Page 16 of Prince of Blaze and Embers (Emberveil Empire #1)

A s the three-headed cobra barreled into me, my eyes closed and my arms covered my face, desperate to save myself from death.

But death didn’t show its sinister face then, and nothing came upon me.

My eyes slowly opened to see… nothing. Under the moonlight, there was nothing…

the snake was gone, disappearing like a nightmare.

My hands scanned my body for puncture holes, gashes, hell… even a scratch. Nothing.

The bushes rustled beside me, and my focus snapped that direction, ready to fight. But sauntering out from the bushes was Cornelius.

“That didn’t go how I’d hoped,” his voice fought hard to hide his disappointment, which he did a poor job of.

My lips smacked as I shook my hands, trying to get the lingering, paralyzing fear from my body.

“It… it wasn’t there.” I heaved a deep sigh. My shoulders slumped, and I tried to swallow, but couldn’t.

“Did you feel… anything?” Cornelius was halfway to me from the edge of the forest; his unintimidating presence calmed me.

Suddenly it occurred to me that the snake was just an illusion, an illusion caused by the disappearing tortoise. My gaze snapped back between him and where the monstrous snake had been. “You caused that. How did you…? What are you?”

“What am I? I’m your guide to staying alive. But we’ve got to figure out a way to get you and your magic together again.”

“I tried. I really did, but there was nothing when I searched.” My lips smacked as I spoke.

“You’re thirsty. Go, drink from the stream.” He spun slowly to face the stream behind us.

I dug my fingers into the soft, squishy moss and threw my legs over the tree, walking toward the slow-rolling stream that rippled with glowing moonlight.

My knees hit the dirt. I steepled my fingers and drove them into the cold stream.

Immediately I felt as if my spirit had been lifted to another realm.

The tenseness in my body faded, sinking through my feet and escaping into the hard, forest floor.

My hands cupped the water, and I brought it up to my mouth, sucking the refreshing water down in two gulps.

As it cascaded over every inch, I moaned deeply.

It slid down my dry throat as I gasped, half from the cold, half in pure ecstasy.

The muscles in my arms returned, and I felt like I could lift the fallen tree behind me without so much as a groan. My entire core and soul relaxed.

“Better?” Cornelius dipped his head into the stream, sucking in deep gulps.

My butt fell to the ground, and my back rested against the mossy tree. A smile crossed my face. “Much.”

He picked his head back up as water dripped from his dark green beak. “You didn’t feel anything?”

“I felt like I was about to die, thank you very much!” I folded my arms over my chest and gave a fake pouty face.

“We’ve got to discover what it is that can awaken your Rune Spirit and call upon the Gilded Radiance. If fear can’t do it, then we’ll have to try something else. ”

“I’ll do whatever you ask, Cornelius. I want to find it. I need to find it.”

“Perhaps more fear…” Cornelius bobbed his head in thought. “Yes. I should’ve conjured five heads, not three… I should’ve…”

While listening to his words and watching the ancient tortoise mutter to himself about ideas of what could awaken my magic… Something felt off.

There was something out in the forest, something focusing on me. I couldn’t see anything in the night forest, but the insects’ chirping faded. The winds howled as they whooshed through the swaying trees, and I felt that familiar stench of fear through my nostrils and into the back of my mind.

Cornelius didn’t notice anything, muttering about different methods to scare the magic into me.

I stood, glaring out into the forest, feeling the dark gaze upon me. I had no weapon, only the mysterious shelled creature beside me.

The strong wind gusted past, blowing my hair into my eyes and whipping at my neck. I brushed it back behind my ear, scanning the forest.

“I think we need to leave this place.” The words left my lips before Cornelius finished talking to himself.

“What’s that?” His head angled up toward me, but then, catching my drift, his head stooped, and he peered out into the dark woods before us. “Something out there?”

“Yes…”

“I don’t see anything.” His legs stretched and his shell raised, glaring hard into the woods.

A branch snapped. Somewhere before us in the silent Faewood, the snap broke the silence, and then another snap sounded. That one was harder, and I didn’t want to find out what was heavy enough to break such a thick-sounding branch.

“Um… Cornelius… that’s not you, is it? ”

“No,” he murmured. “I think you’re correct about leaving this place…”

I turned and threw myself over the fallen tree as swiftly as I could.

Another snap in the forest echoed, and then another.

Whatever it was, was moving fast. I sent all my strength to my legs, knowing Cornelius could disappear.

But I could not. My legs and feet moved as fast as they could.

The golden light of the house glowed in the distance, seeping between the trees.

It was over three hundred yards and through the dense forest.

As the snapping and breaking branches behind intensified, I heard the monstrous growl coming from my pursuer's chest and mouth. It panted, as did I, as my entire body filled with dread.

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. My hands drove through the forest, trying to repel the branches and sharp twigs. One snapped back into my face, slicing my cheek. The warm blood dripped down my breeze-cooled cheek, but I didn’t have time to worry about that.

My escape slowed to a crawl as whatever huge, destructive monster behind me shortened the distance between us. The trees around me were too dense, and my pant leg snagged on a sturdy branch.

“Shit!” My fingers fumbled to tear my pants free. “Shit, shit, shit…”

The roar of the monster awakened everything in the forest. It was so loud, so powerful, and so dreadful that the canopy above awakened with hundreds of birds and bats escaping from it, flying up into the sky, away from whatever destroyed everything in its path to reach me.

I tore my pant leg free with both hands, turning to see my pursuer.

Behind me were trees too dense to run through.

I’d have to squeeze, which would take time and care, and whatever was nearly upon me would just barrel through.

There was no time, and there was too much distance between me and the forest house .

“You’re gonna have to face it.” My hands balled into clenched fists at my sides. “If I ever needed you to return, Gilded Radiance, it’s definitely right now!”

I faced the danger. I barreled through the forest with the power of a hurricane. And when it emerged from the thick wood, standing on two legs in the moonlight, my mouth fell agape, my eyelids shot up, and beads of sweat poured down my brow, trickling off my eyebrows.

Looming monstrously before me, twenty yards out, was a monster that stood fifteen feet tall, with massive arms, enormous meaty hands, a solid round torso, and two stalky legs to heft its immense weight.

Its eyes were dark, like two pieces of charcoal on its scarred pale face.

Its mouth was too wide for its round head, its bulbous nose was blemished with flaking skin and warts, and its dark eyes were fixed completely on me.

“It’s an ogre! And a huge one at that!” I heard Cornelius’ voice behind me say.

I scrambled to search my core for the magic that had once come to me but had hidden like a snail sliding back into its shell.

Terror shot down every inch of my body. My mind raced, going through all my options, which were far too few.

Running didn’t work, there was no use in trying to hide now, and with no weapon—not that I’d have any sort of chance in the Infernal Depths with a sword against that thing—magic was the only option.

“Don’t run, lass.” I heard a voice come. It came from the ogre, yet it didn’t. The thick lips and huge, wet tongue of the ogre didn’t move. But behind it, I saw a hint of movement. The ogre suddenly ducked its head, and the source of the words showed itself.

Its stench stung my nostrils, like rotten eggs and musty attic dust. A rank odor of unwashed armpits and filthy dirt-soaked clothing filled the clean forest air. Its clothing shredded and tore at its massive, muscly joints. Heavy breaths rushed in and out of its huge nose.

On the ogre’s back, held up by some sort of custom saddle strapped to it, was a man.

His face was gaunt, his bald head reflecting the moonlight as the birds and bats flew in a frenzy above.

In one hand, the man in armor held a crossbow of fine design, with its butt perched in his armpit.

He wore a tussling cape bearing the colors of Emberveil—red and gold.

He’s a soldier of Emberveil? Riding that thing? But Cade’s the Prince of Emberveil. Why is this man here, in the middle of the night in the Faewood? I need to get out of here, now…

“Don’t run,” the man with the gaunt face and beady eyes said. “It’ll be a lot easier if you put your hands down and behind your back. I ain’t gonna hurt ya.”

“Don’t trust a word that man says,” Cornelius was still behind me, somewhere in the shadows. His voice was firm with me. “His name is Rone. A hunter for the queen. Wretched and ruthless he is, in every aspect of the words.”

“I wasn’t planning on it.” I squeezed my fists tight, feeling the sweat slide between my fingers and palm. My teeth gritted as I prayed for magic. If this was going to be my last moments in this world, at least I’d go down fighting!

Holding my fists out triggered an evil snarl on the man’s face as the ogre snorted through his huge nostrils.