Page 110 of The Ember and the Emerald

“What was that creature? Why did you come back?” I sobbed, cradling her. “You swore—you swore⁠—”

Her lips curved faintly, already pale. “Didn’t return… for you. Kept word.”

Tears streamed down my face, blurring her features. But though the tears glowed, they didn’t absorb into her skin. Not as they’d done with Ahav. Why? Why, why, why? “Why won’t it absorb?”

“Can’t. Already died. Not twice.”

“Yes! Yes twice.” With my free hand, I rubbed the moisture in, trying to force the absorption. “This isn’t fair,” I cried. “Who? Who did you come back for, if not me?”

Her glassy gaze flicked to Jasher, still fighting, still standing. “Him.”

The tears fell faster, harder. Because…because she couldn’t survive this. No one could. Smoke was curling from the edges of the wound—a wound that was spreading, eating through her. The hole continued to widen.

“Saw his death. Not mine.” She laughed a little. “Just wanted one of us… to have a chance. Love.” Her voice faded. “Let it…let it be you.” She reached up weakly and fisted my shirt just above my heart. “Malkom key. Sin lock. Tell Mom. Sisters until…” Her arm fell. Her head lolled to the side. Her body went slack…and crumbled into ash, those silver flames eating through her entire body, leaving me with nothing.

“No. Elowen. Elowen!” I slammed my fist into the ground, crying. Sobbing. “Stay. Please. This isn’t the end. It can’t be the end. I’ll fix it.”

A ball of heat uncoiled in the center of my chest. The Ember, stirring. “Is this what you demand of me?” I screeched. “Everything?”

Around me, the world stopped. Sound folded into a dull, distant hush, the battlefield dissolving into smears of meaningless color and motion. There was here, now, me with the Ember but no Elowen. Terrible stillness occupied the space where her breath should’ve been.

We’d reached a crossroads, the Ember and I.

“I’d only just found her again, and now I’m supposed to say goodbye forever?” My chest caved inward, ribs compressing around a scream with nowhere to go.

Going cold all over, I folded over. Sobbing harder. “Her loss is too much. The price is too high. Give her to me, and I’ll do whatever you want. Anything!”

I heard the answer in my heart. Give me everything, and I’ll give it back.

Give her, get her back? “She’s been given.” I leveled fast, my spine shooting straight. Heat infiltrated the cold, and my tears dried. Light flickered in me, each spark unleashing a fresh tide of determination and strength. Truth. “Now give her back.”

My beloved sister hadn’t died so I could fold in on myself. She hadn’t bled out in my arms so Ian could walk away smiling.

More light. Staying longer. Growing brighter. Brighter still. But not igniting. Not yet.

Understand later. Fight now.

For Elowen? “Yes,” I breathed out. I rose to my feet. “Ignite.”

No response. Not anything I heard. But the world rushed back in—sound, motion, enemies. Royal soldiers were losing ground, falling one after the other, but I wasn’t cowed.

I would save Ahav, get Elowen back, and then we would finish it.

Strong hands gripped my shoulders. “Moriah,” Jasher said, his voice breaking. He pulled me against his chest, shielding me as fire blasted where I’d been kneeling only a split second before. “I found Ian. Come.”

Trust him?

No.

Jasher pulled me forward, the heavy weight fading from my feet with every step. He steered me away from the hill. Away from Ahav.

I wrenched free and darted toward my father. I would take him to Mom. But tell her about Sin and Malkom, as Elowen instructed? No. Mom was pregnant with me. She had no memory of this life. How could I destroy her peace?

But how could I deny my sister her dying wish?

My hands fisted. And what if Malkom was the monster who’d killed Elowen? I did not want my mother facing such a beast.

“It’s too late, Moriah.” Anguish coated Jasher’s words as he followed me, killing anyone who made a play in my direction. “Ahav entered the Ring of Truth with me. Told me he’s seen the end of the monstra, but the price is his life. A royal sacrifice made willingly. There’s no other way to save his family or people.” He beheaded a monstra. “He told me his death is the reason you can develop golden armor. It’s how the Ember sparks. And spreads.”