Ashley gasped when Alexander stopped ahead of her and turned back to look at her with interest in his eyes.
“So, you’re the dragon of a prophecy, but you can’t even shift,” Alexander said, sounding slightly amused but also slightly concerned. Was he putting more weight on the whole Ashley-being-a-part-of-a-prophecy thing than she had initially supposed? Ashley felt her stomach tighten at that idea, her throat growing dry. Had she perhaps misread the situation?
“Well, yeah, I don’t know if it’s because I haven’t grown up as a dragon or if it’s just something to do with the way that I am,” Ashley cleared her throat, averting her gaze from the man as she tried not to feel slightly disappointed by his reaction. “You know, it’s supposed to be a secret, I think, because I don’t think many people are aware of it, but my father sort of got rid of me because there’s something wrong with me. My magic’s broken or something.”
“I’ve heard about that,” Alexander agreed, looking like he was genuinely contemplating the concept for a moment. Still, he didn’t look bothered by it in the slightest, which Ashley took as a better sign. She felt like she could breathe a sigh of relief, just for the moment.
It turned out the fact that she didn’t have any magic was an open secret, or at least, Ashley supposed that it was. Maybe it was something that the servants spread around. Or maybe there’d been some sort of news article about it.
“Well, I think my inability to shift had something to do with that. Like I don’t have enough magic to shift, which makes the whole prophecy thing confusing to me. Why would I be special?The people in the woods were talking about it, making it out to be this great thing, that it was a sign that I was going to be something more. It made me feel weird, like everyone was watching me like I’m some sort of spectacle. I know we shouldn’t complain about stuff like that because, like, look at you, you’re a servant, and that’s got to completely suck because just about everyone doesn’t seem to like my family. Still, I can’t help but wonder how the fuck I’m going to measure up to all these expectations that everyone has of me if I can’t be the person that they think I should be.”
Ashley was leaving out the fear she felt and the way she feared she would let her brother down. The fact that she had hardly slept since coming here because every night she woke up wondering if it was real. And if tomorrow she would wake up and still be a princess. Would everyone keep looking at her the way they did? Ashley wasn’t sure that this was what she wanted for herself, but it felt like the world had decided it for her, which was what made the realization that they had reached the steps that lead into the castle all the worse.
Ashley’s breath caught in the back of her throat the moment she realized that she was looking up at those steps. She felt as if she was walking towards hell, if only because she knew all the restrictions that came with being the princess of the Opal Castle. What made it worse was the way Alexander looked over at her, with a hint of hesitation. That look said she might not understand the ways of this world, but he certainly did.
“I’m afraid that this is where I will have to leave you, at least for now,” Alexander said, and Ashley swallowed hard, nodding in agreement.
If only she could somehow make him stop and ask him to take her with him. Or that she could somehow find the strength to charge into the castle with him, his hand in hers, and demand that her brother treat his servants better and that she be allowedan actual chance to get to know Alexander. But she knew that all of that was futile. No matter how much she wanted him, no matter how much she dared to wish, at the end of the day, nothing would change. Valys held all of the power in this society, and she had no power at all. She was trapped in a prison of her brother’s making, forced to confront the fact that her life wasn’t really her own.
And yet, despite all that, Ashley still dared to dream of a better life. She dared to turn to Alexander.
“When will I see you again?” Ashley asked, feeling more defiant than she had been in the past few days. Like it didn’t matter what her brother thought, what problems he caused, or anything else. She was determined to see Alexander again. She was determined to find a way to make it work with Alexander.
She could see the hesitation in his features as he watched her, very obviously having his own opinion on the situation, one that he probably wouldn’t share. But he was thinking about it, and that gave her hope that he would give her a real answer.
“Soon,” Alexander said, his voice low and seductive with promise as he looked at her from beneath his eyelashes, making clear the fact that he would definitely see her soon.
“Very, very soon,” Alexander said, and Ashley could only swallow and nod, telling herself that she would be able to see him again, at some point. She would simply count the moments.
Her eyes lingered on him as she strengthened her resolve, giving the slightest nod and repeating his words in agreement.
“Soon,” Ashley echoed, unable to stop herself from feeling just the slightest bit excited at the promise. Something about Alexander made her feel like a schoolgirl, like she was a child going through her first love rather than a 20-year-old woman who had seen heartbreak one too many times.
And, with the confirmation that she would be seeing him soon, Ashley willed her feet to move, wincing as sheremembered the way that her brother had reacted the last time she dared to vanish from sight. Had it only been last night? It felt like a lifetime ago. He’d just have to learn that she was an adult, and, while her brother could say whatever he wanted, and probably scold her like she was no better than a child, she would still be an adult.
With this thought, Ashley managed to make herself move towards the castle, ready to face the rest of dragon society.
When she returned,the castle was as active as it had been when she left, or perhaps even more active because there were now people in residence, high nobles. Of course, they were nowhere in sight when Ashley walked through the front door, but she hadn’t exactly expected them to be. She had, however, expected the flurry of servants that she saw, all of them panicking as they tried to carry luggage and clean up dirt tracked into the castle.
They were all gossiping about how Ashley’s debut and the ball were going to happen a little sooner than they had expected. It was apparent to Ashley that the dragon nobility was tired of waiting to see her. They decided the second that they heard about the ball and the Dragon Games to invite themselves a little early.
It was rude in its own way, but Ashley supposed that she couldn’t exactly complain. Largely because she wouldn’t know exactly what she was complaining about. And also, because the fact that the halls were currently busy was a good thing to her. Nobody paid her any attention.
It was also good that her brother was nowhere in sight. If he had seen her come in through the front doors, she was very certain that she probably would have been dead. Her brotherwould have lost his shit. But, as it was, her brother was currently busy, likely assuming that she was being taken care of, at least for the moment, because he had locked her in her room.
Ashley snuck up the staircase and headed towards her room, glad that she would finally have a moment alone to process everything that had happened that day.
But of course, the moment that Ashley managed to open her door, she saw that she wasn’t alone. She should have known that they’d just come to her room to wait on her when they couldn’t find her.
Mentally, Ashley berated herself as she slowly closed the door behind her. She really should have known. Elliot and Jack stood in her bedchamber, waiting for her at the one place she would always be forced to return to.
Chapter
Twenty
“Isuppose greetings are in order, Princess,” Jack said no sooner than Ashley closed the door.
Ashley silently berated herself for thinking that she could escape these motherfuckers. Especially when Jack had proven that whoever the fuck Jack Tracey was, he wasn’t exactly a guy to be fucked with. At least, not in this sort of way.
