Decadence (Tree of Life Series Book 1)

by Nichole Austin

  Pulling me closer, she rubs my back. “Shhh. Calm down. Please, calm down.” She holds me and lets me calm down even though it takes a while.

  Once I’m settled again, I pull away to find her looking at me. “Will you tell me what happened now?”

  I take what little emotional strength I have left and recount what happened, starting with Xavier invading my dreams. I end with Lawrence walking out the door because I refused to tell him every single detail about my visions. By the time I’m through, I have tears streaming down my face again. I don’t know how I’m ever going to heal from this nightmare.

  Looking out my windows, I realize the day has gotten away from me, and I need to get to training. Once again, I dread stepping foot in a room Lawrence is in. “Alizon, I have to go to training.”

  “You don’t have to go today, Rosalyn. Lawrence will understand.”

  When she says his name, my face heats, and I swear steam blows out of my ears. “Move, Allie. I’m going.”

  She gets up so fast, she almost falls over, and I walk to my wardrobe to get my leather pants, leather boots, and leather vest. I’m not going to make this training session easy for him.

  My hands become clammy when I think about what might happen if my mother sees me, but it’s worth it. Wearing the vest alone is bound to drive every guard in this castle crazy. My breasts are about to fall out. Nothing is left to the imagination as the leather forms to my body. Time to make this man suffer.

  When I come out of my bathroom, Alizon’s mouth drops. “If Mother catches you dressed like that, she’ll skin you alive.”

  Walking to the door, I turn around and face her. It’s time she knows how I feel about everyone. “Allie, at this point I couldn’t care less. I’m sick of worrying what other people think. All it seems to do is screw me over. So, I’m going to do me.”

  Her eyes bulge, and she puts her hands on her hips. “Will you at least wear something over that to the training room? You’ll have every single guard after you if you walk out of this room like that.”

  Contemplating, I answer her, “Allie, why should I care if every single guard is after me?”

  Seriously she states, “Rosalyn, this isn’t like you at all.” She moves to me and grabs my shoulders. “I know you’re upset, and I don’t want you regretting what you’re doing because your heart is broken.”

  Leaning my head to the side, I look Alizon straight in the eyes. “I won’t regret this. Now, are you going to let me go to training or am I going to have to forcefully move you?”

  Her eyes narrow. “I’m coming with you.”

  Rolling my eyes, I say, “Whatever.”

  She moves out of my way, and I stand in front of the door, take a deep breath, and walk out.

  Allie and I walk side by side, and I feel so free dressed like this. As I pass by my first guard, I make sure I lift my hand to run it through my hair as it cascades down my back. He clears his throat as my vest lifts higher.

  When the next guard’s eyes look like they’re about to pop out of his head, I know I’m gaining some attention. Giving him a flirtatious smile, I push my cleavage up more. “Hi, Drew.” He swallows hard.

  This behavior continues all the way down to the training rooms. When I get to the door, I take a deep breath.

  Alizon grabs my arm. “You’re going to make him suffer, aren’t you?”

  A malicious smile spreads across my face. “You know it, sis.”

  She laughs. “I always knew this day would come. Give him hell.”

  I grin smugly. This is the most fun I’ve ever had. Pushing open the doors, the first thing I hear is, “What the fuck are you wearing?!”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Rosalyn

  My lips pull up on one side as I smirk at him. “It’s an outfit, Lawrence. Why? Do you have a problem with it?” I give him as much attitude as possible as I draw out the question.

  Alizon barks out a laugh behind me. “I think you have this handled, I’m going to leave you to it.”

  My heels clack on the floor as I make my way to Lawrence. When I stand in front of him, I place my hand on my hips, making sure I bare a little more skin to him. He looks me up and down, and I swear there’s steam billowing out of his ears. With a grin, I piss him off even more. “I think it’s cute that we’re practically wearing the same thing.”

  He grabs his hair and his eyes roll up toward the ceiling. “I don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish with this stunt, but it’s not going to get you anywhere with me.” He drops his hands straight to his sides. “We’re here to train, right?”

  A scream bursts from my lungs, and I immediately bring my hands up. He wants to fight? I have a lot of anger built up. I pushed away a man I’ve held in my heart for a long time for Lawrence. And now, I’m just a piece of trash to him.

  Lawrence eyes me warily. “Let’s get on the mats.”

  He wants to get on the mats? That’s not going to happen. And I don’t play fair. Using my powers, I push him off-balance a little so he’s leaning toward me. But before I can bring my knee up to his face, he corrects himself, grabs me, and throws me in the air. The mats would break my fall, but I flip in the air and land in a crouch. If he wants to fight dirty, he’s going to get a fight.

  My eyes narrow as I stand up and wait for him to come toward me, but he’s looking down at my chest. There’s definitely a cold breeze touching my nipple, but I’m not falling for it. I’m staying focused. Going into a fighting stance, I egg him on. Anytime today would be nice, unless you’re going to stare at my tits all day.

  A frustrated growl escapes him as he rushes toward me, but I throw a ward up to see if he’s paying attention. He slams right into it, and I know he’s not focused.

  Sarcastically I tell him, “Who knew a seventeen-year-old girl could throw a guard of your magnitude off his game.”

  “Drop the damn ward, Rosalyn,” he demands, his feet planted right in front of it.

  Looking down, I take a second to fix my outfit issue before curling a piece of my hair around my finger, giving Lawrence a bored look. “Does that mean we’re going to actually fight, or are we still going to play games?” My brow arches as I ask.

  He scoffs. “You’re unbelievable. I’m not going to stay and entertain your immature ideas. When you want to grow up and have an adult conversation, you know where to find me.” He storms out of the room the moment the words leave his lips.

  The door slams behind him and echoes through the empty room. Lowering myself to the floor, I lay flat on my back, dropping the ward. My heartbreak and frustration break through the wall I’ve been holding up, and I slam my hands hard on the mats. My scream echoes through the room. Rapid, heaving breaths come out, and I hear the door open. My head snaps to the side to look at it.

  A shadow falls over me. “Well, you’re definitely looking different, Rosalyn,” a slightly amused voice rings out.

  My eyes move up a burgundy dress and meet Scarlett’s. I muffle my words with my hands when I say, “Please, just leave me alone.”

  She does the exact opposite. She sits right next to me in the room that changed both of our lives, hers for the worse, mine . . . well, I don’t know what I can call my life anymore. Before, I could say I got the guy, but now, I’ve lost him. To my horror, tears I’ve held at bay slowly bleed from my eyes. Hastily, I turn myself away from Scarlett so she doesn’t see my heartbreak.

  “Rosalyn, what’s wrong?” There’s a hint of concern in her question.

  My head shakes as I sniffle. “I’m not ready to talk about this kind of stuff with you.”

  She touches my shoulder. “I know we haven’t gotten along, but I want to be there for you,” she says softly. “You can talk to me.”

  In my mind, I weigh the pros and cons of opening up to her about what’s going on and consider her sincerity. Wiping my face a little, I confess, “Lawrence and I are fighting.”

  She blows out air and is quiet for a second. “You realize you’ve got an amazing
man who wants to be with you, right?”

  Furiously, I turn to my side, and when I look up through my tears, I see sincerity on her face. Closing my eyes, I swallow past the lump in my throat, thankful I turned over instead of starting a fight. “I know he’s a great man. I’ve spent months getting to see a side of him I didn’t know before, Scarlett.”

  “Then why are you wasting your time fighting? I wouldn’t do that. I’d cherish the time I had with him,” she tells me, a wistful look on her face.

  My mouth hangs open as I look at her. I know we aren’t just talking about me. It’s time for me to shut down this conversation and fast. “Scarlett,” I explain, “I’m not comfortable talking about this anymore. Maybe someday we’ll be able to have boy talk, but that day isn’t today. Right now, I just want to go back to my chamber and be alone.”

  Her eyes snap quickly to mine, and she says sadly, “Okay, I’ll walk you there.”

  As much as I want to walk alone, I don’t want to be mean, so we get up and leave the training room together, shutting off the lights as we walk out. This training room is nothing but blood, turmoil, and bad luck. We aren’t even a few paces down the hall when I see my mother’s furious face coming toward us. “Go, Scarlett, now,” I hiss urgently. She doesn’t have to be told twice. She turns quickly and heads in the opposite direction. Keeping my eyes trained on my mother, I put one hand on my hip. I wonder how much she’s going to scream at me this time.

  She’s close to me when I feel a searing pain in my head, and I drop to the ground holding it. You’ve crossed a line this time, Rosalyn. Her hands wrap around my throat, and my airway is cut off just as the searing pain stops.

  “Did you really think that you could strut around in MY castle in next to nothing and I wouldn’t find out about it?” she sneers while I choke and claw at her hands.

  She drops me, and I cough. My head feels like someone is slamming something into it, and I know she’s digging around in there because I’ve heard from Alizon how painful it is. Immediately, I throw my mental shield up. My glare could kill her, as I narrow my eyes and try to catch my breath. If she thinks she’s digging in my head, she has another thing coming.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I see someone clad in leather approaching, but I can’t see them fully. If I turn my head, I won’t be able to keep my eyes on my mother, but hurt clenches my gut. Lawrence wouldn’t do this. My mind reaches out to read his. Don’t upset her, amare. Just stay focused, and stay out of the dungeons.

  Pain slices through my scalp as my mother grabs my hair and drags me back to the training room. “Let me go, Mother. I can walk,” I plead with her while I battle with her hands.

  She lets go of my hair suddenly and, in a quiet deathly tone, tells me, “If you try to move one inch from me, I’ll flay your skin off you.”

  Gulping, I stand up and my knees knock because I’m shaking so bad. This is a side of my mother I’ve never seen before, and I can barely keep myself standing on my heels. Again, this training room is nothing but bad luck.

  When I walk in and the lights illuminate the room, I fly backwards and hit the wall. Every piece of my being wants to use my powers, but I know I’ll start a war, and I don’t want to fight with my mother.

  While I’m still held against the hard, stone wall, she walks to me, and I feel her breath as she tears my skin off with her words. “You’re nothing but an embarrassment to this family. All you do is sniffle and cry.” She slaps me across the face, and I refuse to shed a tear to prove her point. “The fact that you think it’s okay to walk around in an outfit like that, tells me you aren’t royalty material. You can kiss ever having this crown, or any crown for that matter, goodbye.”

  When she pulls her arms back to punch me in the face, I put my hands up to protect myself. I’ve had enough. Before I can even use my powers, the door to the training room opens. I peek through my fingers, and see Lawrence walk in. My mother’s head whips around, and all I see is the side of her pale face and her red hair in a perfectly-coiffed bun.

  “Get the hell out, Lawrence,” she orders.

  He slowly walks in the room, disobeying her. My hands drop from my face, and my eyes plead with him to leave. The last thing I want is for him to be tortured.

  “Your Majesty,” he says carefully, “she did this because she was upset with me.”

  A gasp escapes my mouth. “Lawrence, no.” My body drops to the floor, and I see Lawrence fly across the room and slam into the wall. My powers race through me, and I’m about to use them when a voice breaks through. I know you want to save him, but the minute you attack her, you have to make sure you kill her. You won’t escape unharmed, sweetheart. Alaric is in pain, I can feel it, but as soon as I try to reach out to him, the connection breaks. Immediately, I pull at my hair and watch the situation in front of me unfold.

  Lawrence groans, and I feel his profound distress. I don’t know if I can handle this. Someone needs to stop her, but Lawrence shakes his head at me and, when our eyes catch, he motions his eyes to the ceiling. At first, I’m confused until he does it again. Then I get what he’s trying to say . . . pain. I’ll do this, and you’ll let me do it. I’ve been to the dungeons before, and I can handle it. I don’t ever want you ending up there. You’re in this situation because I upset you, and I’ll take this torture for you because I love you, Rosalyn. You’re worth the pain.

  My eyes stare into his, and I’m shaking. But the moment quickly ends when my mother speaks. “Oh, Rosalyn, he loves you,” she says sarcastically. “Well, it’s amazing a man actually wants to be with you. It’s too bad you can’t pull yourself together long enough to be with him.” She shakes her head, and then her eyes bore into mine. “I find it interesting you told him you’re having visions of Alaric.”

  Glancing over at Lawrence, my eyes narrow, but he shakes his head at me. “Rosalyn, I didn’t tell her anything.”

  My mother throws her head back and cackles. “You don’t even know your own power well enough yet.” She rushes back to me, and her nose almost meets mine. She menacingly whispers, “I’ll root around in his brain whenever I want. That’ll be your punishment. I’ll know about every little thing the two of you do. It’s nice to know my daughter is becoming quite the little slut. You better not lose your virginity before your wedding night, or I’ll kill you.” She raises her head and kisses my forehead.

  She walks back toward Lawrence, and I don’t hear what she says to him, but I see him gulp. Then she walks out of the training room.

  I’m still staring at the door when I feel a hand on my shoulder. “Amare, are you okay?”

  My breath is shaky as I look over at Lawrence and know everything has changed. My heart is a confused mess, and I don’t even know how to react. He loves me, but I don’t know if I love him. What do you say to someone you’re not sure you love back? Getting up, I brush his hand off and walk away from him, not even looking back. Like I said before, I hate this training room. My mother turned what could have been a beautiful moment into one of regret and hate.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Rosalyn

  I haven’t gotten very far down the corridor when I’m stopped short by arms gently wrapping around my waist. I’m done with people touching me without my permission, but I relax when Lawrence’s scent fills my nose.

  I turn around and look into his eyes. Wringing my hands, I tell him, “I can’t talk to you right now.”

  He frames my face with his hands and lowers his face toward mine, our lips tenderly touching. “Rosalyn, we need to talk now, and I’m not going to give you the choice.” He looks down at my neck and gently brushes it. My eyes never waver from his, but I watch as his jaw ticks when he notices the marks from my mother.

  Lawrence grabs my hand and pulls me with him. “It’s time for you to listen to me, and talk. I’m not going to watch while something like this happens again.”

  Gulping, I follow him as he leads me down the corridor. It’s not until he’s pushing open a door that I realize
he’s led me to his chamber, which I haven’t been back to since the night he was attacked. Freezing, my mind flashes back to him turning blue as Xavier contained him on the wall across the room.

  Lawrence’s hand pulls mine. “Amare, what’s wrong?”

  Snapping out of the memory, I look at him and shiver. “Nothing.”

  Pulling my hand away from his, I wrap my arms around my stomach and look around his chamber. My bad boy likes black, because everything is draped in it. Walking over, I sit on his bed. He may want to talk, but I want to sleep. This day can be a distant memory for all I care.

  His footsteps are silent on the bear rugs as he walks over. Pushing my legs apart, he stands between them and threads his hands in my hair. “Talk to me,” he quietly says. “For once, stop keeping everything to yourself and tell me what you’re thinking.” Desperation is clear in his tone.

  My cheeks tingle when I think about him telling me he loves me, but then I remember what my mother said. Looking down, I realize I can’t tell him what I’m thinking. I’m not worthy. My hair pulls in his grasp as my chin dips and shoulders droop. Murmuring, I tell him, “Please, I don’t want to talk.”

  He puts his finger under my chin and raises it. “Look at me,” he demands. Raising my face, I do as he asks. “I have no clue what is going through that beautiful head of yours, but stop.” He clears his throat and pulls me closer to his hips. “You’re gorgeous, and I love you.”

  Trying to hide my face as it heats up, I push it into his chest. I’m not ready to say anything, and I hope he realizes I’m not going to. Wrapping my hands around his middle, I lay my head on his stomach. Truthfully, I tell him, “I’m not ready for all of this yet, Lawrence.”