Asher's Beloved

Chapter 12

"I'll stay with Vito, don't worry." I whisper, watching as he sighs before pressing a lingering kiss to my forehead.

He sends a look to Vito who nods in response, both silently communicating with each other. Asher gestures to the man to guide him, following him down the hallway before he's out of sight. I immediately turn to Vito with a hopeful look, pouting when he shakes his head immediately.

"The answer is no."

"Please, Vito! I just want to look around." I beg, trying to convince him. "Plus you'll be with me!"

"No, Ayla. I'm supposed to –"

"Vito!" A stocky man all but bellows as he walks toward us with his arms outstretched, pulling him into a hug. "Haven't seen you in years, where have you been boy?!"

"Yes, nice to see you again Bennet." He smiles uncomfortably, patting him on the shoulder. "I work for the King now."

Bennet's eyes widen before he drapes an arm around Vito's shoulders, pulling him down the hall. "You must tell me about it, come let's have a drink!"

"No, I have a job to do –"

"Nonsense!" Bennet's laughter echoes in the quiet hallway, tightening his grip on him when he struggles. "You need to lighten up, boy!"

Vito sends me a warning look just before he disappears around the corner, glaring when he catches me laughing at his situation. I expect him to be back soon, looking forward to hearing how he escaped the clutches of Mister Bennet. Besides, the rest of my guards should be around here somewhere. Sighing, I turn only to find Silvano still there.

"Come on, I'll show you around." Silvano nudges me with his elbow, stepping towards the staircase.

"No, I should wait for Vito."

"I don't think he'll be back anytime soon, Bennet is quite the talker." Silvano rolls his eyes, as if he's dealt with it before. "Besides, I don't have a meeting until an hour later. Come on."

He pushes me towards the staircase gently by the small of my back before climbing the steps two at a time. I hesitate, biting my lip as I think about whether I should go with him or stay. He turns, a lazy smile on his face as he gestures for me to follow him.

"It's just a bunch of old people in frames and artefacts in glass cases."

"How exciting." I mutter in amusement, climbing the staircase after I ask one of the guards to accompany us.

"Don't worry, we'll be back before Vito or Asher realize you left." He smiles gently, making me nod.

The courthouse is just as Silvano described, portraits lining the walls and priceless objects protected by glass cases. Nevertheless, I stop every time I find something interesting and read the plaques accompanying the displays and paintings. Silvano brings his sarcastic sense of humor to everything, making me laugh continuously. At one point, I worried that someone would come out of one of the rooms and tell me to shut up. We continue to walk around for a while longer, joking around as I start to ease up around him.

But when we reach the deeper part of the courthouse, I shiver when I feel like somebody just touched my hair, goose bumps covering my skin as I turn to find nobody in the hall but us three. I feel cold and weird; not as safe anymore. Mumbling to Silvano about heading back, I start walking towards the staircase with my guard right by my side. But before we reach the banister, it explodes. Screaming, I'm pushed back by my guard and I stumble into a corner as chunks of stone fly across the floor.

"Ayla!" Silvano yells, running towards me.

He helps me up and the three of us start running down the unbroken side of the stairs, crying out in shock when the bottom part of the staircase crumbles into a pile of broken stones. Pulling me upstairs, we race down the hallways but the walls are being struck by an invisible force every corner we turn. I run into a room in panic and turn around to see the two start to follow me in, but it's like an invisible force hits them and they fly back into the wall. It's enough to create cracks in the stone and they grimace slightly, eyes meeting my terror filled ones. I move to leave the room but the door slams shut, making me scream in fright. Twisting the handle, I yell for them to help me when it doesn't open, pounding on the wood with my fists.