Asher's Beloved

Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen - Crazy

Two weeks have passed after the incident at the courthouse and I'm now back at the castle. Although I didn't have any bruises or injuries from what happened, I still can't forget about it. Every little sound makes me jump and my heightened hearing doesn't make it easy to relax. I tried to sleep in my room but just the thought of being alone made me run across into Asher's.

Asher, of course, has no problems with me sleeping next to him every night. He's become extremely protective and doesn't let me leave his sight for too long, even if Vito and Corbin are with me. It took some time for me to reassure both Vito and Corbin to not feel guilty, as they felt like they had failed me as my guards. Corbin was especially distraught when he got back from visiting his family, feeling like if he had been there guarding me with Vito then perhaps it wouldn't have happened.

I don't blame anyone, mainly because I don't even know what happened. I didn't see who trapped me in the room and struck me into the wall. But I do feel that Asher knows something, he just won't tell me. Maybe it's because I haven't recovered fully and he doesn't want to cause me more stress?

Sighing, I step into the library with Vito and Corbin taking up their usual posts outside the door. I feel the safest here and when I'm with Asher, so every day I find myself wandering back in and spending hours reading a book.

But today, something is off.

As soon as I step in, it's like something is pulling me to the left of the numerous bookshelves. I don't realize when I slide the ladder, stopping it without really thinking about it. I'm relying more on how I feel than what I'm thinking. But there's an urgency inside me to get a book; like an itch I'm dying to scratch.

Climbing the ladder to the top, I pull out a book without searching for it. I knew exactly where it was. I flip the cover and frown at the title; Vampire Gifts. Jumping off the step, I land perfectly on my feet. Flipping through the book, I don't take any of the material in until I stop at page 220. The chapter is about the gift of teleportation which piques my curiosity.

"If you learn to teleport properly, you could leave the kingdom. You could go back home, back to your life...to your family." A voice whispers inside my mind, freaking me out so much that I drop the book.

This isn't Ivanna or Zoya, it's a different voice. My heart starts to race as I wonder if I'm going crazy. I didn't think that and the voice addressed me directly. I hurriedly climb the ladder and place the book back in the shelf, backing away from it once I got off.

"Shouldn't you practice? A vampire who hasn't mastered her gift yet, how pathetic." That same feminine voice cackles in my mind, making me whimper and clutch my head.

"Who are you?! Leave me alone!" I yell as if I'm talking to my beasts, only I receive no reply from the voice.

I search for Zoya and Ivanna, feeling them in my mind but they don't talk to me when I call them. It's like I hit a wall every time. I growl in frustration, wondering why they have cut me off. My body starts to shake the more I remember what happened two weeks ago, especially because this voice sounded the same as the one I heard that day.

"There you are!" I scream in fright, turning only to see Asher walking towards me with a frown. "I've been looking everywhere for you, what's wrong?"

I run and hug him to me tightly, hating how weak and scared I feel but also needing his comfort. Maybe he won't think I'm crazy if I tell him. But, what if he doesn't believe me? Suddenly, I get the overwhelming urge to keep it all a secret.