Private Tales Echoes of the Elderglen

She’d been halfway through moving again, ready to finish it, to slam the girl down properly this time, when something snapped tight around her limbs. She stopped in her tracks, looking down in utter confusion as it seemed her shadows were attacking her.

"Wh—What the fu—" Her mouth was muffled mid-curse as shadows lashed around her arms, her throat, her face.

These were not her shadows. Not cold and slick like icewater, not the biting, precise tendrils she wove like thread through the dark. These were warm, smoky. His.

Her silvery eyes flared wide in realisation. Then narrowed just as fast. Her growl rumbled low, animalistic, restrained only by the shadow gag. A snarl vibrated from her chest, but she stilled, watching him. Watching the fire dancing in his palm.

Interesting.

She didn’t move as he staggered toward her like a wounded predator, fire raised, protective fury written in every line of his body. She clocked every detail. Her gaze darted to the female, then back to him.

A bonded pair.. Cute.

The panic she’d tasted in the girl made more sense now. How fucking delicious.

Another shadow wielder, and this one came armed with feelings. She scoffed behind the gag, and with a flick of her fingers, her own shadows spiked back to life, slicing through the foreign ones like knives through smoke. They shattered apart in wisps and curled away into the rain-soaked night, leaving her standing free, drenched, and unimpressed.

Hands up, she took a single step back. “Put that away before you hurt yourself, Sparky,” she drawled, voice hoarse with old rage and new irritation.

Lightning cracked overhead. She didn’t blink. Her hands stayed raised, fingers twitching subtly in case she had to throw another strike. But her tone turned lethal.

“And why the fuck should I believe you?”

She jerked her chin toward the alley behind them, where the bodies of her pursuers lay still and rain-drenched. “How do I know you weren’t with those three back there?”

Her expression twisted with suspicion and something more dangerous. Hope she didn’t want, and interest she couldn’t afford.

The world felt wrong. Too still. Too quiet. Like all the breath had been sucked out of it the moment Vespera hit the ground. Her cheek pressed into the slick cobblestones, her nose throbbing as blood mixed with the dirty rainwater in her mouth, choking her senses. She couldn't move yet. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't think through the ringing in her ears and the horrible metallic taste flooding her throat.

Pathetic.

Her Mate is in danger, and she had run at it head first like a fool with no magic, no power, no plan. Just raw, reckless panic that had never been a part of her before this bond. And this was the result. Slammed into the ground like a ragdoll with shadows coiling and slithering like vipers ready to strike again.

Her vision was blurred. She only caught fractured glimpses of the storm above, the hiss of fire, boots pounding in mud and then...Ash.

Vess...

The bond snapped taut again, pulling her back into the thick of it with a gasp. His voice was sharp, broken with fury. But it pierced through the haze. She coughed violently as she lurched upright, rainwater and blood spilling from her lips. Another cough, then another, until the tightness in her chest eased and she could breathe again. Even if it burned. Her fingers reached up, trembling, and gripped his arm, squeezing it.

It was a signal. A quiet 'I'm okay'. She wasn't dying. Not yet. Maybe soon, if the woman sent another barrage of shadows at them.

She blinked and found his eyes, the storms present there just as much as they were in the skies above. The fire in his hand hissed as rain fought to dim it. It only roared brighter, hotter. She nodded once at him, gritting her teeth as she drew her gaze upward. Away from Ash. To Her.

To the woman Ash had called Silo.

And her face twisted- not with pain or fear, but hatred. Pure and cold and laced with something so deep and ancient. The kind of hatred that curled up quietly and crept under your skin like a poison. She tried to stand upright, letting Ash help her. Still, she barely managed as the world spun, blood trickling down from one nostril as lightning cracked again.

And she spat, voice ragged and low but laced with venom. Aimed entirely at Tsillah as she swayed slightly.

"He needs help. Not money." Her words were a curse, a vow. A furious prayer whispered into the storm. Vespera did not care if this shadow wielder was a legend, or dangerous, or broken. She was real. This was all real. And right now, she was staring at some bitch who nearly killed her Mate. The same bitch that might be the last hope they had.

She tried to wipe the blood out from under her nose, smearing it across her face instead.

"He doesn't need your paranoia or your petty little power trip. He needs a fucking miracle. And if you can't give him that, then get out of our way."

The world was thick with tension. His heart pounded in his chest, still thrumming with the panic from moments ago, Vespera’s blood smeared across the cobblestones, the terror of watching her fall, helpless in a way he never wanted to be again. How many times had he failed to protect her now?

But the moment her fingers gripped his arm, squeezing, he felt the heat of her pulse against his skin. She was alright, but they weren’t out of danger yet.

The anger that had burned through him moments ago, so hot, so furious, cooled now into something controlled, focused. He could feel the heat from his fire still crackling between his fingers, and his other hand held her with a tight grip, pulling her back into his side as he rose from his knee.

He took in the way she moved, the way she weaved darkness into the air around her like a second skin. But it was more than magic. It was control. A quiet, dangerous power that he couldn’t deny. She knew what she was doing. Too well.

He wasn’t intimidated. If he managed to best his brother, he could best her.

Vespera’s words, strained but burning with a fury of their own, cut through his thoughts. She was right. They needed help, not games.

"Vess…" His voice was tight, still raw from the force of the shadow that had nearly crushed him moments ago. But there was no time for softness. His eyes never left Tsillah as he spoke, the fire flickering dangerously in his palm, "Don’t waste your breath. She doesn’t give a shit about your anger. She doesn’t give a shit about mine either.. We can find someone else." he said, extinguishing the flame to let his hand rest on the side of his mate's head, looking over her bloody face with barely restrained fury.

Tsillah barked a sharp, humourless laugh, the sound cutting through the rain. She folded her arms lazily across her chest, shifting her weight onto one hip as she stared them down with thinly veiled disdain.

"Do I look like a fucking deity to you?" she sneered, her voice dripping venom. "I'm not in the habit of going around handing out miracles."

Her gaze flicked between them, the way he shielded her, the way she clung to him, trembling but defiant. It made something deep and ugly curdle in her gut. Mated pairs. She loathed them. Rare enough that she could go some time without having to look at their pathetic devotion, but when she did, it made her skin crawl.

Fucking revolting.

"But if you wanna see a power trip, doll face," she snapped, voice low and dangerous, "I'll show you a fucking power trip."

Her silvery eyes flashed with warning, and for a moment the shadows coiled tighter around her like a second skin, an unspoken threat humming in the air. One wrong move and she'd tear them both apart just to make the point.

"Life’s short," she said coolly, turning her gaze back to Asher. "Talk fast, Sparky. What do you want? And don’t leave out the part about what’s in it for me."

The rain dripped from her lashes as she waited, her posture deceptively relaxed, every inch of her poised to strike.

Vespera's chest heaved as she looked up at as through damp lashes. His face seemed to be a mixture of restrained fury and raw, heartbreaking worry. When he told her not to waste her breath, she gave him one short nod, her heart pounding. This bitch. Her thoughts were vicious, golden eyes narrowing on Tsillah, wishing desperately she could use some of Ash's magic to incinerate her where she stood.

But Ash's hand, warm and steady, cupped her face, bringing her back to the present. To reality. She swallowed hard against the knot forming in her throat. Pain flared where his thumb brushed her bruising cheekbone, but she tried not to flinch. Instead, she leaned into it, craving that anchor, even as she whispered to him. Hoarse and ashamed at her own stupidity. "I'm sorry."

The word had only just been spoken when Tsillah's voice cut through the rain, full of venom and disgust. Doll face. She sneered and Vespera stiffened, her pulse jumping wildly. Her fingers curled into fists so tight that her knuckles cracked as they turned white. She heard Ash tense beside her, too, but before either could react, those shadows were moving, coating her in their darkness.

Vespera gently pulled herself from the shielding of Ash's body and nudged him in the ribs- hard.

Talk, the silent shove screamed. Now. Before she fucking kills us both.

And under her breath, low enough that she hoped only Ash would hear, she muttered. "If she touches you again, I'll rip her fucking throat out." It was a stupid, reckless, baseless comment. Powerless as she was, it didn't matter. The words tore themselves loose anyway, pure and unfiltered, because every fiber of her being was begging not to lose him again.

Tsillah waited, rain dripping from her, a smug smile carved into her sharp face.

Vess didn't move back. She didn't hide behind Ash this time. Instead, she stayed close enough that their arms brushed, a solid line of defiance pressed into his side, daring Tsillah to try anything stupid while she was still breathing.

If he needed help, she would get it for him. If he had to claw it from that bitch's cold dead hands, she would.

"You've nothing to apologise for." he answered Vespera quietly, his gaze softening on her. No, this was his fault.

Asher’s jaw tightened the moment Tsillah barked that laugh. Cruel, sharp, meant to cut. He didn’t flinch, but his entire body went rigid, shoulders squaring instinctively between her and Vespera. His fingers twitched, flame licking up the side of his palm as the shadows around Tsillah stirred like wolves catching a scent.

Then came the venom, the disdain in her words, the curled lip when she looked at them like they were something she’d scrape off her boot.

And then a threat.

His own shadows coiled, tightened, and he felt his anger rise like a stormfront. He felt Vespera pull slightly from his side, nudge him hard in the ribs. Talk.. Her words under her breath made his throat close. Even bloodied and battered, she was ready to go for Tsillah’s throat. Idiot. Brave. Beautiful idiot. Her promise of murder grounded him, the corner of his lips curling slightly. He could practically hear Tsillah's eyes roll.

His flame didn’t lash out. His power didn’t flare wild. But his eyes burned hot as he looked at the other female. When he spoke again, his voice was low, and dangerously calm.

“You won’t touch her again.” No growl. No shout. Just a promise. Cold and final.

Asher let out a slow, shaky breath and turned his full attention on the shadow-wielder. The rain hissed, streaking down his face, steam rising faintly where it met his skin.

“You're a shadow-wielder.” he said, voice rough with heat barely held in check. Tsillah blinked and shrugged, mocking as he stated the obvious.

“So I’m asking you to help me with mine.” He raised his free hand slightly, palm up — and the fire died, curling into a writhing flicker of shadow, laced with embers. It trembled, unstable. Hungry. “I wasn't born with this power. It listens, but I don’t know the language. I need someone who does.”

His eyes never left hers, storm meeting steel.

“You make shadow obey. You wear it like skin. That’s what I need. You train me, and I’ll learn fast. I don’t care how brutal it is. Just make it stop controlling me.”

And then, quieter, voice scraping raw:

“Help me survive it.” The fire-shadow died in his palm. He took a step forward, slowly, deliberately, not threatening, but steady. A bargain.

“In return… I give you a place to disappear. Somewhere you can live without being hunted down, for whatever it is that you did..." He let that sink in for a heartbeat.

“My home, in the Elderglen. Neutral ground. Ancient protections. Not even the Courts fuck with it. I’ll swear it to you. Yours. No one will touch you there. Not the ones hunting you. Not the ones whispering stories about you.. Nobody.” His voice was steady now, no tremble, no doubt..

A beat of silence, but Asher was unwilling to let it stretch. "Well?"

Tsillah stared at him.

Not just stared, glared, like she was trying to peel the skin from his face with her eyes alone. Her lips twisted, halfway between a sneer and something unreadable. Rain clung to her lashes. Shadows curled tight around her shoulders like smoke refusing to rise.

A place to disappear..

She scoffed, low and sharp, as though she didn't quite believe in such a place.

“Refuge..” she repeated under her breath like it tasted bad. Her arms folded tight over her chest, jaw clenched, eyes narrowing.

“You make it sound so easy. Like I haven’t spent the last decade sleeping with a knife under my pillow. You think the people after me give a shit about neutral ground?” She stepped forward, pointing at him with a single finger, shadows flaring at her heels. “They burned down a sacred temple. Slaughtered a town. Just to find me.”

She shook her head, laughing under her breath, joyless. But then, there was a pause of silence.

Something shifted. Her shoulders dropped by a fraction. Not relaxed, just… tired. Her eyes flicked briefly toward the ground. The idea of rest wasn’t laughable. It was foreign.

“…Still.” Her voice was quieter now. “Might be nice. To sleep a full night. To stop running for a while. To…” She caught herself, eyes snapping back up to Asher, fire meeting smoke.

“No promises it lasts,” she snapped. “Maybe I’ll get bored after a few days.” A flash of teeth. Half grin, half snarl. “But I’ll take it.”

She stepped forward, closing the gap between them with a suddenness that made the shadows bristle. She extended her hand.

“A week, that's all i'm offering. I, Tsillah Driaxas, give you a week of my time. I try to help. If you’re too fucking dense to learn anything, that’s not my problem, but you still give me what you promised. Regardless.”

A pause. Her gaze bore into his. “Deal?”

Asher hesitated. Just for a moment. Then he nodded once, firm, and took her hand.

The moment their palms touched, a shudder rippled through the air and a dark band of ink shimmered to life around both their wrists, like twin snakes twisting once before settling into skin.

"Alright. We start now."

Tsillah didn’t flinch. Her eyes glittered. And then, without warning, her body collapsed into shadow a curling vortex of inky blackness that shot away, weaving between the trees. From the dark, her voice echoed.

“Find me.”

The rain seemed to freeze in the air as Ash stepped forward. Vespera said nothing, only watched him and listened- his voice was rough and steady, power flickering uncontrollably in his hand, and his honestly laid bare before the stranger like an open wound. Help me survive it. Those words buried deep into her chest and made her ache.

She hadn't known.

Hadn't realized that this was that grave.

And yet, even now, he stood tall and refused to let it break him as he finally asked for help- something she worried he might not get the chance to do. Something she'd never seen him do. Not Ash. Not the male who carried pain like armor and bled in silence instead of asking for help.

Her head turned sharply toward him, wide golden eyes scanning his expression as he spoke.

I give you a place to disappear...

Her throat tightened.

He was offering his home. Their home. His protection. For a woman who nearly turned them to mist. Offered their former sanctuary for a woman like her.

She opened her mouth like she was about to speak, to protest the insanity, but Tsillah cut in first. Her voice dripped with bitterness and Vespera could feel she shadows rolling off the woman in waves as she stood before a man asking for help. When she snarled that her enemies wouldn't care about the neutral ground, Vespera forced herself to be heard.

"They will in the Elderglen.." Her voice was sharp at first, but began to waver the longer she spoke. She could feel the bitterness rising behind her words. "We have..soldiers. Ones who would die defending our sacred borders. If you stay within them, no one will touch you. They wouldn't make it far enough..." Her voice trailed off.

It wasn't a boast. It was a truth older than Tsillah's anger, older than whatever vengeance she carried. A truth nearly as old as the first of the Solar Courts. The Elderglen did not break for outsiders.

But then came the deal. The offer. The ink binding itself to Ash and Tsillah's wrists. She stared at the serpentine mark writhing faintly before it settled and felt that familiar sour feeling in her stomach. She felt that horrible tug in the bond again. Not the desire for Asher, but jealousy.

She hated it. Hated herself for it. For how her chest burned as Ash pulled his hand away, marked by another woman. Marked by a beautiful creature with the kind of power she would never know. Someone who could hold three men in the air with a flick of her fingers. A female who could match Ash in power, who could probably surpass him. Probably, her ass. The woman could best him easily.

You have bruises on your face and no magic in your veins and she-

Before she could finish her self loathing thoughts, Tsillah disappeared into the swirls of shadow, her voice left behind. Beckoning him to find her.

Vespera whipped toward Ash, panic surging up her throat like bile. "What the fuck? What the fuck-" She hissed, eyes wide as possessive words spilled from her lips. "Did she just bind you? Is that- what the fuck was that?" Her breaths came in quick. She wasn't sure if it was the storm, the magic, or the way her mind told her that her mate was slipping further into something she couldn't follow.

She exhaled hard between another series of 'what the fucks' and shoved her fingers through wet hair. Rain streamed down her cheeks and the blood trailed down her face and neck with it. The ink shimmered on his wrist, a living reminder that it was too late.

Asher’s eyes tracked the last of the shadow as it vanished into the dark, leaving only the echo of Tsillah’s voice and the faint shimmer of ink on his wrist. The rain hissed around them, cold and steady. But it wasn’t the storm pulling his attention anymore.

It was her.

Vespera’s voice lashed through the air like a whip, panic and rage and fear all tangled up in one breath. He spun to face her, and he caught the wild look in her eyes, wide, golden, furious. Her wet hair clung to her skin, her cheeks flushed with adrenaline, blood trailing in rivulets down her temple.

"What the fuck? What the fuck—Did she just bind you? Is that—what the fuck was that?"

Click to expand...

He blinked, once, then moved.

“Hey.” His voice cut through her spiral like flint striking stone, not loud, just firm.

His hands came up, cupping her face with care but no hesitation, thumb brushing against the blood-streaked line of her cheek. His palm was calloused and warm even through the rain. Mossy green eyes locked onto hers with an intensity he hoped would ground her.

“Look at me,” he said gently, the muscle in his jaw still tight. “I’m not bound to her. It’s just a bargain. A debt. Once she teaches me what I need, and I give her the safe ground I promised, it’s done. The ink fades. There’s no chain. No leash.”

His voice softened, the edge dulled by something gentler as he searched her eyes.

“Nothing has changed, Ves.”

He couldn't hide the slight twitch at the corner of his mouth. Barely there, but unmistakable. A smile. Small and crooked and far too amused for the storm they were standing in.

“You’re really fucking beautiful, you know that?” he murmured, his hands still cradling her face, thumb brushing just beneath her eye. “Soaked through, bleeding, cursing the gods and ready to throw down with a violent criminal for me?”

He huffed a breath, half laugh, half sigh.

“Gods, you’re ridiculous.” His forehead dipped to press against hers for just a second, grounding himself as much as her now. “And perfect.”

Vespera's eyes didn't leave the tattoo. Not when he tried to get her attention with a sharp, 'hey'. Not when his hands came up to her cheeks, which should have been warm and grounding against the cold, rain and blood-slicked skin. Even when he tried to look into her eyes, she found hers going back to the tattoo.

She was staring at it- that mark- etched into his skin like a brand. A claim that made her stomach churn.

His explanation drifted around her like a fog. Bargain. Debt. Not a chain or leash, but still proof that this female had some claim on her mate. A mark on him that she had not given him. Her feelings were not rational and she knew it. But jealousy or whatever this horrible new feeling was never was rational.

It wasn't until his fingers stroked her cheeks again, his thumb dragging over the blood beneath her eye, that she finally focused on him.

Golden eyes locked onto emerald- burning, sharp, and mortifyingly filled to the brim with unshed tears. Not from pain, no. The pain from Tsillah's assault hadn't even hit her yet. The humiliation is what hurt- echoing in her head, saying to look at Tsillah and then herself. She was nothing compared to that female.

"What if the bargain cannot be fulfilled?" She whispered, voice cracking. She hadn't meant to bring the possibility of failure up, but the words tumbled out. "What if she won't let it end? What if you're stuck with her forever?"

Her fears tasted like ash and charcoal in her mouth. She hated how fragile and small it made her sound, but hated more how it made her sound like she had no faith in his ability to control himself or his power. But then, he cut straight through her spiraling with that goofy comment.

You're really fucking beautiful, you know that?

Vespera blinked. Even bleeding, bruised, stupid, and powerless, he called her ridiculous. Perfect. Her lips twitched. A small, unwilling smile broke through, but it was gone just as quickly as she smacked his hands away. Not hard, but enough to force him back into this shitshow of a situation. "Did you hit your head, too?" She asked.

Stepping back, she muttered, "I hate this. I hate how she looked at you like she knew something I didn't. Like I wasn't even a threat." Though she knew she wasn't a threat to the female's power. That had been clear. Her voice broke when she spoke, but she bit down hard on the words she wanted to say. That she felt humiliated...again...like a child watching two adults barter power in a language she couldn't even speak.

Instead she turned away and began walking back to the inn.

"Get what you need from her and get rid of it."

The tattoo. The bond between he and Tsillah. The reminder.

All of it.

As Vespera turned her back to him, walking toward the inn with shoulders squared and pride barely holding her together, Asher watched her go for a long moment, long enough to feel the gnawing ache in his chest, the guilt like cold water down his spine. He hadn’t meant for any of this. And he sure as hell hadn’t expected her, his wildfire girl, to look so broken.

He moved before she could disappear completely, boots splashing through the puddles as he caught up to her.

“Vess, wait” he said gently, slipping around her around to face her, stopping her in her tracks.

He huffed a small laugh under his breath, a crooked smile tugging at his mouth even as rain continued to plaster his hair to his face. "That's why she said she’d try. If I don’t learn what I have to within the week, she gets what she’s owed regardless.”

His head shook, expression softening as he added, “She chose her words carefully. But me? I’ve only got one truth,” His green eyes found hers, steady and unflinching. “The only one stuck with me forever... is you.”

There was no teasing in his tone. Just a quiet assurance, like the truth of it was a vow.

His fingers rose once more, brushing a strand of wet hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear, lingering a heartbeat longer than necessary.

“Say the word,” he murmured, close now, close enough she could feel the warmth of him despite the rain. “I’ll release her from the promise. I can find someone else. But Vess… she isn’t a threat.” He arched a brow meaningfully, the barest hint of a smirk returning. “Whoever she is. I’ve no interest in anything but what she can teach me and the only reason that I care so much about control now is, well, you.. I just want to be better, for you. I want to be able to protect you without burning down a fucking forest or killing someone who so much as looks at you the wrong way. I want to be safe, for you.”

His lips quirked again as he reached into the inner pocket of his coat, withdrawing a small, leather pouch. “Anyway.. She can wait, wherever she's hiding” he said, brushing past the ache in his ribs as he extended it toward her.

“I have something for you.” He took her hand, calloused fingers closing hers around the pouch.

Inside, nestled in dark velvet, was a silver ear cuff. Beautiful and painstakingly, lovingly made.

The cuff was sculpted to mirror the natural point of a fae ear, curving elegantly along the edge like it had always belonged there. The silver had been hammered and polished until it glowed like starlight, but what truly made it striking was the detail.

Twining ivy leaves had been etched into the metal with fine precision, curling along the edge. Nestled at the highest point, where the silver curled to its most elegant tip, was a single small gemstone, a polished moonstone, pale and opalescent. It shimmered faintly with blues and soft violets when it caught the light, like a drop of mist lit from within.

“I had it made,” Asher murmured, watching her face. “I hope that's alright..” he added a little nervously.