Page 63 of The Spark that Ignites (Shattered Soul #1)

C linging to Juno for dear life, Emmery trudged through the eerily silent night back to Ellynne.

She would give anything for his off-key whistling to sever this impenetrable darkness.

Slathered in a crimson nightmare of hers and Vesper’s blood, her hands violently shook.

Battling tears, not from the pain but from the searing hollowness inside, her body grew distant, her destroyed thigh forgotten.

Because none of it mattered.

He was gone.

The first glimmer of sunlight illuminated the courtyard as she entered the castle gates and slid from Juno’s back.

Her feeble leg buckled, and a hoarse cry ripped free, but she managed to stand, hugging the worn leather strap of Vesper’s sword to her chest. She left the packs on the ground but tucked the dragon essence into her pocket, the weight of it a boulder on her chest.

The stone wolves judged her as she limped through the doors, like they knew she’d failed them. The last true heir to their kingdom was gone.

And it was her fault. All her damn fault.

Slamming the doors with more force than necessary, she caught a glimpse of herself in those blasted mirrors. Not a trace of gold remained.

And yet, it hadn’t been enough.

Emmery collapsed, eyes falling shut as her blood crusted cheek struck the cold marble. Was she even breathing anymore? She couldn’t ... feel anything. Her ears rang, the outside world a warm, wet blur.

Footsteps pummelled the stairs as Briar and Callias rushed to the foyer, Briar in a black silk nightgown and Callias in a pair of soft sleeping pants, his golden chest bare.

Time stuttered.

Crawled.

They both froze, faces stricken as they took her in and glanced behind her. Emmery locked eyes with Briar and her stomach bottomed out.

Briar rushed forward and hauled her up, tucking her under her arm for support. Emmery’s leg shrieking as she stood, and fresh blood sprang free. “Merciful Deimos ... what happened? Your leg . And where’s Vesper?”

Teetering, Emmery wished the ground would open and swallow her whole but there was no such luck.

Briar’s face blanched as her gaze slid from Vesper’s bloody cuff to the wolf skull hilt of his sword peeking over Emmery’s back.

Emmery cast her eyes away as that scarlet gaze swelled with a jumbled rush of emotion.

“Where is he?” Briar’s voice shook, the harsh reality of the situation sinking in. “Emmery ... where is he ?”

No words came and she studied the ground like a mute imbecile.

The world whirled like she was trapped inside a fucking hurricane and all she could do was squeeze her eyes shut and cling to life.

Would they believe her? How could she tell them he sacrificed himself to save her?

He died . He died for me . I left his corpse in that crypt. He’s never coming back.

It perished on her tongue and unable to look at the sword, she pulled it from her back and extended it to Callias.

He clasped the hilt, his gaze a wild flurry, yet his words calm. “What did you do?” She wasn’t sure if it was his tone or the condemnation in his eyes, but she couldn’t linger a moment longer.

Fresh blood warmed Emmery’s pants as she wrenched from Briar’s grip and hobbled toward the stairs, not sure how she would make it to her room.

She wouldn’t be surprised if she dropped dead with the chill seeping into her bones, muscles, and soul.

Callias grasped her shoulder. Like a reckoning force, Aera sprinted down the stairs, teeth bared and wings flapping. He dropped his hand and backed away.

“What did you do to him?” he snarled. “I knew this was a bad idea. I told him—”

“ Wait ,” Emmery croaked, finding her voice. Not what happened. What did she do. Meeting his stormy stare with rivalling venom, she spat, “You think I did this? You think I ... hurt him?”

Callias met her gaze with indelible assuredness. “Yes.”

Gawking at him in a mix of utter disbelief and sheer, raw hurt, Emmery turned toward the stairs, ready to crawl up them if she had to.

Briar emerged at her side, bracing her weight but Callias’s foreboding voice sang through the cold castle walls, his face a fiery red.

“I know this is your fault!” he spat. “And you will get what’s coming to you! Mark my words!” His cruelty pierced her chest, but it didn’t matter.

None of this mattered anymore.

Emmery sank into darkness before she made it to her room.

A DAY DRAGGED AND EMMERY didn’t leave her bed. Grief held her there. And also her damn thigh, though Briar used some balm to accelerate the healing. Not that she deserved it.

Emmery didn’t speak. Not even to answer Briar’s questions as she tended to her leg. She just clung to that stupid bottle and the haunting amulet. Staring. Wishing they hadn’t been the cost.

But she was out of time. The Fallen Equinox was tomorrow night, and she had to make a choice. Vesper’s last words repeated in her head. How he had gently touched her cheek.

Forgive me. After all they’d been through. All he’d given without asking.

Forgive me. His words wrenched her from sleep.

Forgive me . As if she had anything to forgive him for.

Vesper had saved her. Pushed her out of the bolt’s path. He was a prince, and his life was worth infinitely more and in return she denied him an afterlife by leaving him to rot in that chamber.

And this wasn’t the only way Vesper had saved her. He had from the moment she met him in that alley. Really, the moment he left that note. He freely offered his friendship and trust. That’s all she ever wanted. For someone to care for her.

And now ... she would never see him again.

Emmery clutched her stomach and sobbed a deep, inconsolable full-bodied ache.

The amulet pulsed in an unnatural rhythm against her broken heart reminding her she had four choices. All of which, would hinge on how selfish she would be and what she would sacrifice. But in all, she would lose something.

The option to run away beckoned her. Maybe return to Rhessa’s town and find a little cottage to call her own.

But if she were to do that, all their hard work would be lost. It was a choice she would have made months ago but now .

.. the threads of her soul had unravelled and been mended in a way that irreparably changed her.

And she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t run anymore. It wasn’t who she was any longer.

She could use the spell on Izora as Vesper’s dying wish, but her gut twisted at the thought. Because with this ... she would lose too much. And though it was selfless and the right thing to do—

Briar’s heavy booted footsteps thudded as she entered Emmery’s room and perched on the bed.

They both sat in silence as Emmery studied every stitch in the woven carpet, absentmindedly stroking Aera asleep in her lap instead of reaching for her watch.

The steady tick used to calm her but now, it set her teeth on edge.

She’d buried it in the garden, but in her dreams or when the world quieted, the urgent tick echoed in her mind.

And there was only Vesper’s bloodless face and the inconsolable absence of him.

“I’m sorry about ... Vesper,” Briar whispered. She took Emmery’s hand in two of hers. The nail polish on her pointer finger was chipped. “I know you ... did everything you could.”

“It wasn’t enough,” she murmured, feeling the words and emotions bubble up her throat and she couldn’t swallow it down.

“It wasn’t enough to save him. This damned magic .

.. wasn’t enough. I couldn’t—” Her voice snagged.

“I couldn’t save the person who mattered most.” Silence swelled. “I ... failed him, Bri.”

Briar squeezed Emmery’s hand. “He was one of my oldest friends, you know. My brother really. Always ... cracking jokes and making people smile. I know he ... suffered after Iz died ... after Ellynne.” She paused, opened her mouth and snapped it shut before the admission breathed from her, “And I abandoned him. I failed him too.”

“He was in service to Destonne. What choice did you have?” Emmery studied their entwined hands and Briar’s nervous twitching fingers, picking at her nail polish.

“You know he actually made me feel ... worthy . Like I could do ... anything. He never chastised me for my actions. He set me free. He grieved with me. He taught me how to ... heal. He helped me heal , Bri.”

The back of her throat burned. “We’ve only known each other for these few weeks but ... it felt like a lifetime. Like we were meant to find each other. Like ... he held a part of me already I didn’t know I was missing until I met him.”

It was the same with Briar, but with Vesper she had been drawn to him instantly. The way her eyes found him in the tavern and somehow deep down she knew . Though she’d fought it ... she knew this would be more.

More than a bargain.

More than two people working together and parting ways.

“He had a way of doing that. Weaving his way into people’s hearts.

He would never admit it though. He always thought people despised him because he wasn’t like Iz.

And don’t get me wrong, I love them both but .

.. there’s something about that man that made me instantly like him.

I was only a girl when we met, and we were fast friends.

And I know we were children but ... that feeling is still there after all this time apart. ”

Emmery chewed her lip. “He was my best friend, Bri. And ... I never told him.” She released a heavy breath filled with words she couldn’t say.

“I don’t know what to do. Vesper asked me to bring Izora back, but .

..” Emmery’s throat worked. “I don’t know if I can do it.

I don’t think ... I can be that selfless.

” She didn’t mention Maela, though now her plans spurred such guilt it sickened her.

She was different now and so were her priorities.

“I understand,” Briar said. “I trust you to do what you think is best.”

Emmery wasn’t sure what that was anymore. Gods, how was Briar so steady? She shared a lifetime of memories with Vesper and hadn’t shed a tear, yet Emmery was a blubbering mess.

“You’re not going to intervene?” Emmery asked hesitantly.

“What I want doesn’t matter,” Briar put simply. “This was your pactum. Your choice. It’s your fate, not mine.”

As Briar shuffled to the door, Emmery choked out, “Where’s Callias?”

Briar stilled, her knuckles white on the door handle.

“He left.” She cleared her throat and lifted her eyes to Emmery’s.

“I hope you know ... he didn’t mean what he said.

He’s ... not like that. I don’t know what that was.

He was struck by grief, I guess. But still .

.. it was unfair of him.” Briar gave her a small, sad smile.

“If you need me, you know where to find me.”

The door clicked shut and crippling weight descended on Emmery’s shoulders. And she knew as time ticked down, she couldn’t wait any longer.

Emmery retrieved the box holding her sister’s letter from under the bed. Holding her breath, she unclasped the latch and summoned all her strength before she opened the last scrap of her sister. A final goodbye.

And there it was—in small, cramped letters:

Because of you, I’m fearless. I love you more than all the stars in the sky.

Emmery cried herself to sleep, a tangle of conflicting knots in her chest. She cried for her sister, her mother, her past life, and lost future after Vesper’s passing. But it was time to move forward. To make that bright shiny gate and land full of promise a reality.

But, if she held everything she desired in her hands, why was she so damn empty?