Page 58 of The Ember and the Emerald

But first. “If it’s up for a vote,” I said, “I pick option three. Think the best.”

Flip. Catch. Jasher smiled, all teeth and cunning. “You shouldn’t. One day, our tables will turn. I will be free…and you will be my prisoner.”

I snorted, as if he’d told a joke, but inside, my calm shattered.

17

PREPARATION IS KEY

Ifell asleep reading. But not even slumber could erase the dread of Jasher’s warning—no, his promise. It followed me into my dreams.

Images flashed.

Me, cradled in his arms.

Us, flying through a smoke-filled sky.

Him, kissing me inside a cave.

A ripple brushed my consciousness before the water’s call rose like the tide, cresting wave after wave, yanking me back into the waking world.

My eyes snapped open. Warm water lapped at my ankles, and confusion struck. During the night, I’d left my bed, stripped to my undergarments, and entered the pool. Now, I shot my gaze to Jasher.

He maintained his pose against the wall, smoldering as he watched me. Goosebumps broke out over my limbs.

His gaze traced the marks. “What did you dream?”

“Don’t want to talk about it,” I mumbled and sank under the water’s surface. Mmm. Just what I’d needed.

Minutes—hours?—passed as I swam from one side to the other, sometimes grazing the bottom. My every motion possessed a grace I’d never exhibited back home. Getting used to my new (unseen) skin?

I opened my eyes, surprised my eyesight remained clear. The need to breathe was suspended, and it was as odd as it was wonderful. And infuriating. Now, I couldn’t deny it. Couldn’t rationalize the visions or the reception I received from others.

Possible or not, Elowen had changed me.

Eventually, I breached the water’s surface, furious but intrigued.

“What if the king forces you to enter the Ring of Truth, even if you tell him you misinterpreted your vision?” Jasher asked, as if picking up a lagging conversation.

“He won’t. You heard him. He wants to believe Ian is faithful, and he doesn’t want me harmed.” My feet sank, and I tread, finding my rhythm in the water. “Don’t worry. I’ll buy us time. Keep studying. Find the Ember.” Though nothing I’d read overnight had helped. “I might even decode nonsense. Kangaroos invade lava libraries. Mangoes adopt lost kittens; oceans moo. Ostriches rehearse. Donuts invent eclipses.”

His color drained. He opened his mouth. Closed it.

“What?” I demanded. “Do you know what that means?”

“Do you…remember the…poem in the forest?” He pushed the words through clenched teeth.

“Yes.” Foxes in need dream. Hills eat rain. Was there a connection?

“They—” He opened and closed his mouth yet again, but no sound emerged.

“Are you not allowed to tell me?” I asked softly.

He gave a clipped nod. Then he cocked his head, ear up, and frowned. “Someone approaches.”

The chamber door opened, and Captain Rourke strode inside as if he had every right, grim-faced. “Oracle, it’s time.”

I glowered at him. “Next time knock.”