The Shadow Kingdom

Chapter 18 - Timeless Moments

We stop in San Francisco in order to refuel and buy me some new clothes. From here, we can fly straight to Shanghai. Adrian is speaking to his father in Mandarin over the phone. I haven't slept the entire trip, so I pour myself some Scotch whisky. Even though it tastes like shit, it does take some of the edge off. "What were you talking about?" I ask when Adrian finally hangs up the phone.

"Arrangements. My father has decided that war is imminent. By protecting you, we are protecting an enemy of House Ashcroft. He wants to hand you over to William and be done with it."

I wince in my seat. "What did you say?"

"What do you think? I told him to go to hell. Anywhere you go, I go."

I take some small comfort in that. "What happens when we get there?"

Adrian sighs. "We're going to be living with my parents for a while." Oh, joy.

The plane finishes refuelling, and we begin our journey to Shanghai. However tired I am, Adrian is even more so. I tell him to lie down on the couch and rest his head in my lap. Instead of sleeping though, he is more interested in kissing my stomach. I don't mind. "How do we kill Nathaniel and Selena?" I ask. "The two of them could obliterate an army barracks."

"Yes, they are definitely House Ashcroft's heavy hitters. Tiberius and Diana could give them a run for their money though. And given the circumstances, my father will have an army protecting us at all time."

"Us? Or just you?" My voice trembles as I ask.

"I made it crystal clear to him that you and I are a package deal. I love you more than silver or gold." He closes his eyes, finally succumbing to the exhaustion.

What did I do to deserve this man? He says that he has never found true love before me, but in a hundred years, how could no other woman have fallen for him?

After he falls asleep, I gently place a pillow beneath his head and move over to the other side of the plane. I curl into a ball on the seat and stare at the Pacific Ocean. I throw myself into planning mode, vowing that one day Adrian and I will live our lives in peace.

House Ashcroft will never leave me alone. As of now, they hate me more than they hate the Shangs. Augustus was wrong. The war is not imminent; it has already begun. The only way for Adrian and I to have a future together is to defeat them, hurt them so badly that they lose the will to fight.

Power lust is the one thing that all warlock houses have in common. Technically, my last name is Ashcroft, which gives me some legitimacy in their territory. Perhaps over time, I can find allies among William's enemies in Europe – disenfranchised minor houses that would help overthrow William's regime for the right price.

The love of my life is weary after another long day of protecting me. So far, I've stood on the sidelines, making him do all the work. But I'm a spellbinder just as he is and a princess nonetheless. I will not allow him to fight this war alone. It may take years or even decades, but I will see William Ashcroft pay for his sins.

Adrian's family lives on Chongming Island off the coast of Shanghai. After touching down on the private runway at Shanghai Pudong International Airport, an Acura MDX awaits us on the tarmac with Diana standing beside it. I walk casually toward her, and as soon as I'm close enough, I slap her across her smug face. "You lying bitch! You said I was safe! You said you would protect me!"

Adrian pulls me back before Diana can retaliate, for which I am very grateful. I may be furious, but I'm not suicidal. "I said what I had to say to make you carry out the mission." Diana says. "If you didn't attack that freighter, Augustus would have killed you for sure. I can protect you from House Ashcroft but not from my father. And believe me; right now, you need to stay on Augustus's good side." Life is a game to her. Everything she does is a calculated move – all strategy and no emotion. And if I want to survive, I have to become like her.