Ashley did not feel alive as she did with Alexander. Ashley was so used to having everything kept secret from her these days, the idea that he might be lying to her wasn’t a question.She found herself moving quicker as she saw him, each step carrying her closer and closer to him, her body wanting nothing more than to bury itself in his arms.
“Alexander,” his name escaped Ashley’s mouth in a joyful call, and she grinned, picking up her pace to rush into his arms. Her arms locked themselves around his neck, her lips dragging up to his before she could think of all the things that could go wrong. And then, she looked into his eyes.
She looked into his eyes and saw that he was just as joyful as she was, and for some reason, despite having told people for years that she was no fool, she took that as a good sign. For some reason, despite ranting for years about how everyone else just went blind when it came to their boyfriends, Ashley decided to believe that it was a good sign that everything with Alexander was going to be fine. She had finally met one, and this was her one chance.
And with all that believing, she pressed her lips up to his, kissing him deep, loving the taste of him on her tongue. She felt whole in his arms, with his hands wrapped around her. They touched the wing on her back, the birthmark that had been there from the very beginning, that now felt like it was connected to something else. A sensation that felt…right.
Ashley pulled away and looked at Alexander, excitement in her eyes, her whole body teeming with the urge to go away, and then she said it.
“Alexander, I’ve decided that we have to run away together. That we need to get as far away from this place as possible, if only so that we can be together and so that you and I can finally be happy,” Ashley said, feeling a little insane, but not caring.
She was probably manic, her whole brain having finally broken from every new thing that she had experienced lately, but she didn’t care. Not so long as he was there. Not so long as the opportunity was there for her to be with him. She wanted himmore than she had ever wanted anything in her life. She wanted this man, and she was going to seize the opportunity and take it. Surprise showed on his features, and she could tell that he was hesitating, that Alexander wasn’t exactly sure what was going on.
But then the hesitation disappeared from his features, and he seemed to come to a conclusion. One in which his eyes scanned the maze, and he told her one thing. A thing that she suspected that she should have always known.
“The only way out is through the maze,” Alexander said, and it just fucking made sense. This made so much sense that Ashley could hardly comprehend how she hadn’t suspected it before. Obviously, there was a reason why her brother had tried to keep her out of the maze from the very beginning. While she knew that their family gem was out there, it made sense now that the maze was the only true way out of there. But did it lead somewhere far away, somewhere where she could finally be free?
All of the other paths had led her to the village, into various parts of the forest, but those weren’t a true escape. The maze was the only way out. She felt so stupid for not realizing it before, and the moment that she fully processed his words, Ashley nodded, turning back to the entrance with him by her side, and trying to will her erratic heartbeat to calm.
“We need to find our way through then,” she said with a nod, holding out her hand for him to take. He took her hand eagerly, seizing it in a single motion, and looking at her with a smile.
The maze was a large,tedious thing, filled with so many pathways that Ashley hardly felt she could find her way. Still,Alexander seemed inclined to follow her, likely believing that it was her bloodline that would guide them through the maze. Ashley decided to find out if it was true or not and charged forward, eager to make sure that she didn’t disappoint him. After all, this is the only way the two could be together since she wanted nothing more than to be with him…
“We’re getting close,” Alexander said, perhaps sensing she was getting slightly tired and slightly disheartened. Immediately, Ashley perked up, once again feeling alive.
“Soon, we’ll be out of here,” Alexander reassured her, and she could only nod, happy to escape with him and see the rest of the world with him.
“What do you suppose is nearby,” Ashley asked, excited to see the outside world again, what little remained of it. Her mind went to the world that she knew before, combined with the world that she was living in, and she imagined that, for just a moment, there were still some little modern flares. What she wanted more than anything was a gas station that just so happened to have fried chicken. She’d missed fried chicken since nobody here seemed to know how to make it. Most of the food she’d been given was stew, savory pies, or roasts. Some fried chicken would be really good. Then she’d start tracking down a taco truck.
A loud roar shook the very earth they raced upon, and fire danced through the hedges. Ashley screamed as Alexander moved to shield her body, clutching at him, but he’d already shifted into his dragon form. In a matter of seconds, the man known as Alexander disappeared, and the chaotic beast known as the Diamond Dragon burst into existence. He was a giant, shimmering dragon and Ashley didn’t know how she knew he was the Dragon King, she just did. She knew. Alexander was the king, and Ashley, what could she do then? All she could do was stand back and gawk, realizing she had been conned.
Chapter
Twenty-Five
Realistically, there were quite a few things that someone could say when the person they’re walking through a maze with bursts out of human form and turns into a giant dragon. Ashley imagined that most of them were far less vulgar than what escaped her mouth. Still, because she had never considered herself to be good with words, she did a pretty good job summarizing the experience. She didn’t flinch away from using the words that really would count. The same words probably would have gotten her in trouble with her father, of all people.
“Holy mother fucking shit,” probably would have made a few grandmothers go green around the gills, perhaps fan themselves in the middle of a church, and wonder when their granddaughter was going to turn herself over to the priest for an exorcism, but, because Ashley didn’t have any grandparents, she felt pretty safe in saying those words.
This whole time, she had been afraid about what would happen when the Diamond King found her, that he would somehow claim his mate and then tell her that she would do whatever he said. That he was going to take her away from Alexander, whom she had been falling for. But then, it turnedout that that wasn’t a problem. Because Alexander was the actual Diamond King, and the Diamond King had conned her. And by conning her, the Diamond King had put her through a whole avalanche of emotions. But what she was feeling now? Right now, she felt extremely pissed off. Completely and utterly pissed at Alexander.
She was mad at herself, and then mad at her brother, and then mad at just about everyone, because you know, she shouldn’t have been in this situation to begin with. She shouldn’t have even been in this situation. Because everyone insisted on so many secrets, she was able to be conned and believe that the man to whom she was actually betrothed was a butler of all things. But, somehow, through a whole mess of shifter fuckery, there she was, standing in a maze next to a giant fucking dragon.
And giant really wasn’t the word. It didn’t really do any justice to his true size, him, or the fact that he was slightly beautiful in his own way, sporting giant, blue, iridescent scales that glittered all colors when the light hit them. And filling a lot of the space beside her.
Actually, she had never seen a real dinosaur. Mainly because museums in Tennessee tended to verge on the whole dinosaurs weren’t real thing. Because it was in the Bible belt, so, of course, dinosaurs weren’t real. However, she could imagine the size of a dinosaur. She would say they were smaller than Alexander was in his full form, which was concerning because she had been making out with a dragon about as big as three buses. Which made her lady bits feel slightly less horny, even though she had heard that she was a dragon as well.
And then, to make sure that her lady bits didn’t feel horny at all and erase any and all bursts that she might have felt in her body, she saw something else. The one thing she didn’t want to see. A giant white dragon head. And, while Ashley wasn’t exactly the most brilliant girl in the world, she could put two and twotogether, and two and two together meant that the white dragon was her brother. And, when she was thinking about sex, the last thing she wanted to see was her brother, of all people. He was a giant fucking lizard that was breathing fire through the maze and had just about fried her.
But because her brother had warned her not to bring anyone into the maze, she supposed that she was lucky that he hadn’t killed her because she had definitely broken some rules there. But that was beside the point. Everyone was a fucking liar, that was the important part.
Wait, no, she realized then that wasn’t the important part. The important part was that everyone was busy fighting each other dragon-style, and she was there, still on two legs and still far too capable of escaping.
Say, for a moment, that Alexander had been telling the truth, that there was a way out of there via the maze?
Ashley wanted to believe it, and even if it wasn’t true, even if there was no way out via the maze, she could seize her family jewel and use it to threaten her brother. And once she had threatened her brother, she would find her way out, she would finally escape and go back to a normal life. The thought hit her like a ton of bricks, and the moment that that ton of bricks had settled, Ashley sprung into motion.
This was a good idea either way when one considered that two giant dragons were currently battling it out beside her. While they were springing giant flames up and down the pathways of the maze, somehow deciding that they were going to preserve the integrity of the maze even though it likely wasn’t the logical decision, Ashley was deciding to haul fucking ass and get out of there.
