Page 5 of Of Blooming Embers
The muscle behind my ribs fluttered within its cage at the nickname slipping from his lips.
My shoulders pushed back, the seam of my mouth tightly clamping together. With more confidence than I felt, I strode past him into the coiling haze.
Better to tumble through a damned portal than to fall to pieces at his feet.
2
ROOTS
SERYN
Our bodies flung through the blurred, twirling aether before being deposited unceremoniously inside a dimly lit grotto. A briny scent saturated the cool air. As I breathed deeply, my feet fumbled for balance on the shifting gravel.
Fingers wrapped around my biceps, steadying me. I gulped and pulled away from Gavrel’s touch, ignoring how his warmth sank into my flesh and moved toward the sun-drenched opening of the hollow. He followed behind like a silent, prowling shadow.
“Inksalt Loch,” he stated, stepping into the light and surveying the expansive pool before us. Beyond, he studied the sprawling mountains lining the horizon, their massive summits reflecting in the glassy, brackish water. Decidedly, he turned and moved toward the marshy path behind me.
I inhaled, questions about to tumble from my lips as I trailed him, but Gavrel spoke before I had the chance. “We need to gather some supplies before navigating the mountains. We can reach Ceto before nightfall, find a place to rest, and head out in the early morning.”
“But we should try to find the seer tonight?—”
“If we’re rash, Kaden is lost to us. Besides, the message said, ‘on the morrow,’” he interjected.
I huffed, shifting the nearly empty rucksack on my back and ignoring the quiver in my legs. My energy was depleted, and we were dangerously low on rations, but I didn’t care. We needed to find my best friend. Gavrel’sbrother.
The corners of his eyes softened. “If we don’t care for ourselves, we won’t have the strength needed to reach him. We need to be intentional.” His long stride slowed, matching mine.
My upper body deflated as I sighed, knowing his words rang true. It would be quicker to head into the city than to hunt game when it was scarce in these parts.
My jaw tightened. “All right. Ceto first, then we leave with the sunrise.” He nodded, looking before us without another word.
As we navigated the marshland, the reeds swayed in the breeze, and mud sucked at my boots. Air caressed my cheek, and I breathed in, not minding the damp aroma of dried grass and earth. Quiet moments often brought a flood of hazy memories from a life half-remembered, and now was no exception.
Logically, I understood those emotions and experiences were mine, yet the jarring difference between my past and present was profoundly unsettling. It was as if I were looking at a series of blurred paintings from a distance or watching a disjointed theatrical play on an endless loop.
I sighed, and Gavrel’s words flit through my mind once more, plucking at the edges of a resurfaced recollection from when I was seven turns old—one of Mama during the Dormancy before she vanished.
With an unfocused gaze, I urged it to fully form, knowing the memory was a vital one.
“What pretty hair you have. Like flames.” The male’s voice slithered over my back, his hot breath grazing my cheek.
In front of me, Letti squinted at the intruder. With a thunk, the ball she’dbeen holding dropped onto the grass and bumped into the toe of my slipper. Her bottom lip trembled.
I gritted my teeth, unease fluttering in my belly, while I turned to the voice, tucking Letti into my side.
I recognized him. The Akridai, who was never far from Elder Harrow. He leaned into our space, his greasy black hair curtaining either side of his blunt face. His rancid whisper rasped over us as his spindly fingers reached out. “If I touch, will it burn me?”
Hastily, I stepped back, tugging Letti with me as our backs hit the wooden fence that ran along the training field’s brink. He leered, his thin lips shiny and pulling across crooked enamel. His oily, phosphorescent aura simmered above his form, and a sickly glow pulsed under the geometric locust tattoo marring his neck.
Below, the river roared, its waves crashing against the obsidian cliffs on either side. My pulse frantically pounded throughout my small body as if I were one giant heartbeat. My sister whimpered, and I hunched over her, turning my head away from him.
“Don’t.” The clipped demand gave the Akridai pause. I peeked at him as he straightened, tilting his head at the sound of a woman’s voice.
He chuckled humorlessly. “Don’t?”
I seized the opportunity while he was distracted, shoving Letti past him. The male’s brows scrunched together as my sister made her escape. His attention snapped back to me, splinters sticking in my fingers as I clung to the fence and tried to creep away.
Clucking his tongue, he snatched my wrist and swung us around. My back slammed into his front, and the jagged nails of his other hand dug into my shoulder.
