Chapter 23
Chapter
Twenty-Three
“The moment is finally here,” Val reminded her, tapping on the back of her shoulder to remind her to stand up straight, and probably mentally running through the list of etiquette that he had told his sister repeatedly in her bedchamber earlier as he looked at her with skeptical eyes, very obviously having his own opinion on the situation, but not stating it to anyone.
Ashley was glad that he didn’t say anything. She was glad that she hadn’t seen any of the other nobles. She was glad that she had been kept out of the spotlight for much of the day, if only because it gave her more time to think about Alexander, and to come to her own conclusions.
And what conclusion did she come to? The one she dared not say to her brother, her maid, or anyone?
Well, it was the fact that she was going to escape.
She was going to find Alexander, take advantage of the fact that he knew more about the situation than she did, and ask him to leave with her.
Only then, when she had done that, she’d truly be free, and able to love exactly who she wanted to love.
But to do that, she needed to make sure that she aroused no one’s suspicion.
First and foremost, her brother, who watched her like a hawk.
He had given her a brief run down as to what the Dragon Games actually were, though.
She hadn’t actually listened to him. She had secretly been living out her own fantasy in the back of her mind, one where she and Alexander rode off into the sunset on the back of a motorcycle, though now that the apocalypse was here, they would likely ride into the sunset on the back of a horse.
Whatever they rode away on didn’t matter.
None of the stuff that her brother was telling her finally mattered.
She didn’t care about the logistical stuff regarding the dragon society because she was going to leave it.
She was going to leave it with Alexander.
They were going to escape whatever disaster impacted the world.
They would slip away to some quiet corner in the middle of some town that no one paid attention to.
They would live out their best lives, basking day after day in each other’s comforts, and eventually, they would get married or whatever the equivalent was for dragons.
There was no denying that Ashley’s dreams were just a little bit teenage girlish, but there was also no denying that she wanted them badly and that she wasn’t going to give in until she got them.
She kept herself sane with all those dreams and sat there thinking of how wonderful Alexander’s kiss had been, how unforgettable his lips were, how she didn’t care about the Diamond King or anything he had to offer her.
She had fallen in love in a matter of days.
This made her current situation tentative because it was very likely that if she had turned to her brother and told him that she had fallen in love with someone, he would have choked her with his bare hands.
Especially since he was trying to really get across to Ashley one thing and one thing only.
How important it was that they leave a good impression.
“We need our allies more than anything at this point in time. We need more allies, really. Especially while they’re claiming territory.
Our land isn’t profitable, at least not profitable to the point that we can support our kingdom.
Therefore, we need to start making friends, and friends who can give us valuable land,” Val said, emphasizing the fact that they technically didn’t have that much money, even though Alexander had already told Ashley that the people were overtaxed.
Ashley looked at the castle around her with questions in her eyes, questions that she knew that her brother would never answer.
Instead, Ashley decided to dive into questions that he would actually answer.
“Is there anyone who I’m not meant to talk to?” Ashley asked. Her brother turned green. Obviously, there were.
“Our relationship with the Ruby Kingdom is rather sensitive now. We’re not exactly the best of friends.
Therefore, it is imperative that you not be seen talking to Jack, of all people.
And he’s aware of that,” Val said, but they both knew that just because Jack was aware of something didn’t mean that he would truly follow through on doing the right thing.
Ashley could only nod, realizing that Jack was a troublemaker at heart.
He was trying to convince her to join a revolution that would undoubtedly end up hurting her brother in some way.
Jack probably wasn’t the best person to be seen with at any time from now on.
Neither, she supposed, was Elliot or Emma.
Still, Ashley had never had a defined list of people she wasn’t meant to talk to, and she swallowed at the realization, having never really felt like she had to maintain a social standing quite like she had to now.
Ashley and her brother stood in a room alone, tucked off to the side.
It was one of the royal sitting rooms, a room that was only for the royal family.
Val had made that point clear to her, emphasizing it when she had wanted to bring her maid with her, and the look on his face made the fact that he wanted to talk to his sister alone all the clearer.
He had said to her that if he wanted to talk to her where others could hear, then he would have talked to her in public.
But as he took her into that room, she had to know it was important. And important, it was.
“No matter what anyone says, no matter who it is that asks, you do not lead anyone to the maze. You will not enter the maze at all. You do not so much as look at the maze,” Val demanded, his voice making clear just how serious he was.
There was not a single doubt in her mind that if she were to defy him, he likely would have killed her.
He’d full-on shift into dragon form and kill her, making her pay for betraying him.
Whatever he was currently hiding in that maze wasn’t something he wanted other people to see.
It most certainly wasn’t something he wanted other people to know about.
Ashley nodded, if only to set him at ease.
She wanted her brother relaxed and sure that she was going to do as she was told. It would make escaping much easier.
“I understand,” Ashley said, though she didn’t really understand the depth of what she was saying or how important it all was.
All she understood was that she was going to obey this one request of her brother, if only so she could preserve what little would remain of their relationship in the end.
She gave her brother an obedient nod, willing herself to stay steady.
It was with that one obedient nod that Val nodded at his sister and made the decision to start moving forward, taking her arm in his to lead her to the door.
Everything about him changed then. He was far more regal, like the king he was meant to be.
His eyes were hard, implying that he knew the weight of who he was.
Ashley was the tiniest bit envious of her brother, if only because there were no secrets for him.
Yes, it didn’t seem like life was all that easy for him, but there had to be a sort of freedom in knowing everything.
Or at least, there had to be a sort of freedom in knowing everyone that looked towards them as they walked into the ballroom.
Ashley hated the fact that she could identify each piece of dragon nobility by how garish and elaborate their dress was.
They all glittered like diamonds, lending credence to the idea that dragons truly were greedy, and she feared for a moment that she would be like the rest of them someday.
Could it be that someday she would lose herself while she was with Alexander, and she would become blind just like everyone else?
But then, she saw Alexander amongst the crowd, and suddenly, she felt like she had the strength to keep going forward.
He smiled toward Ashley, and she smiled slightly in return as her brother led her down the stairs.
They were moving closer to Alexander, her heartbeat thrumming in her ears with each step.
Of course, he couldn’t take her hand, and he couldn’t be seen with her yet, but she promised herself that the two of them would soon be together.
For one delusional moment, Ashley imagined a world where she could take his hand right then and there and dance with him, just dance, nothing more.
And just like that, her delusion came crashing down.
“Ashley, this is Edmund,” her brother said as he introduced her to someone and looked at her with expectant eyes, like she was meant to give this man the most beautiful smile in the world.
Ashley tried to, she really did. Still, she winced, hearing the fact that this was Edmund.
Okay, he was young, handsome, and obviously fit, but what she didn’t expect was exactly where Edmund was from.
Ashley’s eyes traced down the front of his uniform, and it was as she was taking in all his finery, that she realized that he was the Ruby King, the one who had come to replace Jack.
All of the red gems sparkled on his clothing and reassured her of that fact, making it undeniable.
This was Jack’s replacement. And she was supposed to look at him with some sort of happiness in her eyes, considering how her brother shone beside her, practically glowing as he encouraged his sister, with a nod, to offer her hand to Edmund.