Free Collide and Seek: Act 4-5 (Bitter Ashes Book 2) by Sara C. Roethle

in its purest form.”
    “Okay,” I commented, “you've lost me again.”
    “It goes back to polarity,” he explained. “Without one side, the other does not exist. Without conflict and chaos, there can be no victory and no peace.”
    “So we're fairly similar?” I asked, liking the idea.
    “Quite,” he said with a smile. “Now we should probably get some rest. Come morning we will likely have work to do.”
    I turned to give him a serious expression. “Well then it's probably time for you to move to the couch.”
    His eyes widened in surprise, and he opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out.
    I laughed harder than I had in quite some time. Realizing my joke, he lifted me off him and pinned me to the bed with a wicked look in his eyes.
    “I thought we were going to bed!” I exclaimed, still laughing.
    He smiled wide enough to flash fang. “Not quite yet.”
    My laughter died down as I gazed into his now serious eyes. He leaned down and kissed me, and as he pulled away I smiled. I'd already made one bad decision that night, so I might as well make another.
    As he kissed down my chest I glanced over at the heavy curtains that covered the window, and thought I could see a hint of sunlight peeking through. Early rising Diana was going to be pissed if we weren't up and ready when she was.
    Pissing people off seemed to be fast becoming a hobby of mine, but it was better than a lot of the alternatives.
    ––––––––
    I woke what seemed like only a few hours later to a loud banging. Alaric was already up out of bed, struggling into his dirty clothes next to the bathroom door. I held the sheets up to cover myself and rose to search frantically around the room for my dress, until it dawned on me that I had left it in the bathroom. The banging grew louder until the door slammed inward, hitting the wall with a startling thwack.
    I froze halfway to the bathroom while Alaric stood facing whoever stood in the doorway. He had managed to get his pants on, but no shirt. Before I could react, a woman barreled into Alaric, sending them both to the ground at my feet. I caught a quick glance of her bright blonde hair and black clothing, then turned to face four more people rushing into the room.
    They all wore black, like the woman, and I didn't recognize any of them. Shouts and the sound of fighting echoed through the walls from the next room over, letting me know that we weren't the only ones being attacked.
    Two of the intruders, both men, went to help the blonde-haired woman with Alaric, while the other two, a man and a woman, slowly approached me.
    “She's the executioner,” the man commented with a glance to the woman.
    I looked back and forth between them, weighing my options. Sparring with Alaric was the only fighting experience I'd had, and I doubted I was any match for the pair in front of me.
    One of the men attacking Alaric went flying across the room. He hit the wall hard enough to dent the drywall, then slid to the ground and was still. Five-hundred years of fighting experience had obviously done Alaric good. I couldn't feel the man's pain, which meant he was either dead, or unconscious.
    I desperately wanted to help Alaric with his other attacker, even if he didn't need me, but the pair in front of me finally started to close in. My eyes darted from side to side while I hiked the sheet up around my body like a dress.   My body felt strange, like I was feeling emotions and injuries from too many people, and it all just condensed into a huge wave of pain and anxiety. It made it difficult to move or even think. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, attempting to shut everyone else out. A measure of calm reached me, then my own emotions came flooding in. I opened my eyes just as the pair reached out in unison to grab me. 
    “Stop this at once!” a booming voice called from the doorway. The three of us turned to see Diana, looking a little mussed but unharmed, holding out both arms in a