Chapter 33

One evening, Damian knocked on Ashta’s bedroom door.

“Come in,” she said, and she smiled at him as he walked through the door. 

“Hi,” she said cheerfully. 

Damian gave her a quick smile, and then he didn’t say anything. Before Ashta could ask why, her uncle Gale walked into the room with a serious look on his face, and she swallowed nervously. Her uncle looked at her and he sighed a heavy sigh. 

“Ashta, you have been challenged by Prince Roman to a duel tomorrow night,” he said in an uneasy tone, and Ashta looked at him oddly as she busted out laughing. 

“What?” she asked, and Gale looked at her strangely. 

“Yes, he sent over the challenge this morning,” her uncle stated. 

“That half twit wants to get into a battle with me? I mean, yeah, I accept, but doesn’t that mongrel realize that he is missing the fourth element?” Ashta exclaimed as she produced a fireball in her hand. 

Annoyed, her uncle looked at her, and he gave her a disapproving look. Ashta extinguished the small flame in her hand, and then she looked at him. 

“Well, that half twit thinks he can beat you. He wants to be the best,” stated Gale, and Ashta shook her head in disbelief. 

“Nonetheless, I think it may be wise to prepare yourself,” Gale said firmly, nodded and then he walked out of the room. 

At that moment, Damian turned to her and gave her an apologetic look. 

“I’m sorry,” he said sadly, and Ashta looked at him as a smirk formed on her lips. 

“Better save those apologies for the prince after I whoop his ass,” she said with a huge grin, and Damian looked at her for a moment. He couldn’t help but laugh. 

“Can I have your autograph when you are done?” he teased her, and she giggled. 

“Sure thing! Right after I autograph’s Roman’s forehead!” she said matter-of-factly, and Damian laughed again. 

Evidently, after all this time had passed, she liked having him around. Even though Ashta didn’t feel the same way as Damian did; he still kept coming around. Ashta smirked at him, and then he left the room. 

Heavily, she sighed as she decided to practice the elemental dance. She walked out of her room, and she headed for the backyard. Outside, the air was cool, and the sun had just begun to set. The sky was beautiful as it turned from blue, to purple, to black. Ashta sighed as she looked around the backyard. 

“This just won’t do,” she said out loud, and then she headed for the front door. 

“Where are you going?” Ashta heard Lashanna ask, and she turned around. 

“I am going to the garden. I need to clear my head before I battle the half twit,” said Ashta, and Lashanna nodded. 

“Okay, but if you are not back in a couple of hours, we are going to come looking for you,” said Lashanna with a serious tone. 

“No worries, my dear friend,” said Ashta, and then she left the castle. 

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

“Roman!” called Ray, as he tapped on his cousin’s bedroom door. Roman sighed heavily as he looked out of the window. 

Evidently, his mother had explained to him about everything that happened the night of the kiss, but to him that still didn’t change the way he felt. She let that man, a guard nonetheless, kiss her after he had shown her how he felt, and he was not okay with that. Also, he could still feel Ashta and he didn’t like it. He decided it was best to keep things the way they were now. 

Secretly, Roman had snuck over to Nemiph, and every time that he went over there, he saw Damian and Ashta together. However, he noticed that they didn’t act like mates, but it still angered him to see them together as they talked and laughed like nothing had ever happened. 

After all, Damian was the reason why Roman left in the first place. He decided that he was going to have Ashta all to himself, or not at all. 

“Yeah?” Roman called, and Ray opened the door. 

“Your princess has answered your challenge,” he said, and Roman looked at him surprised. 

All ready? he thought in amazement. 

Ashta never answered his challenges quickly. She always stalled and waited till the last minute. She must have declined if the answer was this quick. 

“And believe it or not, she said yes,” Ray said, as he grinned at his cousin, and Roman blinked a few times in disbelief. 

Seemingly, Roman had talked to his father about giving Ray a better job, and his father said name it and it would be done. Skeptically, he asked if Ray could be appointed as his right-hand man, and to Roman’s surprise, his father agreed and made it happen quickly.  

Evidently, Roman was getting accustomed to the fact that he had everything and anything at his disposal, and he was surprised that even the queen kept her word. Nonetheless, he was finally living the life of a prince which he felt he deserved after the torture Maya and his father put him through.

“Well, I guess I had better go train up,” sneered Roman, and Ray nodded with a smile. 

The plan was to take that girl out, once and for all. He was just as powerful as she was in his mind. Seemingly, Roman had forgotten about the fourth element, and no one asked him about it to remind him that he wasn’t fully trained yet. 

Eagerly, Ray and Roman smiled at each other as they walked out of the room, and they headed for the training center. 

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

The villagers of Nemiph smiled and waved as Ashta walked by. Politely, she smiled and waved back at them. The Slayers had learned to accept Ashta, and they now adored her. Finally, she had made it to the garden, and the moment she stepped into the small area was the moment she immediately felt at peace. Contently, Ashta took in a breath and blew it out as she stepped out of her sandals.

The rock felt cool under her feet as she stepped up onto the large flat boulder. At that moment, Ashta took her stance and she began to dance fluently. As she gently spun around, she could feel the wind start to pick up, and softly circled around her. She smiled as she felt a splash on her cheek as a thin tunnel swirled around her in the wind and the boulder began to shake. 

Continuously, Ashta moved her body with the dancing elements as she felt the flames heat up around her. Easily, she lifted her arms into the air as she continued to dance and she closed her eyes. Suddenly, Ashta was suspended in the air, and her dance came to a sudden stop. 

At that moment, she rose above the garden and the villagers stopped what they were doing, and stared at her as the symbols on her back began to glow. 

“What is happening to her?” called out a man.

“We must inform the king at once!” stated a woman, and the villages around her nodded in agreement. 

Seemingly, Chantelle was leaving her home to go and stay with her son for a couple of days, when she saw the bright glowing light above the garden. Immediately, she looked up and gasped at Ashta suspended high in the night sky. Evidently, she wondered if Roman was going through the same thing, and she hurried off to Taitum to check on him. 

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

“Ashta,” whispered a voice. 

Slowly, Ashta opened her eyes, and she blinked a few times. Noticeably, she was in a wide-open area that was surrounded by red sand. 

“Hello?” she called, as she cautiously looked around. 

“Where is the prince?” asked an echoey male’s voice with concern, and Ashta looked around confused. 

“That prince?” she asked in wonderment. 

“Yes. The other purebred. Where is he?” 

Angrily, Ashta looked at the ground as she thought of Roman. 

“He and I have gone our separate ways,” she mumbled under her breath. 

“But the bond was made. What happened?” 

Heavily, Ashta sighed. Did she really have to dig up the dirty details about her relationship that went sour? she wondered. She thought these beings were gods. Didn’t they see everything?

“Well, what happened?” asked the voice impatiently, and Ashta scowled. 

“Jealousy,” she stated sadly. 

“Hmm, the only way to damage the bond is when you break the heart of the person you are bonded with. Is this what jealousy did?” asked the voice, and Ashta nodded. 

“Yes,” she said sadly.

“You must mend the bond before the other gods find out,” the voice shouted at her, and Ashta gasped, as she looked around at the red sand. 

It was weird to talk to someone you couldn’t see.

“The bond cannot be mended with a self-centered, arrogant, pig-headed asshole!” Ashta yelled angrily. 

“You must. It is the only way to stop the division between the two kingdoms.” 

Ashta angrily crossed her arms over her chest. 

“Is that what you said to that jerk, too?” she exclaimed, heatedly. 

“Princess, this is the first time we have seen you in a very long time. We have yet to have seen the prince. Fix the bond!” The voice shouted and Ashta fell to the ground. 

“But wait!” She yelled as she scrambled back to her feet. Suddenly, the sandy world disappeared and everything went dark. 

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

“Roman, your mother is here!” stated a guard, as he walked into the training room. Roman looked at the guard and then he set his weights down. 

“Yeah, send her in,” he said, as he wiped the sweat from his forehead with a towel. 

The guard nodded and after a moment, Chantelle walked into the training room as she smiled at her son. 

“Roman,” she said happily, and he smiled at her.

“Mom. Hi,” he said cheerfully as he hugged her. 

“Listen. I am staying for a few days, but I have to ask you. Is there anything strange that has happened to you?” she asked urgently. 

At that moment, Roman quickly glanced at Ray and then he looked back at his mother. 

“No, why?” he lied. 

Heavily, Chantelle sighed, and Roman searched her eyes. 

“Mom, what is it?” he asked, concerned. 

“When I left the house this evening, the princess was high above the Garden of Eternity, and she looked like she was being held by an unseeable force. Roman, she was glowing,” Chantelle explained with wide concerned eyes, and he looked at his mother for a moment as he racked his brain. 

“She must have summoned the gods with the elemental dance,” he stated, and his mother nodded. 

“Maybe that is what I have to do. Maybe she was asking for more power,” he added, and Chantelle looked at him oddly for a moment. 

“Why would she be asking for more power?” she asked, confused, as she looked at her son. 

At that moment, Roman hung his head. He knew that she didn’t like the fight show, or the idea of him even being in a battle. 

“Because,” laughed Ray, and Chantelle and Roman looked over at him. 

“The princess agreed to our boy’s challenge,” Ray stated proudly with a wide grin. 

Suddenly, Chantelle’s head snapped toward Roman as she looked at him with concern. 

“You challenged her to a battle?” she asked in disbelief. 

“Yeah, mom. I am only the best when I beat the most powerful,” Roman said, as he chuckled nervously.

By the way Chantelle was looking at her son, he knew that she was about to give him grief. 

“I am sorry son. You are wrong for going against her.” she stated, and then she quickly left the room. 

“Mothers!” Roman exclaimed, as he shook his head and threw his hands up in the air. Ray nodded in agreement as he chuckled.