Chapter 9 Truth Of The Heir
The next day, as I’m walking through the house, I hear laughter floating through the halls.
I follow the sound and find Lucian and Savvy sitting with three other men.
“Gracie, come in! I want you to meet my friends!” Lucian waves me in.
“Hi, Isobel.” Savvy smiles.
“Hi.” I give them a small smile. Part of me wants to turn and run back out of the room with all the eyes on me.
“This is Max, Preston, and Derek.”
Max is tall with chestnut hair and gentle brown eyes. He gives me an easy smile and a wave. “Nice to meet you, Isobel. It’s crazy to see you all grown up.”
Preston gives me a serious but polite nod. “Hello.” His voice is deep, his locs are pulled away from his face in a low ponytail.
Derek gives me a big smile. “You look so much like Lucian.” His dark hair is styled neatly.
“Come and sit with me.” Savvy pats the seat beside her and I follow.
“Nice to meet you all,” I say and turn to look at Lucian. He’s relaxed in his seat with a big smile on his face.
“So,” Max says, leaning forward before anyone else can speak, his grin widening. “You’re the legendary Gracie. I feel a little cheated. Lucian made it sound like you’d be taller.”
Lucian scoffs. “Ignore him.”
Max only laughs. “I’m kidding. You’ve got his eyes, though. Lucky girl.”
I blink, unsure how to respond, but Derek chuckles.
“He’s been jealous of Lucian’s eyes since we were kids.” Derek adds smoothly. “Man has no filter. You can ignore him most of the time.” He shoots a look at Max, whose mouth has dropped open.
“You take that back!” Max says.
“No.” Derek replies.
Max tackles Derek and laugh as they wrestle. Preston moves aside, his eyes smiling but never fully laughing.
Savvy gives me a warm smile, I must be failing to hide the tension. “The boys were just reminiscing about their glory days at Blackmoore.”
“Is that a high school?” I ask no one in particular.
“It’s a private elite college.” Lucian answers. “Specializing in focusing more on certain areas of study.”
“They maintain higher standards than most colleges.” Preston adds.
I nod. “I see.”
“Lucian was the golden boy.” Derek takes a drink.
“Except the floors were uneven.” Max snickers.
The room fills with laughter and Lucian hurls a pillow at Max with surprising accuracy.
“Do you have plans for college?” Derek asks.
I open my mouth, then close it again. My pulse quickens.
I swallow. “I really hadn’t thought too much about school. I never thought I’d be able to afford it.”
“Well, good thing Lucian’s loaded so you can do whatever you want now.” Max smiles.
Lucian rolls his eyes.
“But I didn’t apply anywhere.”
“You’re an Ashthorne, you don’t have to apply.” Preston shrugs.
“There’s a spot for you at Blackmoore Academy, since you’re part of the Ashthorne legacy,” Savvy says.
“Is school something you want to do?” Lucian asks, leaning forward.
“If I don’t, what would I be doing? Become a spoiled, rich brat that just lies around?”
“She’s got it.” Max claps, laughing.
I shake my head with a small smile. “I’d rather go to school. I want a better life, but I don’t want things just handed to me.”
Lucian beams. “That’s my Gracie.”
“You can let us know how the floors are.” Max cackles.
“Have you ever been ice skating?” Derek’s eyes sparkle.
“You’re all insufferable.” Lucian groans.
The summer passes in slow motion—each day softer than the last, like the universe is learning not to touch me so roughly.
Training with Savvy every morning is the highlight to my day. Max and Derek join us on occasion, and I get to learn different fighting styles.
I ask Savvy why they all learned to fight and she said it was just a part of their lives. Being in security and living among the elite, they needed to learn how to protect themselves.
The training with Savvy is brutal but necessary. At first, my body feels foreign. Awkward. Weak. I bruise easily, forget to breathe, mess up the footwork. But I don’t quit.
Dakota joins me sometimes, offering quiet tips between rounds.
“Keep your elbow tucked,” she says. “Pivot from your core. You’ll hit harder.”
She’s not competitive about it. Just supportive. Sometimes we stay after Savvy leaves and spar a little. She pulls her punches but never underestimates me. I start to appreciate that more than I expected.
Strength training becomes part of my daily rhythm. I lift. I run. I fall. I try again. Slowly, I start to see the changes—my body stronger, my breath steadier, my mind quieter. I don’t flinch as easily. I stand straighter. I look in the mirror and see someone who could fight back if she had to.
Piece by piece, bruise by bruise, I’m taking myself back.
I’m building myself. Something I wasn’t allowed to do before. I’m learning who I am, who I want to be.
I don’t want to be the quiet girl who flinches at every noise.
I want to live up to my Grandma Grace and the Ashthorne legacy.
I won’t be a doormat anymore. With this determination, my training session with Savvy this morning has me feeling better than ever.
We’re taking a break from my training when the question bubbles out of me. “Did you know my mom?”
Savvy looks at me with sad eyes; it’s not pity I don’t think. “I did.”
“What was she like?” I’m suddenly starving for the pieces Savvy may have. “I don’t have many memories of her… before.”
Savvy sits, patting the mat in front of her. I join her and cross my legs.
“I think you should ask your dad to tell you more about her. I liked her, don’t get me wrong. We were even friends, but I don’t think I’ll have the insight you’re looking for on her.”
I nod.
“She was always going on about how she couldn’t believe someone like Lucian would love her. They met in college. Your mom had Lucian head over heels for her with her fiery personality.”
“Your dad, naturally, always wanted to impress her. Max dared him to give her a big romantic speech. But of course, he went above and beyond that. He decided to write her a poem.”
“A poem?” I grin.
“A long poem. Complete with Shakespearean cadence and dramatic pauses. It was a whole thing.” Savvy giggles, and I join her.
“He decided to recite this poem to her in the middle of the lawn. It was cheesy and hilarious but she loved it. And that’s really all that mattered.” Savvy reached over squeezing my hand.
“Thank you.” I smile back.
I’m curled up on the chaise in the library, trying to finish a book I’ve restarted four times, when a soft knock sounds.
Lucian leans in, his expression careful. “Gracie. Can I speak with you for a minute? In the study.”
The way he says it makes my stomach drop.
I nod, set the book aside, and follow him down the hall. The study is warm and dimly lit, all polished wood and deep leather. There’s a small fire burning low in the hearth, even though it’s summer.
Lucian closes the door behind us.
I sit in the chair across from his desk, suddenly aware of how small I feel in this room.
He lowers himself into the seat opposite me. “I wanted to talk to you about Blackmoore Academy.”
Anxiety creeps in my chest. “Did they reject me?”
“No, they didn’t.” He chuckles.
My brows scrunch in confusion. Then what about it?
“There’s really no way to say this gently. I’m the current head of the Guild.”
“What’s the Guild?”
“It’s… It’s a thieves’ guild.”
I blink.
“I’m sorry, what?” I breathe. I couldn’t have heard him right.
“It’s not what it sounds like,” he says. “At least not entirely. The Guild is older than Blackmoore. Older than most countries. We deal in secrets. In power. In leverage. And we keep the balance between the other guilds and the elite who rule behind the scenes.”
My heart pounds in my ears. “And you’re in charge of it.”
“I am,” he confirms. “And one day, you’ll be expected to take my place.”
I stare at him. “You’re joking.”
“I wish I was.”
A strange chill passes through me. “Why me?”
“Because you’re my daughter. And because you survived. You adapted. You’ve seen what it means to have nothing — and still hold your head up. That’s what the Guild needs in a leader. And what I need in an heir.”
“That’s insane.” A strangled laugh escapes me. “What about Dakota?”
“She’s not my blood; she could never take my place. But she’ll be an initiate, just like you.”
I feel like my brain has checked out for the day. The workers in there decided they were done and just left. I can’t fully process the words, they haven’t fully sunken in yet.
I swallow hard. “So, what now? I train to be a thief?” I let out a shaky breath. “I mean I’ve stolen to get by but this sounds like diamond heists and stuff that people see in movies.”
Lucian chuckles. “Yes, sometimes it is like that. But to be a leader, you’ll need to not only be a thief, but a strategist, negotiator, and ghost.”
I stand and start pacing the room. “Is this why my mom ran? She found out about this?”
Lucian shakes his head. “No, your mom always knew about the Guild. When I knew I wanted to spend my life with her, I let her know. Everything it would mean if she tied her life to mine. Gave her an out. But she told me she didn’t care. That she wanted to stay.”
I huff out a breath, running my fingers into my hair. “This is insane. How is this real?”
Lucian stands and moves to me, placing his hands on my shoulders. “I know this is a lot to take in, but I didn’t want you going to school and being blindsided by this. You’ve been training with Savvy all summer, but you’ll have additional classes at school that are for the Guild.”
“You didn’t think to tell me before?”
“You wanted to train, I wanted to give you time to settle in,” Lucian says.
“So Savvy, Max, Preston, and Derek are part of it too? That’s why they know how to fight.”
Lucian nods. Letting everything sink in.
“Everyone who goes to Blackmoore, are they a part of it?”
“No, it’s a secret society. The Guild has a lot of power over Blackmoore, which is how we’re able to hide our movements, and teenagers like you are able to start your training early.”
I nod as my brain processes his words.
“There’s a competing family. The Ravencourts have always tried to take the power away from the Ashthorne family. You’ll want to stay away from his son, Jace, and anyone he associates with.”
“Ravencourt,” I repeat. “Is he in the Guild?”
“His father, yes. Jace will be an initiate like you, but he’s had far more training than you. As will most of the others.”
He moves back to his desk. “I’ve long suspected their family had something to do with the death of my parents. The man who hit my parents, I uncovered that his family received a large sum of money after his death. I just couldn’t trace it back to them.”
My jaw drops, his body is stiff. He looks up at me with fire in his eyes. “That is why I’m telling you to stay away from them. I have to remain impartial as the leader and treat Jace the same as any other initiate. But I can’t stand the idea of anything happening to you at their hands.”
I nod. “Okay, I’ll be careful.”
I’m the heir to a thieves’ guild.
And somehow, the man on the other end of the desk—the one who brought me safety, who gave me this second chance—is the most dangerous of them all.
“Do you want to attend? This is still your choice. If you don’t want to go, to have any part of this, then you can choose a different path.”
I take a deep breath.
“What happens if I choose to not go?”
“Then our family legacy ends here with me. But don’t let that sway your decision. I love you, and I will always will, regardless of what you decide.”
I sit with his words for a moment. This legacy, this Guild. Savvy and her stories of Blackmoore pass through my mind.
My dad, he’s giving me an option to not carry on our family’s legacy if I don’t want it.
But something in me does.
“I want to go.” I raise my chin and let him see the confidence in my eyes. “I want to carry on the Ashthorne legacy. I want to be more. I want to be like Grandma Grace.”
Lucian smiles, pride beaming in his eyes. “You already are so much like her, Gracie. I’m proud of you.”
He walks back around, wrapping me in a hug.
“You’re stronger than you know.”