“As our leader, Ash has to make hard, impossible decisions, and they test his commitment regularly,” Loki once again interjects, his voice full of pain for his friend, and Ash’s eyes go dark, his brow furrowed.
“Like what?” I whisper, my mouth going dry as my grip tightens on Ash’s arm.
“Like whether someone lives or dies,” Ash tells me, voice lacking any emotion, his eyes empty and staring just over my head, like he’s recalling all of those lives he’s been forced to take.
Tears sting my eyes as I let go of his arm, and use both hands to guide his attention back to me. His grey eyes find mine, and they are haunted, full of ghosts that no eighteen year old should have following them around.
“I’m so sorry, my love,” I murmur, feeling moisture spill down my cheeks. His whole face softens, his own hand reaching up to wipe away my tears with his long pianist fingers.
“Don’t cry, Princess. Please. I can’t bear to see you cry over me,” he pleads huskily, leaning down and placing our foreheads together.
“I told you, you are worth every tear of mine, Asher Vanderbilt. You all are. My tears are not mine anymore but yours, as the rest of me is yours.”
He takes a sharp inhale, his large chest rising, and I know that it will take time and persistence for him, for all of them, to believe that they are worthy of my love. I will tell them a thousand times a day if that’s what it takes. Closing the distance, I place a gentle kiss on his lips, tasting the salt of my tears mingled with the coffee that lingers on his. He kisses me back, his whole body relaxing as he seeks entry with his tongue. I willingly give it, loving the taste of him in my mouth as we explore each other, like discovering a new place just off a well known path.
He ends the kiss with one last sweet peck on my lips, pulling away and looking more at peace than he did before.
“I love you so much, Lilly,” he confesses, staring into my eyes with such intensity, I know that I should be scared. But I’m not. I meant what I said. We are a forever type of thing. “Now eat up, otherwise, we’ll be late for our first day back.”
I begin to cut into my pancakes, heaping my fork with eggs and bacon too, and moaning when I place the food in my mouth.Fucking yum!
We finish breakfast in a comfortable silence, although I do catch the others giving Ash funny looks every so often. After the fifth time, where Jax actually elbows Ash in the side, I turn to face the man in question.
“Out with it, Lucifer,” I tell him, his lips quirking at the nickname. He sighs, setting his own cutlery down.
“At the meeting last night, Julian told us that we’re having dinner this Friday with all the Black Knight families,” he tells me, peering at me. He rubs the back of his neck whilst biting his lip in a way that would be very distracting if I didn’t suddenly feel butterflies take flight in my stomach. “And we’ve been told to bring you.”
“W–what?” I ask, my stomach dropping. “W–why?” I look at the others, but they all have matching looks of worry on their faces.
“We don’t know, Pretty Girl,” Loki answers, taking hold of my suddenly cold hand. “But we will be there, and I promise we won’t leave you alone, not even for a moment,” he tells me vehemently, rubbing his fingers across my knuckles.
“Do they...do they know about the bonds and shares?” I question, turning to Ash. His brow is once again deeply furrowed. Poor guy will have terrible frown lines soon if this keeps up.
“I’m not sure how they can, although that thought did occur to us, too,” he muses. “I looked at the papers. Laura was, and now you are, silent investors. Completely anonymous.”
“But I wouldn’t put it past them to have found out,” Kai states, his melodic voice full of concern.
“Maybe it’s just dinner, you know?” I say, feeling unconvinced. “I mean, Julian seems to have a bit of a...thing for me, right?” My nose wrinkles remembering his inappropriate looks and touches.
Ash’s upper lip peels back.
“I hope that you’re right, Princess,” he says, looking round at the others before settling back on me.
But as chills spread over my skin in the warm room, I can’t help the feeling that I’m wrong.
* * *
The first day back in class flies by, and before I know it, it’s lunchtime. Willow shared my last class, Interior Design, so we head to the dining hall together. I open the wooden doors, hearing a gasp next to me as Willow takes in the beautiful, light-filled space with a slack-jawed expression.
“We’re not in Kansas anymore,” I say with a chuckle, thinking back to the first time I stepped foot in here, and the awe I felt seeing it.
“We are definitely not in World’s End, that’s for sure.” She ruefully laughs as we make our way to a table next to one of the floor-to-ceiling windows.
“Did you not come here for breakfast?” I ask as we take our seats, Willow facing the door, whilst I choose one looking out at the breathtaking view of the mountains and forest.
“I was too nervous to eat,” she admits, looking a little lost as a waiter, Gerald, comes over.
“Good afternoon, Miss Darling, Miss Anderson,” he greets us, Willow’s eyes going wider than even I thought possible.