Page 65 of Ash and Roses
The stranger shifts slightly, and his hood falls back. Sandy blond hair shines back at me in the candlelight, and piercing green eyes remain focused on Quinn.
Jade is alive, and I feel sick.
“Then I’m afraid she’s dead.” It’s Quinn’s voice that cuts through the nausea. His tone is firm and dismissive. If Jade was just here as an envoy, he wouldn’t risk offending royalty by denying their words… But he isn’t an envoy, and if he knows I’m alive, he won’t leave here without me.
Jade holds his ground. “She is not. I saw the creature take human form and carry her off. I have returned to slay the beast and rid your kingdom of this terror.”
Slay the beast? What is he thinking? If he really saw Quinn turn and carry me away, then he made the conscious decision to allow it to happen. I thought Jade was dead because I never would have imagined him capable of abandoning me. The Jade I knew would have fought for me to his last breath, which can only mean that I didn’t know him as well as I thought I did.
Quinn’s hands ball into fists at his side, a sure sign that he’s losing control. “You survived the monster once. What makes you think you can kill it?”
“I am the best hunter in Lunae. I offer you my service in exchange for your help.” Jade bows again, but I know this is just a show of manners. Jade’s stance on royalty is clear. He and the other Marked long for a world without it. He bows because he has to—not because he wants to.
“A huntsman?” Quinn’s eyes flick to mine, easily finding me in the crowd and well away from where I should be. “I must think on this matter. I will have Tess escort you to a room. We will talk more later.” Tess pushes through the crowd and ambles over to Jade.
“Thank you, Your Highness. I look forward to it.”
I watch as Tess leads Jade towards a door on the opposite end of the room, but lose sight of him when Quinn appears in front of me. He grabs me by the arm, firm but not enough to hurt, and leads me down the hall and back to our room. The walk seems much longer, despite the hurriedness in his steps. He’s seething with rage, and I get the sense that the only reason he’s not shouting right now is because he’s clamping his jaw tight.
Once we’re inside the room, he shuts the door behind him and locks it. Even on our first night in this room when I feared wolves running rampant through the castle, he didn’t lock that door.
“Is that your huntsman?”
“Quinn—”
He spins to face me, and I know by his expression that only a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer will do. “Is that your huntsman? I know his scent. He was there that day.”
“Yes,” I breathe. He deserves to know the truth, and what would be the point of lying to him now? Jade is alive—a fact that should make me unbelievably happy, but instead has my heart feeling as if it’s being ripped in two.
Quinn lets out a roar of frustration and kicks at a bookcase. A few books clatter to the floor before he turns back to me, hands tugging at the roots of his hair as he paces the space between us. “What do I do here, Abby?”
“Let me talk to him.”
“No!” When I startle at his shout, he attempts to calm himself but fails miserably. “He knows too much as it is. The only way to protect my people is by keeping this secret. Lunae can’t know about Rosewood.”
“He doesn’t know what you are.” I’m trying to be a voice of reason, but judging by the stress evident in every inch of Quinn, this isn’t going to get us anywhere. The difference from the calm stillness in him this morning is striking. This is a man terrified of losing everything, and desperate not to.
“He saw me. If he was anyone else, he’d already be dead.”
I gasp at the words, but believe every one of them. Quinn would do anything if it meant keeping his people safe, and the only thing keeping Jade alive now is Quinn’s fear of losing something else that matters just as much to him.
When I can’t answer, he launches into a flurry of questions. “Is he the one who killed Klarissa? During your hunt?”
He can’t be looking to justify this! “You know that’s not fair.”
“He killed one of my people!”
“And you’ve killed how many of his?” He looks as if I’d slapped him, but I don’t back down. “He’s not a monster, and neither are you.”
“You want to go back with him? Is that what you want? Back to Lunae and your fucked up father?”
“No, of course not! I...” I don’t know what else to say. I don’t want to go back to Lunae, but Jade would never take me there. This is all a ruse to find me so that he can bring me to Marein or somewhere else, but not Lunae. The where isn’t what matters. The only question is if I would go with him. I take in the face of the breaking man in front of me, and the last thing I want is to leave him. Not now. Not like this.
“What happens if I let you see him?” His question is calm, but it snaps something in me.
“If youletme?” This isn’t up to him.
“Will you leave with him?” I don’t answer because I can’t answer. The silence drags between us for far too long before he finally speaks again. “Looks like you finally did it, Stabby.” He places a hand over his heart, and I know exactly what he means. I stabbed him, just like I always said I would.