Decadence (Tree of Life Series Book 1)

by Nichole Austin

  When I turn around, Alizon motions me over. “Rosalyn’s fine. Carry her to her chambers while I deal with Scarlett.”

  A chuckle bursts through my lips because Scarlett has no clue what she’s just signed up for. She went too far this time.

  Picking up an unconscious Rosalyn, I carry her from the training room. I’m halfway down the corridor when I see a sliver of her blue eyes. My breath whooshes out in a sigh, but it doesn’t last long.

  Rosalyn pushes against my chest. “Put me down, Xavier, and get the hell away from me!” Dropping her, I back away, but the next thing she says makes me want to spank her. Narrowing her eyes, she hisses, “I’m never going to learn anything if you and Alizon continue to interfere.”

  Leaning down, I grab her hips and haul her over my shoulder to carry her into another training room. She slams her fists on my back the entire way, screaming at me to put her down.

  Pushing the wooden door open, I slam it shut and lock it. The minute we’re alone, I place her on her feet, and my hard eyes glare into hers. If she wants a fight, she’ll get one. “You call what just happened interfering? Of all the ludicrous things you could say, this one’s the worst. You were unconscious when I ‘interfered’. Did you expect me to let her kill you?” My hands fly up in frustration.

  She slowly puts her hands on her hips, harshly laughing. “She wouldn’t have killed me, Xavier. Lawrence would never allow that.”

  Prowling to her, I make sure I’m close enough that she understands everything I say. “Okay, Rosalyn, I’m not going to fight with you about this. From now on, I’ll supervise your training, since you have a death wish.”

  She scoffs at me, her eyes flutter, and she gives me the most innocent smile I’ve ever seen from her. “We’ll see what my mother has to say about that. I mean, I doubt she wants the man she’s involved with getting up close and personal with her daughter’s body.” She looks me up and down. “Besides, I have to get over you, and that wouldn’t be the way to do it.” Her fingernail trails down my face before she pushes me back. “I’m in agreement with her on that. Considering that you think so poorly of me and are ashamed you raised me.” She spins around and walks away.

  Catching up quickly to her, I grab her arm and swing her around. She lands on my chest as her soft curves push against me. I raise her chin so I can look into her eyes. “You don’t know me at all if you think those things. Give me the chance to explain. Everything revolves around you. You mean the world to me.”

  She wrenches her arm from my grasp and sarcastically smiles at me. “As your daughter, of course.”

  I clench my fist as my blood boils over. It’s time I teach her she means more to me than a daughter. I shove her hands above her head as I push her against the wall. Rosalyn’s eyes widen, and I stare deep into them before I slam my lips onto hers, forcing my tongue into her mouth. It doesn’t take long before I’ve taken full possession of it, exploring every area and leaving nothing untouched. When her tongue starts tangling with mine, it feels like pure heaven. After only a minute, I step away before things get out of control. When I look up, there’s a hunger in her eyes, which I know reflects what she sees in mine.

  Rosalyn’s woken a new feeling inside of me, but before I explore that, I leave her with a parting sentiment. “Would I kiss my daughter like that?” I storm out of the room. This situation got out of control quickly, and I need to calm down before I do something that’ll get both of us in trouble.

  The castle is big, and if you don’t know your way around you could easily get lost. There’s an entrance that leads outside near the training hallway, since that’s where most of the guard rooms are. The healing rooms are along the same corridor.

  I’m just like Rosalyn when it comes to finding peace in the cold air. I head out the castle entrance near the training rooms and by the lake where Rosalyn likes to sit. All I want is for us to have her mother’s complications out of our relationship. I never thought the little girl I’ve been raising would become the woman I wouldn’t be able to live without. When she isn’t around, I’m racing to get back to her. Rosalyn has a pure heart and would do anything for anyone in need. As I’m lost in thought, I hear, Xavier confuses me so much. Where is he when I need him?

  Bursting up off the log in shock, I grab my head. I’m 100 percent sure I just heard Rosalyn’s voice in my head, which confuses me because she’s never had the gift of telepathy.

  It takes me a couple of minutes to arrive at Rosalyn’s chamber door. Her chamber, like mine, is closer to the throne room, where the upper monarchy resides. I open the door, even though I should knock. Who knows if she’s undressed, but I’m impatient. What I see has me worried. She’s sitting on her bed holding the side of her ribs and half her face is bruised and swelling.

  Swearing, I question, “Why didn’t you tell me how injured you were?”

  “You have to be kidding, Xavier. When was I supposed to do that? One minute, you’re carrying me, the next minute you’re shoving your tongue down my throat.” Rolling her eyes, she mockingly says, “Tell me when a good time would have been to tell you I was more injured than you realized.” Her posture is stiff as she snorts loudly at me. She is seriously trying my patience. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I pace back and forth. Before I can say anything else, she opens her mouth. “What have you been doing all this time anyway? Did you need to run off and fuck my mom so you could forget about kissing me?”

  For her safety, I know I need to leave the room, because I’m about to throw her against the wall. Before I do, I growl, “I have never before heard you speak to me this way. Let me tell you one thing, I don’t allow your mother to speak to me like that, and I won’t allow you to either.” Glaring at her, I snap, “I’m going to get the healer and your mother before I do something I’ll regret.” The door slams as I storm out. When I enter the throne room, Andreya is busy with someone, but when she sees me, she motions for them to stop talking.

  “This better be important, Xavier.” A frown mars her face as she folds her hands in her lap.

  I step closer, staring straight into her emerald eyes. The last thing you want to do is show weakness when it comes to Andreya. “Rosalyn was injured during training.”

  Andreya flies off her throne and informs her adviser that she’ll talk to them later. When I see who it is, I almost chuckle to myself. Her advisor is Scarlett’s mother, and she has no clue what’s about to happen.

  Following Andreya from the throne room, a healer waits for us, and we make our way to Rosalyn’s chamber. When we walk in, Rosalyn’s lips are pinched, and she’s breathing harshly.

  Andreya gasps when she sees the state of her daughter. She turns quickly to glare at me with a calculated look. “Does she have injuries anywhere else?”

  I fold my arms across my chest and have trouble meeting her eyes. When I do, I give her a blank stare. “You would have to ask her. I haven’t looked, nor would I ask to.”

  Andreya briskly walks to Rosalyn and grabs her chin when Rosalyn looks down. I grind my teeth when she forces her to look up at her. I’m on the tips of my toes wanting to go over there and snatch her hand away. But then, she tries to be a caring mom, which is one of the most entertaining things I’ve seen. The woman doesn’t have a compassionate bone in her body.

  “This should’ve never happened to you,” she says as she runs her other hand over Rosalyn’s hair. “Who did this to you, and who was supervising the training session?” Oh, here we go. She’s being sympathetic to get information out of Rosalyn, and if I know Rosalyn, she’s not giving up those names unless she knows they aren’t going to be killed.

  Rosalyn’s eyes catch mine and, with determination, she says something that makes me leave the room. “Mother, swear to me on the Witch’s Oath that you won’t kill them. I’ll not live with their deaths on my conscience.”

  When I get out in the hall, I pace back and forth. That took a lot of courage to say. Swearing on the Witch’s Oath is making a pact. You forfeit your immor
tality if you break the oath. Andreya’s blood will be boiling when she’s done with Rosalyn. Not wanting to deal with her directly after that, I make myself scarce by moving around the corner until I know she’s no longer in Rosalyn’s chamber. As soon as the healer leaves, I go back inside to check on her. She’s curled up in a ball on her bed. The weight of the world comes down on my shoulders, and all I want to do is gather her up and hold her. My feet shuffle on the ground as I go to sit on the edge of her bed. Kissing her on the forehead, I cup her jaw. “Addy, how are you feeling?”

  A lone tear hits my hand. “The moment you came back, everything changed. I miss our friendship. I miss us. All I want is things to go back to the way they were.” She turns her back to me and gets under her blankets as she starts to sob. “Please, just let me go to sleep.”

  For once, I let her be. “I’m sorry,” I say with regret.

  Chapter Five

  Rosalyn

  I look at her with so much hatred and grit my teeth. “You don’t seem to understand, Princess. After what you just pulled, I don’t want you anywhere near me. I would rather have a moon death than be your husband.”

  She gasps, and I minutely shake my head. Thinking she can blackmail and scheme her way to what she wants will get her nowhere with me.

  “I’ll see to it that you do then,” Victoria seethes as she grips the bars. “I’m going to talk to my mother right now.”

  Laughter bubbles up from my throat. “I already talked to your mother, and I’m only getting whipped. I’m her top guard, so have fun trying to convince her.”

  She glowers at me before she storms away.

  The next time I hear footsteps, it’s two guards. The cell doors swing open, and they grasp my arms. There’s no point in struggling. I just want to take my punishment and heal.

  When I get to the square, I see all the guards are there to watch, including my brother. Wesley grins and cuts his hand across his throat. Once I’m led to the stake, they tie my hands around it, and I clench my fists.

  The queen stands in front of me and meets my eyes. “For your crime, Quinn, you will receive one hundred lashes delivered by Victoria. The next time you two want to touch each other, you better be married.”

  Saliva builds in my mouth, and I swallow it so I don’t spit at the feet of my queen. The sound of the whip unwinding and hitting the dirt floor makes my leg muscles tighten, and the sound around me becomes muted. It doesn’t take long before I hear it sail through the air and feel the first sting of pain across my back. I grunt, but don’t cry out. I will not give the queen or Victoria the satisfaction of knowing how much it hurts. It flies again but this time it hits my back and upper shoulder. The warmth of my blood trails over my skin. Victoria did that on purpose, and when I look at the queen, I see my brother behind her, quietly chuckling. Nothing can stop me from almost heaving, as the whip wraps around and hits my side.

  “Keep the lashes to the back, Victoria!” our queen yells out.

  “Yes, ma'am.” Victoria says gleefully as the whip hits me again.

  While I’m looking at the queen, her eyes roll back in her head and she collapses. The subjects gasp, and Victoria runs to her mother. She’s distressed, but what she doesn’t realize is her mother is having a vision.

  I wake up with a start. Tears roll down my face, the sobs tearing out of my lungs making it hard to breathe. A feeling of cold dread for the man in the vision comes over me. Who whips somebody because they touched another person? His pain and emotions were all I felt, the whip cutting into his back causing a fiery pain that won’t be forgotten. Pulling my nightgown down, I quickly check mine to make sure I don’t have any marks. My chamber door opens, and through my tears, I see Alizon running toward me.

  “Rosalyn, what’s wrong?” she questions, her arms wrapping me in a hug. Immediately, I push her away. I can’t have anyone touch me right now. My nerves feel fried, and I still haven’t gotten over the trauma of being inside that man’s head. She tries to touch me again, but I shake my head to stop her. “Please, Rosalyn, I don’t know how to help. You need to talk to me,” she pleads.

  Taking deep breaths between my sobs, I try to calm down. I’ve never had this many visions so closely together, and I don’t think I can survive another vision like the one I just experienced. The worst part is I don’t know if it was the past or future, but even if it’s the future, I have no way of warning him. My helplessness deepens, and the tears start back up in a torrential downpour. With a power of this magnitude, I should at least be able to warn the people involved, but I have no clue where this man is. I’m powerless. How are you supposed to save someone you can’t get to? If I don’t calm down and tell my sister something, she’s bound to get my mother, and that’s the last thing I want. The fact that my visions are growing more frequent would be welcomed news to her, and she’d be in here every day asking me if I had visions the night before. If I tell Alizon before she gets our mother, she’ll keep it between us.

  Trembling, I mutter, “I had a vision.”

  She scoots closer to me, putting her hand to her ear. “I didn’t hear you, what did you say?”

  Pulling up my nightgown a little bit, I wipe my eyes and nose. I put more strength into my voice. “I had a vision, Allie.”

  Allie gasps and leans in to hug me again, but I put up my hands because I still don’t want her touching me.

  She looks hurt. “Why won’t you let me hug you?”

  My mind goes back to the vision and I shudder. How do I tell her what I just went through?

  Looking down, I mess with my hands and squeeze them as I try to say something so she’ll understand. “I can’t handle anyone touching me because of what I experienced in the vision.” My voice shakes. “I couldn’t wake myself, I couldn’t even move. I was inside his head.” The tears start again, and I know there’s no way I can control them. “He was being whipped, Allie. I had to live through a man being whipped.” Curling in the fetal position, I sob.

  The sound of my chamber door opening lessens my sobs a tiny bit.

  “What are you doing here, Xavier?” Alizon questions menacingly.

  This is the one time that I want Alizon to go away and leave Xavier here. He’s the one person I need here right now, not her. The outline of his body is blurry through my tears, but he crosses his thick arms over his chest. “Your mother sent for you,” he responds to her as he walks toward me.

  As soon as the door closes signaling Alizon’s departure, Xavier sits on the bed and picks me up, cradling me against his chest. I remember he did this when I was nine after my first vision. This is exactly why I wanted Alizon to leave. The only person who would be able to calm me down is Xavier. He rocks me back and forth. “Tell me what I have to do to make this better, Addy. Seeing you like this breaks me.” It takes some time, but I slowly calm down. When the tears finally stop, I take my face off his chest and look up at him. He kisses my forehead and sets me on my bed before going to my bathroom to grab a cool cloth. While I’m cleaning up my face, he goes to my chamber door and locks it.

  My brow arches, but he comes to me and pecks me on my lips before climbing over me.

  “Addy, please tell me what happened. I rarely see you inconsolable like that, and the only time you were ever that bad was after your first vision.”

  Turning over, I look at him and tell him everything about the vision I had. Whenever I’m with Xavier, I feel stronger. He quiets my soul. When I finish telling him, he crushes me to him, leans his head down, and we kiss. But when his tongue enters my mouth, his thoughts race through my head. So beautiful, . . . I’ll do anything for her. . . . I’m going to make her my wife. . . . I wish I hadn’t had to kiss her mother. . . .

  Reeling back, I narrow my eyes at him. “What do you mean you wish you hadn’t had to kiss my mother?”

  He sits up and looks at me like I’m a specimen he has to investigate, but shakes his head with a smile on his face. “You can hear my thoughts?”

  My secret is out,
and the blood drains from my face. “Yes, Xavier, I heard your thoughts.” Pursing my lips, I demand, “Now, answer my question. What were you talking about with my mother?”

  He deflects my question by grabbing me by the chin and kissing me hard. While I catch my breath he asks, “If you can hear my thoughts, does that mean you can also project yours?”

  Frustrated, I run my hands through my hair. “I don’t know, Xavier, I haven’t tried,” Exhaling noisily, I glare at him. He’s starting to get on my nerves. It’s a simple question, and all he needs to do is answer it.

  “Let’s try and see if you can,” he says encouragingly. He puts his hand on my cheek, and my frustration boils over. One minute, he’s right in front of me, and the next, he’s slamming into the wall across the room. My hands cover my mouth as I gasp, and I scramble out of bed to see if he’s okay. He looks up at me and laughs. “It seems like all your powers want to kick in at the same time. So, you’re a telepath, but you also have telekinesis? You’re a talented Witch, Addy,” he exclaims as he gets off the floor. “Now that you’ve developed that power, can we see if you can project your thoughts?” He grabs my hand and leads me to the bed. When I sit down on it, I cross my legs, and he sits across from me. “Okay, try to say something to me.”

  Gently, I lean back on my hands. I know exactly what I’m going to ask him. Why did you kiss my mother, Xavier? Maybe he’ll answer me this way.

  There’s a knock at the door before he can answer. He immediately gets off the bed and moves to my door to unlock and open it. Alizon is standing outside the door, and she looks furious. She leans in and whispers something into Xavier’s ear, and his face immediately turns pale. Rising from the bed, I rush to them to find out what’s going on, but Xavier leaves the room. As the door closes, he telepathically says, We’ll talk later, Addy.

  My breathing is fast as I take harsh breaths. “What did you just say to him, Allie?” I accuse as I stare her down.