HART
It concerned me that Alaric was the puppet master in all of this. Even knowing that his sister had the gift of foresight didn’t comfort me. For so long, I had fought to free myself from the strings others pulled—namely Themis. This didn’t feel much different.
But we had no other options.
Ember reread Alaric’s papers as often as she could as we made preparations to leave. We had gone to Linia in search of information about our magic and the curse that tied us together. A single conversation with Scarlett hadproduced more information than days spent scouring the library and rereading Delphine’s journals.
If I had to guess, Lucinda and Blair were happy to see us go. They hadn’t gotten any information from the attacker they held in the dungeon. We didn’t need them to. Themis would keep interfering until Ember was dead or I sat on the throne in Kavios.
Blair pulled Ember aside before we left. They had a hushed conversation at the door, while Blair’s fingers fidgeted with the necklace chain she wore. I didn’t voice my questions as Ember returned to the balcony and we prepared to depart.
The pendant from Scarlett’s hoard hung around Ember’s neck. The red glow was visible even beneath her blouse. I tore a piece of linen from the sheets and handed it to her. “You should wrap that so the light isn’t obvious.”
She nodded and took the cloth. We both knew that hiding the gem’s glow was the least of our problems.
Not all trials are of physical strength. Sometimes it’s harder to show a part of yourself—to show vulnerability.Scarlett’s words echoed in my head. I agreed that this path was harder. If killing someone was all I needed to do to free us, it’d be done already.
This path … well, I didn’t even know where to start.
We’d yelled at each other. I guessed that was something. It proved again that she hadn’t given up on me entirely, even if she did her best to ignore me.
I could work with that.
The six colors of the adamas gem, of the emotions represented, flashed through my mind, one after the other, each a little bit worse than the last. Yellow, joy, would be hard to come by in Kavios, especially between the two of us. Blue, for sadness, well, she had that in spades; the problem was she didn’t want to show it to me.
I ground my teeth together as we climbed on Charon’s backand each beat of his wings lifted us farther from the castle of Ciril.
Ember wasn’t the only one who would have to share. She said she’d seen the pendant flash red when she yelled at me, but it had only glowed once we’d both finished. Did I even know what would make me happy? Any ideas I had died with Alaric—with the way my secrets were revealed to Ember in the throne room.
What about sadness? Unfortunately, for that one, I knew exactly where we’d have to go. The one place in Kavios I wasn’t supposed to go—the one place I went anyway, in my hubris. A price I should have paid but was paid for me instead.
I could only imagine how that conversation would go.
You let everyone around you pay the price. You’d think losing your mother would have been enough to make you think twice.Ember’s words replayed. They were nothing I hadn’t said to myself over the years. So why did they pierce deeper?
As Charon’s wing beats grew steadier, I ran my fingers through my hair, ready to pull it all out. I couldn’t make it past happiness or sadness. Envy, fear, lust, and some unknown? We were absolutely fucked.
“How did Scarlett know so much about this trial?” Ember asked the question of Charon. She spoke delicately, with genuine curiosity.
“I was born in the mines. That was the first time I’ve spoken to another dragon.”
He had been quiet since. I was sure Ember had noticed. It must be why she pried now.
“Did she say anything to you?”
Charon huffed.“Is this payback for my topic of conversation on the way to Scarlett’s hoard, Champion?”
I schooled my features as Ember shot a nervous glance in my direction, knowing she couldn’t quite tell if Charon hadshared the conversation with me. I hadn’t needed his prying questions to know she wasn’t honest about the reason Lucinda gave her Alaric’s papers. I had hoped she’d tell me the truth in her own time.
“Maybe.”
“She said you’d need me before the end.”
That was fucking ominous. I didn’t like the sound of it.
Ember must not have liked the response, either. Her spine straightened, and she changed the topic. “We should land deep in the Pinnacle Range. There’s no avoiding the fact that people will notice your return. We have to at least stay far enough away that they won’t think we’re with you.”
“You’re going to leave me there?”
