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Axel had shared his fear, and Ashleigh offered what little comfort she was able. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could say that would ease his mind.

They had both witnessed Roman’s destructive nature, and the level of trauma that Bell had suffered spoke volumes about how he treated the women he was interested in.

No, it didn’t matter what anyone said. Axel would not be at ease until he knew Alice was safe.

Even if Ashleigh still didn’t believe that Axel’s relationship with Alice was a good or safe idea, she didn’t wish harm on her.

Roman was dangerous, and eventually, he would need to be dealt with.

“At least we know Bell is safe,” Axel said.

Ashleigh nodded in agreement.

“And that bastard isn’t able to enter Winter anymore,” she added. “No more sneak attacks.”

“Yes, that is great… though…” Axel’s words trailed off.

“What?”

“I’m just wondering how it all happened.”

“What do you mean?” Ashleigh asked, feeling the weight in her chest returning.

“I just don’t understand,” Axel said, “where did that Priestess come from?”

Ashleigh hesitated and cleared her throat.

“Does it matter?” she asked. “Without her help, Roman would still be a problem.”

“Roman still is a problem,” Axel stated.

Ashleigh looked away.

‘Arrogant.’_.

‘Disrespectful!’

Ashleigh shook her head, clearing her mind.

“Maybe it’s part of the oath that Bell made?” she suggested. “Maybe they sensed her danger or something?”

She wasn’t entirely sure why she felt the need to hide the truth from him, only that it was a strong impulse.

“If that is the case, then why didn’t she appear earlier?” he asked. “By the time she arrived, Bell was nowhere nearby.”

Ashleigh shrugged and turned away. Her mind was getting cloudier, and her chest felt constricted.

“And why did she say that she never should have been called?” Axel asked. “That seems to mean that someone, somehow, summoned her… against her will.”

Ashleigh licked her lips nervously. Had she done it? She remembered speaking, calling for help, and then Lian had appeared. But she didn’t know what she was doing, the words were spoken for her, but by her.

‘Impudent child!’

‘How dare he!’

“Some things are beyond your understanding,” she stated firmly.

Her voice, but not her words.

“What does that mean?” Axe asked.

“You only need to appreciate the gifts of Winter, not understand them,”

、 Ashleigh heard the words, but again, they were not her own.

There was a sudden shift in the air. She felt his powerful gaze on her, and it chilled her.

Ashleigh lifted her eyes to his and saw something unexpected. She was so surprised, she was able to speak again.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, seeing the slight glow in his eyes and the serious expression he wore.

Axel’s entire demeanor had changed. He held himself taller, watching her carefully and eyeing her with suspicion. He wasn’t using his power yet, but he had it ready, just under the surface.

“Ashleigh,” he said. “Something has changed about you; you haven’t been acting like yourself.”

“What? What are you talking about?” she asked.

That unknown panic was growing, and her defenses were kicking in.

‘We do what is best for Winter!’

‘He is the one that puts us at risk!’

“I’ve noticed it a few times, but especially last night and right now,” he said. “Your voice, your words… they don’t sound like you.”

“I do not agree with the risk you bring to Winter, so I am to be suspected?” Her mouth spoke the words.

“No,” Axel said, “if you had agreed with my relationship with Alice, I would have been a lot more concerned. But the way you speak. The words you use. Those aren’t my sister’s words.”

Axel stood up to his full height, his eyes grew brighter, and the air around them dropped several degrees.

“So, who the fuck are you?” he growled.

In her mind, everything was spinning and swirling, whispers overlapping each other, and shouts of anger too loud for her to understand.

Before him Ashleigh straightened her back, her eyes glowing brightly as a hazy aura of armor covered her body. Axel growled and pushed his power out slowly.

Ashleigh snarled back but made no moves toward him.

The cold around her felt like pinpricks against her skin, and her chest burned from the air she took into her lungs, threatening to freeze them.

Ashleigh dropped to her knees and held tightly to her chest. It hurt. It all hurt.

But the pain helped her, the real her, to focus.

“It’s me…. And not….” She struggled to say.

Axel took a step closer; he looked down into her eyes and seemed to have seen a change in her he recognized. His power pulled away and the air warmed.

Ashleigh took in several deep breaths.

Axel reached out to her, just as a wave of loud and angry shouts rose into her mind once more. Her eyes flashed brightly, and she snarled at Axel.

“That is quite enough of that!”

A booming voice drowned all the rest, and then there was silence.

Ashleigh lifted her gaze, she was still within Lily’s Rest, but it was different somehow. Brighter and warmer.

She turned to Axel, but he was gone.

“It’s just us now,” a soft voice called.

Ashleigh looked back. There stood Lily running her fingers over some flowers that grew in abundance here.

“What’s going on?” Ashleigh asked.

“I pulled you away.”

“Pulled me away?” she repeated. “From Axel?”

“From them,” Lily replied, pointing with her chin.

Ashleigh turned and saw a large sphere, it was translucent, and inside was a dark storm cloud of lights, swirling and zooming around. It looked as though they were trying to escape.

She stepped closer, feeling a strong desire to know more about them. To look at them, listen to them.

“Don’t,” Lily said.

Ashleigh turned back.

“You are still vulnerable to their whispers.”

“What are they?”

“Who,” Lily corrected.

Ashleigh looked back at the sphere.

“My ancestors?” she asked.

“My descendants,” Lily said. “They have been influencing you, pushing you in the directions they want. That never should have happened.”

“How did it happen?” Ashleigh asked. “Can you stop it?”

“I can’t. You accepted their offer,” she replied.

Ashleigh bit her lower lip and looked back at the sphere.

“But I can help you get stronger. Learn how to listen without submitting to their will.”

“How do I do that?” Ashleigh asked.

“Just like I told you, you must accept my power,” she replied. “On your own.”

“But that’s what I thought I was doing!” Ashleigh scoffed.

“No!” Lily growled. “You were taking a shortcut. I told you to listen to your own thoughts, but it was easier to listen to theirs!”

Ashleigh swallowed down her nerves.

Lily sighed.

“I am stronger here than anywhere else,” Lily said, waving around the area. “Come back when you are alone, and we can continue this conversation.”

“What is happening, Ashleigh?” Axel asked.

Ashleigh looked around, blinking as her mind adjusted to the shift from one place to another.

“I don’t know exactly,” she said quietly.

“Well, you seem to be you again… what happened to you?” he asked.

Ashleigh took a deep breath.

“There are whispers in my mind. Sometimes they’re so loud and strong… I don’t always know if the words I say are mine or theirs.”

“What the fuck, Ash!” Axel growled. “This isn’t something you keep a secret!”

Ashleigh sighed.

“I thought I had it under control.”

“Your eyes, they lit up like moonlight,” he said. “It wasn’t the first time.”

She nodded.

“It’s part of Luna Lily’s remaining power,” she said.

Axel blinked at her and then sat down on the ground beside her.

Ashleigh looked at him with a questioning glance.

“It seems like you have a story to share,” he said. “I prefer to sit.”

Ashleigh took a deep breath and then sat down beside him.

She began the long process of telling him everything she knew about Luna Lily, the Priestesses, and the power that she had accepted but didn’t understand.