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

will?”
    Alaric raised his hands in frustration, but seemed to calm as he closed his fists, then dropped them back down. “Maya's problems weren't your fight, Maddy.”
    “Then whose were they?” I countered.
    “You're defending a woman who abandoned you!” he shouted. “I didn't see Maya coming back to risk herself when you were the one in the cell.”
    “Well I didn't see you risking yourself either,” I snapped. “Just because Maya didn't save me in return, doesn't mean I shouldn't have saved her to begin with. I didn't help her because I thought she deserved it. I helped her because that is the type of person I want to be.”
    “That type of person does not exist among the Vaettir,” Alaric replied coldly. “Do not risk yourself for others, because they will never risk themselves for you.”
    “And yet here you are,” I stated blandly, “ risking yourself for me.”
    “So you believe me?” he asked, jumping on what I'd just said.
    “I don't believe anything anymore,” I replied, “not without solid, indisputable proof.”
    Alaric took another step toward me, and this time I let him. “I'll prove it to you in time,” he said with an almost smile, “that is, if we live long enough.”
    “You think Estus will come after us?” I questioned, though I already knew the answer.
    “He will,” Alaric stated. “Especially after you released all of his hearts. He put two and two together, and he would rather die than let you hand the charm to Aislin.”
    “And you would let me give her the charm, even though your Doyen forbids it?” I countered.
    “I left the Salr against his wishes,” Alaric replied apathetically. “He is no longer my Doyen. The life I had is gone.”
    “You didn't need to follow me,” I stated coldly. I'd be damned if he'd make me feel guilty for his loss.
    “I was already planning on leaving once I managed to free you,” he explained. “If we would have been more swift, or if you had bothered sharing your plan with me, I would have left with you the night Sophie escaped with Maya.”
    I shook my head. “I don't believe you. You would have had no reason to make such a sacrifice for me. You barely even know me.”
    “You keep insisting that I've made some huge sacrifice,” he replied with his head tilted slightly to one side.
    The movement made his now loose, dark hair fall over his shoulder. I didn't know at what point he'd untied it, but I had the overwhelming urge to reach out and run my fingers through the soft tresses. Repressing the impulse, my hands balled into fists at my side.
    “You left your home,” I explained. “Leaving home is always a sacrifice.”
    Alaric shrugged. “I've had other homes, and I'm sure I'll have more in the future.”
    It was my turn to tilt my head in confusion. “It was my impression that you and Sophie grew up in the Salr.”
    Alaric laughed, and the abrupt sound was startling in the darkness. “Sophie and I grew up in a very different world from the one we know now.”
    “James informed me that the Vaettir do not always look their age,” I said as an idea formed in my mind. “How old are you, exactly?”
    Alaric shrugged. “Old enough.”
    I shook my head. “No. No more lies. I'll need two forms of I.D. before I'll believe anything you say.”
    Alaric sighed and started wandering around the room. He ran his fingers along the quilted bedspread, then went to fiddle around with the bedside lamp like it actually interested him.
    “I've lost track of the exact time,” he said finally, “but I was born around 1500, give or take a few years.”
    “You're trying to tell me that you're over five-hundred years old?” I scoffed.
    Alaric flicked the lamp on and off absentmindedly. “Don't believe it, if you wish. I wouldn't have told you if you would have let the subject go.”
    I went to stand in front of him with my hands on my hips. “And why wouldn't you have told me?”
    Alaric smiled. “You don't seem like a woman who'd be