Chapter 129: Leaving the Tomb
Several minutes passed while Ashlynn and Nyrielle held each other. Neither of them wanted to be the first to pull away but even sheltered by Nyrielle’s dark, feathered wings, Ashlynn found herself struggling in the invasive cold of the underground tomb.
"You never told me you had wings," Ashlynn said, stepping back and looking at Nyrielle’s pale, artfully sculpted face. With her dark hair falling in ringlets and the black wings wrapped around them, she looked like a fallen angel that had come to rescue her from the depths of some horrible nightmare.
"I’m not dreaming, am I?" Ashlynn said, reaching out and gently cupping Nyrielle’s face. "You really came for me?"
"I’ll always come for you," Nyrielle promised, leaning into Ashlynn’s touch. "But darling," she purred, leaning close to whisper in Ashlynn’s ear. "You can’t keep torturing me like this. Finding you covered in wounds, it’s..."
"I know," Ashlynn said, lowering her head. "But I’ll heal. Andrus... he..."
"I see," Nyrielle said softly, brushing Ashlynn’s blond hair aside and lifting her chin to meet her gaze. "It should be dark enough now for Zedya to reach the lake. Let’s take you all back to the castle. Lord Ritchel owes us an explanation," she said, her voice growing cold as she directed a dark look at Hauke.
"It was Paulus," the young Frost Walker protested. "He’s the one who conspired with the Tuscans."
"Tuscans?" Nyrielle said, raising an eyebrow. "I don’t see any Tuscans here. No, I will have an accounting for all of this, including your part in it, little lord."
"Nyrielle," Ashlynn said, pulling the vampire’s midnight blue gaze back to her. "Hauke helped to save me. So did Heila."