Page 106 of The Ember and the Emerald

I appeared in chaos. The palace burned around us. Flames licked the marble walls, shadows and soldiers clashing in a blur of steel and smoke. Monstra in human form tore through the corridors, armor gleaming like black oil. The air rang with grunts, shouts, and the metallic scream of blades. Hints of iron and ash filled my nose, and heat seared my throat.

The Ember flared inside me, and the galemark responded, slapping the green gown over my skin. Galemarks were the worst.

Elowen winked at me. “Try to keep up.”

“Stay alive,” I demanded as we snatched up fallen daggers and plunged into the melee.

A soldier swung at me, but I ducked and slashed low, catching his femoral artery. My gown fanned like wings, the emerald fabric tangling in the legs of those nearby, buying me precious seconds I used to cut down three more opponents. These monstra had come for Sandrine. To use my mother against me. One of them would murder my sister outside these walls, as I’d seen in my vision.

Fury gripped me, trying to rewrite my very being. All monstra must die.

Working in tandem with Elowen, as if we’d been a team our whole lives, we cut through one tide of opponents after another. We were a rhythm of blade and breath, survival and vengeance. We took turns, one guarding while the other launched an attack.

Our challengers thinned. When the hallway opened, royal soldiers flooded in. We raced forward, leaving the men to finish off the monstra. Thanks to my new memories, I knew which way to turn, which stairs to climb, my body a magnet drawn to the queen.

“I know this isn’t the time for a conversation,” I said as we ran, “but I think you should escort Mom to Kansas and stay with her.”

“I’ll take her and leave Emma to protect her. But I will return. You need every advantage you can get.”

“Elowen, listen to me⁠—”

A high-pitched scream echoed from the walls, spurring us on. Momma. We pumped our arms harder. I grabbed Elowen’s hand and suddenly, between one step and the next, we were there, materializing in the royal bedroom, taking everything in.

Ahav’s soldiers formed rings around her as they fought off a horde of monstra. But those circles were tightening as one man after the other fell.

I threw myself into the fray. Either my body remembered the battlefield educations I’d received in the past, or my oracle-senses kicked in at full wattage; I expected every opponent’s every move, striking and blocking with speed and certainty, even saving Elowen from losing a limb.

When the last monstra fell, silence rang so loud it hurt.

“There could be another round,” Elowen said, panting, as we faced the door.

The royal guards did as well, shaky but willing.

Seconds ticked, but the next flood of monstra didn’t come. Trembling, I turned my attention to the queen.

She pulled at handfuls of her hair and babbled, “It’s worse. So, so much worse. I see them. Even when I close my eyes. Why do I see them?” She spewed the words at everyone and no one.

The sight of her gutted me. “Take her to Kansas, to Daniel, and stay with her,” I beseeched Elowen. “If you return, you’ll die. I can do this without you.” I faced her straight-on. “Trust me to do this. You trained me. I’ve learned from my mistakes.”

The same words Jasher had offered to me, and I’d denied him. No guilt. Not now.

Elowen narrowed her eyes.

“Please,” I added. “I’m ready.”

Her mouth opened and closed, fear sparking in her eyes, stripping away her royal veneer. “I cannot leave you to face the big bad alone.”

“You must. If I spend my time worrying about you, how will I end Ian?”

Mom’s upset intensified, until she punched at the walls. “Let me out! Let me out!”

“Very well,” Elowen croaked.

“Swear it,” I demanded of my sister. Let us be clear. No water maiden loopholes left untied. “Swear you won’t come back to save me.”

A single tear dripped from her chin, and I caught it with my fingertip mid-air. Without thought, I pressed the moisture over my heart, a seal and a promise, and breathed out, “I will kill Ian, no matter what. This I swear to you.”

“And I swear I won’t return to save you,” she spit out. “Now let’s get Mother to the catacombs. Ian cut off every water source he could to the palace. That one, he cannot control.”