hard to keep hidden since they were a clear giveaway to my true identity.
“I swear, if you guys can’t get your shit together, I’m gonna leave and you’ll never find me. I’ve got places to be and I don’t feel like dealing with this. From either one of you.” I eyed them both.
Asher’s answer was a swift, dimple-cheeked smile, and yeah, I was pretty sure a couple of my brain cells just fried. I hadn’t known he had a dimple, but then, I couldn’t remember him ever really smiling either.
“You’re a death priest. Your only job in this world is killing Neph. You will not harm her.” Luc’s voice had grown guttural.
“I would never.”
“But you did.” He snarled. “I was the one who found her after your beat-downs. Me.” He slapped his chest and it was moments like these that made me think perhaps I was a fool to believe he didn’t actually care for me.
At some point our relationship had grown twisted and distorted and bloated with so much pain and hurt that for a while it’d been easy to believe it was gone. But I heard it now. I saw it flickering in his cold eyes and my heart clenched.
I knew he loved me, and in many ways I still loved him. But our love would kill us—I was as sure of that as I was that I never wanted Billy out of my life again.
“I had to do what I did to make sure no one knew whose side I was really on.”
“Yeah, right. Great answer.” Luc snorted.
Billy rubbed my arm in slow circles and I don’t think he was doing it so much for me as for himself. “Everything I did I did to protect her.”
“I don’t understand you, Billy—”
His brow rose.
“Asher,” I said, correcting myself. “You stabbed me, you tricked me. How was any of that to protect me?”
“Did you ever really doubt me, Dora?” He turned me so that I was now looking him square in the face and it was just us again. “I knew what you were capable of, how you could heal. You felt the eyes everywhere. We were always watched—it was the only way.”
He was right. The entire time in South Dakota I’d known I was being watched, but I’d actually thought it was him. I frowned. “Who do you work for?”
Licking his lips, he sighed. “The book... You’ve got to read the book.”
“Book?” Luc snarled and I jumped, because I’d almost forgotten he was with us. “What book?” His eyes rolled to mine and I had to quickly look away because I sensed his Lust roiling just beneath the surface.
“Jeez.” I groaned and then marched over to the bed and flipped him said book. “That. Grace’s assistant Mary gave it to me the night she disappeared.”
“Nice. Thanks for telling me.” His tone dripped contempt. Luc riffled quickly through the pages. “What is this shit?”
“Poems, written by some kid in the Middle Ages.”
Luc snorted. “Priest, you’re this close to me killing you.” He tossed the book back onto the bed.
I wasn’t overly fond of him threatening my priest, even though I was one hundred percent certain Asher could fend for himself. “It’s an allegorical work.”
“There’s also a cypher code,” Asher said.
“Cypher code?” I twirled on him. “We can’t decrypt that, not without the key.”
“Pandora, listen to me.” He planted his hands on my shoulders. “I’ll give you as much information as I can, but some of this you’ll have to figure out yourself.”
“Why?”
Luc’s smile was vicious and then he gave a throaty chuckle. “You can’t tell us, can you? Ah, how ironic, the priest isn’t as all powerful as he’d like us to believe.”
Now Asher looked annoyed.
“What are you talking about?”
I couldn’t make heads or tails of this and since Luc was looking like the cat who just ate the canary, I was more than a little annoyed that he wasn’t sharing.
“I mean...” He rolled his eyes to me and this time I wasn’t quick enough to look away, so his power slammed into me like a giant tsunami, snatching my breath and making me change
“I swear, if you guys can’t get your shit together, I’m gonna leave and you’ll never find me. I’ve got places to be and I don’t feel like dealing with this. From either one of you.” I eyed them both.
Asher’s answer was a swift, dimple-cheeked smile, and yeah, I was pretty sure a couple of my brain cells just fried. I hadn’t known he had a dimple, but then, I couldn’t remember him ever really smiling either.
“You’re a death priest. Your only job in this world is killing Neph. You will not harm her.” Luc’s voice had grown guttural.
“I would never.”
“But you did.” He snarled. “I was the one who found her after your beat-downs. Me.” He slapped his chest and it was moments like these that made me think perhaps I was a fool to believe he didn’t actually care for me.
At some point our relationship had grown twisted and distorted and bloated with so much pain and hurt that for a while it’d been easy to believe it was gone. But I heard it now. I saw it flickering in his cold eyes and my heart clenched.
I knew he loved me, and in many ways I still loved him. But our love would kill us—I was as sure of that as I was that I never wanted Billy out of my life again.
“I had to do what I did to make sure no one knew whose side I was really on.”
“Yeah, right. Great answer.” Luc snorted.
Billy rubbed my arm in slow circles and I don’t think he was doing it so much for me as for himself. “Everything I did I did to protect her.”
“I don’t understand you, Billy—”
His brow rose.
“Asher,” I said, correcting myself. “You stabbed me, you tricked me. How was any of that to protect me?”
“Did you ever really doubt me, Dora?” He turned me so that I was now looking him square in the face and it was just us again. “I knew what you were capable of, how you could heal. You felt the eyes everywhere. We were always watched—it was the only way.”
He was right. The entire time in South Dakota I’d known I was being watched, but I’d actually thought it was him. I frowned. “Who do you work for?”
Licking his lips, he sighed. “The book... You’ve got to read the book.”
“Book?” Luc snarled and I jumped, because I’d almost forgotten he was with us. “What book?” His eyes rolled to mine and I had to quickly look away because I sensed his Lust roiling just beneath the surface.
“Jeez.” I groaned and then marched over to the bed and flipped him said book. “That. Grace’s assistant Mary gave it to me the night she disappeared.”
“Nice. Thanks for telling me.” His tone dripped contempt. Luc riffled quickly through the pages. “What is this shit?”
“Poems, written by some kid in the Middle Ages.”
Luc snorted. “Priest, you’re this close to me killing you.” He tossed the book back onto the bed.
I wasn’t overly fond of him threatening my priest, even though I was one hundred percent certain Asher could fend for himself. “It’s an allegorical work.”
“There’s also a cypher code,” Asher said.
“Cypher code?” I twirled on him. “We can’t decrypt that, not without the key.”
“Pandora, listen to me.” He planted his hands on my shoulders. “I’ll give you as much information as I can, but some of this you’ll have to figure out yourself.”
“Why?”
Luc’s smile was vicious and then he gave a throaty chuckle. “You can’t tell us, can you? Ah, how ironic, the priest isn’t as all powerful as he’d like us to believe.”
Now Asher looked annoyed.
“What are you talking about?”
I couldn’t make heads or tails of this and since Luc was looking like the cat who just ate the canary, I was more than a little annoyed that he wasn’t sharing.
“I mean...” He rolled his eyes to me and this time I wasn’t quick enough to look away, so his power slammed into me like a giant tsunami, snatching my breath and making me change
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