s response. This isn’t one of your games. The council suspects something’s not right with you, and if I had it my way, I’d let them tear you to pieces. But I know Dane, and he will protect you with every bone in his body. To his peril.”

  “What do you want from me?”

  “When this goes wrong, and believe me, it will, you need to confess. Tell the council that you tricked Coronado into believing you were Katia. If you do that, I will help you escape. I will deliver your brother. You have my word.”

  Part of me wondered whether she was doing this to protect Dane, or whether this was just a sick way to get Coronado all to herself again. But it didn’t matter. The last thing I wanted to do was put Dane in harm’s way.