Music Recommendation : Always Remember Us This Way - Lady Gaga

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Violet knew the exact moment Baron’s influence left Asher’s body. His eyes went unfocused for the briefest second and then snapped back to her, cold and resolved.

He was going to kill her.

"A-Asher—" Violet tried to speak, but his grip tightened around her neck.

Her breath hitched. He was crushing her throat so hard hot tears sprang into her eyes.

"D-don’t..." she gasped, clawing at his arm, hitting him in desperation but it did nothing.

He was Asher fucking Nightshade, for goddess’ sake. If there was anyone strong enough to fight this, it was him. Yet, there was not a single flicker of recognition in his gaze.

It was as if he didn’t see her at all. She wasn’t his Violet anymore, just a problem he had to eliminate. At this rate, Asher was actually going to kill her.

No, not happening!

She twisted suddenly, hooking her leg around his and dropping her weight in one sharp motion— a move he had taught her himself. It didn’t break his grip completely, but it shifted his balance just enough for her to wrench herself free.

Violet staggered back, coughing hard, dragging in air as she rubbed her burning throat that would no doubt bruise.

Her eyes snapped back to him just in time to see Asher reach down and pull a dagger from the strap at his boot.

Fuck her life. The love of her life was genuinely trying to delete her from existence.

This was a dilemma. A very deadly one.

Asher was strong, for sure, but not stronger than her powers. A single careless blast of her darkness and she would lose him forever.

But of course, Baron knew that. He couldn’t control the others, so he chose Asher, the strongest and the most vulnerable without the bond.

Violet’s jaw tightened. No, she refused to accept this. Baron had to be wrong. There had to be a way to remove the leecher without killing him. There had to be.

Asher twirled the dagger lazily in his hand, an excited gleam in his eyes.

"Wolves are vulnerable to silver," he said. "Fae to Iron. Tell me, Princess Violet, what is a hybrid like you vulnerable to?"

Violet didn’t hesitate. She met his eyes and answered directly, "You."

For a split second, an unknown emotion flashed through his eyes, and Asher looked almost startled. But it was gone as soon as it came.

"Good," he said, a slow, twisted smile forming. "That makes this easier."

That was when the idea clicked.

Right now, Asher was looking at her like he barely knew her, and that was exactly the problem. She had to make him remember. She had to give him a reason to fight this leech.

Violet barely snapped out of the thought before Asher lunged. She dodged but not fast enough, the blade sliced across her middle.

Violet flinched, expecting pain to follow but nothing of that nature happened. There was no sight of any blood.

"The suit..." she muttered under her breath as realization hit. It protected her as the Fae said it would.

Even Asher paused in surprise, clearly expecting the strike to land. Then pivoted and drove a roundhouse kick straight into him, sending him stumbling back.

Asher spat out blood onto the ground, his chest rising and falling as he steadied himself.

Violet stood a few feet away, her hands raised in a fighting stance, her eyes locked on him even as she said, "We don’t have to do this, Asher. You are bigger than this. You cannot let Baron win!"

"He’s won already!" Asher lunged at her with a manic smile, but Violet moved the earth beneath his feet and he tripped, falling hard onto his face.

In the next second, she was crouched beside him, leaning in close as she said through gritted teeth, "The Asher I know would fight this, so stop being cozy in there and fight this, my deadly Nightingale."

Those words might have been romantic, but they weren’t enough to reach him. Asher moved suddenly, grabbing a handful of sand and throwing it straight into her face.

Violet gasped, stumbling back in shock.

She knew Asher was a strategic fighter. She just never imagined, in her wildest thoughts, that he would fight dirty against her.

Half-blinded and now in immediate danger, she released her powers sporadically — everything except her darkness — hoping to keep him at bay while she recovered her sight.

But with her vision compromised, she couldn’t see him weaving through her attacks with ease, dodging every uncoordinated strike until a brutal kick slammed into her.

Violet hit the ground, landing on her stomach. Even with her vision blurred, she could feel him approaching, his presence looming over her like a storm.

Before she could push herself up, Asher was on her, pinning her down.She thrashed wildly, her wings flaring out instinctively, making it difficult for him to land a clean strike on the one place she was most vulnerable right now—her neck.

But the wings only seemed to irritate him and then came the blinding pain. Asher’s blade cut into the base of her wing, slicing through the flesh near her shoulder.

Violet screamed, the sound tearing through the empty field. With a surge of strength, she managed to knock him off her and scrambled away, turning just enough to look at her wings.

They were bloodied and hurt like hell. He hurt her. He cut her wings. Asher would never do that. Her Asher would never hurt her.

That was all it took to snap Violet back to reality. Her Asher was gone and if she kept holding back, he was going to kill her.

The hesitation drained out of her eyes, replaced with a resolute look. She pushed herself up to her feet just as Asher surged toward her again, clearly intending to finish what he started while she was still weak.

But Violet was done going easy on him.

Before he could reach her, his body jerked to an abrupt stop. A flicker of confusion crossed Asher’s face, quickly replaced by rage as he looked down to see vines.

They had crept from the woods and wrapped tightly around his feet. He tried to move, but the more he struggled, the tighter they coiled. They reacted to Violet’s will, creeping upward, twisting and binding around his legs, his waist, his chest.

In seconds, they cocooned around him like a living prison. The dagger slipped from his hand and hit the ground with a dull thud.

The vines continued their climb, tightening and layering until he was completely immobilized up to his shoulders. Only then did Violet carefully move towards him, having learned her lesson.

Violet palmed his cheek, tears in her eyes as she pleaded, "If you can hear me, Asher, come back, please. I cannot fight you. I cannot..." her lips trembled, scared to say the word, "...end you. P-please..."

Her tears poured in torrents now as Violet continued, "We’ve come this far to end like this, please. You are bigger than this. This godforsaken leecher cannot be the end of our love story. Or have you forgotten, my love? Our bond was written in the stars, and so is the prophecy about us."

Asher had gone so unnaturally still it gave Violet just enough hope to keep going. "I love you. I’ve always loved you. From the moment I set my eyes on you on the first day of school, even though you annoyed the hell out of me. But I would never trade anything in the world for you, Asher. You are mine, now and ever."

She must have been out of her mind, kissing a man compelled to kill her, especially when he still had too many tricks up his sleeve. But Violet leaned in anyway and pressed her lips against him, pouring every ounce of her affection and desperation into it.

At first, nothing happened. It was just her lips moving against his, one-sided, and fragile.

Then seconds later, he responded.

Asher kissed her back with the same fierce intensity, and hope bloomed in Violet’s chest so suddenly it almost hurt. Tears slipped down her cheeks, the salt of them mixing into the kiss, but she didn’t care. She had him back. That was all that mattered.

When they broke apart, Violet felt her heart leap in pure, overwhelming relief. Those cold, empty eyes were gone, replaced with those warm, achingly familiar slitted gray eyes.

"You did it," she rasped in disbelief at first. Then louder, breathless, "You did it!" before she threw her arms around him, the vines still wedged awkwardly between their bodies.

But the joy didn’t last. She pulled back and froze when she saw the sadness in his eyes.

"What’s wrong?" Violet asked immediately, alarm rising in her chest.

Asher gave her a bittersweet smile. "I love you too, Violet," he said softly, "but you don’t understand... it’s inside me. It controls me. I would hurt you."

"No, no, no, you won’t." Violet shook her head stubbornly, refusing to accept it. "You’re Asher Nightshade. You can think your way out of anything."

"Not this time," he said quietly, the resignation in his voice cutting deeper than any blade.

A sob clawed its way up Violet’s throat, but she forced it back down. She could not give up. Not now.

"But don’t worry, my love," Asher said gently. "Or have you forgotten? I would rather rot in hell than hurt you, my purple queen."

Before Violet could process what he meant, his head snapped forward and struck hers hard.

Violet staggered back, pain bursting behind her eyes as fear gripped her instantly. The vines holding Asher loosened, and her heart lurched as panic took over. She thought the leecher had taken control again, that he was about to finish what he started.

But instead, Asher bent, grabbed the fallen dagger, and before she could react, he slit his own throat.