Page 104 of The Ember that Tethers

Emmery’s eyes widened and she sat up, looking to Brennen for assurance.

Brennen stared at Destonne’s calm face, once again consumed by that intoxicating innocence. “He’s been through worse. I wouldn’t worry.”

She didn’t know what to say as she studied the crown. And maybe it all finally sank in, the way Destonne spoke of his father, the way he said the castle made him sick when he looked at it, how he’d shared his tale of being sent away with no return date, or how not a single family portrait hung on the castle walls, but she asked, “Did his father do that to him?”

Brennen lifted his chin to expose the metal stake embedded in his throat.“As he did this to me, too.”

How could someone do that, not just to Brennen, but to his own son? Then she remembered what Destonne had said about his brother. Hishalfbrother. It finally clicked. And every morsel of her being craved answers. So, she blurted, “He’s a bastard, isn’t he?”

Brennen’s eyes widened. The flickering fire illuminated in his irises like it lived within. “I shouldn’t speak for him.”

“But Arran and him shared blood. They were half-brothers so they had different mothers. Right?”

Brennen cocked his head to the side. “He told you of Arran?”

Emmery nodded. “Why?”

“Interesting.”He offered that infuriating and cryptic answer then stood, circled, and curled up closer to Destonne. Emmery heaved a sigh.

In the firelight, she could make out etchings in the spike, much like those on her ring and her mother’s pocket watch. “That’s enchanted, right? So you can’t shift?” She remembered Destonne telling her as much.

Brennen blinked thoughtfully at her. “Yes.”

“Why don’t you remove it?” Though the intrusive question might make him turn away, she was too damn tired to care.

“It’s not as if I haven’t tried. It’s embedded in my artery. Even if I could melt it out of my neck, it has been set into my body in a way so if it leaves, I won't survive it. I haven’t been ableto use my magic since I was a boy and ran. But, as you know, Thellonius caught me.”

Emmery studied the spike, as if she could dismantle it with her eyes. “If you were so young, how did you have your magic?”

Brennen flashed her a sad grin. “I was only four years of age when I completed my trial. The youngest in history. Only a few days after Thellonius invaded our home. I never got to learn the ways of my people. Didn’t get to explore my magic.”

Emmery’s stomach tightened. She felt that sentiment down to her core with her own magic forbidden for so much of her life. “Do you remember much of your childhood?”

“The memories grow further away the longer I stay in this form.”

Emmery gnawed on her lip as she recalled how Briar shared that each Hollow magic has its own unique price. And how the burden of beast often made the user lose themselves. Because she didn’t know how to broach the subject, or how to even ask, she said, “How?”

“It’s complicated.”Brennen huffed a long breath. His eyes closed for a moment, before he stared up at Destonne with so much love that Emmery had to tear herself away. “Sometimes I forget myself entirely. I turn into the beast. I’m sure Dez has told you.”

Unsure what to say, she shook her head.

“I forget my soul.”The heavy words sat suspended in the air.

With her memories missing, those words rang true for her too. A piece of her would always remain vacant without them. Emmery traced the indent where her ring should lay. She missed it like an absent limb. “How do you deal with it? How do you remember?”

“Dez can call me back somehow. He’s the only one.”Brennen closed his eyes, whether in shame or fatigue, Emmery couldn'ttell. But the tender way he spoke about Destonne made her heart throb.

“I thought you would hate him. After all this time. What his father did.”

“He’s the only family I have. He showed me kindness when no one else did. Kept me safe. Things were a mess, and he’s faced his own hardships.”Brennen glanced up at Destonne as if to assure himself he still slept. “I know you asked before and I stated I serve him by choice. I hope you know I meant it. He’s a part of me as much as I’m a part of him. I owe him my life.”

The blunt honesty rocked her. “I might be able to help you. I’m a healer. Maybe I could try to remove the spike.”

“It’s not worth the risk.”

“But what if it is?”

Brennen paused for a beat before he answered, “I couldn’t.”