~Rylan's pov~
The guardian had whispered the word 'sleep' to Aspen, and she passed out. I caught her, folding her body into mine. I tried not to think about Malek's harsh words, or the way Aspen pulled away from me when I first tried to comfort her. It looked like she just wanted to be alone to handle her pain. And that hurt me more than my brother's words.
My beast had whispered that she was going to leave me. And I… I don't know, for a moment, I felt the overwhelming need to shackle her to my room forever.
Thankfully, I didn't let that thought consume me.
With her in my arms, the world felt right again and I could proceed. I had been explaining to my brothers that Aspen can read the old language when the wall to our right made a sound and the whole thing after that… I wish I could
