The Hunter's Princess

Chapter 38

Serah gripped the armrests of the ornate chair they were using as a temporary throne. She did her best to calm herself. The general would be here any minute, and he already disapproved of her being the one to meet him. He believed that she, as a woman, represented weakness. He favored Xander over her and that left her at a dreadful disadvantage.

For a moment she wished for Xander to be with her at that moment, but she shook the feeling away. She had to prove that she was strong too.

Tristain and Zachary stood at either side of her, her brothers hovering towards the side of the room. Serah knew that she could draw strength from them. That was her motivation, to protect her family, and that included the child within her. For their sake, she had to convince General Ashton that she was worth his loyalty.

She straightend and did her best to radiate confidence. Serah's silver eyes fluttered closed as she listened to the few guards that Tristain had deemed trustworthy intercept the general. It was time.

Her eyes opened and fixed on the door to their makeshift throne room. She wished her heart would stop pounding from anticipation.

Serah didn't dare take in a breath when the general walked into the room. General Ashton fixed her with a stern, calculating glare. She refused to flinch, lifting her chin as five demons shuffled into the room with him. He was tall and well built. No soul could doubt for even a second that this man had fought for years. The grey streaks in his dark hair confirmed it. He'd earned every moment of his position under Xavier.

"General Ashton, it is a pleasure," Serah greeted him.

"You are already aware of my opinion towards you," Ashton replied abruptly. Immediately, she recognized that this was a man who did not play the game of politics. He was a soldier, not a lord or a king.

"I am," she told him. "I intend to prove it wrong."

"Is that so?"

"I intend to take Hell's throne away from Xavier no matter what the cost. He, Caos, and Jack have used it for personal gain and protection for far too long," Serah replied. Ashton raised one grey eyebrow.

"You intend to take the throne? You, not your husband?" He asked. She couldn't stop herself from glancing towards Tristain, feeling that she had made a poor political move. But Serah ripped her eyes away before she could take the information from her advisor.

"One of us will take the throne undoubtedly, but we intend to rule as king and queen, just as my grandparents did before me."

The general stroked his short, rough beard in thought.

"I remember your grandmother's reign. She was violent and lost, furious at her court and obsessed with her own safety," Ashton told her bluntly. "Her husband did nothing but encourage it because he was afraid of losing her. I look at their story and see it reflected in you and your husband."

"You think that I'm bloodthirsty?" Serah asked him, feeling her stomach twist. All she had done was murder Jack, and she had barely been able to sleep after it happened!

"Not you. Xander."

Her heart stopped.

"He tore through a hundred demons to save you from Caos. Did you know that?"

"He hates what he is. He hates his father, and all the demons that he'll one day rule," Ashton continued with the stern glare piercing into her. "Even now he terrorizes Hell as Xavier's enforcer. He stalks through those halls like some sort of animal."

He was doing what? Serah's grip tightened on the armrests. He had to have been doing it to earn Xavier's trust. He couldn't be on his father's leash.