Page 37 of A Broken Ember

“Whose blood is this?” I asked, gently scrubbing the caked blood away from his scars. Behind me, Rohit hissed. I arched a brow at him. “Rohit,” I pressed, and he turned away.

“The Circulus fledgling,” he answered quietly, his shoulders stiff and hands straying toward the weapon sheathed at his side. Anastasius killing Ajal didn’t make sense. “I found him passed out in his cell. When he awakened he—he panicked. I couldn’t get him to calm down. I had to use a sleeping spell on him.” That explained his lethargy. I examined him closely for any injuries as I finished washing his front, where the majority of the blood had dried. I didn’t speak again until my task was done. Sitting back on my heels, I watched Anastasius sleep. His brow was furrowed, jaw tense.

“Why would he do this?”

Rohit sighed. “To protect you, of course.” He shrugged as if he wasn’t surprised. What he said didn’t make sense, but I didn’t bother questioning Rohit. It wasn’t him that had some explaining to do.

Chapter 38: Anastasius

The next time I woke up, I was in my bed and feeling better. Free from the torment of that cage. The smell of citrus engulfed me. Claeg. He was here.

“Stas?” His voice was uncertain and bunched with tense muscles. I suppressed a sob trying to shudder through me. Warm hands caressed my cheek. I had passed out in that cell. How was I here with my Selected?

“What happened?” I slurred, pushing myself up. A quick perusal of my body showed that I lay with a thin sheet covering my nakedness which had been scrubbed clean of blood, yet I couldn’t recall any of it.

Claeg knelt before the bed. His eyes searched mine, laden with worry. It was ironic seeing his body littered with barely healed wounds, but his eyes crinkled with hidden tears for me. He brushed some stray hairs from my eyes. Before he could answer, though, movement caught my attention. Rohit emerged from the shadows, and my heart leapt into my throat. Blood marked his body, and darkness surrounded his eyes.

“That’s something I’ve been asking myself,” Rohit said. I could sense his anger lingering under the surface, but he did well at holding it at bay. I swallowed, shame flushing through my body.

I sighed, looking at Claeg. He watched me with interest, eyes scrunched with confusion. I had to tell him the truth. He didn't deserve my lies. Without thinking about it, I reached for him, cupping his nape. The need to touch him, to assure myself that he was here, was crushing, impossible to resist.

“He was threatening to reveal who you are to Odon. I won't apologize for protecting you,” I grated. If Claeg wanted to be pissed, I could handle that, but I wouldn’t be sorry. I wasn’t surprised when Claeg pulled away, his brow furrowed. Eventually, he nodded, his purple eyes filled with emotions I couldn't quite read.

“He asked me to complete his Circle...” He snorted, a humorless laugh. My eyebrows flew up. The boy had wanted to die?

“Yet you didn’t complete his Circle,” I observed. Something like shame flashed behind his eyes before he quickly busied himself with finding me a fresh tunic. He shrugged.

“And you didn’t Save him,” he retorted, tossing me clean clothes which I quickly donned. “I'm going flying,” Claeg said, refusing to look at me.

“Wait!” I followed him out onto the balcony. We still hadn't talked about Ercan, along with many other things, including his time being tortured by Calian. Claeg paused at the edge. “Ercan—” I began. My Selected stiffened ever so slightly at his father’s name.

“What about him?” He kept his expression neutral, but I could tell he was hurt by the edge in his cadence.

“I should have told you he was here.” I reached for Claeg’s hand and was surprised when he let me entwine our fingers. “Are you okay?” I whispered. I squeezed his fingers gently. His hand twitched almost imperceptibly, but it was almost as if he were warring with himself over whether to return the gesture. In the end, he lightly clasped my fingers and looked at me with pain peeking through his mask.

“I will be.” He released my hand and dove off the edge, shifting as he fell. His draconis caught the light as he ascended, highlighting his beauty. I wanted to join him in the sky, but Rohit cleared his throat behind me, letting me know that our business wasn't done. I slowly turned to my friend. His brows were narrowed, lips pursed in thought.

“How bad is it?” I asked. There was no point in talking around the problem. I had killed a man. This was different from the draconis I helped free with Ercan.

“I’ve taken care of it for now,” he said. I raised an eyebrow at Rohit. “As far as anyone is concerned, he took your blade and killed himself.”

I gave my friend a grateful smile and nodded, having expected as much. “Thank you, Ro.”

He dipped his head and swiped his hand through his hair. He bit his lip, looking at me like he wanted to say something more.

“Stas, your father... he isn't naive.” His hands shook and he gulped, a thin layer of sweat coated his forehead. We were normally brutally open with one another. “Just… be careful, okay?” I gave him a look, prompting him to speak his mind. Rohit sighed, running another hand through his hair. “If you want to talk about what happened…” He winced.

“Thank you. I'll be okay,” I clipped and relief washed over his features despite the lie. Rohit may have supported my actions with Ercan, but he kept his distance in the matter, preferring to help in other ways. Death could be so… I couldn't even put a word to it. It usually brought relief. This death was different. Despite what Claeg had said about the boy asking for death before, he had clearly wanted to live when speaking to me. I had taken that from him. I had judged him and deemed his life unworthy. Me. I shuddered. It was necessary, I reminded myself. I closed my eyes and took a breath. I would be fine. Claeg completed Circles all the time. I could live with this one death on my conscience. For him. “I have to go see my father.”

With that, I spun and left. I wasn't done protecting Claeg; he wasn't safe yet. Father had to know he couldn't touch my Selected.

I found Odon in the council room—a place for him to meet with his inner circle to plot and scheme. Hariasa, Calian, Amartya, Mateo, and Thyia sat around the table, leaving only my chair empty. The sight made my breath freeze in my chest. I couldn't help running my teeth along my lower lip. He scowled at them all, slipping into my place at the opposite end of the table as him.

“I wasn't aware the council had been summoned,” I said. My father hummed.

“Thyia informed us that you were recovering from the shock,” Mother said, her hands folded neatly in front of her. I swallowed the lump building in my throat.

“Well, I’m fine now,” I snapped. Thyia shifted uncomfortably, and I winced, not intending to hurt my mentor. With everything going on, I still hadn’t filled her in on my plan to Challenge De Vita.

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