Falling for the Ashfather

Chapter 2

“I can’t believe you’re doing this to me!” Kami’s voice floated out of the house, reaching Konrad and me before we were anywhere near the front door. I winced at the high-pitched whine that was my sister’s favourite tone. Konrad’s brow just furrowed as he stared at the door.

“I just don’t get it. The fact that you’re sisters is baffling. But twins?”

Shrugged, I stepped up to the door and put my hand on the knob, looking back at him before I opened it. “Looks are just important to her. You know that.”

A frustrated scream sounded, making me second guess opening the door. “There is no way I’m wearing this faded blue dress when Tahlia gets to wear that purple one. I want her dress!”

I stiffened at her words, finally realizing what the fight was about.

Kami was used to getting all the best stuff. After all, she was the little princess of the family. Our mother had never understood my need to train in fighting. My desire to become a Drakesworn. Kami, however, had always been more aware of status and how to better herself in the world. To her, the colour of her dress would be one of the most important things about the Ashwalk. She had no intention of doing anything with her life other than finding her mate and making sure it was someone important. Of course, that depended on her dragon manifesting. If it didn’t, no self-respecting dragonkin would want to take her on as a mate. Even if she did find her soul-bound mate, they would reject her in a heartbeat, no matter how good she looked.

“There is absolutely no way,” Konrad said, grabbing the door I was still hesitating to open, and pushing past me into my own house.

I blew out a breath. Kami and Konrad had never gotten along. Kami thought he was too low class for either of us to associate with. Not because she worried about my reputation, but because of how it might affect hers. And Konrad thought her the most vapid, narcissistic dragonkin he had ever met, and he couldn’t stand the way she treated me. As if she somehow deserved to always have things better than me.

“Konrad,” I said, following into the house, intent on stopping him from saying anything to Kami, but I froze when I saw Kami and my mom.

Kami was wearing my dress. The one I had scrimped and saved for and bought myself. And my mother? She had pins in her mouth and was altering it for her.

“No,” Konrad said, stepping in close to Kami. “Take that off, or you give Tahlia back the money she spent on it. You are not entitled to the dress she bought for herself.”

Tears gathered in my eyes as I stared at my mother, complicit, apparently, in the theft of my dress. “Mother?” I asked softly. “What’s going on?”

She wouldn’t look at me. There might have been guilt gluing her eyes to the floor, but I was willing to bet she was just going out of her way to try and make sure I didn’t pick a fight by looking submissive. “Darling, you know your sister and how she gets when she doesn’t get her way.”

“How you taught her to be,” Konrad snapped at my mother. He didn’t catch the sharp glance she sent in his direction, but I did, so I stepped between the two and folded my arms.

“You have always given her what she wants, but that is my dress, mother. I paid for it. I saved for years to buy it. You don’t get to just give it to her.” My voice was too quiet. I needed to stand up for myself more. I knew that was what Konrad was thinking. It’s what he told me constantly. The problem was, I could stand up to almost anyone in the world. Just not my family. It was like I became another person around them.

“You can wear Kami’s dress,” my mother said with a wave of her hand. “It will be fine.”

Kami’s dress. The one bought last minute because Kami hadn’t bothered to save any money for it, and had spent the first amount our parents had given her. I was going to be stuck with that?

“I don’t want that dress,” I told her. “I want the dress I picked out.”

My mother let out an impatient noise. “Well, you’re going to wear the other dress, and I don’t want to hear another word about it. I have raised you all these years, and you have never been grateful. You can let your sister have this one thing.”

My face blanked. One thing. As if Kami hadn’t taken everything from me over the years. As if I hadn’t decided I needed to get out of this town specifically so I could get away from her and the way my parents coddled her. And now, this final thing. The one thing that was supposed to be all mine. And my mother was giving it away.

“That doesn’t seem like a fair trade to me,” Konrad snapped.

This time my mother’s gaze was filled with daggers, and she let it linger on my friend. “I don’t recall you being a part of this family and therefore having a say.”

“I don’t recall you giving Tahlia any money for that dress, and therefore it isn’t yours to give away.”

Konrad was usually better at holding his tongue than this. I knew it was nerves for the Ashwalk, but he needed to stop, so a pressed a hand to his arm to try and calm him down. Then watched my mother’s gaze land on the contact, her eyes narrowing as she studied the two of us.

“Konrad, I think it’s time you went home, don’t you?” My mother bit out.

“I don’t,” he told her, his voice just as biting as hers. “I think someone should be here that can see common sense. Since it doesn’t appear to be you or Kami, maybe I can fill in.”

I blew out a breath and turned to him. “Please, Konrad. You should go. It’s just a dress.”

His gaze locked with mine, eyes fierce. “It’s not just a dress. Don’t let her get away with this. She has no right.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow for our last training session, okay?”

Konrad wasn’t happy. He continued to stare at me, then gave a stiff nod before marching to the door. He paused before he walked out and sent another glare in my mother’s direction. “I sure hope you’re going to put as much love and care into altering the dress Tahlia’s going to wear as you are Kami’s. Wouldn’t want anyone to think you love one daughter more than the other.”

Then he slammed the door, leaving me with an aching heart, and a room filled with nothing but silence. Then, my mother turned on me, as I knew she would.

“What is going on between you and that boy? It better not be what I think it is.”

It took me a moment to gather my thoughts together to even consider addressing my mother’s words. I shook my head. “Konrad is my best friend. You know that, mother. We have been for years.”

She eyed me, clearly suspicious. “You spend too much time together. It isn’t appropriate. Especially not with the Ashwalk coming up. And with his brother being what he is.” She shuddered, and my eyes narrowed.

“So, you think it’s Konrad’s fault his brother never manifested his dragon?”

“Certainly not. I think it’s that mother of theirs fault. No one has ever even seen her dragon, and she expects her kids to have one?” she snorted.

There were so many reasons I couldn’t wait for my Ashwalk. The fact that I would get to be out of this house at the top of that list.

“And what, mother, if it turns out that we are fated mates? What then?”

Her eyes narrowed on me. “You won’t even say those words out loud. No daughter of mine will be mated to someone like him.”

I snorted. “You have no say over who I am mated to, mother.” Thankfully. If it were up to her, I would probably be sold to the highest bidder. “Konrad is right, mother, I paid for that dress. You can’t just…”

“I’ve talked about this enough. You have a dress, you will wear that. End of discussion.”

She turned away to walk back over to Kami and must have missed the triumphant look Kami flashed in my direction. Every time they took her side over mine, it was like this. Like some kind of fight she had won, when she hadn’t had to do any fighting at all. Sometimes I wondered what she had over them that would make them treat her this way? What had I done to become someone they could walk all over.

I knew fighting for this would only land me in trouble with my family. Any ability I had to be free would be limited until the Ashwalk, even training. And training was the only thing that kept me sane in this house. So, I took the dress that was lying on the couch, and headed up to my room. No matter what I did or said, I wasn’t going to get my dress back.

Only once I was in my room did I let the tears that threatened fall. And those I only indulged for a couple of minutes. Then, I brushed at my eyes and looked at the dress. I wasn’t the best at sewing in the world, but I would do what I could. And it was going to take all of my barely there talent to make this dress into something suitable for the Ashwalk.