40. Ash
Chapter 40
Ash
“You’ve been promising us for years that you would persuade the King to get rid of those mutated freaks, and you still have nothing to show for it, Davis! Why should we keep trusting you?” a heckler from the crowd yelled, and murmurs of agreement followed.
“And now we are supposed to sit here and believe that he has a blonde granddaughter that has been hidden away all these years and is supposed to be our next Queen?” another man shouted.
Advisor Davis raised his hands to stop the shouts and murmurs from the crowd. “Look, I know how it seems, but if you all will simply have patience, we are working on a solution. Our recent assassination attempt on the Princess failed. We are going to have to try again. ”
“Why is the King even entertaining the idea of her being the next Queen when he has locked up all the other blondes in the mines or the Pit?” someone yelled.
“I don’t know his reasoning. We have had several meetings with him, but he will never divulge his intentions and tells us it will all work out in due time. But I don’t believe him any longer. We must take this into our own hands!” Davis roared.
Cheers echoed throughout the room as I scanned the crowd. I didn’t recognize anyone except for Jerek until my eyes landed on a man in the back of the room, his form concealed in the shadows and slightly behind a pile of crates. I recognized the salt and pepper beard and the way he stood from the one time I’d met him. Liam was here, listening to the meeting. Did he realize how dangerous that was? What if someone recognized him?
“What about King Maximus? Will we strike on him?” My attention was pulled back to the men in the front and away from my father.
“Not yet. He still may come around,we leave the King be. The Princess is our target and we will attack at the King’s annual winter solstice Party.”
“Next week, we will right the world of the wrong the King has inflicted upon us!” the third man in the center that I didn’t recognize shouted.
“What is the plan?” someone else piped up.
“My associates, we cannot discuss the details here, for there could be some untrustworthy members in this crowd. As your leader, I will bring assignments to you before the night of the winter solstice.”
The third man must be the leader of the Dark Rise .
“Until then, keep your heads low. Maximus does not handle disobedience well,” Davis said.
“And what about when he finds out we killed his granddaughter? Will all of our heads be on the line?” the first man shouted again.
“No, because it will look like an accident,” the leader said, and Davis, Telman, and the leader all smiled at each other. “Now, go back to your homes before we are caught, and do not speak of this to anyone!”
More questions were shouted into the crowd, and I raced back out the trap door and down the ladder. Just as I made it back to Ryan, Jerek ran toward us, ushering us away from the building.
When Jerek escorted me back to my room, the light of dawn crept over the mountains. He pushed the door open after telling me and Ryan what had gone down in the meeting, while I pretended like I didn’t already know. Jerek scanned the room before letting me enter. With a speculative gaze, he stepped out the door, and I locked it behind him.
“Where have you been?” I jumped at the voice, my heart hitting my throat in shock. The dark, gravely timbre that I knew too well came from the bathroom doorway. Kane sounded furious—more so than I had ever heard him. He leaned against the doorjamb in the shadows of the bathroom, with his arms crossed over his chest. His hood shaded his face, but I could see the anger in his furrowed brows and clenched jaw. What was he doing in there alone? My mind immediately shot to the items that I had hidden in the vent.
“I was hungry,” I answered tentatively, stepping toward the door.
His eyes narrowed at my steps away from him. “And it took you all night to find something to eat,” he said and prowled closer. My heart rate spiked—he looked dangerous. Just then, the light caught something in his hand as he rolled it in his fingers.
“You forgot something.” His voice sounded…unsure. He held up the ring that Gabe had given me in the light so I could see. Traces of blood coated his knuckles, and my eyes widened.
“Suddenly you have nothing to say, Blondie.”
I swallowed hard. “Why are you in my room, going through my things?”
“I got bored while I was waiting for you.” He shrugged. “Besides, something tells me that you don’t care that much about physical possessions anyway. Nothing in that bathroom holds any value to you.”
Only a few things that were hidden deep in the wall, but other than that, he was right. “Don’t act like you know me only because you can feel my emotions or thoughts.”
He stared at me for a long moment, continually twirling the ring around his finger. Finally, he set it back on the counter and strode to the door.
“It’s time to train—we’re doing something different today.” His voice still held an undertone of anger that had me feeling extremely wary. I moved out of his way, giving him a wide berth and noticed the way his jaw ticked. He stopped with his hand on the door knob. “You scared of me, Blondie? ”
A challenge. I remembered the words I’d told him last time, but something about my conversation with Jerek and Ryan tonight had woken up my sleeping heart. I was slightly afraid of him right now. I was…feeling something again. Kane looked down, his brows furrowing, taking my silence as an answer. “Put on some clothes,” he commanded quietly, still holding the door knob with white knuckles.
I quickly went to my closet to change out of my pajamas, which I wore after shucking Jerek’s uniform earlier. I desperately wanted to get some relief from the tension vibrating through the room. When I returned Kane remained in the same position by the door. He nodded in approval and pulled it open.
Jerek’s eyes widened when Kane stood there instead of me. Kane said something to Jerek that I couldn’t hear, and Jerek’s eyes dropped in what appeared to be shame.
Kane glanced back at me. My feet had stilled on the ground. “Let’s go, Ash,” he snapped, startling me into action. “Your services are not needed today, Wavern,” he said, effectively brushing Jerek off. “Walk, Blondie.”
I turned to Jerek, for the first time feeling afraid of leaving with Kane. He shot me a sympathetic look but nodded and turned, leaving us alone. I tentatively stepped forward, taking our usual route to the training center. Kane followed behind me, and I could feel his piercing gaze on the back of my neck as we walked in silence.
We reached the door to the underground tunnels, and he unlocked it before pulling me inside by the arm after him. We continued down a similar tunnel, but then he took a sharp turn that I knew didn’t lead to the training center.
“Where are we going?” My voice shook from the coldness of the tunnel. He strode on without even acknowledging my question, and I became more nervous with every step we took further into the darkness. The tunnel weaved, and we turned corners until I was sure we would get lost. The lights had died down to almost nothing. Was he going to kill me? Had he found out that I was the reason the soldiers died?
“Kane.” I gulped and got nothing, other than the sound of his footsteps and the hard look on his face. The tunnel came to an end with large rocks blocking any further route. I pulled at my visions of the future to see what was about to happen, except it was different than usual. Dozens of possibilities swirled in my head. I don’t think Kane even knew what he would do.
A split second before it happened, I saw what he intended. I maneuvered out of his grip before he could push me against the wall and pull a knife.
His eyes widened at the agility of the movement. He knew about my ability . He was forcing me into showing him, and if he knew, that meant the King would soon know. I turned and sprinted away. I easily dodged his grabbing hand, turning a corner as he skidded to try to catch up.
“Ash… Wait!” he shouted, but I didn’t listen. He was gaining on me again, and all the tunnels looked the same. I was too focused on deciding between going left or right to see the future before Kane caught me around the waist. I kicked behind me at his leg, and he grunted in pain but didn’t let go. I landed a blow exactly where I knew would make him release me. His grip on me faltered, and I escaped out of his arms, circling back around him with raised fists.
“You can see what’s going to happen before it happens,” he growled as we circled each other, my fists raised while his hung at his side. “You knew I was going to hit you yesterday, and you let it happen anyway—you threw yourself into my fist! Why?”
How? How did he figure it out? My heart hammered in my chest. He knew, now what would he do with it? “Congratulations, you figured it out. Have you told your master yet?” I asked snidely. “Have you earned all your accolades and been sent to kill me for lying before Gabe comes back?”
He ignored my jabs, his nostrils flaring. “Why, Ash? Why did you force me to hit you?” His voice broke, and I searched his eyes in confusion.
My fists dropped ever so slightly in front of me. His posture appeared completely relaxed, and the way his shoulders sagged had me questioning things. “Why do you care if you hit me or not?” I asked.
He moved closer to me, bringing his finger up to brush across the cut on my lip. When his skin contacted mine, I was careful to guard my thoughts. Heat seared into my skin where his calloused finger brushed my tender lip.
“Do you still love him?” he asked softly. I knew without a doubt who he was talking about. That was the question I had been asking myself over and over again. The simple answer was yes, I don’t know if I could ever stop loving him, even after everything he had done. I don’t know if I could ever hate Gabe, especially since he was trying to fix things.
I think Kane saw the hesitation in my eyes. He dropped his hand and nodded, turning away from me.
“Where do we go from here? Will you tell the King of my ability?” I asked, unsure of everything.
“A secret for a secret.” He spoke over his shoulder so I couldn’t see the expression on his face. “You know about mine and have kept it. I will keep yours, but we will train differently from now on. ”
I nodded. “Thank you.” A question popped into my mind, and it fell out of my lips before I could stop it. “Why do you do this, Kane?” I’d seen the Pit and the blonde woman getting beaten. I had to ask him again. Why?
“This is so much bigger than you and me, Blondie.” He turned and looked immeasurably sad. His eyes danced back and forth between mine, like he was trying to figure something out before they finally settled, his steel gray eyes piercing into mine.
He rubbed his hand through his hair. “Come with me.”