Page 17

THE THREAD THAT BINDS YOU

SERYN

C lammy dread caressed my skin, my pulse tapping under my star-shaped scar. The Augur’s frail frame leaned forward as she waited. She’d be waiting forever before I unleashed my ember. My fingers curled into fists, heels digging into the spongy surface.

Sighing, she slowly lowered herself to the rock below her porch and then held her hand out in invitation.

Watching her, I moved across a few compacted peat mounds until she paused atop a smooth, level slab of charcoal-colored stone. My hips wobbled as I balanced upon the rounded perch.

Her gaze was direct, but a touch softer than before. “No need to be afraid.” A sheen of sparkling power flickered over her. “Here you will find yourself. Show me.”

My eyes closed, my blood pumping in time with the power vibrating under my skin. I opened my eyes and stared at my hands, letting myself feel the hum of my energy. Letting the echoes of its radiance simmer .

I loosened the reins on my ember. It sparked over me, clawing at the surrounding space agitatedly.

“You’ve been chaining your gift. Fearing it,” the Augur observed.

My jaw shifted to the side. “Well, when it tries to suck everyone dry, that’s what happens.”

Her eyes narrowed, looking at the sky. “You have yet to commune with it fully.” She held her palms out toward me, and warmth sizzled over my spine. “Let go. Breathe. Let it wander a little.”

I wiggled my shoulders, concentrating on breathing. My aura burned, flaring in spurts. It was hungry. Frustrated. It boiled around me, grasping at the Augur.

Mine.

My chin jutted forward as I thrust my hands out. Iridescent boughs zipped over my forearms and hands. I grit my molars against the throbbing scorch.

Gilded sparkles curled up my arms, a cool, winding caress. My ember flinched, unsure if it was being attacked or soothed. “Breathe, child. Relax. Crown to heel.”

My lungs expanded, jaw moving from side to side. I’d been clamping my teeth so hard they throbbed as I released my bite.

It’s okay.

You’re okay.

“Keep going.”

I pushed air out, contracting my belly, concentrating on each limb and joint. The burn lessened, and my aura swayed rather than snapped around me, the fractured rainbows dancing instead of mauling the air.

Tentatively, it prodded against the Augur’s energy like a cat pawing at a mouse.

Is it … is it playing? Or hunting?

“Let it be what it’ll be. One cannot fight their nature.

Fight themself. It would be like cutting off the very flesh that holds you together.

” My eyes, like glowing ice, reflected in the deep honey pools of hers.

A kind smile stretched over her lips. “One can only build fellowship with their ember. ”

My eyelids fell, threatening to spill the wetness lining my lower lashes. I wanted what she spoke of. I was so tired of the fear. Of the exhaustion coursing through every fiber of my body.

But I refused to hurt those I loved. Refused to burn the world down because I couldn’t control myself.

Enough .

My chin wobbled at the demand. I wasn’t sure if the thought was mine or my ember’s.

Both.

We’d both had enough.

All right. Let’s commune, I offered to myself, my palms rising to face one another in front of my chest. But don’t bloody kill anyone today, or I swear to the Ancients.

My energy buzzed, dazzling incandescence pulsing in colorful waves along the branch patterns until a spinning glow formed between my fingers.

The female backed up, her slippers swishing over the slab. Slowly, her glittering light unfurled from my arms.

Warmth tingled from my scar to the bottom of my spine. I breathed in, counting the pulsing crests of my ember and blood as they poppled within me.

“More,” the Augur directed, smoothing her hands down her wispy robes.

So, we listened.

“Listen, child.” She shuffled atop the flat rock, clasping her fingers in front of her.

I plopped onto the peaty mound with a huff, propped my elbows on crossed legs, and hung my head, sweat dripping down my temples.

“Ember isn’t simply about bloodlines and elemental gifts. It’s about energy. It’s about how your very essence connects with the world around you and the Ancients. While it’s rooted in the elements, it effloresces into the aether.”

“Eh, it’s story time, is it?” Breena jumped onto my hummock, making it wobble precariously. I swatted her ankle, and she laughed, situating herself next to me. The clash of metal sounded in the distance. Gavrel and Rhaegar were busy sparring.

The Augur ignored Breena, her bony fingers delicately weaving in front of her now, pale hair flicking around her. “Ember is present in every living creature. Every breath. Every vibrant human emotion. It’s the light … and the dark. It’s Kosmos.”

A spinning orb of golden sparkles fluttered between her hands before she clapped, and they dispersed in a twinkling billow.

“Its thread weaves through everything, which is why some who are embered can wield beyond the elements. Can manipulate the body, mind, emotion, or aura. Can draw on the gifts directly relating to the Ancients that bestowed them. Evergryn lineage connects with the earth, but also with the body, whether it belongs to mortal, plant, or beast.”

She waved her hand at Breena, and a breeze twirled around her, lifting her dark hair for a moment.

“Pyrian Druiks are often gifted with heat or flame. Others can ignite potent emotions in others.” The old female lifted a brow at Breena.

“This one’s ability to manipulate heat and morph it—like the sun’s invisible waves—into a shield is sufficient.

” Breena grinned; it was quite the compliment from the Augur.

Breena shifted, propping a knee up and wrapping her arms around it. “Let me guess. Pneumalian is wind and breath.” Breena winked at me. “Once met a Pneumali Druik who could suck the air right out of your lungs.”

The Augur nodded once. “Haadran: water and cleansing emotions. And so on.”

I sat taller, curiosity overtaking my feelings of defeat.

My forehead creased. “And this connection with Kosmos—with aether and pure energy—it’s why ember needs to be pruned and expended.

It has to go somewhere once it’s summoned.

Otherwise, it’s too much for us to bear.

It’s why it drains you when you’ve used too much …

We’re so intricately tied together,” I deduced, a note of awe lacing my words.

Nodding, the skin around the Augur’s eyes crinkled. “If it isn’t used to shape the physical world or bend the mind, body, or spirit, then it serves as pure energy. As a distinct weapon. How one wields it is up to the embered . Not the ember .”

I sighed, disappointment seeping back in. My scar tapped against my nape, taunting me as my shoulders slumped.

“Enough self-pity. Such indulgences are composed of wasted moments.” She stepped closer to the edge of the slab, eyes boring into mine.

“Perilous Bogs’ gifts connect directly to the aether.

It’s rare. Easy to lose oneself to its allure.

Others covet or seek to destroy it. The ability to manipulate the mind, astral body, or aura is remarkable.

It’s the most unpredictable ember and requires the utmost patience and control.

” A flush of pink stained her papery cheeks. It was the most riled I’d seen her.

I bit the inside of my cheek, and Breena rubbed my knee.

“In time, you’ll find the thread that binds you to your ember. For you are one and the same. As you said—intricately tied together.”

“Bound together like a rune tattooed on your soul,” Rhaegar crooned behind us before bouncing onto our hummock and jiggling his hand in front of Breena’s face.

“Piss off, you,” Breena groused, swatting his hand and knocking her head against his knees. He yelped, ungracefully circling his arms to steady himself, but fell into the mucky water, backside first, regardless. Beneath us, the peat bobbed precariously as if irritated by all the commotion.

“Bloody void, woman,” he complained. “These were my last dry pair of boots.”

Breena snickered. “Serves you right for sneaking up on a lady.”

“Lady, my arse.”

I giggled, swaying my head from side to side as I noticed Gavrel jump onto the mound beside us. “Spar with me?” he asked.

“Haven’t you had enough?” Gulping, I eyed his heaving chest and the damp waves clinging to his forehead .

The hint of a smirk toyed with one side of his mouth. “Never.”

Interrupting them, I bid Rhaegar and Breena farewell as they got into their boat to head back to Helos. Rhaegar’s soggy boots squished loudly as he settled himself, and their bickering trailed after them.

Chuckling, I turned to say goodbye to the Augur, but she was no longer on her perch. “For someone who’s so frail-looking, she moves quickly when it suits her.”

He made a sound of agreement, offering me his hand as we mounted the slab.

With a grin, I snapped my dagger from its sheath and twirled, holding the sharp edge against Gavrel’s neck before he could draw his blade.

I wiggled my eyebrows. “Lesson one: Always be ready,” I purred, echoing his words from Surrelia during our first lesson.