CHAPTER 12: His greatest Weakness?
1555 Words
Ashina's POV
A loud thud pulled me from sleep.
I frowned, staring at the ceiling
Who in the Moon Goddess' name was making that much noise before sunrise?
I buried my face back into the pillow as another thud.
"Oh, for goodness' sake..." I added while throwing the blanket aside, I climbed out of bed and slipped on my boots.
"If the castle is under attack, I'll apologize later." I opened the door and stepped into the corridor.
Silence as The sound echoed from somewhere below.
Curiosity won. It led me toward one of the castle's training rooms.
The door stood half open as I should've walked away. Instead, I pushed it open with two fingers another punch landed. The heavy training bag swung violently on its chains.
Draven didn't notice me or maybe he did. He simply didn't care, His fists struck the bag again.
The leather wrapping around his hands had darkened.
Blood.
He was bleeding yet he didn't stop.
"Do you enjoy waking people up?"i asked as he says Nothing.
“I asked you a question." This time His fist landed once more before he finally spoke.
"I heard you." His voice was flat and almost bored.
"Congratulations." I folded her arms.
"So, is this your morning hobby?" He didn't look at me
"It's quieter than killing people." I blinked in confusion.
"...That was supposed to be comforting?"
"No." Another punch as the bag swung so hard its chains rattled against the ceiling.
I sighed dramatically.
"You know, most people train with actual opponents."
"I've tried." He added.
"And?" I asked
"They stopped volunteering." I snorted before stopping myself as his head turned slightly not enough to face me Just enough to notice.
"Did you just laugh?" I gave him a blank look.
" never seen you smiled before " I muttered under my breath hoping ha didn't hear that.
"No."
"You did." I said while folding my arms over my chest.
"It sounded suspicious." As I rolled my eyes.
"You think very highly of yourself." My voice very audible.
"I think accurately."
"Oh, that's unfortunate." This time he stopped punching slowly, he turned to face me as his silver eyes settled on me Cold and Unreadable.
"So. What exactly are you doing here?" He asked while tightening his gloves.
"I was trying to sleep." I gestured toward the punching bag.
"You kept punching whatever that poor thing did to offend you." A corner of his mouth almost moved. It disappeared before she could be certain she'd seen it.
I narrowed my eyes.
"...You're impossible."
"I've been called worse." He smirked.
"I can imagine." He reached for a fresh strip of leather and began tightening the wrap around one hand only
I looked away before he could catch her staring.
"You're going to reopen your wound."
"I know." He replied.
"And you don't care?"
"No." I shrugged.
"You could bleed all over this floor for all I care." His hands paused for the briefest second.
"So why mention it?" I opened my mouth as nothing came out.
Good question.
I recovered quickly.
"Because if you collapse, everyone else will have to listen to the physician complain all day." His gaze rested on me a little longer than before.
A sharp knock interrupted them as a royal guard stepped inside and bowed.
"Your Majesty. The Alpha Council has assembled your father requests your presence immediately." Draven's face became unreadable again.
The brief, strange exchange between them vanished as though it had never happened.
"I'll be there." The guard hesitated.
"They've also arrived with their families including Lady Evelyne." For the first time that morning something cold flickered across Draven's face and I noticed it and I just didn't know why.
The guard bowed once more before stepping aside while he didn't move immediately.
He picked up the towel from the bench and wiped the blood from his hands as though the conversation we'd just had had never happened.
Typical.
"You should probably hurry," I said, folding my arms. "Wouldn't want to keep your precious council waiting."
"I've kept them waiting longer."
"How kind of you." I said sarcastically.
"They're used to it." His answer was so matter of fact that I couldn't tell whether he was joking Probably not.
He wrapped a clean strip of leather around his knuckles, tightening it with one hand.
"You always train this early?"
"No." His voice harsh as if I was the punching bag.
"No?" I gave him a blank look.
"Only on difficult mornings." I raised an eyebrow.
"And today qualifies?"
"It does." He offered nothing else of course he didn't.
Trying to have a normal conversation with Draven was like trying to pull answers from a stone.
I gave up.
"Well... enjoy your meeting." I turned toward the door.
"Lady Ashina." I stopped not because of his voice but because he'd actually used my name. I looked over my shoulder.
"What?"
"You're coming." I frowned.
"To where?" I asked.
"The council chamber.” I laughed.
"You've mistaken me for someone else."
"I haven't." He added
"I don't attend council meetings."
"You do today."
"Why?" Draven is really getting on my nerves recently and he was so good at being annoying.
"Because I said so."
"There it is. The charming personality everyone keeps talking about." His expression remained perfectly straight.
"I've never been accused of being charming."
"I can see why." For the first time since we'd met his reply came almost instantly.
"So can I." That caught me off guard not because it was funny because it sounded..Self-aware before I could make sense of it, another voice drifted into the room.
"Your Majesty?" An older man stood in the doorway, dressed in the deep blue robes of the royal council behind him stood a young woman.
She carried herself like someone who had never once doubted her place in the world Elegant and Confident as her eyes landed on Draven first.
Then they shifted to me Just long enough to measure me.
Her smile never disappeared.
"Forgive the interruption," she said smoothly. "Father said the meeting is about to begin."
The older man bowed.
"The council grows impatient." Draven's expression cooled another degree.
"They can wait another minute." The councilor nodded without argument as the young woman, however, didn't look away from me.
"So..." Her smile was pleasant.
Too pleasant.
"You must be Lady Ashina."
"I am." I smiled.
"I've heard quite a lot about you."
"I wish I could say the same." A flicker crossed her eyes hone before anyone else would've noticed.She stepped forward gracefully.
"Evelyne Ashcroft."She inclined her head.
"A pleasure."Something told me it wasn't. I returned the gesture anyway.
"Likewise."Silence stretched between us As if we were both waiting to see who would blink first. Evelyne finally broke it.
"I must admit I had expected someone..." She looked me over once more.
"...different." I smiled politely.
"So did I." For the first time her smile faltered.
only slightly Draven walked past both of us without commenting.
"The meeting." His tone left no room for discussion as Evelyne stepped aside immediately. I noticed that She obeyed him without question.
As Draven reached the doorway, he glanced back once.
"Lady Ashina." I met his gaze.
"I will be expecting you ."
"I wasn't planning to come "
"You have 10 minutes to get ready or I will come drag you myself ." With that, he disappeared into the corridor.
I waited until their footsteps disappeared before letting out a quiet breath.
"What a strange family." The words slipped out before I could stop them.
One impossible Alpha and a council full of people who looked as though smiling required permission and now Lady Evelyne.
She had smiled the entire time yet somehow I'd felt less welcome than if she'd openly insulted me. I shook the thought away.
"It doesn't concern you." I turned toward the infirmary. The physician had asked me to return the empty medicine bowls from yesterday.
At least herbs made more sense than people.The infirmary door was slightly open as voices drifted through the gap.
"...it's happening more quickly than I expected." An omega lord said.
Another voice answered.
"If the council discovers this before His Majesty tells them. They'll demand she be removed." I stopped.
Removed?
"...the curse has never reacted this way. It didn't disappear." Another voice added.
"It simply withdrew for how long? Only while she was close." Silence followed My fingers tightened around the tray. Another healer spoke quietly.
"If she's truly suppressing the curse she becomes the Alpha King's greatest weakness."
Weakness?
The word struck harder than it should have.
"So what do we do?" The physician sighed.
"We say nothing until we're certain and if the council finds out anyway?" A long silence.
"They'll never allow her to remain beside him." My heartbeat slowed.
I stepped back before the floorboard beneath my feet could creak. I hadn't heard the whole conversation.
I didn't need tone because One sentence was enough. The Alpha's greatest weakness.
I looked down at my hands.
Of course how could I have expected anything else?
Wherever I went..Problems followed. If enemies learned I weakened the strongest Alpha alive...
They wouldn't need to defeat him. They'd simply come for me and if they couldn't reach me...
They'd use me against him.
- Writer
