Page 68 of An Empress of Fire & Steel

“I can’t make any promises,” she said, turning to face the waterfall. Something about the way the water fell into the pool reminded her of the wild magic that she so eagerly longed for. She walked forward, the grass damp under her feet from the melted snow and halted after a few steps. Its enchantment echoed to her through the air, pulling her towards its torrent. The mist of the water was still hitting the rawest of the earth’s rocks, spraying up into the wind and finding her face.

It was glacial and heart stopping, but it was thriving.

“Emara?” Torin’s voice was more like a warning for her to stop.

She turned to face him. “Cally said I needed to live, not just exist.” She turned back to see the cascading water that tumbled towards the ground speedily. “She said I needed to let go of…everything.”

“I don’t like the direction this is going.” She heard him step forward. “Angel, come away from the vertical drop, please.” His tone was full of sarcasm, but it was lined with a little fear. She would never have heard it before if she didn’t know him like she did now, but it was there.

“You have also told me that.” She paused. “To live.” She turned back to face him and her hair was now untamed silk around her. “Haven’t you told me to live on the wild side once or twice?” She felt the cold wind brush her back from the raw energy of the waterfall, casting her dark hair around her shoulders and face.

“If you are thinking of jumping into that waterfall to prove that you can be wild or that you are alive, you have another thing coming.” He took another step forward. “I have plenty of things in mind that we could do that would make you feel alive, and let me tell you something, jumping off the edge of a waterfall is not one of them.”

Her heart hammered in her chest.

“That’s exactly what I thought you would say.” She took a step backwards.

His face hardened and his spine tensed. “You are not going in that waterfall, Emara.”

“You don’t tell me what I can and can’t do, Torin.”

His eyes narrowed. “Are you crazy?”

“Maybe.” She smiled, feeling an overwhelming emotion that she couldn’t pinpoint. The magic in her veins screamed and danced as her heartbeat battered against her ribs.

“Emara, over my dead corpse are you jumping into the Waterfall of Uttara.” He let out an exasperated breath.

“I am pretty sure you are not the boss.”

His teeth clashed together, and she watched as he deliberated over some options in his mind.

“I am pretty sure that I am much faster than you and that I could stop you before you jumped,” he said.

She raised one eyebrow and pretended to move, then stilled herself quickly. Torin reacted in the same way, shaking his head, his eyes narrowing to make him look menacing.

Emara let out a cackle. “I thought you had a wild side, Blacksteel. Where is it now?”

“I am not jumping into the Waterfall of Uttara,” he said again, his tone a little sharper.

“What are you scared of?” She cocked her head to the side, and he sniggered, looking away from her. “Are you scared of water?”

His lips pursed.

“If it’s not the water you are scared of, then what?” she asked.

He ran his tongue over his full lips. “The Waterfall of Uttara is not just a normal waterfall. The legends say that the waters of the Goddess have been said to wash and strip away the links to your subconscious mind, revealing layers and layers of how you truly feel. It’s an enchanted landmark of the Gods, Emara.”

“Surely, that is just a myth,” she fired back with one eyebrow raised.

“And so were witches and demons to you just a few moons ago.” He lifted his dark lashes, revealing how wild his eyes could truly look under the stars. Unruly, and full of sin.

Layers and layers of true feelings. Layers and layers of pretend masks washed to the bottom of the sacred pool.

Emara swallowed. “And that scares you, to have revealed what truly lies in your heart?”

“Does it not scare you?” Torin replied.

It is time for you to give in to your heart.

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