Alpha Asher By Jane Doe

Chapter 240

“My Queen.”

Tristan, my first in command. The man I considered both a friend and a worthy enemy. A Vampire I had once hated with every fiber of my being, only to now trust him with every beat of my heart.

He was dead.

Cold. Unmoving. Not a spark of light in his eyes.

He pushed me out of the way. He took the blow that was meant for me. He gave his life for me and its broke Freya’s spell.

Tristan loved me.

Holly’s head was bowed, her hair a dark veil that covered her face as she wept. Her hands were stained red with Tristan’s blood, but she didn’t seem to notice. She continued clutching at his shirt, whimpering, and whispering under her breath.

Without warning the blood ruby unleashed a blast of light that left me seeing spots. Holly ripped the blade from Tristan’s unmoving chest, dropping it as though it were poisonous.

Freya’s face had lost its triumphant luster, taking on a more sinister expression. It looked like her skin had been pulled too tightly

over her bones, stretching across her face in a way that emphasized every dip and curve. Her cheeks were just a touch too hollow, her eyes bulged from their sockets ever so slightly. Her teeth pressed at her lips, pushing them outward.

Her eyes flickered from the dagger to where I sat in the grass, the start of some sickening plan or idea taking form in her head.

Before she could react-before any of us could react, Holly stumbled to her feet.

I should’ve noticed something off when she went silent, no longer crying or whispering under her breath.

Long strands of inky hair hung over her face, partially shielding it from view. From where I sat, I managed to catch a single glimpse of her eyes. My stomach plummeted as I took in the haunted light that filled her entire being.

Holly, the sister that betrayed me, the one I craved since I was a little girl, unleashed a wail that made my hair stand on end.

For a split second, I thought she was going to attack me. After all, it was my life Tristan died for. Never could I have anticipated

Holly charging at her own mother, grabbing onto her dress with blood-stained hands as she screamed and snarled like a wild animal.

“You killed him, you killed him, you killed him! Holly wailed, her voice cracking several times over.

Freya’s lips pulled back from her face in a distasteful sneer. “Get off of me, girl. Have some class. We do not cry over men.”

She shoved Holly away, who stumbled backwards but didn’t fall. Her shoulders were hunched as she took in breath after breath.

Bloody handprints littered Freya’s skin from where Holly had made a grab for her.

Digging my fingers into the dirt, I pushed myself off the ground and onto my feet. I inched closer to Breyona, hesitating when I caught the unearthly glow of magic in Holly’s eyes.

Suddenly, the bloody handprints on Freya’s body began to smoke.

Freya noticed the same time as I did. Her bulging eyes went wide, so wide that I could see the network of veins running across them like spider webs. Unlike normal veins, these ones were black-tainted with darkness.

“You... You dare use blood magic on me?”

She scoffed at Holly. “l am your mother.”

Holly didn’t so much as blink at her mother.

Her lips barely moved, forming words that came out as a cold whisper.

“You're nothing but an empty vessel.”

myself, I wouldn't have known what to make of the sound. It was the crash of a vase against a hard floor. The crack of a bone

it wasn’t a vase or a bone that created

It was Freya.

brittle edges of a chasm, her flesh began to crumble. More and more cracks

and cleavage. A third

widening cracks flooding her body, a look of bewilderment on her

this magic!? No! No, it’s not possible. You're nothing! You're not powerful enough to kill me!” She half- shouted at Holly, who stood there impassively, a look of detachment

as you, mother. You killed him, and it's his lifeblood that's

As I stared down at Tristan’s body, noting how even in death his eyes were trained on my younger sister, I realized she was right.

here with us, dealing one final blow

opened her mouth and let loose a furious scream. Her jaw opened wider than it should have, more cracks crawling up her face from

into my head. I barely noticed the difference as I slammed my hands over my ears.

screeched, making a go at Holly with her arms raised and

down, cracks spread up her legs until her flesh crumbled in a sea of cream-colored shards, raining down into the grass. Freya screamed a second time, but this sound was one of agony. Everything from her kneecap down was gone, even the gown she wore had crumbled. Her arms went next, showering the earth and

caved in, her jaw becoming just as brittle as the rest of her. Her eyes sunk

seconds, there

Blood Witch

Holly had killed her.

was ripped from her face. There

blood staining the grass was the only thing that

through, the only thing that passed between us was panic. That

face the source of Breyona’s

like Tristan, blonde

scanned his surroundings, but it wasn't him. The way he moved was off. Many times he'd look down at his hands, spreading his fingers before clenching them

caught the attention of Tristan and had him turning in our Direction. I recognized the eyes I

They were my father’s.

shades darker than Tristan’s stared out at us. With the slickness of oil, they

The voice that emerged didn't belong to either Tristan or our father. It was

lifted as her body

mouth. Several times she mouthed the words, but it wasn't until the last time

right thing.”

done, our father let out a furious roar that sent the shadows scattering

night to

faltering. The light in his eyes flickered, deep blue fading in and out like an old radio that couldn’t quite settle on

had bound their life forces

a hand raised in

would do no good, not when he was already

in my direction. A rueful

I couldn’t help but marvel at the

the world, and you’re too much of a coward to use

a step but stumbling as he did so. The light in his eyes flickered once again, his voice growing

in the

“Such a disappointment.”

sputtering out completely. Tristan, his body once more an empty vessel, fell to the

followed, kneeling at his side. Still pale faced and trembling, a broken sob tore itself from her chest as she gingerly turned his body over and laid him flat against the

Breyona

as I spun around, only to find myself steadied by a familiar face.

but most of it had dried. It ran down his sculpted cheek, past his rigid jawline and down his neck. A wound like that

sight of him warmed me from the

certain blonde came to

struggling to

there was a look of peace on his face that I hadn’t seen in months. He held my face in his hands, running his

He replied, not an ounce