Chapter 17
Chapter
Seventeen
It shouldn’t have surprised Ashley that there was yet another corner of the castle that she had yet to explore, and but, it did.
She was supposed to be the princess, and that should have meant she was tutored on knowing everything a princess should know.
While everyone else seemed to know all of the small alcoves and passageways around the castle, Ashley still remained mostly clueless.
Still, Emma did seem to need some reassurance from Ashley as they continued. All in all, it was fine.
Especially when it led to them arriving outside in time to see row after row of vehicles lined up around the block. They likely carried dragon royalty and were heavily guarded. Men walked around the cars, opening doors as they went along.
Ashley’s eyes lingered on the iron rings that sat around so many of the men’s necks, knowing exactly what they were and exactly the deals that were made using them—all because of her father.
Ashley knew that those men were likely all enslaved by the various dragon families. Unlike Ned, each of them had a distinct edge to them, a glint that made one thing clear: if the time came, they would put their lives on the line for those families. An idea that chilled Ashley to the bone.
Particularly since she seemed to be hanging out with people who weren’t huge fans of her brother. That was the least of Ashley’s worries and she knew it.
The most of her worries?
The fact that Emma’s guiding hand had led her to the edge of the property, where a large, crumbling stone fence sat.
One that looked foreboding.
Ashley’s eyes took in the crumbling structure, a small part of her realizing that this was a definite barrier from the property and the outside world—and that the moment that she stepped off the property, she would no longer be enjoying all of the safety that her brother had offered her.
There was a real chance that someone could see her, realize exactly who she was, and decide to take care of things themselves.
It was beginning to seem like Val had no shortage of enemies, and as his sister, whose very existence lent itself to his political power, it wasn’t exactly a stretch to assume that.
But staying on the property likely meant forfeiting any chances of learning exactly what was going on in the world, and Ashley didn’t know if she could do that either. Not when her brother seemed dead set on keeping so many secrets from her.
With a single glance backwards she made her choice, swallowing her nerves and following Emma through the gap in the stone, all the while well aware that sometimes walls existed for a reason.
The only question was whether those walls were to keep her in or to keep others out.
The woods were, as they were the first time, confusing.
Probably more so because these woods stretched behind the property a long way until they hit a creek, then kept going as far as the eye could see until Ashley wondered how Emma could bear to walk in those heels through it all without complaint.
It was evident from Emma’s confidence and determination that the women of this place were made from bricks and nails.
Meanwhile, Ashley?
Well, she was supposed to be a good old country girl, and she had prided herself on that label for years, always viewing herself as someone who was tougher than nails.
She was someone who managed to do all the things that her classmates complained about growing up.
But the moment that she encountered the thick-ass mud that sat just around the creek, she was pretty sure that a few days in a palace had changed her, morphing her into some sort of pansy who didn’t like getting her hair wet or having to deal with real problems.
It didn’t help that she was forced to wear heels as they traversed the woods.
It was starting to get to her. She tried not to worry about it all as she pulled at the legs of her still fucking impossible pants and tried to have a stiff upper lip.
She promised herself that the second she was done with all of this bullshit, she would get to know an endless array of secrets that would undoubtedly give her some sort of idea as to what the hell was going on.
Also, she would get to see Jack, who she was very slowly beginning to consider a friend and who was fucking amazing. Even if she suspected he might be using her for his own gains.
To be fair, out of all the people she had met so far, Jack was probably the one she trusted the most, which was ironic because he definitely should have been the one she trusted the least. But despite all of that, she couldn’t deny that her heart skipped a beat when she saw Jack standing amongst the trees.
She had grown to associate the man with adventure.
After a life that was far too boring, she thought that Jack was a little bit of a gift.
Largely because he had been the one to take her from that life, to begin with, if she were being honest with herself.
For once, the memory made her smile.
Widely.
Wide enough that Elliot, who stood at Jack’s side, lifted a brow, very obviously questioning that smile but he was smart enough to not say it out loud.
Still, she was smart enough to drop her smile the moment that she noticed Elliot, hoping that he didn’t read too much into the action. She knew that there were rules in this life and the fact that she had a mate probably impacted a hell of a lot of them.
Just the fact that Jack had chosen to leave his crown behind to live his own life and not be a part of this strange system had probably impacted a lot of those rules as well.
The only question was how much of his life had Jack left behind?
“There she is, the princess,” Jack said the moment Ashley approached, and she supposed that it was just because he couldn’t help himself.
The man had a natural swagger, a way of holding himself that was far too proud, which made clear that he thought the world was his oyster.
Turned out, that natural swagger only got worse when in the presence of other people that he knew very well. In this case, Elliot.
Ashley had hardly gotten a good look at Elliot since she was brought to the castle. While she hadn’t interacted with him in her time at the Opal Castle, she had encountered him in the past when he had found her in her diner.
Ashley averted her eyes and tried not to hint that she was already aware of who Elliot was. She had met him as a servant and nothing more, or at least that’s what she told herself for his sake.
Especially because he was far too devious if the fact that he was associated with Jack was to be taken into account.
“I am not the only princess around now, surely,” Ashley said, reminding Jack of that fact and scanning his expression to try to understand what he meant. He didn’t seem to be upset by her challenge, but she had the slightest inkling that Jack was a far better actor than he would ever let on.
“Indeed, you aren’t. The Dragon Games are about to begin, and soon, unfortunately, the Diamond King will come out of hiding, and once he does.
..” Jack trailed off, obviously knowing more but deciding to keep that to himself.
Beside him, Elliot nodded in agreement, in on the unsaid secret.
A beat passed, and in that single moment, Ashley looked over at Emma, wondering if she knew more as well.
The girl gave no inclination, which was a relief.
A second later, Jack cleared his throat, ready to speak again.
“It is of the utmost importance that you understand exactly what’s going on in this situation and all that’s at stake,” Jack said, sounding remarkably more serious than he ever had in the past. There was something about the lack of amusement in his features that meant he was serious and concerned about something.
“We have reason to believe that someone is going to try and cheat in the games,” Elliot said, sounding far too official, and Ashley reacted with a lift of her left eyebrow, wondering what he was up to.
“And you’re worried about that because…?” Ashley had to ask, as he seemed to think he had some kind of authority here.
“There is a council,” he began, his voice trailing off as if he was trying to allude to the level of authority that he had without stating it outright. Maybe he thought it was rude, but Ashley thought not explaining was ruder.
“The council shifters are not too impressed with what the dragon families have decided to do, or at least the ones who still have their sanity intact aren’t too impressed, which is rare, but—” Emma whispered in Ashley’s ear, but trailed off, not exactly an answer, but it did reveal enough.
So, Elliot was a shifter. Ashley reevaluated what she knew about him, wondering exactly what sort of shifter he could be? But of course, no one wanted to explain that either. Would she be forever doomed to live in the dark?
“You need to understand that the dragon families, the kings from many years ago, made a deal with the gods, deciding to send the whole world into an apocalypse to take power. They threw all the other shifter families under the bus, and we just want to know who was aware of what was going on and who decided not to tell anyone. But unfortunately, we have reason to believe that someone is going to grab more power when it comes to the dragon shifters as well, which would knock the already tenuous balance out of order,” Elliot said, sounding far more authoritative than his relaxed exterior would imply, and Ashley suddenly wondered if everyone else was faking their personalities as well and what else they weren’t telling her, because she knew there was more. There had to be.
Since she’d woken up in this fairy tale world, there’d been nothing but secrets and intrigue. They all like it was her duty to figure out exactly who was trying to seize power within the dragon shifter circles, but they expected her to do it with no knowledge, and it was really fucking irritating.