Page 95 of The Last One Standing (Rogue X Ara #4)

“Though he must be pretty great to convince you, of all people, of marriage.” Asha scanned Rogue’s face, his shoulders, his chest, and arms. She stopped at his lower waist, and her eyes flashed to mine. “I take it back. I understand completely.”

Oh, his cheeks were red-hot. I slapped a hand over my mouth before a laugh escaped.

“So, you finally married, huh?” Gus asked.

My chest swelled, and I laced my fingers through Rogue’s.

He lifted it to his mouth and pressed a kiss to the back of my hand. “Yes, after much persistence and persuasion on my part.”

Asha swatted my arm. “You made him ask more than once?”

I gawked at her, and she winked at Rogue.

Gus looked from Asha to Rogue with a grimace. “I’m just glad it wasn’t to that prick, Finley.”

My smile fell. “Well, I killed him, so…”

Both Asha and Gus froze, the room silent.

“After he nearly killed Rogue—he did kill Rogue, but that’s a story for another time—he assisted in my kidnapping.

” I looked up to the ceiling, finding the nostalgic wooden beams that held up the old establishment.

“Not the one that caused my disappearance—or death, as you thought. No, he orchestrated the night that ended in my…torture, Rogue’s wings getting sheared off, and the death of my grandfather.

All in the name of getting back ‘what was promised to him.’”

Rogue muttered, “I’m glad I burned his estate down when I had the chance.”

Gus’s eyes bulged. “That was you ?”

“Good riddance. The boy was an entitled menace to society.” Asha burst into laughter. “You know, I saw you here that day, spying through the window on their lovers’ quarrel. Had I known what I know now… Well, I can’t say I would’ve done anything differently.”

I threw my arms out. “You saw him, and you didn’t tell me? What if he had been a stalker? Or a murderer?”

“He was a stalker.” Her eyes slid to him. “But no, no one looks at you like that and wants to kill you. I might be an old hag with failing vision, but I’m not so blind to miss such raging jealousy.”

To my surprise, Rogue chuckled and nodded. “All right, can we circle back to the task at hand?”

Anxiety wrenched in my gut. “We need clothes for tonight’s festivities.”

Her jaw fell slack. “The one we’re not allowed to attend?”

“Tonight is awfully short notice.” Gus ran his hand through his chestnut hair again and sized up Rogue. “We look to be about the same width, but you’re definitely taller. We’d have to add a few inches in length to the trousers.”

Asha glanced at him, brows lifted. “Can you sew?”

He wiggled his fingers. “These hands aren’t just for weapons.”

I winced. “We, unfortunately, need two sets of men’s formal wear.”

Gus flattened his lips. “Luckily for us, I have three.”

“Why do you have three?” Asha asked. “How often are you going places that require a tailcoat?”

Gus narrowed his eyes at her. “I’m allowed to have hobbies. I enjoyed the designer. Her attention to detail—” He waved a dismissive hand in front of him. “I just have three, all right?”

All the years we spent training together… Had I never inquired about his other interests? Had I been so self-absorbed?

Rogue strolled around me, and Gus straightened, hand reaching for his sword. He glanced down when he found his sheath empty, eyeing his weapon on the floor. Rogue shook his head with a sigh and reached into his pocket to pull out the small leather pouch.

He tossed it to Gus, who caught it midair and untied the drawstring.

“We wouldn’t take without compensation,” Rogue said, rejoining my side.

“Humans aren’t used to that,” I whispered. “Fairness isn’t commonplace among strangers here.”

“This is more than fair, and you’re not a stranger, Ara.” Gus pulled out a golden coin and stared wide-eyed at Asha, then me. He pocketed the one coin and shoved the pouch back at Rogue. “Too much.”

“Not enough,” Rogue countered. “Keep it, partially for the clothing, mostly for the risk.”

Gus handed the pouch to Asha. She peeked inside and gasped, but didn’t try to refuse it.

I placed a hand over hers. “If either of you were caught helping us, it…wouldn’t be good.”

Asha’s forehead wrinkled as she nodded. Tightening the drawstring, she walked over to the shelves, pulled an inconspicuous book out, and flipped it open to reveal the square she had cut into the pages.

“It’s been boring around here for far too long, and Goddess, I’m old.” She placed the pouch alongside the few pieces of jewelry, closed the book, and returned it to the shelf before turning to face us again. “If this is the reason I finally keel over, then so be it.”

My eyes widened. “Asha!”

“We thought you died . Weeks after you left, I inquired about your whereabouts at General Starrin’s estate, and he didn’t even have the decency to greet me himself.

I was dismissed entirely—well, not entirely.

He ordered my immediate removal from his property, but thank the Goddess, Gus volunteered. ”

“I knew something wasn’t right,” he said.

“Your barmaid friend disappeared not long after you, and Elora! One day, she was there. The next, she wasn’t, and Evander wouldn’t answer any of my questions: not how you died, who was responsible, where you were buried, where his wife was.

When I asked if the Fae were somehow involved, I was discharged from his employment without explanation. ”

“He’s been here, sorting books and sleeping on my couch ever since.” Asha gestured to the lounge chair with a pillow and blanket strewn over it.

“If clothing can help, then we’re glad to provide.”

Asha nodded and patted my arm. “We had our suspicions. We’ve been hoping you’d turn up one day.”

My heart sank. “I wish we were here under better circumstances.”

Rogue took my hand, and I clung to the feeling of his hand in mine, the rough callouses marring his palm, his thumb tracing circles over the back of my hand, and the heat of his skin.

His presence was a comfort, but he was the physical embodiment of my peace.

Gus retrieved his sword from the ground and slid it into his sheath. “That was you, yes? The sparks? You have…magic?”

I tightened my fingers around Rogue’s hand. “I didn’t know before, but Evander wasn’t my father by blood. It wasn’t until Rogue took me to Draig Hearth that my entire life unraveled.”

“Your father was…Fae,” Asha said slowly.

“Not just any Fae,” Rogue said, and I could practically hear the grin in his voice. “Vaelor Wrynwood.”

“Oh.” Asha grabbed the table’s edge with one hand, her other splayed over her heart. “Oh, sweet Goddess above. No wonder you’re in the thick of all this.”

An ache burrowed into Rogue’s heart—and subsequently, mine. I kept my expression neutral but returned his small act of comfort, tracing the back of his hand with my thumb.

“Elora never told you?” Gus asked.

“No, it’s…complicated, but it all circles back to this. This war. Adonis. His?—”

“Why do you call him Adonis?”

My lips parted, and I blinked a few times. Everything we’d been through and everything that was to come, and they knew none of it. For some reason, explaining it all was my tipping point into overwhelm.

“It’s a very long, very convoluted story,” Rogue answered. “Can we explain while we acquire the clothing? We don’t have much time.”

“Yes.” Gus grabbed Asha’s coat and held it up for her to slip her arms in. “Is the other man about your size?”

Rogue opened his mouth, paused, and a weak chuckle escaped him. “We’re the same height.”

The other man was Rogue—well, Doran, impersonating Rogue.

Gus pulled his coat on. “I’ll have to add length to the two pairs of trousers, then. They probably won’t look the best, but I don’t think perfection is our goal for tonight.”

He strode to the door and held it open.

As we spilled out into the snowy morning, Gus tucked his hands in his pocket and rambled on, “At least, I won’t have to tailor mine, but I can’t say the same for?—”

I halted mid-step. “No.”

Gus glanced back over his shoulder. “Yes.”

“We don’t need more hands.”

“You do,” he retorted.

“We don’t. ”

“It doesn’t matter,” Gus snapped before regaining his composure with a deep breath. “It doesn’t matter if you need more hands. You’ll have them. I have my own invitation, and I can enter with or without you two.”

I ground my teeth. “You don’t even know who we’re up against— what we’re up against. You don’t understand. If you’re seen with us, it would put a target on your back.”

“I opened myself up to be a target long before today.”

Rogue tensed at my side. “What do you mean?”

Gus scanned our surroundings, but there wasn’t a soul in sight. Still, he moved closer and spoke in a hushed voice.

“We didn’t know the extent of what’s been happening, but…

” He gave Asha an apologetic look. “The rebellion has been brewing for years—long before you disappeared, Ara. But in the weeks after you were taken, more men were summoned to the king’s legions.

Some never returned, but some still write when they can, and they tell the truth.

They aren’t ‘defending the border.’ They’re pushing it.

Have been for decades, and King Adon wields them like an endless supply of bodies worth nothing more than the weapons they carry.

His men are angry. The people are angry.

Angry and tired and fed up. Then, the rumors started—rumors of another Stirling heir.

That lit the fire beneath Auryna, and we’ve been on the verge of boiling over ever since. ”

“I didn’t know.” My heart hammered, ears ringing. “I didn’t know… any of that.”

Gus tipped his head. “Information doesn’t easily flow through prison walls.”

My prison.

The estate. My own ignorance.

The world spun, and Rogue tucked me into his side.

Asha gaped at him before she smacked his arm. “Why” —swat— “Would you” —swat— “Not” —swat— “Tell me?”

“You don’t think the King’s Guard knows of the rebellion?” Gus caught her hands. “They’re well aware, and they hunt those involved. The war, Stirling blood, revolt, even a simple complaint—it’s all treason in the eyes of the crown . There’s a reason you don’t hear talk of it in the light of day.”

Asha pulled her hands free. “I’m not as fragile or foolish as you seem to think me. Of course, I know of the rebellion’s existence. I didn’t know you were a part of it.”

“But you’re not,” Gus said slowly. “Why?”

“I was…once.” Asha rubbed her hands as though washing them.

“My sister was killed in the last resurgence, over a decade ago now. The entire night, every person, every bit of their existence…buried beneath dirt and lies. Their bodies were disposed of, witnesses struck down, and the next morning, the sun rose as it always did, except that time, it cast light on blood-stained streets. ‘ We’ve saved you,’ the guards said when the inevitable crowd formed.

‘ We saved you all from another vicious attack by the Fae.’”

Ignorant.

I had been so devastatingly ignorant.

My stomach roiled.

“I swore I’d never acknowledge the rebellion again.” Asha’s voice trembled. “Perhaps I am as foolish as you thought. Certainly a coward.”

He threw his arms around her shoulders. “No, I’ve never thought you more than what you are: intelligent, honest, and occasionally, mean, but you do so with heart and the best intentions.

” She tried to pull away to glare at him, but he held tighter and bit back a laugh.

“A priceless friend, to be sure. Fragile, maybe, but never foolish, and certainly never a coward.”

My eyes and throat stung, but I tipped my face to the sky and blinked away the emotion. Clouds rolled across the pale blue, too thin to swallow the sun.

Gus held Asha at an arm’s length. “Breathing?”

She chuckled. “Still alive and breathing.”

“Good.” He patted her shoulders. “Keep doing that.”

“I plan to.” She rolled her eyes, but fondness warmed in them.

I couldn’t help but see Rogue and Iaso when I looked at the two of them. They might’ve found each other later in life, but they filled the same roles.

Rogue cleared his throat. “How many members of the rebellion live close enough to attend tonight?”

“A dozen nearby, more within a day’s travel, but I can’t be sure how many received invitations or how many of those could gather the required garb.” Gus pulled Asha under his arm as he continued walking. “I’ll notify my contact, though, and word will spread like wildfyre.”

“Have them bring iron, anything small enough to hold or wear,” Rogue said. “It can be spelled to prevent magic from moving through you.”

Confusion flitted over Gus’s expression, but he gave a sharp nod.

I said, “You need to understand who and what we’re up against first. I don’t know if you’ll be so willing to attend once you know.”