Page 107 of The Ember and the Emerald

“He’ll be guarding it.” I tightened my hold on my blood-wet daggers. “It doesn’t matter. We’ll deal. Let’s go.”

Elowen took the lead, with our mother in the middle. We pinned her in, ensuring she remained in motion.

Her eyes remained closed, and she continued to pull her hair, mumbling under her breath now. “Dead, dead, they’re all dead.”

Though I ached for her, I couldn’t stop to offer comfort. We moved quickly through smoke and screams. Down twisting halls, through splintered doors. Killing any monstra we neared.

The catacombs were eerily empty. A trap, no doubt about it. That didn’t stop us.

In the chamber where I’d stayed, I sensed monstra, but I didn’t see them. They lurked nearby, perhaps even watching us.

Gripping my weapon tighter, I scanned the room, ready.

“I sense them, too,” Elowen muttered, sweeping a hand over the pool. Water spiraled to life, glowing crimson to welcome her with open arms. “He’s behind a secret passage, intending to reveal himself when I’m gone.”

“He can hear you,” Ian called, almost laughing.

Fury burned through me, but it was ice cold.

Elowen gathered mother close and walked her forward. “This can’t be good for you, sister.”

He wanted a private conversation? Excellent. I shared the desire. “Trust me,” I repeated, squaring my shoulders. Frost hardened my veins. “I will defeat him.”

She cast me one of those sad smiles over her shoulder. “I know you will.” Then my beloved family…sank away.

“I love you both,” I cried as they vanished.

A sharp click sounded, a hidden door opening in the stone wall, where Jasher had once been bound. I spun on my heel, facing Ian, daggers aimed. But the blades weren’t the real weapon. I let power collect in my chest, a churning tide.

Out stepped Ian, smiling as he flipped Jasher’s coin. “I didn’t think they would ever leave.”

Betrayal lanced a jagged line straight through my middle. Of course Jasher left the passage rigged for him.

Ten soldiers marched out behind him, forming a menacing backdrop.

“Forget about your mother for now. Sin wants her gone from this world for now,” he said, smug. “We have a better death planned for Queen Elowen upon her return. And she will return. She always does. Yes, I’ve begun to remember too.”

No, Elowen wouldn’t come back. She’d given me her word. And I didn’t care what else Ian wished to say.

As sweltering, icy heat unfurled, I arrowed at him. To drown him, I needed to be near him.

His soldiers surged, shielding him. I fought them. I fought them hard. Hot blood splattered me. I wasn’t even winded, strength pulsing from the heat. One by one, they fell, until only Ian himself remained.

Then I pivoted to face him—and dropped the blades. Clang.

His smile slipped. He backed away from me, holding out his hands. “Don’t you dare⁠—”

“Goodbye, Jasher,” I muttered as I slipped into Ian’s body. Flooding him.

Water, so much water. I filled his lungs, his veins, his heart. Every organ and every cell. Water poured from every orifice. Choking, he collapsed in a twitching heap. I glided out and re-formed, watching in satisfaction as he went still.

That…

…was too easy.

The catacombs were quiet. From beyond them, I could hear the faint echo of screams. The battle still waged.

I swooped down and checked for the emerald tattoo. His own face decorated his chest, laughing up at me.