Asher's POV

I wasn’t naive enough to believe that my father would just let me go because I won a fight. He had a tendency to make his decisions based on whatever suited him at the moment, but I knew he never fully relinquished control over anyone. Not me. Not anyone. Not when he knew that I knew where Willow was.

After being dismissed from the palace, I didn’t return home immediately. I needed to figure out what was going on. It felt too easy. Father was never one to act with mercy or ...