*Chapter 20:
ALESSIA
Asher caught me before I hit the ground.
The stairwell door below us had just exploded, and smoke rolled up the steps in thick, choking waves. Azriel fired three rounds into it without flinching, but Blackwell walked through the haze like it was morning fog. His glasses caught the red emergency lights, and he wasn’t running. He wasn’t even armed, but was still smiling at me, at the blood on my thighs, at Azriel’s hand locked in mine.
_“Fair’s fair… isn’t it, daughter?”_
The word hit harder than the blast. _Daughter._
Asher didn’t ask. He didn’t look at Blackwell, his eyes went straight to my legs, to Azriel’s mess still running down the insides of my thighs, and his jaw locked so hard I heard his teeth grind. Nyx wasn’t there yet, but the soldier was
