Decadence (Tree of Life Series Book 1)

by Nichole Austin

  Lawrence tenses, and he lets go of me. “If you want to know where Xavier is, ask your mother,” he pushes out between his teeth. “I can’t believe you still want him after all this.” He turns away from me and heads back to Scarlett.

  Sucking in a frustrated breath, I head straight toward the throne room to talk to my mother. It’s time for me to get some answers.

  Outside the ornate doors, I rub my hands down my dress and then knock three times to let her know I’m here. Interrupting her is something that’s going to get me into a lot of trouble, but I push the doors open. Inside the room, Alizon is already there talking to her.

  My mother cocks her head to the side and thrums her fingers on the throne. She slowly narrows her eyes. “Rosalyn, to what do I owe this interruption?” she asks, venom dripping from her words.

  Gulping, I make my way toward the throne. When I’m standing in front of it, I meet my mother’s eyes. “Mother, I want you to tell me what happened to Xavier,” I tell her with strength in my voice.

  She leans forward on her throne. “You don’t get to demand things of me, little girl. Actually, you don’t get to demand things of me or your sister.” I snap my head toward Alizon, and she looks down. My hands curl into my palms, and I look back up at my mother when she clears her throat. “At this moment, Xavier is none of your concern. Your concern is training and honing your powers. And today, it doesn’t look like you’re doing that.” My mother grinds her teeth together and then suddenly sits back and crosses her legs. “Rosalyn, you’re being kept from him for your own good. Take advantage of the fact that you don’t have him constantly breathing down your neck,” she explains.

  Letting the air out of my lungs, I deflate. She doesn’t realize I’m sick of worrying about him and not knowing where he is. “Will you just tell me if he’s okay?” I beg.

  She stands up quickly and makes her way down to me, her nose almost touching mine. “Don’t you understand that I’m keeping you apart for your own good? I will not tell you anything about him. Now, get the hell out of my sight,” she hisses through clenched teeth.

  Slowly, I turn and make my way out of the throne room, knowing I’ll have to find answers on my own. The first place I head is Xavier’s chamber. It’s worth a shot.

  It’s silent as I make my way past my mother’s chamber. I’ve always wondered why his chamber was so close to hers. As I near the room, I see a guard stationed outside his door. This won’t do. The Queen wants to see you. She’s in the stables. I tuck myself in a doorway until he passes, making sure I send him somewhere far so that I don’t get caught in Xavier’s chamber. The fact that my mother has a guard stationed outside his door gives me hope.

  As soon as I hear his footsteps recede, I peek out to make sure I’m alone. My feet quickly tap on the floor as I make my way to his door and open it. Once I’m inside, I realize that he’s not there. There’s a layer of dust on all of his furniture, even the chairs over by his window. There’s a chill in the air, and I can tell the fireplace across from his tall bed hasn’t been lit in a while. Everything about his chamber indicates he hasn’t been there for weeks. I tiptoe to his wardrobe, where his cape hangs off the dark wood. Reverently, I touch it, and I feel myself getting sucked in . . .

  “Let the races begin.”

  Teenagers start running as soon as a loud noise sounds, and I watch as a boy falls behind. I’m curious about a black man I see holding his breath. I tilt my head as I realize my heart is calling for him. When he starts to breathe fully again, I look over at the race and see that the young man has caught up and doesn’t finish last.

  Throughout the crowd, there are people crying, and I have no clue why. That’s when I see the two people who lost being brought forward and what looks to be young guards coming toward them with swords. One of the guards smiles and grabs the young girl who lost by her hair. He brings her head back, exposing her neck. I watch as she sobs, and snot comes out of her nose. A scream bursts from my throat when he brings the sword down forcefully on her neck.

  A head snaps toward me, and I meet the eyes of a gorgeous man with a shaved head. He can’t really see me, but it’s almost like he knows I’m there. He quickly snaps his head back to what’s going on, and the guard looks over at the throne. The woman sitting there must be Queen Mara. I know exactly where this is, the one place Xavier said I’d hate to visit—Senda. He was right.

  The young guard throws the body of the girl to the ground and a scream bursts through the air. Guards grab a woman. Her skin is red from sitting out in the searing sun, and she is dragged away. Sounds of a sword hitting bone can be heard, and when I look over, blood and flesh are flying everywhere. Even though I want to look away, the sight has my attention. The guard is laughing maniacally.

  Another guard grabs the hair of the second girl, but her sword shakes as it makes its way down to cut through the girl’s neck. For the life of me, I can’t understand why the guard doesn’t just refuse to do it if she hates it so much. Once she’s done, she lets go and backs up quickly from the body before wiping her sword on her rough, tan cotton skirt.

  I hear a malevolent voice. “We’re now heading inside for the swimming competition. I don’t want to hear a word from the food.”

  My eyes look everywhere, and I see nothing but sand and triangular-shaped buildings. There’s no water in sight, so how could they get enough water for a swimming competition?

  Moving behind the crowd, my feet sink into the sand but soon we make our way into one of the buildings. I’m no longer having to pick my feet up out of the sand because the ground is packed, and you can smell dirt everywhere. We slow to a crawl, and then I smell something metallic. When my eyes take in what’s in front of me, I almost vomit. It’s a long pit filled with nothing but blood, and I see all the competitors from before lined up on one side of it.

  Victoria, the woman from my earlier vision, yells, “Begin!”

  They all jump into the pool, and I put my hands on my knees, thinking I’m going to throw up, but nothing happens. Apparently, I can’t throw up in my visions. There are gasps coming from the pool, and I look to see what I assume to be mortals struggling to stay afloat. Guards jump in, and I look toward the pedestal by the center of the pool. Near it, the man with the shaved head is looking right at me. And when I move, his eyes track me. The blood drains from my face because for the first time, someone can see me in a vision.

  His eyes snap from mine when a young boy is pulled out of the pit, dragging a sword. There is a girl covered in blood before him, and her eyes are cast downward. My eyes move to the women sitting on the pedestal, and I see that Victoria has a wicked gleam in her eyes, which in turn makes my stomach tie up in knots.

  The little boy only looks to be about six-years-old, and he struggles to pick up the sword. I hear laughter come from Victoria, and my hands curl into fists. He drops the sword and looks up at the queen. His voice quakes, “Your Majesty, I can’t pick this up. I don’t know what to do.”

  Mara narrows her eyes at him. “Either pick up the sword or you’ll be punished,” she orders.

  He tries to pick up the sword again, but it drops to the ground. He cries, and I make my way over to the boy to see if I can help when I hear the man talk.

  “Your Majesty, let me help him. The sword is too heavy for him to pick up. Please allow it this one time.” His voice is like liquid velvet, soft and strong. He must be someone important to stand up to the queen.

  It only takes seconds for Mara to react to what he said. “No, Quinn, the boy needs to learn,” she snaps.

  A piece of my heart snaps into place when I hear his name, and I gasp. It makes no sense, but I feel like I know him.

  My attention is drawn to the young boy again when I hear Quinn’s startled gasp. The sword makes a soft noise when it hits the dirt and the little boy falls to the ground. His sobs are gut-wrenching, and my heart wrenches. I don’t want him to be punished.

  Mara stands up from her throne and shouts, “Guards! Take
him to the stake.” When they pull him out of the dirt and force him to look at her, she vows, “I’ll make an example out of you.”

  She turns, and Victoria follows behind her. Suddenly, I feel a sharp pain in my side and look down to see nothing there, but when I turn, I see the queen and Victoria being rushed to safety. Quinn falls to the ground with a knife sticking out from his side. He stares straight at me before his eyes roll back in his head. I feel weak soon after that.

  My eyes open and I stare at the dark wood of Xavier’s bed. It’s then I realize I just had an intense vision. Not knowing how long I’ve been in here, I know I need to get out. Quickly, I rush out of the chamber only to bump face-first into a chest.

  “Really, amare? Again? Didn’t we already discuss this?” A hint of amusement colors Lawrence’s voice.

  Looking up at him, I realize he doesn’t seem that upset with me. But then, he looks over to see what room I rushed out of, and his eyes harden. He steps away and crosses his arms over his chest. “Please explain why you were just in there,” he growls as he moves quickly away from the door.

  Following him as our footsteps echo through the corridor, I try to figure out how to explain without upsetting him. I don’t know where Xavier is, Alaric’s missing, and I’m having visions about yet another man. The truth is the only way to go, so that’s what I do.

  “I’m just trying to find Xavier, and my mother refuses to tell me. I only want to know he’s okay.” My voice wavers as I play with my skirt.

  He turns down the different corridors. The light is barely shining through the windows, and I realize it’s almost night. I’m lucky I didn’t get caught. That vision took a lot of time.

  Lawrence stops right in front of my door and turns to face me. “Trust me when I tell you he’s safe, and your mother is doing this to give you space to find yourself. We can’t tell you anything. We’ve been ordered not to.” He touches my cheek and stares down into my eyes. “I hope one day you care this much about me.”

  Slowly, I get up on my tiptoes and touch my lips to his. “I do care about you, I just worry about him. He’s been a constant in my life forever, and now he’s gone. Please understand how hard that is,” I softly tell him.

  He nods and kisses my forehead. “Go get some sleep, amare. From what I hear, your sister is taking you riding tomorrow.”

  A smile brightens my face, and I wrap my hands around his neck, hugging him. I must have done something right to find this amazing, understanding man who has stood by my side for months.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Rosalyn

  My boots crunch in the snow as I walk in the early morning light. I bury my hands deeper in my white cloak as the wind picks up my hair, and it blows in the wind. Brrrrr . . . it’s cold out here. I’m still reeling from the fact I can’t hear Alaric in my head. It’s hard not having him to talk to.

  Alaric, where are you?

  Only silence greets me, and an emptiness spreads deeper into my soul. It feels like a deep pit I’ll never get out of. Sniffling, I pick up my pace and run along the side of the castle. I’m thankful when I don’t pass a guard. It was hard enough getting out of the castle this morning. All I want to do is take my horse out on a ride in peace without a bunch of guards following me. When I reach the side of the castle, I look around to make sure it’s all clear. With no one watching, I hurry across the clearing to the stables. With any luck, no one will be in there. When I push the door open, all I hear are the sounds of the horses.

  In a hurry, I close the door and take in the smell of hay. It soothes me, and I lose myself in the feeling of freedom. After a moment, I take small steps to the back where my horse, Fire, is. He may be pure white, but I felt the name fit when I saw him.

  When he sees me, he neighs and lifts his head toward me. “Do you want to go on a ride?” I whisper to him, even though I know he can’t answer me. He pushes his muzzle into my hand and shakes his head. I’m pretty sure that’s the closest thing I’ll get to a yes.

  I hear the other horses go crazy, and the door to the stables opens. I know I need to get out of sight. The quickest way to do that is to go to the tack room and hide. Quickly, I make my way back there, thankful Fire’s stall is the last one in the line of stables. My body warms as I pile blankets on top of me. It isn’t until I hear my mother talking to somebody that I realize it’s a good thing I’m hidden.

  “I don’t know how much longer we can keep this from her,” a voice tells her seriously.

  She snaps at them. “You’ll keep this from her. If she finds out, everything will be ruined. We need her on our side. If you know what’s good for you, your mouth will remain shut.”

  Their footsteps move closer, and I scrunch below the blankets more, my heart thundering against my chest.

  Frustration carries in the other person’s voice. “You know I wouldn’t tell her anything. You’ve already ordered me to keep my mouth shut, and I’ll always be loyal. One thing I have to ask, though, is how long do you think you can keep from her the fact that Xavier is in a deep sleep?”

  A sharp gasp escapes my mouth, and I clamp a hand over it. When I hear them stop walking, I’m scared I’ve given myself away. My eyes clamp shut when I hear the door open. If I’m found, I don’t want to see what happens.

  Right in front of me, my mother laughs. It’s like nails going across the stones in the castle. “You should have seen him swearing that Rosalyn was his. It was a sight to be seen. I had to get him back in line. One day, Rosalyn will understand what being royalty entails.”

  All of a sudden, a blanket is pulled off me, but then I hear footsteps leave the tack room and the door closes. I wait to see if they’ll start talking again, but I don’t hear them again until they’re farther from me, and their voices are muffled. My heart has finally settled down from that near run-in, but I’m furious at my mother for not telling me about Xavier. It makes no sense why she would keep that from me. It’s not like I can change him being in a deep sleep.

  When I hear the beat of hooves and then finally the stable doors close, I come out from beneath my blankets. I know I need to get out of here. Pulling a blanket off the stack and a saddle for Fire, I make my way to him quickly. There isn’t much time to waste. I’m ready to feel the wind whip through my hair as I race through the forest. Rapidly, I saddle Fire and lead him by his reigns to the front of the stables. They’re huge, and we pass by a lot of horses.

  As soon as we get out of the stable doors and I close them behind Fire, I put my boot in the stirrup and mount him. Pulling on the reigns to get his attention, I grip his sides with my legs and push my hips forward in the saddle. “Let’s go, Fire.” He gallops toward the forest, and I feel safe once we’re out of sight.

  Fire has to slow down so he can squeeze between the trees. It’s quiet here with untouched snow and ice hanging from the tree branches. The one weird thing is there are wolves howling in the distance. I know we’re nowhere near the Wildlands, so hearing them makes no sense.

  Fire’s muscles flex beneath my legs, and I see what I swear is a wolf dart out in front of us. Fire rears up. All I see is snow falling in my face and gray sky before my head hits something hard and everything goes dark.

  “Quinn, you must leave today, before Andreya sees it coming. Right now, we have the element of surprise. I can’t allow the girl to live. She’ll be the downfall of us all.”

  “Mara, my queen, is it smart to be making enemies of the Witches? Don’t we need them?”

  “You aren’t here to give me advice, Quinn. I gave you an order and you’ll obey. You’re heading out in the morning, so you might want to get packed,” she says with anger, outraged that he would even try to argue with her.

  He takes a deep breath, turns, and looks straight at me. His eyes are beautiful, a startling gray. His nose is full and flat, and his full lips tensed. He wears only what looks like a skirt that goes to his knees. His chest is strong and muscular, the type of chest I could grab and hold onto. Built. He has a line g
oing down the center, and I count two, four, six . . . no, an eight-pack. Holy hell, that is hot.

  Once again, I swear he sees me, but no, that’s impossible.

  When I wake, I’m in my bed, and Lawrence’s and Alizon’s furious faces stare at me. I bring my hand up to feel the back of my head, but there’s nothing wrong with it.

  “What happened?” Confusion is all I feel, and I hope they’ll stop being mad long enough to answer my questions.

  Lawrence paces and talks under his breath, “She asks what happened. She really wonders what happened.” He comes up to the bed and leans over me, putting his nose right up to mine. “You decided to go for a ride by yourself and were thrown off your horse. We had no clue you were gone until your horse came back without you on it.” He stands up and balls his fists in fury. “You could have been killed, Rosalyn.” He makes a noise in his throat similar to a growl.

  Alizon throws her hair over her shoulder and paces in front of the bed. My eyes ping pong back and forth. “You have done some careless things before, but this one takes the cake. You’re lucky Mother didn’t find out. I kept this away from her, but if you do this again, I’ll make sure she finds out. There’s a reason why you don’t go riding alone, Rosalyn. What were you thinking?” she asks harshly.

  Tears sting my eyes, and I let my head fall forward. All I wanted was time alone, and I couldn’t even do that right. “I’m sorry, I won’t do it again,” I say, my voice heavy with unshed tears.

  My mattress dips as one of them sits beside me. “Please just tell me why you went off on your own. I want to understand,” Alizon says, her hand playing with my hair.

  “I just needed some time to think, and I wanted to be alone. I’m never alone anymore. I’m sorry if I ran off by myself, but I really wanted to ride Fire.” I raise my head and catch Lawrence’s heated stare.