Page 32 of A Spell of Bones and Madness (Nostos #2)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Ember

E verything burned. The air around her, each breath she inhaled into her lungs, her eyes that were crusted over with some strange thick film.

Terror. Pure terror. She couldn’t open her eyes and all that flashed in her mind was the horror of what had occurred.

Ember had never experienced the dread of having an Olympi seek you out, have their clammy hand graze your skin, nicking a fine drop of blood from your cheek with his talon-like nails.

Deepened eyes had loomed over her features like a creature of the night admiring its prey.

And worst of all, it had been him —the one being that looked exactly like her father, or was her father possessed.

Illusions. Illusions. Illusions. Why would they not stop?

Water rushed in the distance and crackling fire spattered even closer.

Smokey warmth wafted over her skin, tickling her nose.

Still, Ember refused to wipe the liquid from her eyes and open them.

What form of torture would meet her if she did?

Where had the Olympi taken her after that beast ripped Ajax limb from limb? Acid burned in her stomach.

He could not be gone.

He could not be dead.

Her hand gripped the floor beneath her, not the floor—silk.

Her hands went to the film that coated her eyes, its gooey tack cool to the touch.

She used the back of her arm to wipe what she could, and with each ferocious swipe of her hand, it became easier to peel her lashes apart.

The substance was like a translucent paste where she could see a semblance of light, but it was cloudy as if staring through sea glass worn from years at the bottom of the deep.

Finally, Ember was able to open her eyes enough that she could take in some of her surroundings, but it was not the darkness and despair she had thought.

Turning her hand over, she inhaled deeply, absorbing the scent of what had coated her eyes mere moments before.

A springy medicinal smell wafted in the air. Eucalyptus? What trickery was this?

Ember adjusted to the warmer lights. Lanterns lined the walls, a large golden chandelier hung from the ceiling above her—bed? The room looked identical to hers in Alentus, except the white and turquoise linens were replaced by black silk and crimson velvet.

Had he looked into her mind? Seen her home, her safe haven in the castle?

Crept through what she did in those chambers—the thoughts she kept locked tightly away?

Ember began to run her fingers over her skin, searching for markings, bruises, crusted blood, but there was none.

And yet she remembered it so vividly—the torn apart flesh lying before her, the way she’d clung to his corpse while screaming until everything turned black.

Until she ended up here. Was it a ruse? Another illusion Hades created to make her feel safe before ripping her away to a torturous setting once more?

Light steps came from outside the door across the room.

Was it locked? Was she trapped inside? Did Hades plan to keep her here?

She had nothing to tell him. Even Ember did not know why King Nikolaos sent them to Aidesian, except that her father knew more.

Had she been a fool to trust the king? Was Nikolaos in league with the Olympi as well?

The lock on the door clicked open, the hinges giving a low hiss as it swung into the room.

“You’re awake,” the low voice rasped. He was back, dressed now in a sleek, black silk jacket and leather pants—reminiscent of the clothes her father always wore when visiting Alentus.

Had he seen that as well when he looked into her mind?

Ember scurried back in the bed, patting about for her sword or bow, but they were not in reach.

The gods-damned wretch had taken them from her.

“Stay back!” Ember screeched, her voice still hoarse from before. “I don’t know why you want me. I don’t know anything!”

Her body trembled despite using every ounce of energy she had left to calm it. This was where she died—in a familiar place, yet so far from home.

He stepped toward the bed, reaching out his tanned hand for hers. Ember yanked it away with such force she almost fell off the side of the bed. “Don’t touch me! ”

“I understand why you are frightened, Ember, but I will not harm you.” The man’s brows creased above his nose, deep sable eyes looking back at her. “You’re safe now. Tartaros is far behind you.”

Despite the familiarity and warmth in his features, she could not trust him. Sliding off the bed, Ember picked up a silver candlestick from the small worn out table. “No! These are just your tricks again. You might have fooled me last time, but I’ll—I’ll bash your head right in with this.”

The man chuckled, the sound like a sweet caress from a midnight breeze in summer—a stark difference from the cackle he released in the dungeons. “Look at you.” A large smile crossed his face. “What would Kora say now?”

“What do you know of my mother?” Ember hissed. Again, his fascination with her mother was unnerving.

“I know that Kora and I are Fated. I know that your sister is generally the one to threaten people with a candlestick, but alas, here you are, sweetheart,” he replied.

“Father?” she whispered under her breath. Could it really be him? Had the Olympi truly left her in those hallowed halls?

“My wraiths alerted me to unusual activity in the lowest dungeons of Tartaros earlier today. It was to my surprise when I arrived that it was not a daimon acting out of turn, but my own daughter passed out on the floor. You would not wake when I found you, coaxed into some dreamless sleep, so I brought you back here where my healers worked to help you recover.” Aidon walked toward her once again, and this time she let him.

“And what of the others? Of Ajax? Dimitris? Thalia? Mykonos?” Ember asked, still uncertain of whether this was reality or fiction. Her gut was telling her she was safe, but something—the tiniest inkling of doubt—roiled deep in her stomach.

“What’s going on here?” The all too familiar voice hit her, coming from the doorway. Ember dropped the candlestick with a loud clang against the marble tiling.

“Ajax!” she gasped. It was true then. Hades was merely an illusion. A fear that felt so real, yet was just the trickery the realm of Aidesian played on you. Because those warm chocolate eyes—they looked like his, not the muted brown she had seen in the dungeons.

“You didn’t think you could get rid of me that easily did you, Drakos?” Ajax grinned so wide, Ember could barely control herself.

Ember ran to the doorway, but instead of catching her in an embrace, his warm calloused hands met her cheeks and he leaned down, pressing his lips firmly to hers.

It felt as if the floor beneath her gave out to nothing at all.

Like they were floating in an endless cloudy abyss of honey and cinnamon.

The gentleness at first, curiosity, exploration.

Then his tongue swept over her lips, begging to be let inside.

Intoxicating, every graze of his thumb over her cheek, the way his hands slowly slid toward her hair, tugging so her head tilted toward him more.

She pulled back, chest still heaving, gasping for some semblance of air. “I thought—I thought you were dead.”

“So did I. So did I.”

“No, you don’t understand, Ajax, I saw you die. I felt your blood seep over my fingers, heard as your lungs inhaled their last breath. That beast—that beast left you shredded, and then there was nothing. Just blackness until I woke up here. ”

Wide eyes stared back at her, stiff jaw, tilted down lips. “There was no beast, Ember. You were stuck behind some sort of veil, all we could see or hear was you screaming, collapsed on the ground.”

“Hades, he came to me.” Ember’s teeth rolled over her bottom lip and her shoulders slumped.

“If that is true, then we have much to discuss,” Aidon’s voice was sharper now, the same tone he used to use when Katrin and Ember would try to steal cookies from the bakers before dinner.

Rose seeped across Ember’s cheeks. Gods—she had kissed the commander in front of her father. He seemed to pretend that he didn’t notice, and there were much more important things they needed to discuss. Such as why Hades—illusion or not—was able to contact her and where the others were.

“The others then? Dimitris? Thalia? The cat? They are unharmed?” she asked.

“Thalia and her psychí are healing. We encountered a particularly feral daimon searching for you.” Ajax rustled his hand through his hair. “We thought we might lose them, but the mystikistís are working on them both now.”

Aidon placed a hand on Ember’s shoulder, squeezing it tight.

“Healing is different down here. They will come to a quick recovery, but it is not without cost. Seer’s are unique beings, their ability stemming from the whispers of the dead who came before them.

Her ability will be heightened now, more than just the visions, but the physical nature of what she sees.

Whether that be for happiness or death.”

“But she—she’s already been through so much. Is there not another way?” Katrin had told Ember about the seer, what had happened to her before she boarded The Nostos , what torturous things she’d already endured.

“I am sorry, there is no other way. Take your time to bathe and change, it has been a long journey from what the commander has told me. You must be famished as well. Afterwards, come meet us in the great hall and we can discuss why you decided to venture here without notice.”

“How will I know where that is? The great hall?” Ember asked.

“If you haven’t noticed, this castle and the one in Alentus are the same. You’ll find you know exactly how to get everywhere you need to.”