“Do we have a deal?” Demitri asks, completely ignoring my meltdown.
I crack my jaw, and I know my eyes are black, inky, endless orbs from the way the world around me takes on a grayish quality. Penn steps back next to his brothers, and I glare at the three of them.
“Yes,” I grit out. Either way, I don’t have a choice, no thanks to the blood bond that ties me to them.
“Good. Shall we shake on it?” he says, holding out his hand.
I charge forward, a whirlwind of emotions raging within me. My dagger materializes in my hand, and swiftly I cut along my palm. In an instant, I do the same to Demitri, enjoying his slight wince.
“Complete this task and you are free from any further obligation to this family,” he states.
“Done,” I reply.
We shake hands, and then it is Alexander’s turn, followed by Penn’s.
Demitri walks over to the bar in the corner and pours himself a drink before turning to face me.
“Ashwiyaa,” he says, making sure he has my full attention. “You will find our package at a small cave in the Valley of the Dead. You will know it when you see it.”
In that moment, my heart falters in my chest, and I’m overcome with a sensation of weightlessness.
“You son of a bitch,” I whisper in disbelief.
“We expect you back in five days with our package,” Alexander says, dismissing me with a wave of his hand.
Chapter ten
Ashwiyaa
“Discipline is choosing between what you want now and what you want the most.” -Abraham Lincoln
My heart pounds as I storm from the office, my footsteps silent in the empty hallway. The weight of frustration and betrayal hangs heavily in the air around me, shrouding me in black shadows and mirroring my emotions. Each breath I take feels hot and heavy, fueling the fire that burns within me.
How could they ask this of me?
I clench my fists, trembling with pent-up rage, grinding my teeth within a tightly set jaw.
“Things not go your way, pet?” Noah taunts as I storm through the foyer, his voice dripping with condescension. His serpent-like eyes track me, reveling in my apparent defeat, but I don’t have the patience for his petty jabs anymore.
The events that unfolded in the office have pushed me to breaking point, and I can no longer contain the anger that bubbles beneath the surface. Every word spoken, every decision made in that room has chipped away at my restraint until there’s now nothing left but raw, unchecked fury.
Without sparing Noah a single glance, I let my magic lash out, driven by the rage inside me. It coils around him like a serpent, lifting him off the ground as if he weighs nothing. The ripple of shock that comes from him is almost satisfying, but not enough to quell the storm within me. With a flick of my wrist, I send him sailing into the wall on the other side of the room. The sound of his body colliding with the plaster reverberates through the air, a satisfying crack that’s followed by a resounding crash as an antique vase topples over, shattering against the marble floor into a thousand glittering shards.
I don’t even flinch. The destruction feels insignificant, almost inconsequential in the face of the tempest inside me. Noah’s pitiful groans come from the other side of the room as he struggles, but I don’t care. He brought this on himself.
The front doors fly open with the force of my unleashed magic, slamming against the walls as I charge out into the cool night air. Each breath feels like fire in my lungs as I jog down the front stairs, taking them two at a time, desperate to escape the suffocating confines of the house. The adrenaline pulses through my veins, almost painful in its intensity. Tears of frustration well up behind my eyelids, burning hot and unwelcome. I blink furiously, refusing to let them fall, but the emotions threaten to overwhelm me.
Just as the first tear attempts to escape, I surrender to the urge, letting my form shift. My bones snap and twist as I transform into owl form, and with a loud, piercing screech, I take to the skies. The sound is raw and primal, echoing through the night as I ascend, leaving the mansion behind.
The cool air rushes against my feathers, carrying away the remnants of my anger. But the frustration remains, gnawing at me, and as I fly higher, I let out another screech, the night carrying my anguish into the void.
“ASH!”
From below comes Penn’s loud bellow, but I choose to ignore him. I’ll do this, but I don’t owe them anything else.
Chapter eleven
Ashwiyaa
