Page 31

BITS OF ASH

BACK THEN

… THE NIGHT AFTER MY EMBER ALMOST DEVOURED KADEN.

T he day had been terrifying. My ember almost seriously hurt Kaden, devouring his ember like a famished beast.

Correction. I did hurt him.

My shoulders sagged as Gavrel and I approached Melina’s quarters. I thought I had learned how to regulate my abilities, but clearly, I was wrong. My ember still controlled me when it spun out of control. Thank the Ancients Gavrel had been there.

He knocked once, and Melina bid us to enter. He led us to the center of her impressive sitting room. It was drenched in gold-and-black silk. She perched on a silky black settee, her legs crossed and head tilting.

“Stay, Gavie,” Melina instructed, her eyes squinting and scanning me as if mentally peeling the skin from my bones.

The commander hesitated before stepping closer to my side. Her mouth pinched. My nose chilled, the air temperature dropping another notch, lungs prickling with the frostiness of it.

“Here,” she snarled, one pointed nail tapping on the cushion’s glossy material. She uncrossed her legs, her long gown falling open at the slit in its side, exposing one shapely leg.

Gavrel sat, keeping as much distance as the sofa would allow. Leaning her hip and side into the tufted seat, Melina crossed her legs toward him, draping her elbow over the top of the settee.

She stared into my eyes, testing me like Mr. Burlam had done when I first met him, but it was clear this wasn’t the same game. The air was heavy and menacing, pushing into my pores from all angles.

I shifted so my weight was balanced across the bottom of each foot. My gaze didn’t waver as I fortified the mask of indifference across my face, fingernails pressing into my palms.

“Ah, yes. There she is,” Melina purred. She placed one hand on her knee, her fingers toying with the shiny fabric, drawing circles, her tourmaline ring glittering on her thumb. Her other arm inched closer to Gavrel, the backs of her fingers grazing his shoulder.

Gavrel’s jaw locked, his gaze never straying from mine. His pulse hammered in his temple.

“Little pet, what are we to do with you? Your ember certainly doesn’t hail from Evergryn.”

“I … I don’t know, Mistress.” The less I said, the better. Easy enough when I didn’t have a clue.

“Ah, but of course. Your mother wouldn’t have divulged anything. So untoward to have lost her at such a tender age. How long ago now?”

My teeth were going to break if I clenched them any harder. “Fourteen turns. I was seven.”

She scrunched her nose, an insincere pout pulling at her bottom lip. “I can’t imagine … being that young again.” Her fingers stopped circling her knee as she glanced to the side in contemplation.

My nails dug into my skin, willing my ember to stay locked within me, its energy incessantly poking at my nape.

Her penetrating gaze bored into the depths of mine. I pulled in air deeply through my nose, counting in my mind and then exhaling.

Seconds ticked by.

Melina was studying me in an unnervingly familiar manner.

It was how I scrutinized others when sparring, waiting for weaknesses or signs of attack to reveal themselves.

“Well, perhaps it’s for the best. You’re the person you are now because of it. You must be someone of worth for our dear commander to be so protective of you.” She moved like a spider, her hand gliding over his shoulder and down his arm. Her claws clamped onto his thigh.

His thick muscles tensed, straining against his trousers. She leaned forward, one arched brow rising as she stretched her other hand out to me. “Come.”

Gavrel started, “Mistress?—”

“Melina!” she snapped, her eyes flashing silver. “If I must remind you again, our little pet will be disciplined.”

My molars ached. I stood in front of them, the pads of my palms bruising.

Gavrel’s lips pressed together so hard that they disappeared entirely. “Melina. I’ve known the girl since she was an infant. It’s only natural we’d be on friendly terms. She’s my brother’s friend and our neighbor. Otherwise, she’s of no consequence to me.”

His tone was steady. Convincing. It cut through delicate threads within my chest, my heart no longer attached, the organ sputtering and plopping into my belly.

She scoffed, smacking his thigh, “Enough. It’s too late for all that. I know what she is to you.”

Gavrel froze, his already stiff body went motionless, and his breath caught in his throat.

A sneer cut across her beautiful face as she continued, the metal in her eyes swirling and scrutinizing my body. “I won’t have it, Gavie. Won’t have you pining for each other like you were the summer before the last Dormancy.”

I shifted my position, confusion pushing my brow downward as I glanced at Gavrel. A quiet breath left him as his shoulders relaxed. His jaw ticking again.

“You’ve been misinformed.”

“Enough,” she hissed. “Not only do I have eyes everywhere, but I already sifted through her mind after her little mare wyrm encounter …” She counted on her fingers, continuing, “And her dungeon adventure … and last winter. She makes it so easy—constantly creeping around the grounds and palace alone. Just like her mother. Some things never change,” she tittered; waving her fingers toward me.

My mouth fell numbly, sagging into a defeated line. Her words weren’t making sense. Memories weren’t clicking into place.

Dungeon? Does this place have a dungeon?

What happened last winter?

Just like my mother?

I reached into the shadows of my mind, scratching at the darkness. Nothing but a blurred murk greeted me.

“Well, aside from her having ember this round.” One delicate shoulder lifted as she twirled her hand in the air. “It matters not. Those memories are long gone, Commander. Along with some other tidbits. I must say, it was quite convenient your brother is so appealing.”

Gavrel’s teeth were bared, a rumbling snarl carving into his mouth. His hand moved for the dagger strapped to his belt, but his fist clenched before reaching it. His burning emerald glare tore into her profile.

She rose—either oblivious or disinterested in Gavrel’s reaction—her nose mere inches from my body as she did so. My focus was entirely on her again, my muddled thoughts bouncing around their bony cage.

Her hot breath skittered over my skin, along with her rosy, smoky scent. She looked down at me, her refined chin a few inches above the crown of my skull.

Goosebumps swept over my arm, my right hand reaching for my hip—for a weapon that wasn’t there.

I rubbed my palm against my dress instead, the soft white material offering me comfort. The hard bump of my talisman nudged me through my pocket.

“Sit.” Melina circled me as I complied. A slinking cat toying with a mouse. “It’s a shame you haven’t a clue. The torment of yearning for someone can be so pleasurable in itself.” She sighed, behind me now, her fingers tracing my wild strands.

I swallowed, pushing down the dread rising within my throat, my mouth dry as the broken land in the Stygian Murk.

“My ember is quite effective, of course. Well, not with Gavie. It’s been quite frustrating not being able to see inside that naughty head of his.” She tugged a stray curl. “Nevertheless, at least you haven’t any recollection of how foolish you both were.”

Her hand left me, trailing along the back of the settee above my shoulder. “Our predicament is this: First, the commander is mine. He does as I command,” she purred, eyeing Gavrel as she moved to my side. “Has she even a clue of the things you’ve done? You’ve been quite the wicked boy—I doubt she’d want you if she knew, Gavie.”

His nostrils flared, scowling.

She poked a pointed tip into my upper arm and dragged it down my flesh. “Second, it’s a shame that you’re more useful alive. For now.”

My heart crashed inside me, matching the pace of my spiraling thoughts. I clamped my sweating hands onto my thighs, holding myself together—trying to alleviate the incessant scratching at the back of my mind.

She paused beside me, her claws digging into the cushioned sofa arm. “Maya Vawn. She also interested me. You see, it isn’t every day ember originating from the Perilous Bogs makes itself known. We are a rare breed, after all.”

I blinked rapidly at the swift change in topic, my head drawing back from the shock of her words as if she’d slapped me. My mouth was agape, my head shaking.

Melina was lashing me with information—none of it fitting into place. Her words were misshapen and disordered. My brain was unable to stack them neatly to make sense of anything.

Flashes of a distant memory prodded my awareness as my hands fell to my sides.

My mother had been whispering in the woods with Hestia. I was six turns old, hiding behind a grymwood, waiting to jump out. Giggles caught behind my hands as the words “bogs,” “scion,” and “fates” trembled through the night air.

The memory scampered into the shadows of my mind as Melina stepped in front of me, lifting her chin. “It’s the only explanation, pet. There are occasional exceptions, I’ll admit. Druiks can have mixed ember that’s distorted—its origin a mystery.” She tipped my face up with one sharp nail. “But alas, I can practically taste your ember. It calls to me, just like Maya’s. In the end, your mother denied it, and look where that got her. Too bad my ember couldn’t break through her mind. Would’ve been so much easier.”

Heat flared over my face. My aura surged over me, my fingernails digging into the slippery cushion. “What do you?—”

She whipped her hand up, closing her eyes, her smoky aura seething over her body. My mouth snapped closed. She opened her eyes, sparking metal piercing into the ice of my glare, now ignited with my bitter ember.

Her voice was barely above a whisper. “We are going to have a little fun, you and I.”

I didn’t like the sound of that. A barely perceptible growl vibrated through Gavrel. He shifted toward me, his shoulders widening as if bracing for an impact.

Melina snickered. “Ah, Commander. Settle yourself. We’ve discussed what will happen if you interfere. Her memory will be corrected in whatever way I see fit. Otherwise, she’ll meet a fate worse than a little historical revision .”

“What?!” I yelped, no longer able to contain the muddled agitation within me. My aura vibrated along my skin, yearning to spill free.

He squared his jaw, the pulse in his neck thumping against the tanned skin. “I’ve kept my word to you and will keep my distance from her. She means nothing to me.” Bile coated my throat as he whispered, “Please, Melina.”

A healthy flush spread over the milky skin of Melina’s chest and neck. She ran one hand over her hip, biting her bottom lip and letting it slip from her teeth. “Since you asked so nicely, darling, I’ll only erase the important bits. She can handle it once more.” Her smile was the most feral thing I’d ever witnessed as she looked at me, holding her palms in front of her. “Her memories are a risk I can’t abide.”

Gavrel jerked forward, but oily black and yellow ropes of ember slithered over him, pulling him onto the settee and tightly fastening him.

My head whipped back, seeing a slinking Akridai male who had slipped into the room unnoticed. Bright glee lit up Balor Drent’s blunt features, his tongue running over the thin slash of his lips. His long, dark hair as limp and greasy as his aura.

“Thank you, Balor,” Melina purred and then looked at me. “Well, pet. This might hurt a little. But the fun part is seeing if you can stop me.”

Wild rage shot through me as I spun back to Melina, my ember ravenous and frantic.

But it was too late. She was a billowing eddy of soot-colored mist. In the next second, a sphere of twirling smoke condensed between her palms and then sprung toward my face. It clung to me, seeping into my eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.

I slapped wildly at my head, my aura throbbing, failing to dispense the fog invading my skull.

It was of no use.

The image of Melina thrusting her chest forward as her head and arms flung back burned into my senses. And then a turbulent rush of unbidden memories flashed behind my shuttered eyelids.

It was like when I’d watch the Evergryn woods at night during a lightning storm—intense bursts momentarily painting the dark, neglected trees in a ghastly white.

“Hestia, I fled far from my home. He told me never to tell a soul. To be someone else. I never wanted any of this for her. Thank you for everything you’ve done ? —”

Her words drifted away in the recesses of swirling smoke.

“Damn the Fates. She doesn’t have to be the one ? —”

The flash evaporated.

“I won’t be the Scion ? —”

Darkness.

A disembodied voice trapped underground.

“There will be no ascension ? —”

Fleeing through glossy black tunnels.

Melina outside my door.

The memory crumbled away into the haze.

Gavrel’s eyes.

Several different days, times, and moments spinning together. A chaotic fusion of verdant shades ? —

A hesitant smile teasing his full lips.

His eyes.

His sturdy arms around me.

Moments vanished into the mist, smoke clogging every shadowed crevice as my ember worked to mend the damage.

“Seryn!” Gavrel roared, his tattoo blazing as he struggled against his embered restraints.

“I’ll only erase the important bits. She can handle it once more.”

Melina’s teeth glinted through the smog.

“Her memories are a risk I can’t abide.”

The embered smoke smoldered through my thoughts as if they were nothing but rotting grym needles being incinerated.

And then. Nothing.

Nothing but the lingering black ash of memories drifting away into the night.