Page 63 of A Kiss of Embers
“Can I light a fire?” she whispered.
“Yes. We should be safe here.”
After managing to maneuver Emeric into a more comfortable position in her arms which left more of her hand free, she sparked a fire between her fingers and lit up her surroundings. She inhaled sharply to find herself in a tunnel created with enormous tree roots weaved together on each side of her. If she wasn’t mistaken, the shape and size looked deliberate, just large enough for a man to walk upright.
“What is all of this?” she gasped as she walked forward, wanting to put as much distance as possible between them and the burning tree above. “How did you dig such large tunnels?”
“Once upon a time,” he winced, “I was blessed with forest magic. The trees were happy to do my bidding. When I was forced to move back to Attleglade with Bastien, I created many safeguards and escape routes within our home using tree roots and other species of plants.” He grimaced again, and she worried he might be injured. “I only wish I had thought to escape earlier. I never realized it would come to a head so quickly.” His voice caught. “Bastien is gone. Faster than I could blink.”
Dread tightened her gut, but she attempted to maintain levity for both of their sakes. “From how it sounds, this was a long time coming.”
“Yes,” he half-laughed, half-sobbed. “It was. He has always been such a good boy. But he has never been able to lie down and beg when injustice stirs in the air. He fights back each and every time,knowinghe will one day suffer for his actions.”
“Doyouthink he should lie down and beg?”
Emeric lowered his gaze to the ground and swallowed. “No. Because that’s just not how he is. It’s what I have done to protect my family. I wish I had more courage to fight back. But Bastien means more to me than my legs, than my life. And I will gladly give up everything I have, everything I am, to keep him safe.”
“He is lucky to have you as a father.” She smiled through her worry over what might be happening to him in his jail cell. “Of course, Bastien talks about Ashrynall the time!” She groaned exasperatedly but grinned to let him know she was jesting. “But the way he speaks of you… It warms my heart to witness how much he loves you. He would do anything for you.”
The man chuckled and shook his head wryly. “I was fully convinced he and Ashryn would one day leave Attleglade and marry. But…you two suit each other. I have never seen him happier, never seen him more afraid to lose someone than he is to lose you.”
When they reached several different tunnels that branched out in three directions, she placed Emeric on the ground to catch her breath. Next, she unstuffed her blouse and stacked Bastien’s drawings and paintings into a neat pile beside him. “I am going to break Bastien’s blood oaths.”
His eyes hardened as he stared back at her. “If you kill any council members, the war will never end. Trust me.”
But she simply grinned. “Oh, I plan on doing this another way, but it may include a blade and possibly even a hallucinating poison.”
“As I often tell Bastien, don’t be surprised if I feign ignorance.”
“I expect nothing less.” She nodded toward the tunnels. “Which way?”
He pointed to the left tunnel. “Bastien.” He pointed to the tunnel in front of them. “The Glades.” And then he pointed to the tunnel on the right. “The inner woods.”
She peered down each tunnel, only to find darkness waiting. “How far does each lead?”
But he only shrugged. “Far enough.”
Plenty of dead branches lay scattered across the ground for her to create a large pile beside Emeric. She gathered rocks next and created a contained pit in front of him before stacking the branches and what kindling she managed to find. With the tip of her finger, she used her magic to light a fire to not only keep Emeric warm but to provide light in an otherwise dark place.
When a fire flickered to life within the pit, she gazed across the flames regretfully. “I don’t want to leave you here.”
A weary breath escaped him as he waved her away. “If everyone thinks I’m dead, then I’m freer than I have been in a very long time. Several nights in the cold are not going to kill me.”
“But what about food? Water?”
“I built these tunnels. I did not leave myself without a means to survive. Maneuvering about will be the difficult part. But don’t worry about me.” His expression crumpled. “Please find him. And bring him home.”
“Where is home?”
“Where he is the happiest.”
At this point in time, she still didn’t know the answer. Where would Bastien be the happiest?
As she turned and started down the tunnel leading to where she might find him, she silently counted her inventory. Knives, dart gun, poisons, fire. She was not defenseless, but Bastien was.
“Seraphina.”
She paused to glance back at Emeric, his face barely visible in the distance between him and her light. But she caught an unmistakable sheen in his eyes as he gazed down at Bastien’s drawings in his hands. “Yes?”
