Collide and Seek: Act 4-5 (Bitter Ashes Book 2) Read Online Free

Aislin.”
    “Aislin?” Alaric sputtered as he choked on his tea at the same time I asked, “Sister?”
    “Why would we give the charm to her?” Alaric asked as he turned to me for verification.
    “Because Aislin didn't have me hung from a wall to be tortured,” I answered sweetly.
    Diana chuckled. “I see someone has yet to choose the correct side.”
    Realization dawned on Alaric's face as he stared at Diana. “Aislin knows that you're living above ground, doesn't she? And she allows it?”
    Diana's smile grew. “Like I said, the correct side.”
    Alaric turned his glare to James. “I wonder which side you actually work for,” he mused darkly. “In the end, which will you betray?”
    Diana snorted. “James would not abandon his own grandmother, and I have no intention of betraying one as powerful as Aislin, sister or no.”
    I was doing my best to figure everything out while the attention was off me. If Diana was James' grandmother, then that made Aislin his great aunt. Given the family connections, James was probably telling the truth about working for Aislin during his time with Estus. The family ties lent him credibility. Then again, lies might run in his family as well.
    I started eating another sandwich as Alaric and Diana continued to bicker. I felt like a little kid, sitting on the ground while the grownups talked about grown up things. I might have even been offended if I wasn't so bone-achingly tired.
    James watched me with a small smile on his face throughout the exchange. Eventually he nodded toward the hallway, then stood. Not particularly wanting to remain in Diana's presence, I rose to my feet as he walked past me and down the hall. I followed warily, still expecting some sort of trick.
    A moment later the bickering stopped, and Alaric was following close behind me. James pushed open the first door he reached, revealing a small, clean bedroom. He stood to the side of the door while he waited for Alaric and I to walk through.
    Once in the room, I turned and looked a question at James. I hadn't hoped for a private room, but separate beds would have been nice.
    James regarded me with an evil smile. “I figured I'd let you two lovebirds have the honeymoon suite. I'll sleep on the couch.”
    I squinted my eyes at him. “I knew you would betray me,” I grumbled.
    James gave me a little salute, then shut the door in my face, leaving me alone in a dark room with a man I once could have loved.

Chapter Three
    I hugged my arms tightly around my stomach, not wanting to turn around and face Alaric again. Sure, I'd spoken to him in the woods earlier that day, but we hadn't been alone. Being alone made me nervous.
    The room was small, and fit with the rest of the cottage-style decor. The single bed stood ominously lit by the moonlight shining through the room's only small window.
    I jumped when a hand landed gently on the side of my arm. Alaric's long fingers gripped my bare skin, turning me to face him. I moved stiffly, not wanting to look at him, but knowing I couldn't avoid it.
    “We shouldn't stay here,” Alaric said once he had my full attention. “We need to look for Sophie. She can give us a place to hide and regroup until we decide what to do.”
    “There is no we ,” I said tiredly. “There is only me , and I'd like to get some rest, if you don't mind.” I looked at the lower half of his face while I said it, not wanting to feel the full pressure of his gaze.
    He put his fingers underneath my chin and raised my eyes up to him. “You're putting yourself in the middle of a war, Maddy. You don't understand what you're doing.”
    I took a step back out of his reach. I'd thought my anger was exhausted, but I was wrong. “ You put me in the middle of a war. I had no choice in the matter.”
    Alaric's shoulders slumped as his hand fell to his side. “Nothing would have happened to you if it weren't for Maya.”
    “Maya?” I scoffed. “You mean the woman who was being tortured against her