All too soon the female was finished and dismissed him. The interview seemed rather pointless, truth be told. And if any of the candidates couldn't pass this phase, which wasn't more than a memory test, they were weak indeed.
His dragon spoke up. The DDA must be thorough. It's a human thing.
Any fool can memorize the rules, but you're right. Maybe Shane will fail the first test and we won't have to worry about him.
You shouldn't let him get to you.
Asher finally exited the central security building and walked purposefully toward the main living area of the clan. He ran away whereas we stayed and tried to do our best to fight Marcus.
True, but it's easier to blame someone else for something going wrong than to admit their own role in it.
He snorted. When did you become so wise?
I couldn't talk whilst under the drugs, but I could think. After all those years, I could be a bloody philosophy professor by now.
&
nbsp; Oh, no. I don't think so. I want to be useful, and pondering the meaning of life or the universe isn't going to change anything here.
His beast grunted and turned his back. Asher should've reached out and soothed his beast, but they'd reached his mother's house, and the last thing he wanted to do was have his dragon eyes flashing while visiting his sister.
Doing his best to keep the sadness from his face, he entered and headed toward the kitchen. Sure enough, his mother was baking and chatting to a silent figure sitting at the dining table.
His mum noticed him and smiled. "Asher, how did it go?"
"Okay, I suppose. The real tests will come later."
His mother bobbed her head. "Well, sit down and I'll bring your lunch. Aimee has been waiting to see you today."
Aimee was Asher's much-younger sister. He sat down across from the female with the same dark hair and blue eyes as him. He reached across and touched her arm, but Aimee continued to stare blankly ahead as if he wasn't there.
Unlike Asher, his sister hadn't survived imprisonment with her dragon intact. Even worse, his sister hadn't spoken a word since being released.
Seeing his twenty-three-year-old baby sister staring into nothingness made him want to run out of the house, find his uncle and cousin, and make them pay. Aimee had only been fucking eighteen when they'd tossed her into a prison cell and drugged her dragon into a stupor. Since dragons didn't fully mature until twenty, everyone assumed his sister's inner beast hadn't been strong enough to fight for five years and come out mostly unscathed.
His dragon shuffled inside his mind, wanting to talk. But if he did, Asher's pupils would turn into slits and anytime Aimee saw flashing dragon eyes, she screamed and ran into her bedroom.
As he did every time he saw his sister, Asher took a few seconds to cool his anger, force a smile, and speak in a regular voice, free of worry or other negative emotion. "Hey, Aims. It's good to see you out of your room today. Maybe if the weather cooperates, I can take you around the clan soon, too." His sister remained silent, staring just past his shoulder. Patting her arm, he added, "I know you'll like it, especially with the sky mostly blue today."
From the corner of his eye, he saw his mother close her eyes and take a deep breath. With his father dead and his sister damaged, his mum didn't have an easy time of it.
Which was all the more motivation to try his best to win the clan leadership. He needed to make things better for his family, not to mention all the other families torn asunder by Marcus's leadership.
Standing, he went to help his mum in the kitchen. He may be vying for the most powerful position in Skyhunter, but for the moment, helping his mother was more important.
~~~
Honoria finished her interview quickly and exited the clan's security building.
The questions in the interview had been almost too easy. Still, there were many phases left, and she wasn't about to let her guard down and make a stupid mistake.
However, as she stood on the main road to the living area, the one that branched off into three directions, she debated making a teeny one.
Asher had been staying at his mother's house and had no doubt returned there. She should leave him alone and go home. Her uncle—a former Protector, in the days before Marcus King had been leader—had been helping her train. She had hours of exercises waiting for her.
And yet, her curiosity burned to talk alone with Asher, to see how he'd changed over the years.
Before she could realize her idiotic mistake and talk herself out of it, Honoria's feet turned her down the left fork in the path, the one which led to the King house.