Page 46 of Dreams of Ash and Smoke

A stick breaks and the sound reverberates through the trees. I freeze, my blood running cold. Glancing around again, this time further in the trees, my eyes catch movement.

My heart stops as I take in the figure before me. Warm, golden blond hair falls in disarray around his face, and piercing green eyes meet mine with a flash of surprise before morphing into a familiar smile. A knot forms in my gut as I realize that he’s here to kill me.

Dryston was never lacking in physical appearance. He had always been devastatingly handsome, with a charm that can melt any heart. But his temper and arrogance was always present, waiting to surface and wreak havoc. His downfall was inevitable, and yet…I can’t deny that I had once loved him. He was going to be my husband, part of my family. Was I overreacting to his betrayal?

As these thoughts race through my mind, Dryston rushes toward me with a mix of worry and hope in his gaze. Despite my defensive stance, he wraps his arms around me tightly, holding on as if afraid to let go. “Verena! Thank the Gods I’ve found you,” he whispers urgently. “Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick!” He pulls back slightly but doesn’t release me, his concern evident in his gaze as he studies my face and clothing. “Did he take you? Hadeon? We discovered his treachery too late — he murdered one of the guards and escaped from his cell. He’s dangerous, Verena. I’m just glad you’re safe.” His embrace tightens again before he finally lets go, searching my face for confirmation that I am indeed unharmed. “We need you back at the castle, Hadeon has told the Dark King of our plans of attack, we have to prepare for war.” He grabs my hand in a tight squeeze, just uncomfortableenough to break me from my frozen state.

I rip my hand from his with haste, “I’m not going anywhere with you.” My voice, while I feel shaky, remains firmer than I thought it would.

He looks at me confused. “Verena, stop being a child. You’re coming with me. As future queen of Zorya and my wife I expect more of you. You’re being selfish. Now, let’s go before they find us.” He reaches to snatch my hand back into his own and I jump back, reflex kicking in while my fingers find my daggers.

“I will say this once more. I am not going with you.” My voice is deadly but my heart races in fear. “And I am not your wife.”

I stare into his eyes while his face remains calm. The rage swims there before he tones it back and looks at me with admiration and a hint of condescension. “Is this about your coronation?” I say nothing. He sighs in desperation. “Verena, my love… mywife. I didn’t mean it. I had to say that so no one knew we had a real Khyrelian in our midst. It was for the good of the kingdom. You are to be queen, you know we can’t have our people in a panic. Khyrelians are savages and deranged.” My stomach churns. His words make me think about the way Eryx treated the man meant to spy on me in my first week here. The darkness radiating off of him, the shadows billowing around. It sends a shock to my core that I try brushing out of my head. Now was not the time. “They are dangerous. You know this.” He holds his hands up in surrender as he steps closer to me, staring into my eyes with his fake desperation.

I’ll give it to him, he is good. Ialmostbelieve him.

“Once we return home, we will hold your coronation now that he is gone and the threat is no longer there. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you had been hurt or worse; killed.”

“There are worse things than being killed.” My voice lowers, my heart clenching at the thoughts of our past. Confusion flashes through him.

“Like having your consent stripped from you. Like being manipulated into believing you’re loved.” Now my voice is shaky. “Like living a lie your entire life. You’ve blatantly ignored my hair, or have you not noticed it’s lightness?” I sturdy my tone as I question him, anger coursing through me.

“None of that matters. We are married-”

“Stop saying that!” I yell, “We are no longer married.” I pull up my sleeve to reveal the mottled scarring from cutting the rune off. “The thought of being married to you makes me violently ill. I will no longer fall for your empty promises and your lies. You will burn and I will light the match, Dryston Whitewell.” I stand straighter and watch as the feign innocence leaves his eyes. The raven above us caws again, but he pays it no mind.

The mossy color in his irises darkens now, his face setting into a stone. “That’s how you want to play this?” It’s rhetorical. He laughs maniacally, “I tried being nice. But you’re either coming with me or I will kill you, right now. You think you can take me? You couldn’t even stop me when we were betrothed.” He scoffs a laugh from his lips. “Beating you won’t even feel like a chore.” He uses his magic and strips the daggers from my body. A gasp leaves my lips and I’m thrown back by the metal daggers still on my body.

He laughs, condescension bleeding through. “You can’t even fight me!” He yells, eye blaring fury.

I feel it then, the magic under my surface bubbling up. He tries throwing me again and my instincts kick in. As his power bursts into me, it filters back out at him when I throw my hands out to protect me.

His body hits the tree behind him and he stares at me in shock as he reaches a standing position. “What the fuck?” He sounds breathless and I can’t help the smirk growing on my face. It doesn’t last long though and now if I make it out of this alive, how do I tell Eryx I went against his wishes and just wandered into the woods so recklessly? He’s going to think I did it on purpose.

Dryston bounces back fast but for every throw of magic he gives, my own seems to mirror it by absorbing the power from him and using it to my advantage.

I keep up,barely, trying to hurl it all back at him. He’s fast but I’m faster, something I’ve never noticed before. My training with Esmeray has helped tremendously with cardio. A surge of confidence burns through me and I laugh out loud but it sounds maniacal itself and it surprises me.

Howdarehe.

How dare he come into enemy territory to retrieve me like I am some damsel in distress.

“I can do this all day!” I yell at him, lying. I definitely can’t. I can already feel my energy depleting. But the feminine rage inside me boils. I’m going to have to injure him and run. I haven’t practiced with my newfound powers to keep this up.

I frantically scan the forest floor, my heart racing as I search for my daggers while dodging his ferocious blasts. My once sharp and deadly weapons now lay dull and used, their edges worn down from the Zoryan king when he removed them.

But then, like a gift from the heavens, the sun breaks through the thick canopy and shines a spotlight on a lone dagger lying in the dirt. Without hesitation, I lunge for it and snatch it up before launching it at my opponent with all of my might.

The blade finds its mark, sinking deep into his muscular thigh and eliciting a howl of rage from him. Blood seeps out of the wound, staining his dark cloak and causing him to falter for just a moment.

In that brief moment of distraction, I take advantage and sprint away, feeling cuts on my face and arms from both magical attacks and the sharp branches that whip at me as I flee. My once neatly braided hair has come undone, wild strands falling haphazardly around my face.

But I don’t have time to fix myself or catch my breath. The chase is still on, and I must keep running if I want to live another day.

Chapter 23: Do Not Pass Out

Verena

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