Page 108 of The Ember and the Emerald

My eyes slitted. This wasn’t the real Ian, but a decoy.

He’d kept me distracted, burning through the Ember. Away from the heart of the battle.

One way out.

Water. Portal. I reached through it—and transported from the chamber into a bedroom, high in a tower. I frowned. Why come here?

Noises spilled through the open balcony doors. I glided over to peer out. The palace courtyard. Fights, fights and more fights. Death, death and more death. Blood, so much blood.

Find Ian.

Kill Ian.

I cast my gaze beyond the battlefield, my eyes seeing through different bits of moisture. Ian would be in the shadows, watching his beloved children destroy Ahav’s kingdom. Laughing. Enjoying life.

My breath caught. The king. He rode a pegacorn, slicing through the sky and evading monstra, a gleaming titan in gold, coming in hot—but not alone. Beside him flew Jasher, still only half shifted, with his axes in hand. The collar he’d acquired in the Ring of Truth was gone, as if the verdict could not follow him out.

He cut down his precious brethren to protect the king, who appeared equally determined as they angled down, clearly intending to land. But then, he’d cut them down before. The elders. He would change his tune the second I turned my attention to the younger monstra.

Mind off Jasher and on the battle. The king.

I am the one who must die. Ahav’s words.

Did Jasher now escort him to Ian? I’d bet Ian wished to steal from Ahav whatever my tears had done to him.

“No,” I snarled. Except, the two headed for the battle. More monstra followed, wings slicing smoke and raining fire.

I would open a waterway to the battlefield after Ahav landed. So much blood, so many entrances. I would protect my father and find Ian.

Plan set. I fixed my gaze, watching as my father arrived on the scene, swooping into the chaos. He leaped from his mount and joined the battle on the ground.

I searched the surrounding bodies. There. The perfect spot.

Footsteps thundered behind me. I turned—gasped. A clone raced from the shadows. No time to brace. He shoved me, driving me over the balcony.

The world tilted, wind screaming in my ears. And I fell.

33

LET IT RAIN

Iplunged through the air for the second time in as many days. The daggers tumbled from my grip. The world blurred. Wind screamed in my ears as my heart slammed against my ribs. The ground rose to meet me, fast, hungry, and inevitable.

Panic scraped up my throat. Wings, I demanded of the water inside me. Need wings now!

Nothing. No otherworldly strength. Not even a hint of a glow. Only burning air and the taste of failure, as if the Ember had been snuffed out for good already.

Strong arms caught me mid-air, the fragrance of sandalwood and orchids filling my nose. Jasher. Alive.

“Stop falling from high places,” he said, a study of anguish.

Instinct. I slung my arms around him, holding on. He flared his wings, jerking us up before we crashed. On impact, our knees gave out. We rolled over the ground.

The second we stopped, I lunged for a fallen sword. My gaze captured his as he popped up. He didn’t avoid the visual tether.

“You were right.” He shouted the words over the roar of battle. With a toss of his axes, he removed the heads of two monstra preparing to blast me with fire. “Words require action. Today, I prove mine.”

Burned too many times, I added bricks to the wall around my heart. I had a plan. I wouldn’t waver. I’d promised.