A Kiss of Ashen Twilight (Ashen Twilight Series #1) (15 page)

“I had no choice.”

“Ah,” Jace snapped his fingers. “Of course you had no choice. Tell me, Rich. Do you think you’d ever make a good Patriarch considering how you always have to run behind your Uncle’s skirts and plead for him to bail you out of a case?”

Rich slowly approached Jace, his gaze burning into the shorter vampire while he emitted a thick, low growl.

“I mean,” Jace gestured toward the door. “Case in point.”

Rich emitted a loud, earth shaking roar that spread throughout the walls of the house as he lunged toward Jace. The two wrestled backwards onto the conference table. Jace’s soft handsome expression transformed as his eyes darkened to blood red. His sharpened teeth elongated to intensify his hiss and growl.

Then a voice broke through the air as if it came from the room itself.

“Enough!” The virile male voice boomed within the walls, immediately stopping the fight. Both Jace and Rich looked up in the direction of the doorway. Ariya followed their gaze and it was as if time slowed down.

A smooth figure in a smoky suit entered and beside him was a man wearing a dark navy blue suit. Like Jace, he had long wavy hair down to his shoulders and a classic handsome visage like that of a romantic hero. Beside them, a dove flew into the room leading the way with a soft white light around it like a cloud. Then the dove transformed amidst the light into a tall, regal figure, he wore a blue robe and crown of jewels around his long, dark hair. Two guards followed close behind and remained at the door.

“This house was not built as an arena to entertain your roughhousing,” the front figure said. He was pale, youthful in his appearance and reminded her very much of an older Jace.

As if on cue, the man turned to her. His deep, blue eyes widened as he studied her closely. Her body warmed and in that moment she realized that all eyes in the room were on her.

“One of you two better tell me the purpose of this very inconvenient little get-together. While you’re at it, explain to me why we have an intruder in our home.”

Jace stepped forward, straightening out his jacket.

“I think Rich is the best candidate for that explanation, Uncle. After all, he seems to think one of us in this room is a murderer.”

Rich scoffed. “A woman from the House of Blood died yesterday. She alluded to paying Jace here a little visit and when she returned that night, she was uttering Jace’s name.” He turned to Ariya. “And a strange woman in his apartment.”

Ariya’s body tightened as all eyes fell on her again.

“It wasn’t her,” Jace said strongly. “I assure you.”

“How can you be so sure, Jace?” Michael Hammond’s deep voice broke into the room.

“Yes, were you with her all night?” Daoine Oberon’s smooth voice followed close behind. His human form still emanated a glow of light and to Ariya he was still as breathtaking as his dove form.

“I was,” Jace said with a nod.

Julian stepped toward him. He studied the younger man who never backed down. “I believe you, nephew.” He turned to Ariya. “But we still don’t know anything of her.”

“Uncle Julian.”

Julian held up his hand, silencing Jace. He walked to Ariya. “You understand I must do this for our own protection, my dear.”

Before she could question what he meant, her mind tingled with the feel of a thousand tiny fingers on her brain. Ariya gasped sharply. Her body froze under his hold. Slowly, Julian lifted his hand to caress her face.

“Uncle Julian!” Jace said sharply.

“Shh—”

Julian entered her mind, slowly breaking through the walls she so carefully built up in defense. Memories fell from her like a broken dam that long held a beautiful existence that came to a painful end.

Even now she felt it in the air. The harsh sharp intake of breath that threatened to fill her lungs with its darkness. Its large body wrapped itself around her, choking the life from her. Heat rose within her skin, sweat formed on her forehead. She struggled to breathe.

Ariya broke from Julian’s grasp, ripping the jacket from her body as she grasped for air. Her large translucent wings sprouted from her back, stretching out proudly illuminating the room as she fell to her knees inhaling and exhaling sharply.

Jace raced to her side. “Are you all right? What did you do to her?”

Ariya coughed violently and felt Jace’s arms slip around her. Part of her was surprised by the gesture, but welcomed it all the same.

“Uncle Julian—”

Julian shook his head. “She means no harm.”

“
Uncle, what—?
” Jace shook his head. “A little warning would have been appreciated. You didn’t have to probe her so violently.
Tha eagal oirre.
”

She is afraid.
The translation echoed in her mind amidst the chaos as she heard Jace’s soothing voice.

Julian’s brow furrowed as he looked down at them. “Watch your tone, boy. How soon you forget to whom you speak. She did not murder the young woman.”

“I could have told you that,” Jace said as he examined Ariya, pushing aside her thick curly locks look at her face.

She forced herself to breathe slowly and speak her next words carefully. “You don’t understand. He knows exactly where I am now. He knows where to find me.”

She looked up at Jace by her side. For the first time she saw a look of fear on his handsome face reflecting her own expression of concern for what was going to happen. “It’s coming.”

Chapter 5

T
he limo ride back to Jace’s complex was silent as Ariya stared out the window. She could feel Jace’s unassuming stares now and then but it would drift away whenever the images slipped into her mind. She would forget about the beast stalking her until she replayed that moment over and over when Julian slipped into her mind. Something had opened then. Not only just a release of her powers that would surely attract the elemental stalking her, but something else. She tried to pinpoint it as she climbed out of the car and followed Jace to his apartment. He would give her a curious gaze here and there as if trying to figure out why she fell into the background of her mind.

She shook it off even as she returned to his bedroom and quickly closed the door before taking a seat on the side of his bed. She idly slipped out of her shoes and pulled herself backward so that her bare feet dangled off the side. She stared up ahead at the high, white ceiling feeling as if the past was coming back to haunt her. It wasn’t quite a thought and not quite a memory, at least not one belonging to her.

In the connection with Julian, his past came to her in waves, like a movie that harkened back to an ancient world long forgotten in their contemporary times—

* * * *

Green meadows spread across the land like an untouched green blanket welcoming the blood and soils of battle. Julian Archane held his head high as he rode across the open land. Darkness fell as the sun darkened under a black cloud. Thunder roamed in the distance echoing the sounds of war cries on the opposite end. Two flags stood high on either side.

On Julian’s end was a white saltire on a blue field. On the opposite end was a centered red cross on a white background representing the English
armies. Both echoed the shield that the soldiers proudly wore on their plated armor.

“Hold the line!” Julian yelled to his men.

A sea of shiny armor and helmets appeared like beetles among the earthy green lands. Flags, spears, swords and shields pierced the sky and landscape accompanied by the smoke of powder from the catapults that attacked. It was then he felt the constriction of his helmet bringing on a waterfall of sweat upon his scalp.

Julian remembered he used to play upon these lands as a child. The grasslands served as transportation to anywhere his mind was willing to travel. Now it was nature’s battleground in preparation for a burial in the green blades.

He turned and looked at his men. Their faces were blank, their eyes determined and focused a
head on the enemies closing in. Julian remembered being that young once. His heart beat to the idea of swinging his sword and defending the land he ruled alongside his wife Marie.

Marie. Mo chrìdh.

In his mind, her long, dark wavy hair blew in the wind. She beckoned him with her smile alone, he would always be more than willing to take her in his arms and hold her. His pale hand would run across her dark olive skin, like silk, softer than the beautiful dresses she wore. As he stood high on his horse, exhaling and restless with the anticipation of the fight,

Julian closed his eyes. His thoughts that of Marie’s dark gaze peering down at him.

He was back home again with her standing in front of the massive stone structure that was their shelter and sanctuary from the outside world. He placed his hand on her swollen stomach that cradled his child growing within her womb. He could stay there forever ignoring the duties of his office because this was where his true duties lie. This was what he had to protect and he
would do so until his last dying breath.

Feeling a surge of fire growing in his chest, the words repeated within his mind. He opened his eyes and looked at the dark sea of his enemies like locusts running in toward their prey. Not all of his men would make it out alive and they understood it. But by the house of their ancestors and the families they left back home, they would not die without a fierce fight. Not until their last dying breath.

Julian gently clicked his heels against his horse and led him along the massive line his men held. He felt their hearts beating united as one. Their stoic expressions were undeterred by the rapid thumping and taunts of their enemies. He used the only thing he knew to prepare them to go into battle.

“I can see the determination strong in yer eyes,” he said looking at his men. “I can feel the rapid heartbeats within yer hearts. ‘Twas a cry out in the darkness threatenin’ ta take our homes and our lifestyles. Tonight their cry will be met with the clash of our swords sayin’
we will no cow’r to your demands! We will fight for our land and if ye dare ta challenge our cries, then may God have mercy on yer soul because tonight the victory bells will sing for our people!”

The air sang with cheers as his men pumped their fists, swords and spears into the air. “For the honor of
Scotland
!” Julian pulled his sword from his sheath and held it high over his head.

A surge of energy invaded the thick air as the men screamed their concurrence. Their voices continued pounding the air renewing Julian’s strength as he took his place at the front of the line. They were ready for the English now.