Southern Secrets: Book 2 in Southern Charms Series

Chapter Thirty: Harsh Reality

Ash

Ash felt the cold first. Next, he saw a world bathed in morning's glow, and then he felt her hand slide into his, the ice in their skin thawing at the touch. Too bad it wasn't enough to thaw the hardness in his heart.

Tugging free, he glared at Rose. She, at least, had the decency to blush, and if he cared to ask, she wouldn't avoid the subject. That wasn't Rose's way. She didn't bury the truth, no matter how painful it might be, and that was the real reason he didn't want to ask her about the last thing he saw before Malphas caged him in the darkness.

"Ash-"

"Where are we?" he asked instead, spinning on his heels. Evergreen trees, tall and stubby, spread across the rocky terrain in abundance. The slender gray branches closest to him hung heavy with emerald needles, but the further up the mountain his gaze travelled, the green disappeared behind a dusting of white.

"We're heading to the Visian pass," Rose said, surprise flashing across her face.

"How far are we from the coast?"

"We're maybe a mile from where we were before-"

"Before Malphas took over again. Got it. How long have I been out?"

She hesitated. "Eight hours? Maybe?"

Some of the tension in his shoulders eased away. In the dark, he had no sense of time. Though he could tell by looking at Rose, he knew it hadn't been too long since he'd been trapped, but he was terrified of the day he woke up after years had passed. If he even woke up again at all.

Rubbing his temples, he exhaled and then shivered. "No one else made it through?"

Her lip trembled, and he almost reached out to her. She looked away before answering, "No one. And... Clemmy didn't make it."

"What?" He went to her then. His arms went around her body and pulled her in close. She melted against him. "How do you know?"

"I can explain as we walk, but we need some way to be warm while we travel."

"And that's why he let me out." His voice was colder than the winter air nipping at his face.

"The kiss meant nothing, Ash."

And they had circled back to the very topic he'd wanted to avoid. He whispered a spell, changing the last bit of the incantation on a whim. Warmth soaked into his frigid bones, and Rose let out a relieved sigh. Despite his irritation, he still held her, and she hadn't moved away.

"That's better."

Immediately, Malphas pushed forward. The sorcerer had been uncharacteristically silent while sitting in the back of Ash's mind, but he cursed the moment he settled back into the driver's seat, relinquishing control so quickly Rose didn't acknowledge the change.

"Clever trick, that. Requiring a constant connection with your magic to keep the warmth going." Malphas sneered. "Change the spell."

"Why should I? You're welcome to take control, but you're going to be very uncomfortable."

"You would subject Rose to the cold? She would die of hypothermia before the morning."

"I wouldn't be responsible." The callous response took an effort to pull off. As much as Rose's enjoyment of the kiss she shared with the sorcerer hurt him, Ash would never wish harm on her.

"You win this round, but eventually you will need me to find the omphalos."

"Ash?" Rose questioned, propelling him forward with a hand on his back.