Death Is Coming

Chapter 14: Ash

I leaned against the walls, staring at Blair's body. When I had found this girl, I hadn't thought anything of it until I saw Elizabeth lying next to her. I had been in contact with Elizabeth right before she was taken, searching for her because she knew the truth—she needed the truth about my family, about the Dawnfire family. I would do anything to reclaim my throne.

Elizabeth was dead when I found her, but something lingered within Blair's body—a sliver of her soul. So I did what I did best. I threw myself into her mind, searching for any sign of her soul, and I found it within the abyss of her mind. I didn't understand why her body hadn't started decomposing—it had been months. My sister Vanessa sat next to me. Vanessa's abilities were more mundane; she could sense change within anything: the weather, an upcoming battle or war, humans, bodies—anything. That's how she sensed the change in Aaron's family, when they murdered our parents and said we could still live as long as we were willing to hand over the throne. She had sensed the change in their decision; they were coming after us next, so we fled. That was years ago.

"Something's happening to her. She should be dead, dead—like long gone—but I can sense something in her body. It's changing," Vanessa paused for a second and stood up, lifting Blair's limp arm to look at the needle mark. It was clear Blair was not coming back to life anytime soon, but what was happening to her body? "What did they inject her with?"

"I've asked her. She doesn't know, and she doesn't know who did this to her, who ordered it," I said, gritting my teeth. I hated how I felt about her, how I knew within an instant of seeing her dead body and throwing myself into the mix with her mind and soul that she was my mate. But she was already mated to another, and she wasn't getting over him anytime soon. Even though she didn't know that he was the one who did this to her, he gave the mortals the order to inject her with whatever that serum was. Sure, he wanted to make her more compliant, make her obey, and he thought she was Faye, but it wasn't hard to tell this woman was mortal if he had only looked harder. Now she's in love with the man that killed her, and I can't even tell her without shattering her. And I couldn't do that to my mate, whether or not she knew or accepted the bond.

I hadn't even told Vanessa about it, about Blair, the dead woman laying in our cabin being my mate. How would that even work? If she truly stayed dead forever, how would I be able to be with my mate? It wasn't like her body was in a slumber; it was completely dead. Her skin had gone very pale, her lips blue, her heart had stopped pumping blood throughout the rest of her body—she was cold to the touch. But yet she hadn't started decomposing, and she should have weeks ago, months ago.

Vanessa's voice broke through my thoughts. "Ash, you have to tell me what's really going on. Why are you so invested in her?"

I took a deep breath, feeling the weight of the truth pressing down on me. "She's Aaron's mate," her eyes went wide.

" but Aaron's the one that ordered them to inject her right?" she knew about Aaron's plans, he was the one that was cruel, ruthless, sexist and wanted women to do nothing but bear children and obey. but when he dethroned my family he claimed that was our wishes the only other person that knew the truth wholeheartedly was lila, but she was too scared to go on the run with us and I would never ask her to.

" he did," I said that a little more angry that I should have, I dug my nails into my skin of my Palms breaking them slightly as I felt the warm blood seep from small cuts.

" I'm not stupid," she said rolling her eyes as she placed a blanket back on Blair's body. I watched her she's turned towards me and crossed her arms over her chest. " I can sense the change within your body, your soul. you found your mate"

" I-" she cut me off before I could even finish.

she gestured her head towards Blair " it's her isn't it? that's why you sit in here for hours throwing yourself into her mind so you can speak to her?"