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Either my taunt pushes him too far or he’s determined to truly kill me, but Aeternaphiel snaps his hand to the side and summons his celestial blade.
I don’t have mine, thanks to him melting it away when I was still in Cassandra’s body. I do have the bone-hilted obsidian blade Ambrose passed me when he clasped my hand.
I roll my neck with a pleased sigh, before raising the dagger and meeting Aeternaphiel’s stony face. “I’m going to enjoy this.”
Chapter Seventeen
CASSANDRA
You’re going to be okay,” I promise Ashe, wringing my hands as I wait for Kasar and Ambrose to help settle him on the back of one of the SUVs after Malachi opens the hatch. He looks awful. He was only in the archangel’s clutches for half a day, but the damage is extensive. I’m terrified that I may lose him yet.
I step up to him the moment the other vampires move away, looking him over and trying to triage his wounds. My mouth is dry and I’m cursing my lack of preparation. I knew he’d be hurt, but I never expected it to be this bad.
Ashe tugs me between his legs, suppressing a wince. Before I can protest, he runs a shaky hand down my hair and cups the back of my neck.
“I’m okay, mate,” he murmurs. His golden eyes are clear and bright. “He didn’t want me dead.”
I swallow, the lump in my throat painful. “Still. You’re badly hurt.”
Ashe smiles and rests his forehead to mine. “Nothing time and a good feeding won’t cure,” he promises. “Now, how the hell is Eris here? That is her, right?”
I hesitate, wanting him healed and rested before telling him anything, but the other vampires are returning and Ambrose is watching us. Another black SUV pulls up, the headlights turning off along with the engine. Josephine steps out, a large duffle slung over her shoulder.
“Yes. It’s her,” I answer, and gesture for Josephine to bring the supplies over. “I’ll tell you more if you let us look over you.”
Ashe sighs, dropping his head to my shoulder before limply waving a hand. “Go ahead and fuss, then.”
“Foolish boys, the lot of them,” Josephine says and we share an affectionate and aggravated look. “None of them like to think they’re hurt and could do with some help.”
The ground rumbles and Ashe slides from his position, standing and trying to put himself between me and the barn. He’s shaking, his arm already lowering towards his body as what little strength he has slips from him.
“Sit,” I tell him, trying to coax him to do my bidding. I cast an uncertain look at the barn, where Ambrose stands in front of the door. Malachi, Kasar, Lan, and the other vampires have joined him, forming a line between us and the two battling it out.
With a grunt, Ashe slumps back into sitting. When I raise a brow pointedly, he offers a sheepish grin.
“All right,” Ashe concedes, “some fussing may be necessary.”
Josephine sets the duffle next to him in the back of the SUV and opens it, the picture of serenity. As if the sounds coming from the barn are not growing more thunderous, the ground shaking as if giants are river dancing fifty feet from us.
“So, Eris?” Ashe asks, weakly grasping my fingers. I tangle our fingers together, desperate for the grounding he provides.
“Right.” I swallow and shoot another look at the barn. “According to her, the blade I’d used to try to kill the soul is meant to sever bonds and magical ties. It released her from the soul, and me, if I understand correctly. It also severed her possession of me, allowing her to materialize in a body of her own. She’s the one who found me after I fled—” my sob takes me by surprise. I fling my arms around his shoulders, squeezing him tight. He grunts but doesn’t protest. Instead, he wraps his arms around me, holding me as tightly as he can.
A metallic, coppery scent hits me and I freeze. “I’m hurting you,” I protest as I try to pull away.
“Cassandra,” Ashe growls my name, squeezing me tighter. “If you try to move, I will turn you over my knee and spank your ass.”
Blood rushes to my cheeks even as heat builds in my core. Embarrassment wins when Josephine’s snort preludes her speaking.
“You won’t be spanking her anytime soon unless you let us stop some of this bleeding. What in the blazes did the male think you were? A colander?”
Ashe reluctantly lets me go, giving me a crooked smile before turning the look onto Josephine. Despite his face being mottled with bruises, blood trickling from a split lip, his nose, and a gash above his left eyebrow, he’s still the most handsome male I’ve ever seen. His sandy-brown hair is unruly and has lumps of dried blood in it. His chest is bare, revealing more dark purple bruises across his muscular chest and abdomen. My own heart aches for my husband as unnatural protrusions suggest multiple broken bones. I also see what Josephine means.
He’s covered with multiple puncture wounds, some of them larger than others. Some of them have already stopped bleeding, but others still have blood sluggishly running down them.
“Oh, my love,” I breathe out, horrified all over again that I left him with Aeternaphiel.
Josephine motions me aside and begins wiping the worst of the blood away from him, muttering underneath her breath.
