“People are very rarely where they’re supposed to be,” Jack said smoothly, his slim shoulders lifting as the corner of his mouth did the same. It almost made her laugh it was so comically false. But it would let her brother know she wasn’t in her room. Besides, something about Jack’s response irked her, but she wasn’t sure what exactly.
“I don’t suppose my brother would like to find out that we were out here listening in on him,” Ashley said, offering a sort of olive branch to him. However, she wasn’t entirely sure if she should have because she had more of a right to be outside than Jack Tracey. Or maybe Jack Tracey did have more of a right to be out there than her, but that didn’t matter. All that mattered at that moment was how Jack Tracey trailed his hand down to loop into hers, shooting her a boyish smile that silenced all complaints.
He was charming, she had to give him that. He was far more charming than any of the southern boys she had grown up with, who spent so much of their time taunting her. Jack Tracey had a magnetism that made just about everyone look at him. That made just about every girl’s heart stutter if Ashley had to guess.
The second that he’d taken her hand, she felt like she could barely breathe, which wasn’t a good thing. But it was good that he pulled her away from the hedges and back towards the castle. It distracted her from how attractive he was.
“You and I are both capable of keeping secrets,” Jack said, pressing her against the hedge as he came to a stop. “Look, I know you want to escape this place, but you need to listen to me. You won’t tell anyone what you heard out there. Understand? If you want to keep your pretty head on your shoulders, you’ll be quiet about it all.”
Ashley didn’t like to be told what to do, but she couldn’t help the way her heart skipped when he said she was pretty. She liked the idea that Jack Tracey was paying attention to her, but she needed something more. She would never forget that he had been the one to show up and bring her to this place, changing her entire life without even asking what she wanted.
And now, something about how he was striding with her hand in his made her feel like he would change her life once more if she gave him a chance. However, she wasn’t sure if it would be for the better this time. She’d been whisked away to a magical land filled with castles where she’d found out she was a dragon shifter and a long-lost princess.
“Come on, we can’t have the king finding out his sister is walking around spying on him,” Jack said as he pulled her deeper and deeper into the garden, his tugging hand forcing her to walk behind him. It was probably for the best. She didn’t want her brother or his friends to find out what they’d been up to.
Her brother’s recent behavior told her all she needed to know about what would happen if he did find out. And if he found out about her blossoming friendship with Jack. He’d probably lock her in her room and throw away the key. Bar the windows, and all of that. Ashley could only roll her eyes at it, even if she knew it was true.
But maybe Jack would answer some of the many questions she had, since he seemed determined to hang onto her hand. Jack pulled her further and further into the dense woods beyond the yard.
“My brother and his friends were talking about you throwing away your kingdom. But nobody has told me why. What did you do to get disowned, Jack, and why would you do that?” Ashley asked, wishing she was more eloquent, but she’d grown up in a town that said ‘far’ when they wanted to say ‘fire’. Eloquence wasn’t exactly her forte.
“I assume that you’ve heard how I refused to marry my fated mate and all of that,” Jack said, casting a self-deprecating smile her way and yet making little to no effort to back down from the topic.
“Figures that everyone would go around telling you too much,” Jack elaborated with a roll of his eyes.
“No, nobody’s told me much of anything, really. Why did you refuse to marry her?” Ashley sank down to the grass as Jack finally came to stop in a grove of trees.
“Hm. Nobody’s told you that, huh? I guess your brother has told everyone to keep you ignorant. That figures. He is the world’s biggest asshole, after all.” Jack looked away from her, back the way they came, checking for anyone that might follow them.
Ashley dearly wanted to trust Jack, he knew so much about what was going on here, but would he tell her the truth? Or would he keep answering a question with a question of his own?
“What were you doing out there?”Ashley asked. The way that a sly smile pulled at the corners of his mouth pretty much reminded her that he might be dangerous. She couldn’t ignorethe way that he took a seat beside her and leaned towards her, his eyes on her lips.
“Is asking me questions what you really want to do right now?” Jack asked, leaning closer, his eyes narrowing on her lips, but his eyebrows lifted in a way that made his features remain soft.
Her breath caught in the back of her throat as she realized how close he was. She should jump up and run away but couldn’t remember why that was. But she wasn’t totally stupid, she did remember why she was there with him.
“Maybe you should answer why you were out here, to begin with,” Jack said, suddenly pulling away from her.
Ashley scowled as she leaned away from Jack, wishing she had more power, if only so that she could remind him that she was the princess and he was the servant. But she didn’t know much about this society and she couldn’t make assumptions. All she could do was allow her back to fall against the thick tree bark behind her. Her breath caught in the back of her throat, her whole body thrumming with life as she looked at the man, willing him to somehow break the silence as she struggled to find the correct answer for him. There was nothing, absolutely nothing, that she could say at that moment.
Jack’s crooked smile hinted that he already knew that.
“That’s what I thought,” he replied, sounding self-satisfied as if he already knew that he had won. He had.
Regardless of whether he had won or not, Ashley couldn’t help but feel a little annoyed at the self-satisfied way that he leaned back, looking her up and down, no doubt in her mind that he was reading her like a book. He wished she’d answered his question, she could read it on his face. But if she didn’t answer, he wasn’t going to either. That look said he wasn’t about to let her win. It was annoying.
But just when she thought the conversation was at a standstill, Jack sprung up and looked over his shoulder, gesturing for her to follow him.
“Oh, come on, if you’re really that desperate for answers, follow me. If you want those answers?” He asked, and Ashley knew he was right. She knew there would probably be a consequence for following him, but she didn’t care now. All she could do at that moment was walk behind him, her eyes hastily looking over the maze before she followed the man down a trail through the woods.
Dense vegetation crowdedthe pathway that led from the edge of the Opal Castle’s green backyard into the crowded forest that sat behind it, making it almost impossible for one to navigate along the path if they were unfamiliar with it. Ashley stumbled more than once, but each time Jack caught her. Her heart would flutter and she’d feel the blood rushing to her skin, but there was no point to her attraction. Not if her brother planned to go ahead with his plans to marry her off. And not if she planned to escape. She didn’t want to take the chance on telling him any of her plans. He’d just tell her brother.
The longer Jack walked, the deeper into the forest he took her, the more certain she became that the secrets he was about to show her must be whoppers. Eventually, the pathway narrowed and the trees began to crowd in around them. A chill ran up her spine when she realized how dark it was there. Jack could kill her and nobody would know anything about it. Just as she was about to turn and run back towards the light, certain that she was about to meet her death, the overhanging canopycleared and she saw a brightly lit cottage. Lights shone from the windows and white smoke plumed from the chimney.
Ashley grinned, loving the cottage that should only exist in fairy tales. It was the sort of place that Hansel and Gretel likely walked into. It could even be the same one that they had gotten eaten in. Either that or it was the home of an old witch in the woods. Ashley wasn’t exactly certain. She thought it looked friendly and made her want to step towards it. She knew that the most dangerous things in life were often enticing. Like Jack over there, waiting for her to stop gaping at the place. Far too many dangerous things masqueraded as the most appealing things in the world. Which means she should have turned on her heels and run away.
But then she watched Jack continue walking down the path with the sort of confidence that made her want to follow him. He was a natural-born leader, after all, and Ashley couldn’t deny that she had been far more than enticed by the man. Despite her better judgment, she trailed behind him, anxiously looking in every direction as she walked near him. She figured that the closer she stayed to him, the better off she was. A small part of her couldn’t help but shudder as they stepped onto the pathway right outside of the cottage, the front door growing closer and closer, and the silver knocker that sat upon it catching Ashley’s eye.
