by Juniper Hart
There was a pause as Carlyle swigged from the glass, followed by chuckling, completely unnerving Asher. Much to his dismay, the chuckles erupted into a roar of laughter. No longer did Asher have the luxury of looking away from his father. He was drunk and delirious—anything could happen. Carlyle was so tickled by whatever it was that he actually had to wipe tears from his eyes. He then polished off his drink and poured yet another.
“How very typical,” he said through his dying chuckles. “You can’t even handle searching for a mortal woman. You would have an episode if I stationed you at the driveway gate, wouldn’t you? Why, standing all day in the sun, you would simply melt into a puddle.”
Asher didn’t respond, knowing better than to try something so foolish.
Carlyle shook his head and wiped his damp mouth with a handkerchief drawn from his pocket. “You absolutely amaze me, Asher. You and Sebastian both. There had once been a time that I could hold my head high, knowing that my Kingdom was flourishing, and I was well-respected. Respected and feared to the extent that anything I willed would come to fruition. However, the two of you have cast a great shadow of shame on our family name.
“You’re weak,” he continued. “The both of you. Even when you were a warrior, you were never a dedicated fighter. Instead, you fancied traveling and staying in your own little world. At least Sebastian was fierce at one point or another. Then again, perhaps that should embarrass me more. My great warrior son, fit to be a king, subdued, and his nose in books of poetry.” He shook his head. “I give you this opportunity to prove yourself, to regain a sense of nobility, and not only can you not handle it, but you’ve made me involve more people in this operation so that others can go and look for you!”
Like the flick of a switch, Carlyle’s temper returned. Without warning, he hurled the glass of liquor into the fire, the flames rising to great heights briefly before setting back down. Then he was on his feet, pacing toward Asher with a finger pointed at him.
“Do you know what you are meddling in, child? Do you?” he hissed. “We have to find that baby, we have to! Our nobility, our lives, our power is all at stake, and you’re fooling around on me!”
“What are you talking about?” Asher finally spoke. “I understand that the child could help us understand how to reproduce again, but—”
“Do you truly think I want the masses finding out about this monstrosity at all?” Carlyle let out a laugh. “I know you keep to yourself, Asher, but are you oblivious to everything going on within the Kingdom?” he questioned. “Our family is hanging onto power by a thread—a thread. Seems like every week I catch word of rebellions trying to form. They want a new king. Apparently, they feel as though everything’s fallen flat in the last century, and it’s time for a change.”
“What does that have to do with reproduction?” Asher challenged, not following his father’s train of thought.
“They are looking for a reason, any reason, to overthrow me. What do you think would happen when they hear of a miracle child being born?”
Asher’s eyes brightened, seeing a window of opportunity to come clean about Olive and the baby and to calm his father’s woes. The so-called miracle child was his, and so it could exemplify their family’s destiny to rule.
Only that Carlyle continued first. Shaking his head, he fetched a new glass and polished off the last of the canister. “We have to find that woman and kill the bastard child. I have no Earthly idea how this came to be, and frankly, I do not want to know. No one needs to know. It would reanimate the people. New generations bring forth new rebellions, and I will simply not allow it.”
Asher ogled at his father. Was he actually willing to kill a baby? Not only that, he wanted to rob their people of the chance of having families once again, of their ability to expand? Carlyle didn’t know it, but he was speaking of killing his grandson. Frankly, Asher got the impression that it wouldn’t phase him to know that. In fact, it would just enrage him that Asher hadn’t dragged Olive back to the estate the moment he realized it was her.
“I want you to go back out there and find that woman, do you understand me? I don’t care if you stay up for a week and go so insane that you should be committed. Do not return to me before she is found.”
You won’t have to worry about me ever returning here. Asher stood from his chair and headed for the door.
“And I want her brought back to me alive!” his father called out. “That way, I will know first-hand that this issue has come to a close.”
Asher’s stomach churned as he realized what his father meant: he himself wanted to be the one to kill the child. Images of Carlyle holding Olive down and gutting her for their son played in his head, and he couldn’t shake them. Olive had been right to fear his father. Carlyle was officially a mad king. Asher gave his father a nod before closing the door behind him.
Dizziness plagued him, and his chest heaved. This couldn’t be happening. Asher had never been blind to his father’s obsession with being in charge, but it was only then that he realized Carlyle was completely out of his mind. He had to get out of there, he had to get back to Olive. He no longer cared about finding out how Olive had gotten pregnant. All that mattered was that he had to protect his own family.
Asher ran for the nearest exit of the house and into the yard. He had to force himself to pause long enough to strip off his clothes. Wasting no time, he was in his dragon state and in the sky in the next few seconds, his clothes dangling from his claws. The same thought played on repeat in his head.
Have to get to Olive. Have to get to Olive. Have to get to Olive.
14
A hot hand touched Olive’s cheek as she slept.
“Olive, sweetheart, you have to wake up,” a voice called, but it was somewhere far in the distance. Olive had been in a deep, sound sleep. “Babe, come on,” the voice urged. It was only when her arm was shaken repeatedly that she finally pulled out of her slumber. However, her eyes didn’t even open at first, being far too heavy to lift.
“What is it?” she croaked, searching for Asher with a sleepy hand. When it rested on his leg, she gave it a squeeze.
“I’m sorry to wake you, but we… we have to leave. We have to leave right now.”
That was enough to pop her eyes open. She looked up at Asher, dazed from sleep. “What? No, we don’t. Just lie down with me, please.”
“No, Olive, we need to go. Please. You were right about everything.”
She was awake enough at that point to process the look of sheer panic on his face. His chocolate brown eyes were big and glossy, his face drained of the little color he had to his skin. Sitting up in the bed, Olive aggressively rubbed her eyes, doing her best to come out of the fog her slumber had her in. “What… what about my parents? They’re expecting us to be here for breakfast.”
“We can deal with them later,” Asher insisted, but Olive had the feeling he was lying. “You don’t even have to dress, and I can carry you to the car if I need to. But we need to leave.”
Olive nodded and held her hands out for him to help her out of bed. Once she was standing, she changed into a pair of jeans and wrapped her cardigan around her. As she was sliding on her shoes, Asher put a hand on her back, their small bags already on his shoulder. He quietly and slowly led her through the house so as not to wake her parents. Climbing into the passenger seat of the car, Olive slumped into the side of the door, eyes already trying to close on her. It was still pitch-black outside. What time was it exactly?
They were speeding away in a matter of seconds.
“Christ,” Olive muttered, gripping the safety bar above the window. “Ash,” she breathed calmly, reaching over to gently pry Asher’s fingers back from the steering wheel, forcing him to hold her hand. He had been doing such a fantastic job calming her down any time she was upset, which had basically been the entire twenty-four hours they had been together, that the least she owed him was to try to help him. “We’re going to be okay. Of course you have the right to worry, and I would be concerned i
f you weren’t at all. But being reckless isn’t going to do anything other than endanger us all.”
“You don’t know him like I do, Liv,” Asher said with a shake of his head. “I mean, you somehow saw something in him that I didn’t, but… I don’t know. For the first time tonight, I saw my father without the veil of love and loyalty. I could see just how insane he has become in recent centuries… Not much scares me, but tonight, he certainly did. I think he would kill anyone he thought could potentially threaten his place on the throne. Myself included.” He shook his head again, squeezing Olive’s hand. “You had only met him a handful of times, and you saw what I couldn’t.”
“Well,” Olive began with an uneasy sigh. “He gave off that… vibe to me. I didn’t think too much of it, just that he did intimidate me. Once I was pregnant, I started having these awful nightmares about him nearly every night, where he was looking for me and wanted the baby. It felt so real, and I guess, in a way, it was.”
“I only wish there was a way for me to have never dragged you into this,” Asher grumbled.
“It’s not ideal, but it’s worth it. I don’t want to picture my life without you, and now without Henry.”
Asher’s head cocked at that, his face brightening and a smile widening across his face. “Henry, huh?”
Olive shrugged modestly. “I liked the name. Esme and I started calling him that.”
“I’m flattered,” Asher chuckled softly, a warmth coming to his eyes. “I like it, too.” Removing his hand from hers, he rested it on her stomach. Just moments ago, it looked as if he could have combusted from all the pressure and fear building up inside of him. Now he was back to his usual self. His eyes fixated on the road ahead of them while his hand remained on Olive’s stomach. “Thank you for that,” he said lowly, recognizing her effort to calm his woes. “Try to get some sleep, okay? We’ll be driving for a while, and at least one of us will need to be well rested.”
“I’m okay for now,” Olive assured him, gently touching her fingertips to the back of his hand and drawing shapes across his skin.
They continued to talk for a while. Talking about a future together as a family kept Asher happily distracted, abiding by the law of the roads. After some time, however, the conversation began to fade away, as did Olive’s consciousness. She became slightly slumped in her seat, with her forehead against the door as she drifted to sleep, lulled by the car ride and Asher’s gentle back and forth rubbing of her stomach.
The next thing Olive knew, she was lunging forward. Brakes were squealing, and the sound of metal hitting metal nearly deafened her. Her eyes popped open and wildly flew about, trying to understand what was going on.
“Someone just rammed into us,” Asher informed her, his arm protectively going in front of her to act as a safety bar. He didn’t have to speak to say what was on his mind; it was written all over his face.
Olive’s heart pounded in her ears as he started to pull the car over. “Asher—”
“Stay in the car,” he instructed firmly, already unfastening his seatbelt and opening his door.
“Asher, please!” she begged, snatching his hand before he could get away from her completely. It was only then that Olive glanced back to see the other car pulling over as well. She blinked rapidly, confused by the sight. It was Esme’s red Toyota. “What in the hell…” she murmured.
Asher was standing by his door, his eyes narrowing as Esme stepped out of her car. Olive was in shock to see her leveling a gun at Asher. Dropping Asher’s hand, she hurriedly got out of the car. Esme’s gaze flickered to her, relief flooding her face, yet she didn’t lower the gun.
“What in the world do you think you’re doing?” Olive called to her.
“What do you think? Saving your ass,” Esme scoffed before cocking the pistol. “Now, get in the car, Olive.”
“Stop pointing that gun at him!” Olive cried.
“Do you really think that’s going to do anything?” Asher cockily inserted.
“Do you really think it’s lead bullets?” Esme mocked him. “Olive, get in my car. Right now.”
“She isn’t going with you,” Asher said, the smugness still lingering in his voice.
“Like hell she isn’t.”
“I’m not!” Olive confirmed. “I’m staying with Asher.”
“Did you not listen to a damn thing I said?” Esme groaned. “I don’t care what kind of nonsense he filled your head with, he’s just fooling you! You’re playing right into his trap, and it’s not just endangering you, but your son as well. Think for a minute, Oli! Really think about everything we talked about and all of his inconsistencies.”
“My inconsistencies?” Asher laughed. “Mine had reasoning, and she now knows all that.”
“Oh, I’m sure you gave her your diluted reasoning. Doesn’t mean it’s the truth, and she deserves the truth.”
“Like how you were so honest with her about being a witch?”
Esme’s eyes widened and went back and forth between Asher and Olive. “Shut up,” she hissed.
“You are, aren’t you?” Olive asked meekly.
There was a long silence. Esme continuously opened her mouth to say something before snapping it shut. “It… it wasn’t relevant at the time, Olive. Okay? I would have told you if it had been.”
“But it became relevant to give me a ‘good luck’ charm?” Olive questioned. Her heart thumped painfully, beginning to feel the full gravity of Esme’s betrayal. “You spent months and months lying to me about who you were and what your intentions were, all the while fueling my anxiety about Asher. How could you do that to me? After all we went through together…”
“Like I told you, Liv, she had her own motives,” Asher chimed in.
“I was nothing but truthful with my motives!” Esme hissed. “The reason it wasn’t relevant was that I don’t agree with what the coven does. I’m positive you won’t believe me, but it’s true,” she told Asher with a glare. Then she addressed Olive. “Honestly, I knew both sides would be hostile toward you, and the best thing would be to get you away from all of it. To try and live with some kind of normalcy, even though it never would be.”
“Don’t let her deceive you again, Olive,” Asher called over to her in an earnest voice.
“I would say don’t let him again, either, but I see that’s already happened,” Esme growled. “I really have no idea what to say to make you trust or believe me, but I’ve never ever wanted anything but the best for you. I’m sorry I wasn’t fully honest, but you weren’t with me, either. You never even tried to tell me he was a dragon-shifter until a few days ago. How was I supposed to know what he had or hadn’t told you about witches?”
The regret and hurt were plain in Esme’s voice and expression. She even lowered the gun and turned away to compose herself. She had always been tough as nails, and it was out of character to see her so vulnerable. She looked back to Olive with fat tears in her big silver eyes.
“You’re my best friend. My only real friend. I can’t express to you how sick I was when I woke up to that note you left and couldn’t find you anywhere in town.”
Olive’s heart plummeted to the pit of her stomach, and she had to fight the urge to run over to her friend and embrace her. She looked to Asher with pleading eyes. He motioned for her to come to him, and Olive immediately went around the car. Putting his arm around her shoulders, Asher protectively drew her into his side.
“If you’re being sincere, will you help me with something?” he asked Esme.
“What is it?” she mumbled, distracted by wiping away tears that hadn’t fallen yet. Reaching into the car momentarily, Asher pulled out Olive’s file.
“I was going to go to my brother with this, but I couldn’t. Since you’re such a historian,” he said with a jab, “maybe you’ll know.” Taking a piece of paper out of the file, he extended it toward her. Hesitantly, Esme paced over while tucking the pistol behind her. Taking the piece of paper, her eyes scanned over its contents.
&nbs
p; “This is… her parents?” Esme questioned. Both girls looked to Asher as he confirmed with a nod. Esme then shook her head in disbelief. “I… I… I didn’t even know this.”
“Know what?” Asher and Olive asked in unison.
“If this information is right…” Esme paused for a second. “Mariella Edevane is the descendant of a First.”
“First?” Olive repeated, her face screwing up in confusion as she peered up to Asher to see total shock settling over him. What was she missing?
“A First is a first witch, as in one of the women who made deals with supernatural beings to get our powers.”
“Wait, I’m sorry, what?” Olive scoffed.
“I knew that name was familiar!” Asher muttered, clearly upset with himself.
“Isn’t it just possible it’s the same surname with no correlation?” Olive poked.
“Not to my knowledge,” Esme said. “Edevane is an almost extinct name. Besides, I know of Mariella Edevane. She’s still alive.”
“I don’t want to hear this,” Olive said, vehemently shaking her head. “This is nonsense. Asher, can we go?”
“I’m not lying to you!” Esme insisted.
Asher’s arm grew tighter around Olive, attempting to comfort her. “I’m having a hard time believing it myself, but now that she’s said it, it rings a bell. I’m just… I’m at a loss for words.”
“I’m not a witch, and I really didn’t care to learn my birth mother’s name or status, thanks,” Olive mumbled, her cheeks growing hot as her anger continued to grow. It was one thing to be surrounded by a mystical world, but to be dragged into it herself was something her mind wouldn’t even entertain. It rejected the premise completely. Ripping herself away from Asher’s side, she rounded the car and got back inside of it, slamming her door shut. Rubbing her temples, she attempted to calm herself, but she could already tell it was going to be a fruitless effort.
She guessed Asher and Esme were giving her a few minutes to calm down, seeing as how no one disturbed her. She could hear them talking lowly, which for some reason pissed her off; even in her current emotional state, she knew she was deflecting her emotions onto them. She had the right to do so. After all, they had both lied through omission. Her head was so loud from her thoughts that Olive felt like she could snap completely. Her head was in her hands, pleading with any higher power that there may be to please make it stop.
