Page 67 of The Spark that Ignites (Shattered Soul #1)
She wanted to cry or scream or both but all she could do was sit there and rock. It was impossible and yet, all the pieces fit, all the frayed scraps and threads pulling together after all this time.
“That lying piece of shit,” Emmery muttered hotly under her breath. “He knew all along and he ... kept this from me. Like this was some twisted game. I’m going to—”
“It was not,” Zyphira cut her off, shaking her head. “This wasn’t easy for the Prince, though his regret does not excuse his actions. He was under quite a lot of distress the last time I saw him. Though I’m sure he’s under a mountain more now.”
Quiet saturated the air as Emmery rubbed her aching chest, fixating on a torn thread of the rug. She blinked back tears. If they were engaged ... how did Vesper feel about her? How did she feel about him? They were friends, but had they been more?
Emmery recalled him saying how he thought he was in love once and her heart twisted. There was no way he loved her now.
“Why—” She choked on the word. “Why does he hate me?”
“The boy does not hate you.” Zyphira leaned forward. “You two share an incredibly complicated past.”
Too many questions bubbled up in her throat and she exhaled a heavy breath full of them. She would start with the most important. “Why did I lose my memories? What happened?”
“It was a trade.” She drummed her fingers on her thin leg. “A bargain for your safety. Unfortunately, pactums are a blind spot in my visions. I cannot see the implications of them, nor the details. My son has made sure of that. I only know what I have been told.”
She pressed her palms into her eyes in frustration. “I don’t understand.”
“It is not for me to tell,” Zyphira said, her voice full of regret. “I wish I could.”
Gnawing at her lip, Emmery sorted through the bits of information floating in her mind. “The book. The nameless book I found in Vesper’s room with the note. How did it get there?”
Zyphira’s eyes lit up. “It was given to you by the one who has been waiting for you. The one who rescues you from your nightmares. You must find him.”
“Where is he?” Emmery tapped her foot impatiently on the cold floor. “This man I have to find, where do I look?”
“I cannot tell you. I cannot see it.”
Emmery wanted to scream. “What good are you if you can’t tell me?”
“All I can tell you is he has been waiting for you for many years, but he will not be how you knew him. Time festers old wounds and life is cruel. But you two will find each other again. I see it in the stars. Follow the path to your tethered. Your implexus . You will know him by his eyes but more importantly, his heart. But remember you must find him. This is important above all else.” Zyphira stretched out a stubby arm. “Take this.”
In her tiny hand she held a stone, no larger than her palm, the colours of a summer sunset. Emmery stared into it, remembering the stone Vesper had given Guardian Kaah. A Stone of Refraction.
“But I must caution you to be careful,” Zyphira warned. “We must remember our past. History has a nasty habit of repeating itself and you must ensure this time is different.” She clasped her fingers together. “Once you have relit the khaos flame, cast the stone into it. You shall receive answers.”
“I have to be found worthy first,” Emmery argued, her cheeks burning at the admission. “The damn thing tried to burn my hand off the last time.”
“Try again, child. Though you may not see it, you have come a long way in the eyes of those most powerful. You have bloomed in exactly the way we had hoped. Your choice to bring the Prince back over your own family is one you would not have made months ago. Your heart's too big for this world. But this is why we need you.” Zyphira’s eyes softened.
“The power to heal, the wrath of the khaos flame, and the strength of the Shadowheart . The choice to save the lives of those you deem worthy, liberate us all, or lay everything to waste. What a beautiful burden to bear.”
Her head spun, a twirling sensation that twisted her into endless knots. “I don’t even know who I am. Who my mother is. Where I come from. My memories are missing ... how can I help anyone if I can’t help myself?”
“You were not born to the mother who raised you, though I’m sure you assumed as much. You were born of the Whispering Spring—a rewriting of history and stories misunderstood. A star fallen from the sky as Goddess Kahlia had. Your mother was tasked with your care by a woman who sought your safety.”
Deep down, she suspected Maela and her mother weren’t her blood, but it hadn’t mattered. Yet now it was confirmed that hollow darkness inside her expanded. She had truly always been alone, even from the start.
“You are a threat as much as you are a saviour. Both a weapon and salvation,” Zyphira continued. “You were cleansed by the khaos flame and claimed by both gods. Each with a unique plan for you. You were hidden for your own safety. And now that you are back, all is falling into place.”
“The pocket watch,” Emmery whispered. “My mother gave me a pocket watch before she passed. It was a key to a Hollow treasure trove. Deimos’s Mausoleum.”
Zyphira nodded. “All part of the plan.”
“Is that why she asked me to keep my magic hidden? Even before it was forbidden?”
Intensity coiled in her gaze. “Everything your mother did was to protect you. She gave you the watch because she knew you would need it. That you would do great things.”
“But I don’t know how to do this.” Emmery flexed her fingers, searching them for answers. The familiar sinking feeling returned to her stomach and inadequacy choked the breath from her lungs. “I’m not special. I don’t have the answers.”
“Ah, but that is what makes you special. You don’t look down upon others.
It is time the world is righted again. It is time you fix the mess we have made.
” Zyphira blinked those purple eyes, pride swimming in them.
“It is seen in your future, so it shall be.” Without another word, Zyphira waved her hand and wrapped her petite body in purple smoke.
When the air cleared, Emmery sat alone, clutching the stone containing her future in her palm.