Prince of Wolves - Tasha Black Page 0,24

different about her,” Cressida mused. “She wasn’t a witch, but I could still smell the magic on her.”

“You could what?” Ashe asked.

“There’s a lot more going on in Tarker’s Hollow than you might think,” Cressida said, winking at her. “And clearly a lot more going on in Rosethorn Valley than I ever thought.”

Ashe nodded, wondering again what Cressida’s deal was. Maybe she was some sort of mortal bounty hunter, trained to sniff out her prey.

“So why are you here?” Cressida asked plainly.

“I was… useless where I come from,” Ashe admitted. “I came here to escape and then I realized what I was.”

“Where is Willow?” Cressida asked.

“She’s in Faerie,” Ashe said. “At least I think she is.”

“So you didn’t do anything to her?” Cressida asked.

“Of course not,” Ashe said. “She was running there as I was coming here. We crossed paths in the parking lot of the diner.”

“The night with the bear…” Cressida mused.

She looked somewhat relieved, but she was still frowning.

“So why are you here?” she repeated.

“This is my life,” Ashe said, wondering how someone so observant could have missed the obvious.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Cressida asked.

“This life - the family, the apartment, the job - all of it was mine,” Ashe said, building confidence. “It was stolen from me. And I’m taking it back.”

The timer went off and Ashe grabbed oven mitts and wrestled the pans out of the oven, managing not to burn herself or drop the cake. She set the pans on top of the stove to cool, took off the mitts, and turned back to Cressida, who was observing her with dancing eyes.

“What?” Ashe asked.

“Nothing,” Cressida said. “It’s just funny to see someone who looks so much like Willow be so damned awkward around a stove.”

Ashe laughed, and Cressida chuckled, too.

“What’s your real name?” Cressida asked.

“Ashe,” she replied.

“Nice to meet you,” Cressida said.

“Nice to meet you too,” Ashe replied.

“Well, Ashe, you seem like a nice person,” Cressida said. “And I’m going to be honest with you. You say this life was stolen from you, but you’re wrong. This life didn’t just happen, it was built. And it was built by someone else. That person has friends and feelings and she deserves to have her life back if she still wants it. She worked hard on it.”

“But—” Ashe began.

“You’re mad that someone stole your life from you after you spent a few days in it,” Cressida went on. “Imagine how you’d feel if someone took it after twenty-seven years.”

She had a point.

“What am I supposed to do?” Ashe asked, feeling defeated.

“That’s the fun part,” Cressida said. “You get to decide for yourself now.”

That was a strange new idea.

Cressida straightened.

“I’ve gotta go,” she said. “But if you see Willow, please tell her we miss her.”

“I will,” Ashe promised, as her new friend left.

“And tell your boyfriend in the backyard that we don’t allow pets at the diner,” Cressida added over her shoulder.

14

Varik

Varik watched the sun go down over Ashe’s building from under the sycamores. The woman from the diner had come and gone without any trouble. He’d thought about confronting her, but she seemed to like Ashe, and was clearly not a threat.

Varik sighed and looked around one more time. He had done all he could, setting wards both in the apartment and around the building and surrounding lot. He had even set a couple of magical traps in the nearby woods, that would alert him if anything not of this realm came near.

There was nothing left to do now but try to sleep a little and hope that maybe the fae realm would forget their princess.

It was too much to hope for though, and he knew it.

Ronan whimpered at his feet and he scooped the pup into his arms.

“You’re okay, buddy,” Varik reassured him, nuzzling the fuzzy little head.

Given the circumstances, Varik knew it was safest for him to shift and sleep in his wolf form. His heightened senses would act as another layer of security.

Maybe the little one would also enjoy a chance to rest in his other form for a change.

Varik carried him behind the trees and rhododendrons, where the back of the yard met the wooded hillside. He found a sheltered spot that was still in view of Ashe’s apartment.

The yellow light shone, warm and bright, from her windows and he felt his heart drawn to it, to her.

But he wanted to protect her more than he wanted to be near her, so he sighed and placed Ronan on the mossy