The scene shifted again, and Violet found herself standing in front of a younger Asher surrounded by a handful of children around his age. They were clearly pack kids, judging from how familiar they were around him.
"Why don't you ever play with us?" one of them asked.
"Only children play," Asher replied with that now-familiar scowl, as if the question itself was offensive.
"But you're a child too," the child pointed out.
Asher narrowed his eyes at him. "I'm an heir. One day, I'm going to rule over all of you, so I don't need to waste my time like the rest of you," he said unapologetically.
Violet watched the scene unfold with an aching heart. This was supposed to be the age of wonder, of scraped knees and make-believe, but here was Asher, already robbed of his childhood, being forced to grow up far too soon.
"That's mean of you," the second child said, frowning.
