Page 6 of When Ashes Fall

But then, maybe she’d prefer to stay here for more nefarious reasons. Maybe, by bringing her, I’d brought a poisonous thorn into our midst and this was all part of some plan she’d concocted with her mother to destroy what remained of the shifters.

You’re really grasping for reasons to keep hating her now.

Having Marina and the casters here was twisting all my thoughts and emotions into a knot. It was fucking me up in ways I hadn’t expected, and I loathed that it left me so unstable.

However, it was easier to keep hating her than to open myself up to her again. Even with as messed up as I was right now, I recognized that.

Was there a chance that Briar and Marina could have plotted to have her come here? Yes, but Marina couldn’t have known I’d go for Briar when she entered the harem. She couldn’t have known I’d learn that Briar was entering the harem.

I struggled to maintain the small amount of trust I’d found in Briar again, but it crumbled beneath the weight of Marina’s and Rosalie’s stares. Zephyr remained hovering inside the bailey as Briar and the others strode toward us.

CHAPTER FOUR

Briar

My heart thundered so fast I was sure everyone heard it as they led me into a large building filled with numerous tables and benches. Lanterns hung from the exposed beams running across the ceiling. No flames shone in them, so shadows encompassed most of the building as little light spilled through the oversized windows lining the walls.

When Knox snapped his fingers, flames sprang to life in the lanterns. My eyes widened at this revelation. I’d never seen anyone do it before, but then the sprites were up and buzzing around before I left my room in the morning. I’d always assumed they were the ones who lit the wicks.

There were also matches in a drawer in my room for the lanterns and candles there. I’d been using them to ignite my lights.

Is this something everyone in Wildwood can do or just the alpha? Did the casters or elves implement this for them?

If it were the casters, it happened long before the curse. Knox never would have trusted them to cast a spell such as this in the kingdom.

I marveled at the flames and the warm glow they brought to the room. It did little to ease the chill in my heart, and I had to stop myself from rubbing my arms while my mother sauntered around the room.

I can’t go back with her.

The idea of it had me on the verge of tears, and I glanced over my shoulder toward the door, but Dromon and Pierce blocked my view of it. Their stony faces told me I wouldn’t make it one step before they captured me.

And if I tried to run, it would thoroughly delight my mother. No matter how much I tried to hide it, I was sure my face revealed my distress, but trying to run from her would be the highlight of her day.

Feeling eyes on me, I shifted my attention to Rosalie. My sister’s face was as cold as ice, but disgust shimmered in her green eyes. My mother wanted to reclaim me to punish me; Rosalie would prefer to see me dead.

I was a disgrace to both, and while my mother reveled in making me miserable, Rosalie saw me as a stain to remove from their existence.

Boots thudded against the floor as the leaders of the kingdoms and their small entourages crossed the room to the table closest to the stage. The red curtains framing the stage were pulled back and secured at the sides.

Two wilted, nearly black roses drooped toward the stage floor. A single petal rested beneath one of them.

At one time, before my mother unleashed her vengeance on this land, those roses were shifters. Judging by their size, they’d most likely been children.

My heart ached for them. The rose was my mother’s favorite flower; because of that, I’d always detested them, but these flowers were once vibrant shifters who’d relished in the wild freedom of their kingdom. These children might have been practicing a show for their parents or pretending to be actors when their laughter abruptly ended.

I hoped there was a way to break the curse and save the shifters and hoped even more that they had no idea what had befallen them. The awareness of that was an unfathomable hell.

If I didn’t get returned to Nightshade today, I’d have to send Knox or someone else out here with my potion to ensure these roses didn’t die. The sprites had so much on their plates that these two must have slipped through their care; that would end today.

My hate for roses had turned to love for these, though I’d gladly tear the flowers out of my mother’s hair and off her wrist before shoving them down her throat. I’d love to watch her choke on them.

Overhead, dead plants lined the thick wood beams running across the ceiling; small chandeliers with more candles hung above the scarred, wooden tables. At one time, laughter and conversation had filled this place.

Now, silence hung heavily over the building. While the sprites kept the castle spotless, dust had settled onto every surface here. The passing of the eternals kicked particles into the air, where they swirled before settling again.

My mother’s shoes clicked off the floor as she strode toward the stage. “Oh my, these poor pretties look awful,” my mother purred as she stroked one of the roses.

“Don’t touch them!” I snapped.