Page 3 of When Ashes Fall

Knox

I studied the riders who had formed a line before me. All members of the tribunal were present; I hadn’t anticipated that, but Marina must have thrown a bigger tantrum than I’d expected.

When my gaze settled on that hateful cunt of a woman, I discovered her eyes roaming ravenously over me before she licked her lips. I let her drink in her fill; what did I care if she saw me naked… been there, done that.

Beside her, on another horse the color of night, Marina’s equally hateful daughter Rosalie sat with her chin high and a small smile on her lips as she studied the tattoo covering my arms and chest. I acquired it after leaving the harem.

The two of them were strikingly beautiful with their brunette hair and perfect features. Still, no warmth shone in their eyes, especially Marina’s icy blue depths. Rosalie’s dark green eyes shone with malice and lust as she lifted a red-tipped finger to her bottom lip.

“He’s improved,” she murmured as her gaze fell to my cock. “Do you think he broke poor little Briar?”

Marina chuckled. “That wouldn’t take much.”

She clearly underestimated the strength and determination of her youngest daughter. While my face remained impassive, my skin crawled as unexpected nausea twisted in my belly. I thought I’d been prepared for their arrival, as well as that of the other casters, but I wasn’t.

Not only had the king of the day casters, Cozameal, come too, but both had brought a small group of other casters with them. I recognized most of their faces and knew far too well what their genitals looked like.

I’d known Marina would come in person, and expected Rosalie to arrive with her, but seeing and hearing them again had created a visceral reaction in me that I hadn’t anticipated.

I’d experienced far too much of them in the harem. Their cries as they fucked the beast haunted my nightmares. Their words of betrayal about my mate had dug their way into my mind and shattered my soul.

The things they did, the toys they used, the agony they unleashed, weren’t as buried as I’d believed and were making their presence known. I was a grown, powerful man, and I suddenly felt stripped back down to the teenager they’d raped and broken countless times.

It created a maelstrom of fury and self-hatred inside me as I battled against ripping them off their mounts and bashing their skulls in until their brains splattered me. It was also taking everything I had not to throw up.

I’d been trapped in that harem for seven years, at this woman’s mercy and the mercy of others, but Marina took special joy in tormenting me, as did Rosalie. I would have given anything to break free of the vines imprisoning me while there. I couldn’t escape until the day I reached full maturity and the beast evolved into something more.

No one else had ever seen that something more, but one day I would unleash it on these two, and they would pay for what they’d done. However, today was not that day.

Get it to-fucking-gether. Don’t you dare let them know they’ve rattled you.

The beast bashed against my insides as it sought to break free. If I unleashed it now, it would kill them.

That would cause the tribunal to attack. And while they wouldn’t survive the beast or shadow dragon, I would bring the wrath of all the kingdoms down on Wildwood.

We couldn’t kill them all. Plus, I had no quarrel with the other kingdoms or any of the others here; it was simply the casters, every single one of them, who I wanted dead.

It’s the tribunal. You’re a member, and they’ve come in peace. You can’t kill them.

Still, my claws elongated and retracted as I stared at the woman who’d twisted me into a monster. Memories slithered forth like a basilisk creeping through its chamber and rising from its cave. Those memories were as poisonous as the basilisk’s bite.

Inhaling deeply through my nostrils, I held my breath while I worked to calm the cascading waves of rage and revulsion. I didn’t know how Devnair managed to ride here with the casters, yet he sat stoically on his mount, unfazed by their presence.

I hoped my turmoil was as well-hidden as his. Releasing my breath, I took another and counted to ten. It wasn’t helping… but I knew something that would.

Unable to stop it, my head swiveled toward where Briar stood with Pierce, Dromon, and Lyra. When I first brought her here, I was convinced she was as treacherous as her mother, but after her Needing, I started questioning the things Marina told me about her.

I still didn’t know if I could trust Briar or not and had no idea how Marina had learned so many details of our plan to run away together, but right now, I drank in the sight of her. I resisted the urge to return to draw her close and protect her from the monster who birthed her.

Terror had filled Briar’s face when Dromon announced the tribunal was here. She’d intended to flee from her mother, from the tribunal, from me, but I stopped her. She may not be able to break the curse on her own, but she could still be the key to freeing Wildwood from the night caster’s magic.

She was still valuable to me, and I’d find a way to use her to help my kingdom. The problem was, I didn’t know if I could hand her over to these monsters when just looking at her soothed the ragged edges of my soul and calmed my murderous impulses.

More beautiful than her mother and sister, she did resemble them with her espresso-brown hair and refined features, but kindness and warmth shone in her eyes, and her face wasn’t as thin or harsh as theirs. Her smile was never cruel, her actions never calculated, and I’d never seen her relish in the suffering of others.

Yes, there were some physical resemblances, but there were far more differences. When she touched me, I didn’t remember them; it was impossible to recall how awful they made me feel when she was around.

Feeling more in control of my conflicting emotions, I turned back to the tribunal. Not only had Marina arrived with friends but so had Cozameal.