Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 98243 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98243 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
“Just so you know, I'm Team Ashvy!” She yells out proudly as Asher directs us through the crowd.
One moment I'm drowning in synthetic vanilla and camera’s flashing, and the next, I'm airborne. Asher lifts me in the air as if I weigh nothing, moving me away from people as quickly as possible.
My boots hit snow with a soft crunch when he lowers me back down.
His smirk spreads over my ear. “Smart ass.”
I can’t stop the sound that rips from my throat. A laugh, sharp and real. I throw my head back, my gaze locking with his. His own smile breaks free, mirroring mine. Dimples deep, eyes bright. God. Right now, he looks like my Asher.
Mount Void stretches wide before me, a carnival entrance trapped in eternal scream. Neon pulses through fog, and rooked metal archways mark the entrance, sharp edges jutting at fractured angles. Welcome signs hang from rusted chains, their cheerful letters fighting shadows that bend wrong, contort where they shouldn't. This whole place stinks of manufactured insanity, nightmares painted in candy hues.
It only just hits me that our quiet exchange was broadcasted out in the open in front of a very friendly camera disguised as a Sports Anchor.
Asher cuts ahead, following Jord and Luce toward the chair lifts and Atlas finds this the perfect moment to slip in behind, dragging me against his side.
“Ah, our little Ivanya. Have you not been on Instagram lately?”
What the fuck is that supposed to mean?
He releases me and lunges for the door before I can demand answers, holding it open with that stupid quirk of his.
My eyes catch on a gray and white board mounted on the wall with pink lettering scrawled across its surface. That one. I snatch a water bottle from the counter, crack the seal, and drop the board at my feet, clicking my boots into place.
Luce taps my hip with hers as I slide up beside her out the back, waiting on the chair lifts.
“Don’t stress about all the photos. We all know Parker doesn’t give a fuck, and the rest? Well—” she pauses, her green eyes turning dark around the edges as Jord slides into an incoming chair. “Punk.”
Atlas sweeps Luce up into his arms and she yelps before they’re both on the same chair with Jord and Punk, and then it’s just me.
And Asher.
Where the hell did Camille go?
Fuck. It’s a forty-minute ride up. Forty minutes with nothing but—
“I’m not gonna bite, Venom. Get in the chair.”
I don’t answer, but his hand finds mine. He tugs me into him, just in time for the chair to catch my fall. Flinging the bar down, I secure us both in as we ascend higher into the clouds with our legs dangling and our boards attached.
Silence.
Nothing but silence.
The kind of silence that’s comforting. That feels like home.
I peer over the edge, taking in the sight that spreads out below. Void is a display of twisted carnival lights where twisted obstacles snake down in impossible spirals, each turn designed to mess with your head. It’s kind of genius.
“Bought a house here, just needs some work.”
My head whips to him. His face has that bite of frost that turn his cheeks slightly pink. I don’t know what it is with him, but he has the kind of swag that makes you want to swallow him whole. It’s a trick. You’d choke on him.
“What?” I blink away my perverted thoughts. “You bought on Veilarath?”
Because of all the things I expect him to say, that was not one of them.
His attention drops to my mouth, before lifting back to my eyes. Beautiful bastard.
“Yeah, I did. Amongst finding a fiancée, I managed to find the only available lot of land left on this island.”
All the happiness I felt a moment ago drops, along with my smile. I don’t care that he witnesses it either.
I change the subject, avoiding Camille. “I thought it was hard to purchase here?”
He shrugs, spreading his arms out. I wonder what goes on in that head of his during times like this. During moments like this.
”You mean you don’t know how I bought property on the most exclusive island on the continent of this side of the world?” He asks, brow quirked.
I pause. He stole the words right out of my mouth.
“I mean,” I tease, our gazes locked in. “Yes.”
He clucks his tongue. “Careful, Venom. Maybe I'm not who you think I am.” His mouth twitches. “I mean, for all you know, I could be a killer.”
Interesting choice of words.
He laughs at his own joke, and something in the sound makes my pulse stutter. Was it even a joke?
Chapter 15
Ivy
“Ithink I should be asking you what you think it is I brought to the township of Veilarath to be able to purchase here, since you and I both know it's more than money you have to have to move here.”