Page 74 of Of Blooming Embers
I’d follow her anywhere.
Behind us, the booming crash of rock sounded. Powdered clay sprayed over our backs, and a distinct fissure carved the ground between my steps.
“Bloody void!” Rhaegar hollered while running past me, followed by Breena and Marek. Pale dust coated their backsides. Seryn and I glanced behind at the massive boulder that had plummeted from one of the teetering, hovering islets overhead and sprinted after them.No need to be crushed today.
As we dashed across the desiccated terrain, nearing the vale, the floating landmasses above quaked violently, shaking loose more and more chunks as they wept tears of stone. We darted and dodged the dropping rocks but couldn’t avoid being pelted entirely.
Fortunately, the islets were shrinking as we neared the entrance, so mostly it was pebbles that rained down. Still unpleasant, but they weren’t enough to cave in our skulls.
We paused, gawking at the angry, parched expanse before us. Shadows and shades of taupe and muddy gray mixed across the mountainous dips and ridges.
A crack above Seryn’s head had me whipping my attention to her. A few gravelly shards struck my cheek as the tail end of Marek’squarterstaff jerked toward him, a massive cobble as big as my fist crashing in front of Seryn’s feet.
He’d save her skull from being bashed in. Forehead furrowed, I nodded at him, and he did the same in return, digging his weapon into the ground.
“Thanks … cousin.” Seryn blew a shaky breath out, her puffing cheeks turning a darker shade of gray. I could have sworn Marek’s eyes softened before he muttered no thanks were necessary.
From the corner of my vision, a frenzied flurry of darkness buzzed on the horizon. “Shades are getting curious. Let’s move.”
Breena hurried forward. “Don’t have to tell me twice.”
“I overheard the Elders discussing them once.” Rhaegar clutched his baldric, his axe handle bobbing against his back. His lips twisted to the side, and he exhaled heavily. “Apparently, they’re Druiks who never escaped limbo.”
Seryn’s head dipped, and she rubbed her hand down her face. “Ancients, that’s horrific. Those poor souls.”
Breena gave Seryn a side hug, her hand rubbing her biceps. “Lesson learned. Don’t linger in the Murk,” Breena groused. She lifted her chin, her eyes shiny with unspent tears. “We’re making it out. We’re not shade material.”
A sad smile lined Seryn’s lips as she looked at her friend. Breena’s grandmother had perished here. Seryn put her arm around her, and Breena crinkled her nose with a sniffle. Then they both marched forward, one stride in front of the other, with determined expressions. These women were made of pure backbone.
We traversed the arid, rocky terrain, following the empty riverbed carving down the center of the valley. This realm had likely never seen water a day in its existence, so who the void knew how it came to be.
This plane offered no remorse or logic. Its sole purpose was to suck the will to live from you while you tried to escape its clutches.
“The Ancients wanted to make it as difficult as possible for mortals to stumble into other realms, eh?” Marek grumbled as if reading my mind.
Rhaegar chuckled. “Why makeanythingeasy for mortals? That would hardly be as entertaining. Eternal life, I suspect, becomes rather boring in time.”
“Living is never boring,” Breena snorted, bumping her hip into Seryn’s. “And if it is, you’re doing it wrong.”
Seryn’s lips wobbled, a small smile threatening. My heart lurched, overwhelmed with gratitude for Breena’s ability to make Seryn smile. I nodded at the female, and she wiggled her brows at me, the corner of her mouth curling.
Every so often, thunder would crash as if upset that we dared walk through the vale. Lightning blazed above us, stirring the clouds into a frothy vat of agitated gloom and illuminating the living shadows stalking us. None yet were bold enough to attack.
With shades, it was best to go about your business unless they pounced. Their hunger for ember seemed collectively linked, and as a whole, they became more ravenous and menacing the instant one of them got a taste.
The deeper we went, the narrower the path became as the jagged edges of the mountains squeezed together like guards forming a barricade. The atmosphere became thick and oppressive, crushing into my muscles and making it more difficult to drag air into my lungs.
“We’re not wanted here,” Rhaegar said, rubbing a palm against his chest. “The very air is shoving against us.” He glanced back and brandished his axe. As I drew my sword, both of our tattoos ignited, lighting up our blades.
“Fecking fantas—” Breena muttered at the same time Marek huffed, “We’re doing something right then.” They looked at each other, Breena rolling her eyes, her vibrant cherry-red ember snapping and sparking over her form. Marek’s frown dug deeper into his jaw, and he clutched his quarterstaff more tightly while a halo of flicking ebony flames embraced him.
Seryn’s gaze bored into me, and I met it. My sword’s radiance reflected in them. She breathed slowly, allowing her aura to bloom in a dazzling display of fragmented rainbow hues. It was as if her bodywere a crystal prism that shattered her inner light and caught the broken fragments in her orbit.
My lips parted as I lost myself for a moment, my arm wilting and heart skipping several beats. Amusement flirted with the corners of her mouth. Tilting her head to the side, her smile never fully formed before concern darkened her face.
The intensifying buzz of swarming bees came closer, stealing my attention away from her. The shadow creatures advanced quickly now, their darkened mist coiling hungrily as they neared, yellow eyes blazing. They were ravenous for our activated ember.
An image of Seryn trapped within a shade’s gluttonous smog flashed through my mind. Last fall, when one of these beasts attacked her, I had almost lost her. Acid boiled in my gut, threatening to burn through muscle, bone, and skin.
