A Curse in Ash by TBD

Author:TBD [Zantopoulos, Julie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

Riordan

H

e woke and walked like a zombie down the steps toward coffee and doughy goodness. Riordan sat in the back of the shop while his aunt and her employees hurried around helping customers. The warm berry scone was delicious, but it tasted better on Aisling’s tongue.

He’d put his foot in his mouth last night. Riordan had planted a seed of doubt that he wasn’t up for the challenge of dating her and then sent her home with the God of Abs and Sex. He was losing way too much sleep over Aisling.

“You seem lost in thought, Rory. What’s going on in that shaggy head of yours?” Maggie said, stepping over to where he sat.

He ran a hand through his hair. “Ash.”

“Problems with the bond?”

“Not directly, no. She comes with a set of challenges I wasn’t expecting.”

His aunt sat down across from him and put her flour-covered hands on the counter between them. “Complications are inevitable. You bonded with a powerful witch used to doing things on her own. Add attraction and that is a recipe for complications, Rory.”

He knew his aunt was trying. “There’s more to it than that. There’s another guy and there’s…”

“There’s nobody else in this realm, or any other, that can have even a fraction of the bond with her you do. Don’t throw that away.” His aunt warned.

She wiped at her eyes. “Rose was the love of my life and if I gave up because things were messy… Our relationship was tough, we fought almost as much as we didn’t, but we loved one another. When that drunk driver took her away from me a part of me died, too.” She got quiet. “I felt it through the bond. She was slipping away, and I couldn’t do anything to save her. But I also felt the love she had for me mixed in with her fear. I wasn’t physically with her when she died, but we were together at the end.”

She stood. “Things in life are rarely easy, Rory. I won’t lie and say it won’t be difficult, but I can promise it will also be worth it. We’ve both lost too many people we love to things beyond our control to lose them to circumstances we can.”

She walked away, and left Riordan feeling properly scolded. Aunt Maggie would give anything for a complicated relationship with Rose again. And, of course, he’d love the chance to argue with his parents again.

Riordan changed and left for the campus gym to clear his mind. He stopped in the café to buy a bottle of water, hoping to see Lettie, but her smile was sadly missing from behind the counter.

“Where’s Charlotte?” He asked the guy working the register.

“She called out,” he answered before turning to fill an order.

Riordan loosened up with cardio, some jump rope, and laps around the track but his thoughts were still spiraling. As his legs burned and his stride stretched, he contemplated his position.

He liked Aisling.

He still mistrusted magic, but he didn’t hate using it with her, especially in the bedroom.

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