Chapter 30 Chapter Thirty
"A cat?"
Asher and Aquila said in unison and I cleared my throat. A desperate attempt to regain my composure.
Asher stood a few feet in front of me, broad shoulders filling the garden path as though he had risen out of the earth itself. Aquila lingered beside him, looking far too entertained for his own good.
“Yes, a cat,” I said at once. Might as well go with the roll of the ball I guess.
Aquila barked out a laugh.
Asher’s gaze moved from me to the hedge, then back to me. He always had a curious look in his eyes whenever we spoke, as if everything I did confused or amused him, or maybe it was a mix of both; I don't know.
“I see,” he said.
I straightened the skirt of my dress with what dignity remained to me.
“So, you were looking for a cat?” Aquila asked.
“Yes. An orange-looking cat with green eyes.” I explained.
His grin only widened then fell when Asher’s eyes narrowed slightly at him. It was subtle, the sort of look one man gives another when an entire conversation passes silently between them.
Aquila’s smile faltered with a clear of his throat.
“So, this...cat,” Asher started, voice calm. “Where exactly did you see it?”
I hesitated only a second.
“It...came into my room this morning, but was gone when I woke up.”
Aquila choked.
It was not graceful. One moment he stood there smirking, the next he was coughing into his fist.
Asher turned slowly toward him.
There was no expression on his face, but something in the stillness of his eyes sharpened.
"What? Did I say something wrong?" I asked.
“So, this cat came into your room this morning,” he repeated my words back to me and I nodded.
“Yes,” I said, "I thought I'd find it in here, do you know the cat? I mean, have you seen it before?"
Aquila suddenly found the sky fascinating.
“Well,” he said too brightly, “many cats in the world. Hard to keep track of them all.”
“It's a stray,” Asher said flatly. "It lingers around this place."
“Strays?!” Aquila gasped. "I am --uh, the cat, is not a stray."
“I'd beg to differ.” Asher scoffed.
Aquila shifted where he stood, smoothing his coat though it needed no smoothing. “You know what, now that I think of it, I just remembered I have something urgent to do.”
“Oh really,” Asher said. "Why don't you help Crystal find this cat that jumped into her bed on a whim?"
"Um... excuse--" I started, but neither of them was paying attention to me anymore. I pursed my lips, my eyebrows drawing together.
“I just remembered I have to get to work.” Aquila squared up to Asher in a stance and Asher turned to face him. Now that I have a better look at them, they were both tall men, with very distinct features.
Aquila was only a few inches shorter, his hair was long and red, tied in a low ponytail and braided at the tip. He had on a black leather shirt and leather pants. Asher was more polished. A bed of thick short black hair. He was handsome.
And I was being ignored.
What in the world was happening?
Asher folded his arms across his chest. “Aquila.”
Aquila flashed me a dazzling smile that fooled no one. “Crystal, always lovely. Continue your…botanical investigations.”
Then, before either of us could stop him, he stepped backward, pivoted neatly, and strode down the garden path with remarkable speed.
"Uh..."
Asher watched him go with the patience of a man imagining several forms of murder.
Then he exhaled through his nose and looked back at me.
“Does the cat belong to you?” I asked slowly,.
Asher turned, not fully at first, then he sighed, scratching the back of his neck before turning to face me again.
“Something like that. Don't worry, you will probably see it again.”
“You’re both strange.”
“You don't even know the half of it.”
The corner of my lips twitched at his dry humour.
"Is this how you usually are when you're not trying to be intimidating?" I asked, the question left my mouth without even thinking.
The breeze moved through the garden, stirring lavender and ivy along the stone walls. Somewhere nearby, water trickled from a fountain I had not yet found. Without Aquila filling the air with nonsense, the quiet settled heavily between us. Then he spoke.
"Who knows?"
Okay, that was definitely a chuckle in his tone.
“Crystal, I-" pause. "I owe you an apology.”
"Yes, you do." I crossed my arms over my chest. Waiting for him to go on.
He glanced toward the hedges, as if gathering patience from the leaves themselves, then turned back to me. His eyes were somehow softer.
“It had not been my intention to scare you,” he said. “But I realize that is exactly what I did.”
I folded my arms.
“You think?”
His eyes flicked to mine again.
“I am not practiced in…” He paused, searching for a word and seeming irritated to need one at all. “Delicacy.”
I nearly laughed despite myself.
“No,” I said dryly. “You are not.”
Something warm and fleeting passed his gaze. Not quite amusement. Not quite relief.
Then it was gone.
“I was not lying when I said there was a bounty on your head.”
The words dropped between us like stones.
“And yet,” I said carefully, “I am expected to trust the man who kidnapped me.”
His brow lowered. “I did not kidnap you.”
“You dragged me unconscious into your territory.”
“I saved you.” he corrected.
He actually did.
"And I never got to properly say thank you." I cleared my throat. Despite everything, he did save me.
For the first time since meeting him, he seemed genuinely at a loss.
“You're welcome." He cleared his throat nervously.
“Who would place a bounty on me?” I asked. “And why?”
His expression darkened.
“That is what I intend to discover.”
“Why?”
Because I-.” he took a sudden step forward and I instinctively. And whatever he was about to say died in his mouth.
"You can stay here until we figure it out."
I studied him, searching for deception. If he was lying, he did it with unnerving calm.
“If you say so."