Page 35 (1/2)

The tip of his sword didn’t waver as it rested just above her left breast "I could kill you" But he hesitated and it was enough for her to dowhatever it was she did

A flashing glow of pink surrounded her like a strange Aurora Borealis "You can’t kill me"

His arms shook and he lowered my body "I can’t kill you"

The queen leaned forward, pushing the blade aith disgust "I own you"

He lowered his head, sha hies die while he was rutting with a bitch in heat Did it matter that he could see now that Belladonna had likely been acting on her mother’s orders? No, it didn’t What mattered was that he was a failure, that he’d allowed those he had been trained to protect die

"You own me"

I jerked out of the memories and lay there, hands wrapped around Ash’s biceps, the cherry blosso around us in a vortex of color and scents that stoleeach other Ash’s face was slack with sleep, the lines that normally curved doard between his eyes ser than he was and a wash of pity rushed through me On impulse, I reached forward and brushed a hand over his cheek "I’m sorry she hurt you too" His eyelids fluttered and I pulled back before he knew I’d touched him

"I think we’re here" I released his other bicep, sat up, and looked around us, choosing not to discuss the invasion of privacy Maybe if we didn’t talk about it, we could act like it hadn’t happened

We were at the base of a mountain, cherry trees planted in precise rows "This doesn’t seeot to his feet "The Pit is inside the mountain, Seeder" He didn’t say "idiot," but I heard the unspoken word I glared at hione Maybe he didn’t knohat I’d seen in his ot to that lesson yet Care to fillin what I had no doubt was prayer, he then motioned for me to follow hioes all the way to the core of the earth, to where Fire is created The rest of the Salamanders’ home is pretty standard Not so unlike ours in some ways, completely opposite in others"

"Cryptic," I h what I mean"

I was beside him as alked, and I fiddled with the knife at my belt "You think they can help?"

"They have to"

Except that I knew that wasn’t the truth and I didn’t have to be a ious, won’t they?" I whispered and Ash’s jaw tightened