Page 31 of The Spark that Ignites (Shattered Soul #1)

E mmery dreamed of pain and heat, a scorching fire crawling into her chest—burning, raging, and feasting on her soul. Of gaping wounds, stumbling into her mother’s cottage, guts spilling from her belly like memories.

Her heart carved in two.

She dreamed of knives and teeth and blood. So much blood, her trembling hands forever stained, and water always running red despite how vigorously she washed them.

She dreamed of golden fire and black ice—opposite forces mingling in a mist of ash and lust. Perhaps even love. Darkness and light, one unable to breathe without the other, yet they could not simultaneously exist.

A wolf watching with orange glowing eyes.

She dreamed of her pocket watch, that strange flicker of power winking back at her with each steady tick.

Dreams of her sister, her slim fingers slipping from Emmery’s grasp, Maela’s red hair dripping blood. She pleaded for her sister’s return, but Maela forever lingered out of reach.

Dreams of Vesper, whistling that song in her heart, the notes off-tune. A puzzle piece that didn’t quite fit. His voice begged her to stay awake, but the warm blanket of sleep smothered her.

Dreams of her daggers sinking into the spring monster’s flesh, the blackness saturating her skin, infecting, expanding that deep, dark void inside her soul.

Last, she dreamed of a phantom with panicked green eyes. His hands reached for her among the darkness. It was pointless but he pulled and pulled, straining until the shadows released her.

BITS OF SUNLIGHT BLED through the cracks of her fingers as Emmery extended her hand. “What’s your favourite season?” she asked, her voice as light as her chest.

“Winter,” Shade answered simply.

Sun rays warmed Emmery’s cheek as she lay on her side in a grassy field, honeysuckle lacing the fresh, spring breeze.

She gazed at Shade on his back, hand tucked behind his head, his wavering side profile preventing her from deciphering the lines of his face.

Hopefully he didn’t mind the barrage of questions to get some answers.

To maybe unearth who he was. Only fragments of their time pieced together since she was able to remember him for the first time.

But it wasn’t enough. She wanted to know everything.

“Really?” She scoffed. “Winter is so ... morbid.”

Beneath the mist, the corners of his mouth turned up.

“That’s why I like it. It’s cold and all the plants are long dead, hibernating until the sun returns.

Yet people still smile. They still get up every day and carry on with their lives as if the world isn’t dying around them.

I’ve always loved the snow too. And yours?

” He smirked as if he already knew the answer.

She hid her smile behind her hand. “Guess.”

“Spring,” he declared, grinning from ear to ear. “Of course it’s Spring.”

“Am I that predictable?” Emmery flopped onto her back “It’s the beginning of all things.

It’s so beautiful with all the colours and smells.

I’m a sucker for flowers. Any flowers really, but I used to dream about these brilliant night blooming plum- coloured roses and no matter how far I travelled I could never find them.

I couldn’t get them out of my head. I don’t even know how I dreamed them up if they don’t exist but, if I ever had a home, I would want the garden overflowing with them.

And the smell of the air after it rains on a warm day is—” She turned to catch his contemplative smile, his eyes tracing the lines of her face and her heart picked up, thrumming in her chest. “What?”

“You’re adorable when you talk about things you love.”

She let loose a long sigh. “Unfortunately, those things are sparing these days.” At least she wasn’t alone now. She had Aera—a true gift from the gods and a beacon in the black sea of her problems. And whatever Vesper was.

“Oh, come now. There’s plenty to take pleasure in. Like your nights with me.” A cleansing breeze swept in with his wicked grin. “What do you do for fun then?”

“Not that nights with you aren’t oh so memorable—” He sucked in a breath at her jab. “But I read. A lot.” Gods, she sounded unfathomably boring.

“Your favourite book? Perhaps I’ve read it.”

“I doubt it.” The answer came with ease.

“There’s a novel I misplaced long ago. I think it was the only copy, and it never had a title so I couldn’t tell you what it’s called.

It was a love story of sorts. It sort of .

.. helped me through the darkest time in my life.

” She fidgeted with the end of her braid. “And you?”

He turned his head, raising a brow. “Besides invading your dreams?”

She laughed. “Yes, besides your acute fascination with starring in my dreams.” She rolled onto her side to face him. “What do you do when you’re not here?”

“I’m not sure. I told you, I don’t remember much.

Sometimes thoughts pop into my head, but they’re usually only prompted by things you say.

” He narrowed his eyes. “And what would you do without me? Your dreams would be utterly dull . I’m merely here to entertain you.

No need to thank me but you’re eternally welcome. ”

She drew her bottom lip between her teeth and bit back a grin. “Well, entertain away, Shade.”

He studied her lips. “Why are you asleep right now, Emmery? Taking a catnap?”

“I could ask you the same thing.” Her brows drew together, a crease forming between them. “I don’t remember. Maybe I fell asleep.”

Shade propped up on his elbows, his eyes closed as the sun’s rays illuminated his hazy face. “To answer your question, I'm not sure I have fun anymore.” He drew slow, even breaths, his face scrunching as he delved deep into his memories. “I haven’t played for a long time, but I used to like music.”

“Music? Do you play an instrument?”

“A few. And I did at one time.” He shrugged like it was an insignificant feat.

“Wow, that’s—” Her throat tightened with inferiority. “Amazing.”

“What kind of music do you like? You could play some right now.”

She looked around the empty field. “What, like ... imagine it?”

“Sure. It’s your dream. You can imagine anything you like.”

“I can give it a try.” Her eyes fluttered shut and she sifted through the few songs she knew besides bawdy tavern tunes.

One she remembered from a rare, happy day before her mother fell ill, when they snuck into a theatre and watched an orchestra play.

But only one song clung to her heart from that night, and it wasn’t the tune that sang through her mind when all else grew quiet.

No, that melody was the one Vesper poorly hummed.

The one the sirens sang to her. The lullaby that reached into her chest and caressed her heart.

Emmery bared down on every note, attempting to replicate the tune but it fell flat, some notes incorrect and others mismatched.

But sure enough, the song, or a version of it, swam through the meadow, singing of bleeding hearts and lightning strikes of infinite love.

When she opened her eyes, a bright full moon replaced the sun.

The song seemed meant for nighttime anyway.

“Romantic,” Shade mused, his nose scrunching as he added, “And somehow familiar.” He hopped to his feet and offered a misty hand. Low and sweet, he asked, “Dance with me?”

Shade pulled her to her feet and folded her into his body, fitting together like she was made for him and him for her. Emmery’s hand settled on his shoulder, while he found the dip in her waist and cradled her other hand in his.

Despite her inability to feel him, her heart stuttered as she stared up into his untainted green eyes and worried her lip.

“I don’t know how to dance,” she admitted, her face burning.

“That’s alright,” he said. Instead, they swayed, the music swathing them in stories of heartache and longing and nights under the stars. “I needed an excuse to hold you, and I wasn’t about to pass up this fine opportunity.”

“You scoundrel.” Emmery leaned her forehead against his chest, drinking him in, fading into him like hands in powdered snow.

They were close, yet so far away—an unfathomable torture to long for his touch and be rewarded with distance.

Shade’s steady heartbeat, fast and intoxicating, sent her head swimming and feet unsteady.

She was drunk on something, a feeling or—was this love?

No, it couldn’t be. She would need to know that feeling, able to replicate its embrace, and her and love were still strangers.

Yet with Shade, she couldn’t fight the feeling that they belonged together. But she didn’t deserve it. She’d never deserved love.

He tugged her closer. “You picked such a melancholy song, Emmery.”

Craning her neck, she frowned up at him. “It’s not that sad. I always thought it was sort of ... happy underneath it all.”

He paused letting the music fill the air. “It’s in D-minor and has a slow tempo. Essentially a recipe for a sad song.”

“What do you mean?” She squinted as if it would spontaneously award her the ability to understand. “I don’t have a clue what D-minor is.”

He hummed a laugh and gods she loved that sound. “Close your eyes.”

Emmery’s eyelids fluttered shut.

“You hear that sombreness? The slow progression?”

She nodded though she wasn’t entirely sure. Wasn’t all music a bit sad?

“Why did you choose such a sad song?” he asked, releasing her waist, his fingers grazing her birthmark. “Why not uplifting? Happy?”

“I like happy music but—” She leaned into his touch. “I like music that makes me ... feel.”

“And only sad music does.” He stared past her at the smouldering moon turning an ominous shade of red. “Come to think of it, I know how to play very few happy songs.”

“I haven’t heard a lot of music to be honest. In the human realm, it was mostly for the rich other than awful tavern music.” She released his hand, her arms circling his waist, face sinking into his shoulder. “Would you ever play something for me? Maybe a song I don’t know.”

His fingers threaded her hair. “I could even teach you to play one. If you wanted.”

Emmery pulled back from Shade’s chest, his eyes ensnaring her in a way no one had before. Captivating her heart. Gods, this was dangerous.

“We could play together?” It was pathetically hopeful.

“One day,” he promised—one she desperately wished to be true. He stared at her lips again, his heart fiercely pounding in the stillness of her dream. “But first I’ll teach you to dance.”

Shade guided her steps, spinning her on occasion, the movement close enough to dancing to count. Emmery squeezed her eyes shut and Shade's carefree laugh overflowed her chest as she conjured what she was sure sparked his joy as fluffy snowflakes rained down, catching in her hair and lashes.

Infectious delight consumed Shade’s face. “You’re spoiling me, Emmery. Truly.”

Hope seized her heart. “Do you think ... will we really meet each other one day?”

“I hope so,” he said. “These dreams sustain me but when you look at me like ... well, like that —” The air constricted, tension and heat and magnetism pulling them together.

Forming a gravity. All she could do was lose herself in those green eyes as Shade leaned down.

“Being here with you—you’re my sanctuary. ”

Seeing Shade and being with him was like seeing the sun for the first time and she had long been buried underground. Her gaze dropped to his lips. If he did kiss her, would she feel it?

Emmery craned her neck, stretching on her toes. His nose skimmed hers, eyes fell shut and their breaths mingled, the smell of sweet mint flooding her senses. She sighed into him, Shade’s lips brushing hers—

A sharp pain cracked through her chest, leaving her gasping. A flaming knife to her chest. Acid in her blood. Her heart lodged full of lava, slogging and slowing—

Emmery doubled over. She clutched her middle as it crumpled her body, but no matter how violently she fought against the burn, it soared through her veins.

Something was ... wrong. So, so very wrong.

“What’s happening?” Shade’s voice was frantic, his eyes wide, hands hovering over her like she may break. “Emmery ... what’s going on?”

She fell to her knees and a whimper escaped her lips, wrenching from the ravaging agony. His panicked voice rang through the field as she faded away in his arms.