Page 32 of Prince of Blaze and Embers (Emberveil Empire #1)

T he soft glint of afternoon sunlight trickled through the dense canopy above, casting a dappled pattern of light and shadow on the forest floor.

The Faewood was quiet, save for the occasional rustle of leaves and the distant call of a bird I couldn't quite place. I needed this walk, needed this space.

After my conversation with Rosa, I couldn't sit within the confines of the house any longer, not with how heavy my heart weighed with thoughts of Cade, with the overwhelming confusion that clouded my mind. I had thought coming to the Faewood would offer me freedom, but all I had found was more chains—chains in my heart, chains in my mind, chains I couldn’t seem to break.

Rosa’s words replayed in my head. 'You have to show him that love and care is strength...' She had made it sound so easy, but nothing about Cade Phoenixfire was easy.

I kicked lightly at a fallen branch as I walked, half-contemplating the choices that seemed to spiral endlessly in front of me. Two paths lay at my feet, two impossible choices, neither of which led to the freedom or life I had dreamed of as a child.

If I stayed, I could fight for Cade. I could show him that together, we were stronger.

My feelings for him were undeniable, but with every interaction, it became clearer how tangled his life was, how heavy the weight of his obligations crushed him day after day.

Cade wasn’t free. He was a prisoner too, locked behind his stepmother’s iron expectations.

But stepping onto that path meant accepting that we could never truly be together.

His magic, his Cinderyn fire, was the opposite of the Aquafae magic in my blood.

No matter how much I yearned for him, there were some things not even love could overcome.

I thought of the heat that had nearly consumed me when we were together, how it threatened to destroy me—destroy us—if we tried again.

My other choice was...to run.

I paused at the edge of the creek I had come to so often.

The steady bubbling of the water soothed me, just as it always did.

I crouched, dipping my fingers into the cool stream, letting the water flow over my skin.

Run. The word echoed through my mind, as shaky and unstable as the current in the creek.

If I ran, I could disappear. Maybe not forever, but long enough to create a new identity.

Hiding the golden rune on my neck would be the first step.

I'd need to blend in somewhere far away from Emberveil, far from the queen’s spies, the dragon riders that crisscrossed the skies, and even further from Cade.

I could finally be free… or at least free from this nightmare that had me chained to destinies I never asked for.

But that thought hung heavier in my chest than I expected.

Free from Cade. The possibility of such a thing made my stomach twist in knots.

Yes, he was infuriating—cold, consumed by duty—but I couldn’t just shut off my feelings like flicking a switch.

What we had, however brief, had ignited something in me—something precious and fragile.

Could I really walk away from that? From him?

Or worse, from the possibility that he might care?

I looked upstream, considering where I might go.

Perhaps I could slip away under the cover of night and find a small village on the edges of Allovan, one nobody cared about.

A forge somewhere along the coast, perhaps.

Maybe I could hide among the fishermen and laborers.

I could paint or do anything, really. So long as I put as much distance as possible between me and that blasted crown resting on the Blaze Queen’s head.

But then there was Bella. Bella trusted me. We shared everything—we were sisters in all but blood. If I left... no, when I left... she would be stuck with Cade and whatever fate was coming for us like a raven circling the sky.

How could I leave her behind? She was the only solid, true thing I ever had.

Running meant leaving behind the only person I cared about, and I wasn't selfish enough to doom her to whatever happened.

Guilt stewed inside me—it burned away at my thoughts until the flirtation with the notion of freedom grew weaker, smaller.

Maybe I could take her with me?

Could we find that small, peaceful life together, both of us vanishing into the unknown?

But then again, the Blaze Queen’s reach was long and sharp as a blade.

She would never stop hunting me—not until she held my magic in her hands, no matter how well-hidden I thought I’d be.

I’d only be trading one cage for another: a lifetime of running, of hiding, of constantly looking over my shoulder while shoving my former life into the abyss.

I stood, shaking the water from my fingers, and turned back toward the trees.

I didn’t know where my feet were leading me.

All I knew was that this forest, as beautiful as it was, felt like it was swallowing me whole.

I was suffocating under the weight of choices that had no clear endpoint.

Stay or run? Fight or flee? Cade or solitude?

A noise caught my attention—a soft rustling not far ahead. I squinted into the distance and saw a figure atop a boulder just around the bend in the path.

Cornelius .

Of course. The wise old tortoise was sitting serenely on the moss-covered rock, as if waiting for me.

His huge shell caught a stray beam of sunlight, reflecting an almost magical shimmer across the clearing.

His usually slow movements seemed oddly purposeful today, his eyes watching me closely as I approached.

"Do you get tired of appearing out of nowhere?" I asked, climbing up the boulder and plopping down beside his shelled body.

Cornelius chuckled—a low, rumbly sound like waves crashing against the shore. "You make it sound as if I have other places to be, child."

I swung my legs over the edge of the boulder, letting them dangle in the open air as I stared into the trees. "I don’t know what to do, Cornelius."

For once, he seemed quiet, listening as the wind picked up around us, ruffling the leaves.

I wasn’t sure he had an answer, and somehow, the silence made my words flood out of me like an overflowing dam.

"I’m stuck. I’m... torn." I sighed, feeling the weight of everything I'd kept bottled up pressing down on my shoulders. "I could leave, you know. I could run. Start over somewhere far away. But Bella... I can’t leave her. And Cade? I..." My voice broke. "I don’t know where I stand with Cade. He’s—he’s confusing. He’s torn too, between what he wants and what he thinks he's supposed to do. He’s complicated. "

"And you're wondering if you should stay and fight for him," Cornelius said , his eyes twinkling with an old, knowing sincerity.

I nodded, feeling the knot in my throat tighten.

"It’s not just him I’m fighting for. It’s.

.. everything. My freedom, my power, a world where I don’t have to be afraid.

" My voice cracked under the weight of it all.

"And if I run, it might all go away and I’ll be free.

.. but | | what kind of freedom would that even be? "

“You and your friend, Bella,” Cornelius began, adjusting himself on the boulder as his shell shifted slightly, “are strong. You both have a will to survive that few people possess. That much is obvious. But… you also have goodness. A spark that’s worth fighting for.

If the world you envision can be created, you have to be here to work toward that. "

His words made me think about the girl I was back in Bramblebash, a girl who only ever thought of surviving each day, scraping by on what she could.

Her will to fight, to create something better hadn't flickered into life until she'd seen Krakos raining down fire, the possibility of death forcing something inside her to bloom.

I was still that girl, but there was more to her now.

There was a fire burning, a need to change the world.

“I want that world, Cornelius,” I said , tracing the outline of a leaf with my finger. “I want to be free, and I want to help others find freedom too. But...is it worth it? The path...the fight… it all seems so improbable."

“I cannot see the future, Cornelius said with a wisdom that seemed both ancient and comforting. “Nor can I see into the prince’s heart.” His beak tilted slightly, as if he were gazing at something beyond the forest. “I can see the turmoil that battles within him, however. He’s torn between two worlds. ”

“You’re talking about the Cinderyn and Aqualorian powers, aren’t you?” I whispered, feeling a familiar ache in my chest as I thought of Cade and what we could never have.

“It’s not just that,” Cornelius murmured.

“It’s who he must abandon to choose his path.

He’s lost so much already, and the queen demands those closest to those in power get thrown beneath the wheels of the carriage, so to speak.

The things she asks of him… they weigh heavily on him, and I can see it in his eyes. ”

“If only he’d talk to me.” I sighed. “Maybe if he’d actually tell me what’s going on, maybe I could help him…”

“He thinks he’s protecting you,” Cornelius said, his voice as gentle as the rustling leaves above. “He thinks by keeping you at a distance, he can find the way forward, keeping you safe, and at the same time not losing his own aspirations, and promises."

These answers didn’t make anything easier. Cade, the son of the Blaze King, the future guardian of the empire—he had the entire weight of the world on his shoulders. It should have made me feel small, insignificant, but instead, it sparked something inside me.

“What happens if I stay?” I asked, my eyes locked onto Cornelius. “What can I change? What can we change together?”

Cornelius sighed deeply, his shell glinting . “I won’t lie to you—the path isn’t an easy one. But together, with the prince fighting by your side, there is a chance. A chance to end this civil war. A chance to create a new world, a world where people don’t live in fear.”

“And if I leave… if I run…”

“You could save yourself.” His wise old eyes met mine. “But others will suffer. The war will rage on. The queen will continue her reign of terror, seeking ultimate power. And who's to say she won’t capture you eventually? No matter how well you hide, magic like yours leaves a trace.”

A shiver ran down my spine at the thought of the queen’s cruel hands stretching toward me, seeking to siphon my power for her twisted ambitions. Could I really hide forever? Did I want to—knowing what it could cost others?

I paused, my thoughts spiraling. "And Cade? If I run, what will he do?"

Cornelius was quiet for a moment, as if choosing his words carefully. “He believes he must ascend the throne someday, that he can help Allovan more with absolute power. With his duty to the crown, he will do what he thinks is best for his people, even if it makes him miserable."

"Miserable? You mean he'll give me up to his stepmother? That he'll turn me over if I escape?"

The pause in his eyes spoke more than his words.

"Yes, child, there’s a chance he will turn to his stepmother’s bidding.

The queen seeks immortality, and the power locked inside you might just be the key.

And if she achieves that, then saving you from her clutches will mean facing a whole different beast. It makes this fight so much harder. "

My breath caught in my chest. The idea of Cade turning me over... it hurt more than I could explain. But I had to hear it, I had to face what that might mean and how devastating it could be for all of us.

With that thought, and my fingernails tapping on the mossy rock, a new grit formed deep down.

The thought of him turning me over was perhaps the final straw.

Not only could I not allow the queen to continue in her brutality of our world, but I had to convince Cade to do the right thing, even if it meant tossing away our feelings, and never sharing a kiss with him again.

"What are you thinking about, child?" Cornelius' brow furrowed as he thought. "Something inside of you is screaming, but I can't hear the words."

I’m tired of being the victim. I’m tired of being used for other people’s gains.

I deserve more. I deserve to be happy, even if I have to fight to get it.

Bella deserves the world, and if I can… I’m going to fight to make it a better world for her.

She’s stuck by me, and I’ll tear down Calcaedus itself if that’s what it takes!

"I'm going to stay Cornelius. I'm going to stay til the end.

Not just for him, not just for me or Bella, but for everything.

I've got to do what I can to help all these people that share our world.

I'm done being put in chains. Someone, or something, gave me this magic for a reason.

And although I don't know what the reason is exactly, I've got to follow my heart.

And my heart is screaming for Cade. I choose. .. to fight!"