Page 121 of The Spark that Ignites
“I know this is your fault!” he spat. “And youwillget what’s coming to you! Mark my words!” His cruelty pierced her chest, but it didn’t matter.
None of this mattered anymore.
Emmery sank into darkness before she made it to her room.
A DAY DRAGGED AND EMMERYdidn’t leave her bed. Grief held her there. And also her damn thigh, though Briar used some balm to accelerate the healing. Not that she deserved it.
Emmery didn’t speak. Not even to answer Briar’s questions as she tended to her leg. She just clung to that stupid bottle and the haunting amulet. Staring. Wishing they hadn’t been the cost.
But she was out of time. The Fallen Equinox was tomorrow night, and she had to make a choice. Vesper’s last words repeated in her head. How he had gently touched her cheek.
Forgive me.After all they’d been through. All he’d given without asking.
Forgive me.His words wrenched her from sleep.
Forgive me. As if she had anything to forgive him for.
Vesper had saved her. Pushed her out of the bolt’s path. He was a prince, and his life was worth infinitely more and in return she denied him an afterlife by leaving him to rot in that chamber.
And this wasn’t the only way Vesper had saved her. He had from the moment she met him in that alley. Really, the moment he left that note. He freely offered his friendship and trust. That’s all she ever wanted. For someone to care for her.
And now ... she would never see him again.
Emmery clutched her stomach and sobbed a deep, inconsolable full-bodied ache.
The amulet pulsed in an unnatural rhythm against her broken heart reminding her she had four choices. All of which, would hinge on how selfish she would be and what she would sacrifice. But in all, she would lose something.
The option to run away beckoned her. Maybe return to Rhessa’s town and find a little cottage to call her own. But if she were to do that, all their hard work would be lost. It was a choice she would have made months ago but now ... the threads of her soul had unravelled and been mended in a way that irreparablychanged her. And she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t run anymore. It wasn’t who she was any longer.
She could use the spell on Izora as Vesper’s dying wish, but her gut twisted at the thought. Because with this ... she would lose too much. And though it was selfless and the right thing to do—
Briar’s heavy booted footsteps thudded as she entered Emmery’s room and perched on the bed. They both sat in silence as Emmery studied every stitch in the woven carpet, absentmindedly stroking Aera asleep in her lap instead of reaching for her watch. The steady tick used to calm her but now, it set her teeth on edge. She’d buried it in the garden, but in her dreams or when the world quieted, the urgent tick echoed in her mind. And there was only Vesper’s bloodless face and the inconsolable absence of him.
“I’m sorry about ... Vesper,” Briar whispered. She took Emmery’s hand in two of hers. The nail polish on her pointer finger was chipped. “I know you ... did everything you could.”
“It wasn’t enough,” she murmured, feeling the words and emotions bubble up her throat and she couldn’t swallow it down. “It wasn’t enough to save him. This damned magic ... wasn’t enough. I couldn’t—” Her voice snagged. “I couldn’t save the person who mattered most.” Silence swelled. “I ... failed him, Bri.”
Briar squeezed Emmery’s hand. “He was one of my oldest friends, you know. My brother really. Always ... cracking jokes and making people smile. I know he ... suffered after Iz died ... after Ellynne.” She paused, opened her mouth and snapped it shut before the admission breathed from her, “And I abandoned him. I failed him too.”
“He was in service to Destonne. What choice did you have?” Emmery studied their entwined hands and Briar’s nervous twitching fingers, picking at her nail polish. “You know heactually made me feel ...worthy. Like I could do ... anything. He never chastised me for my actions. He set me free. He grieved with me. He taught me how to ... heal. He helped meheal, Bri.”
The back of her throat burned. “We’ve only known each other for these few weeks but ... it felt like a lifetime. Like we were meant to find each other. Like ... he held a part of me already I didn’t know I was missing until I met him.”
It was the same with Briar, but with Vesper she had been drawn to him instantly. The way her eyes found him in the tavern and somehow deep down sheknew. Though she’d fought it ... she knew this would be more.
More than a bargain.
More than two people working together and parting ways.
“He had a way of doing that. Weaving his way into people’s hearts. He would never admit it though. He always thought people despised him because he wasn’t like Iz. And don’t get me wrong, I love them both but ... there’s something about that man that made me instantly like him. I was only a girl when we met, and we were fast friends. And I know we were children but ... that feeling is still there after all this time apart.”
Emmery chewed her lip. “He was my best friend, Bri. And ... I never told him.” She released a heavy breath filled with words she couldn’t say. “I don’t know what to do. Vesper asked me to bring Izora back, but ...” Emmery’s throat worked. “I don’t know if I can do it. I don’t think ... I can be that selfless.” She didn’t mention Maela, though now her plans spurred such guilt it sickened her. She was different now and so were her priorities.
“I understand,” Briar said. “I trust you to do what you think is best.”
Emmery wasn’t sure what that was anymore. Gods, how was Briar so steady? She shared a lifetime of memories with Vesper and hadn’t shed a tear, yet Emmery was a blubbering mess.
“You’re not going to intervene?” Emmery asked hesitantly.
