A Fractured Light (Beautiful Dark)

“It took a few days, but the bleeding finally stopped and you woke up.”
    “Thank you,” I said. “Thank you both, so much. I owe you my life. I don’t know what would have happened if . . .”
    “You would have died,” Asher said simply. “The Order’s plan would have worked.”
    I shivered as I thought about how badly the Order wanted me dead. What kind of a threat did I really pose to them? Asher and Ardith had said I was a weapon, but what did that really mean? I brought my hand up to my stomach without thinking, running my hand over the wound. But again, the skin was smooth.
    Wait a minute. A wound as deadly as the one Asher said I had doesn’t just heal on its own so quickly. I should have had a big, ugly gash to show for what had happened. Neither Asher nor Ardith had the power to heal. It wasn’t a Rebel power. That was something only the Guardians could do.
    So what weren’t they telling me?
    My mind flashed to Devin. He had that power. He’d tried to get it to manifest in me, too. But my one small attempt to revive a withered flower had been in vain.
    Devin had healed my broken ankle on the ski trip. Surely he was capable of healing a stab wound. He cared about me, right? He’d told me so in the clearing after he’d pulled the sword from me. Falling in love with you was one more thing I couldn’t help. His blue eyes had been full of anguish. What if he had had a change of heart, regretted what he did? Did he still care about me, enough to save my life?
    Don’t be stupid, Skye . I mentally kicked myself. He tried to kill you, just a few days ago. It’s over.
    It was true. Devin had been a friend when I needed a friend the most. He’d risked a lot for me, too. And he’d betrayed me worse than anyone else could have.
    I pushed the memory to the very back of my mind as Asher reached a hand across the table and covered mine with it. His fingers were still warm from holding his coffee mug—or maybe it was just him.
    “Want to take a walk?” he asked. “Are you feeling up to it?”
    I looked up at him and tried to relax. I trusted that Asher would do whatever he had to do to keep me safe. I had to stop questioning everything.
    “Sure,” I said.
    We bundled up in all the layers that we had with us. Despite the cold, it felt good to be outside. Ardith stood in the doorway summoning snow, strengthening the elemental protections around us. It fell in heavy waves, making it hard to see. Snowflakes clung to my lashes and sparkled in Asher’s hair.
    “That’s a good look for you,” I said, taking his hand.
    He grinned at me sheepishly and self-consciously brushed his hands through his hair. We kept walking. Neither of us said much. There was so much I wanted to say, but I couldn’t think of where to start or how to form the words. I just squeezed his hand tighter. Eventually the snow made it too hard to see, and we slowed to a stop.
    “Okay,” he said. “I don’t know what else to do to find our way back. Don’t tell Ardith.” He winked and took both of my hands in his, holding them up palm to palm. “Close your eyes,” he said. “Focus your energy.” He closed his eyes, then opened one of them again. “Like you did with the icicles earlier.”
    I did. I thought about Asher, the palms of his hands resting against mine and how good it felt. How much I cared about him. What he was willing to do to save my life. Before I knew it, I felt a gentle warmth on my face.
    I opened my eyes. A soft glow surrounded us, forming a protective shield that kept the snow from getting in our eyes. I peered ahead and could see a ball of fire just in front of us. “It will guide us back through the snow. Come on.”
    We walked back, again in silence. The little orb of fiery light led the way. After all of the drama of the past few days, I was grateful for the chance just to walk, side by side, with Asher. To let him hold my hand as if it were all that mattered in the world.
    Because with all that was coming, I knew the feeling wouldn’t last.
     
    We spent the rest of the day inside with the curtains drawn, a roaring fire in the fireplace. I was surprised at how easy it felt just to hang out with Asher and Ardith, listening to stories from their childhood with the Rebellion.
    “The elders could never keep us in line.” Ardith laughed. “Little Rebels causing mischief every chance we got.”
    “We were terrible,” Asher said, grinning at me. “They used to tell us stories about the Rogues