And yet, they did. Because in the screaming void of my mind, a suspicion seeped up, oily and pervasive. It clung to me until I gave it the attention it demanded. A thought. A terrible thought. Or rather, a question and an answer.
What would the Corrupter do with dead bodies?
He would use them.
If the Corrupter wanted to desecrate my family's remains to hurt me, he would have dug them up alone and left the bodies out for me to discover. But he thought I was dead, so there would be no point in such a display. And he hadn't merely dug up my dead. He had taken all the bodies in this graveyard. That was a great effort, and I knew the Corrupter didn't make such an effort without a goal in mind. He was a busy man after all.
This could mean only one thing. The Corrupter had a purpose for all the dead of Fress, not just my parents. And that purpose would be nefarious. Nefarious, cunning, and repugnant. It would be a horror. Something to haunt the living. I knew it in my marrow. The Corrupter might believe I was dead, but he still hated me. That kind of hatred—the kind born of broken plans and wounded pride—wouldn't die with me. It would continue to hurt the people I loved. Those he knew were still alive. He wanted to disturb my eternal rest by tormenting Xaedren and Ratharin. The Corrupter was after revenge.
Even after that conclusion came to me, I didn't rise. I couldn't make my limbs work. I just lay in the dirt, my cheek resting on my father's resting place as if I were waiting for death to take me so I could replace him in the ground. No, I wasn't that far gone. I wouldn't die because my parents' bodies had been taken. But it was a blow that I needed time to process. I'd get up in a minute. Maybe two. Maybe a little longer. But I would get up. I had to. Because now, I was after revenge as well.
“Ember!” a distant voice called.
I didn't move.
“Ember!” someone else roared, the sound stilling every creature in the forest, even the predators.
Inside me, I felt my soul twitch. Even if I hadn't recognized the voices, I would have known who was searching for me. It wasn't fair to make them worry. I knew that. And yet, I couldn't move. Couldn't speak. More time. I needed more time. Just let me lay here until I was strong enough to get up and fight. And Iwouldfight. I'd fight with every ounce of strength I had. I just needed a little more time to recover that strength. But even in my weakness, my wounded heart shook at the sound of my lovers' voices, and that trembling roused me enough to open my eyes.
“I've got his scent!” Xae shouted. “Ember! He's over here! Ember!”
I stared straight ahead at the open grave of my mother. The soft pink of the peonies had gone gray in the moonlight. As drained as I was. Out of the corner of my eye, a light appeared. The sound of heavy boots and rustling branches came to me.
“Ember!” Rath shouted.
Thuds vibrated through the soil and into me. The men I loved were here. They were coming for me. I would be all right.Get up, Ember. Get up!The screaming died down in my head, fading into a dull ache, and the words penetrated at last. The words of my will.Get up, you fool!
I struggled into a sitting position just as they reached me, but I couldn't focus on them. Just stared straight ahead.
“Ember!” Strong hands gripped me as men dropped to their knees before me.
Xae stroked my face, brushing the dirt away. I just stared at him.
“Fuck,” someone behind them said. “Great Goddess, what theactualfuck?!”
“Ember?” Rath shook me. “Ember, you need to say something. You're scaring me.”
I blinked. Looked at him. Focused on him. My Ratharin. He was here. My heart stuttered, and I managed to take a breath. On the exhale, I said, “Something.”
Someone snorted. Nex. It was Nex. He crouched behind Rath. “Hey, buddy. You gave us a fright.”
“They're gone,” I whispered, my voice rough, unrecognizable to my own ears. “All of them.”
“We know, love,” Xae, kneeling on my left, said. “I'm so sorry.”
I looked at him. “He took them, Xae.” Then I started to shiver. My gaze went down to my trembling body. I lifted my hands and stared at them as if they belonged to someone else. “I planted peonies. They're going to die now.”
“We'll replant them, sweetheart,” Rath said. “They won't die.”
I looked at Rath. “What is he going to do with them?” Then I dropped my hands and looked up at Nex. “What is he going to do with all those bodies?!”
“All right, come here.” Rath pulled me into his arms and rocked me. “We will find out. And we will return your dead to their graves, Ember.” He stroked my hair. “It will be all right.”
Xae folded himself around us. “I will fucking tear that motherfucker apart piece by piece and make him eat the bits. Starting with his useless cock. I'll make him choke on himself.”
“But he's right,” another voice said. “What the fuck is he going to do with dead bodies?”
“I'm sure we'll find out soon enough,” someone else muttered.
