The Eternal Guardians: Book 1: The Missing Heir

Chapter 40

Suddenly, Roman heard a noise down on the ground and he pushed back from Ashta. She looked at him and she held his gaze for a moment as she searched his eyes. He was different.

“You need to leave, and never come back,” he said gruffly, and she stared at him for a moment.

“What?” she asked, and she sniffed sadly.

“Leave!” he growled, as he stared at the castle.

She noticed that his face twitched in anger and she swallowed hard. She had never seen him this angry before. Suddenly, Roman’s head snapped toward her and he growled a warning growl.

“You are still here?” He sneered and Ashta rose to her feet slowly.

“Leave!” He snarled aggressively, and she jumped startled.

After a moment, she straightened as she glared at him angrily.

“Watch your tone,” she growled in a low tone, and Roman looked at her, as he ran his tongue over the front of his teeth and smirked.

“Or what?”

Ashta didn’t say another word to him. At that moment she flicked her wrist, and Roman watched her as she lifted into the air, and then she disappeared.

Curiously, Roman looked up at the sky and scanned for her with his eyes. He was surprised how quickly she vanished right before his face. He couldn’t do that. Evidently, Roman shrugged his shoulders and then he jumped down from the tree.

Why didn’t he kill her right there and then? That was a chance that didn’t come too often, and he had the chance, but he didn’t take it. Roman was confused by his action as he walked to his room and then he poured himself a drink.

“Stop drinking that!” he heard in his head, and he quickly looked around his room.

Surprisingly, there was no one in the room with him.

“It clouds your judgment.”

“What is wrong with him?”

The voices were all different, and Roman fanatically looked around his bedroom, but there was still no one in the room with him. Angrily, he shook his head, and then he downed the drink he had poured. Seemingly, the voices and the feelings that he had for Ashta quickly disappeared. However, even though the poison turned his feelings into anger, it could not mask the vision he had of the look in her eyes when he said Damian’s name.

What did he do that made her so upset? he wondered, and why did she come to Taitum and pick that tree? She had to have known that he would have seen her.

Evidently, Roman didn’t know what to think, but he found a whole new hatred towards the guard that destroyed his life.

***********************

Undetected, Ashta rode the air element back to her bedroom window and slipped inside. Angrily, she paced back and forth as she muttered to herself.

“Who does he think he is? Nice to me one minute and then he turns on me the next,” she growled a frustrated growl, and then she jumped at the sound of someone knocking on her bedroom door.

She walked over and she opened it. Riah stared at her with wide eyes.

“Are you okay?” she asked with a concerned look on her face.

Ashta made a disgruntled face at her and then she gestured for her to come into the room. Immediately, Riah walked inside and Ashta shut the door behind her.

“First of all, Damian is a jerk! When I was leaving the castle, he was out front with a friend drinking, and he tried to kiss me and come to his room with him!” Ashta blurted.

“Then, I find a nice peaceful tree to sit and collect my thoughts, and suddenly, Roman appears and he is the nice, kind Roman I know, and then out of the blue, he does a three sixty on me and turns into a complete jerk.”

Riah stared at her as Ashta caught her breath and then she straightened.

“Well, it sounds like you had a very long and eventful night, and now we know that all men are assholes,” said Riah, and Ashta looked at her for a moment.

Riah smirked and then Ashta smiled and nodded.

“Yeah, pretty much,” breathed Ashta.

“Well, tomorrow is the big fight, and maybe they both will knock some sense into each other, and they will both come out of this standing tall,” she suggested, and Ashta stared at her in awe.

“Two men walk in and only one comes out. This is a fight to the death match, which was Damian’s stupid idea,” stated Ashta, and then Riah hung her head in sorrow.

“I’m sorry. I forgot about that detail.”

“No, it’s okay. You are coming with me, by the way.”

Riah looked up at Ashta in question.

“Really?”

“Yes, you are my right-hand girl. So, if I have to watch this horror show, then so do you,” said Ashta matter-of-factly, and Riah gave her a look.

“Great! Thanks, buddy,” said Riah sarcastically, and then she rolled her eyes.

Happily, Ashta grinned at her friend, and nodded.

“Alright. Get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a big day for the both of us,” she said, and Ashta laughed.

“Goodnight.”

“Night,” said Ashta, and Riah left the room.

After Riah left, Ashta looked out of the window and let her thoughts roll around in her head. Her heart yearned for Roman, but his heart did not yearn for hers. And then there was Damian. His heart yearned for hers, but her heart did not yearn for his.

Confused, Ashta slammed her fist on the windowsill. She didn’t know what she was feeling, and she wished she could see the signs that were right in front of her, so she would know what to do. Her mind argued with her heart over both of the men in her life, and if only she could decipher between the two, then she would know what the right path was for her to take.Heavily, she sighed and she was surprised to hear a soft knock at her door.

“Yeah?” she called, as she looked at the door curiously.

Slowly, the door opened and Damian poked his head inside. Noticeably, he had slept off all of the alcohol that he had drunk earlier.

“Ashta, are you alright?” he asked in a groggy voice.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” she breathed.

Damian looked at her with concern and then he walked into the room and closed the door behind him.

“Come on,” he said gently, and then, to her surprise, he walked over to the bed, pulled the comforter down and then he climbed in.

Ashta stared at him in awe for a moment.

Does he not remember what happened earlier? Was he still trying to sleep with her? she wondered, as she stared.

Damian cleared his throat and chuckled.

“What’s wrong? I am not asking you to get naked and jump in the sack with me. I just want to hold you,” he promised.

Oh, what the hell? This was probably going to be his last night alive, and besides, if he tried anything, she could handle it, she thought, as she walked over to the bed and climbed in next to him.

“You looked like you could use a friend,” he said softly, and Ashta scooted closer to him.

Gently, Damian wrapped his arms around her, pulled the comforter up, and just held her like he had promised.

Evidently, he knew in the back of his mind that Roman could possibly end his life. He decided if he couldn’t be mates with Ashta, at least he got to hold her on his last night if he were to die the next day. He was the one that got to hold her one last time, not Roman. At least, he had that small bit of happiness, and he was glad that Roman did not.

*********************

Slowly, Ashta opened her eyes and stretched. Surprisingly, she was alone in her bed, but she didn’t mind.

Today was the day that Damian faced Roman, and Ashta had a feeling that things were not going to end well. She decided, instead of the maids dressing her in some fancy gown, she was going to wear black cargo pants, her boots, and a black t-shirt.

Quickly, she showered, got dressed and braided her hair down her back. Ashta put on a light shade of makeup and put her mother’s necklace around her neck. Then, she headed for the kitchen. She decided that she would wake Riah up after she had eaten something.

*********************

Roman and Ray had gotten up early, and they were already in the training center. Evidently, Roman wanted to be in his top prime for this fight in particular. He was about to face the princess’s right-hand man. That was his nickname for Damian now, since he knew that Ashta never gave him the time of day, however, she still kept him around.

Roman laughed at the thought, and then his mood switched to anger as he thought about how much anger and hate he had towards that man. He was the reason Roman had walked away from Ashta, his mother and the new life he had built in Nemiph.

It was going to be so satisfying to kill that man in front of everyone, including Ashta. However, this wasn’t about her in his mind; this was about a score that needed to be settled. Damian and he never saw eye to eye in the first place, so to Roman, this was about who was stronger, faster, and smarter.

“Roman!” Ray called loudly, as he disturbed his cousin from his thoughts.

Slowly, Roman turned his head and glared at Ray. Seemingly, Ray looked at him and then he looked at the maid that was holding two trays, and then he looked back at Roman. Evidently, he nodded, and the maid set the trays down on the table and then she quickly left the room.

“Are you alright, cous?” Ray asked, and Roman only nodded his head.

“Yeah, I am just mentally preparing for tonight’s fight.”

Ray only nodded. Evidently, Roman had told Ray about his opponent that he was facing that evening. This fight was different from all the others because Roman actually knew his opponent. That meant he really needed to mentally prepare for the fight he was about to be in, and end this person’s life. Heavily, Roman sighed as he downed a glass of his bourbon.

“I really hope the princess is prepared for her general to fall at my hand today,” he growled, and Ray looked at him.

“You know that you are going to make that girl cry. You probably are even going to break her heart,” said Ray, frankly, as he took a bite of his food.

Roman took a bite and then he shrugged his shoulders.

“If that happens, then she will finally know what it feels like to have your heart shattered in a million pieces,” snarled Roman, and Ray only nodded.

Seemingly, Ray could admit that his cousin’s new attitude scared him as little. Roman had changed into an entirely different person when he came back home. He was meaner, and could care less about the people of Taitum.

Some days, Ray wished the old Roman would come back. When his father was around, Roman was disciplined and in control, but now, since his father passed away, Roman was getting out of control.

*******************

After Ashta had finished eating, she went up to Riah’s room to wake her up, but she was gone. Also, she looked in Damian’s room and he was gone too.

Where are they? she wondered, and then she ran to the training room and that is where she had found them.

“There you are!” Ashta exclaimed, and Damian grinned at her.

“Yes. Where have you been?” Riah asked, as she wiped the sweat from her brow.

“Sleeping and eating,” Ashta said proudly, and they all laughed.

“Well, maybe you shouldn’t stay up all night,” laughed Damian, and Ashta gave him a knowing look.

“Well, maybe you should sleep in your own bed.”

At that moment, Riah looked at Damian and then she looked at Ashta.

“Do I even want to know?” she asked, and then she shook her head.

“Nope. I really don’t want to know,” she added, and Ashta and Damian laughed.

“Nothing happened. I literally just held the girl and we fell asleep,” Damian said and smiled shyly.

Riah looked at Ashta for confirmation, and Ashta nodded.

“It’s just like when I would come into your room and hold you. Nothing happened,” stated Ashta, and Riah looked at her.

“Okay,” she said, and Ashta laughed.

“Okay. If you two are done goofing off, we got our training to get back to, missy,” said Damian, and Ashta and Riah both looked at him.

“What?” he asked, alarmed.

At that moment, Ashta glanced at the pool behind him and then she gave Riah a knowing look. Slyly, Riah smirked and then both girls grinned at Damian. Suspiciously, he looked at them for a moment.

“What are you two up to? I know that look, and I am not sure if I like it,” he said, as he put his hands up defensively.

Unexpectedly, Riah and Ashta ran full speed at him and tackled him into the pool with a big splash.

“Come on!” Damian exclaimed, as he resurfaced and wiped the water from his face.

Ashta and Riah laughed, and then Riah looked at Ashta and laughed at her even harder.

“Did you have makeup on?” she asked through her laughter, and Ashta looked at her oddly.

“Yeah, why?”

At that moment, Damian looked over at her and then he began laughing as well.

“You look like a racoon!” Damian busted out.

Thoughtfully, Ashta looked at them for a moment as she twisted her mouth.

“Oh, well. Hopefully the prince is animal friendly,” she said, and then all three of them laughed hard.

At that moment, Riah looked up at the clock on the wall and saw that it was almost time for them to leave for the arena.

“Well, we have about two hours to fix your face and get dressed,” she stated, as she climbed out of the pool.

Ashta and Damian climbed out after her and they all tried to wring their clothes out the best they could before they walked through the castle. Casually, they walked toward the stairs talking and laughing when suddenly Liam stopped them in the hallway.

“What happened to you three?” he asked, alarmed, as he looked at their soaking wet clothing.

Ashta and Riah giggled, as Damian scoffed.

“I was training in the training room when I was viciously attacked,” he stated, and Riah and Ashta quit laughing and stared at him.

“Viciously attacked? So, that is what happened during your side of the story, and that is final, right?” Riah asked, as she tried to cover her laughter.

Damian straightened and then he smiled.

“Yes, I think it is,” he said with a wide grin.

“Okay, let us know if that works out for you,” laughed Ashta.

At that moment, Liam looked at Damian, Ashta and Riah as if they each had three heads.

“Okay, whatever the story may be. You three need to hurry up and get out of those wet clothes. We are leaving for the arena soon,” stated Liam, seriously, as he folded his hands in front of him.

Ashta nodded and the three of them chased each other up the stairs.