Page 117 of The Spark that Ignites
Vesper skidded to a stop, locked his attention on the hound, and splayed his fingers before balling into a fist. It halted, sputtered as he stole the oxygen from its lungs, and collapsed, writhing for an unbearable moment until it fell deadly still. White tethers flew from his fingers and slithered inside the rigid body, animating the beast’s limbs as it ambled to stand, its eyes glowing the white of Vesper’s vestige.
She didn’t know where to look amongst the anarchy. Didn’t know where to cast her flame without harming any of Vesper’s beasts.
Teeth gnashed as the hounds fought. As another fell, Vesper summoned it to battle the dozen others.
Bones snapped, blood sprayed, claws ripped—
Two broke free of the pack and barrelled toward them.
Emmery’s golden flames playfully sparked at her fingertips—ready to devour. Her eyes shone as she blasted the hounds. They wailed under the immense heat and flame licked up their bodies.There was nowhere for them to run. Nowhere to hide. And herkhaosflame purred.
But in her fear, her control slipped, and her magic spilled out. Emmery tried to rein it in, but it left her gasping. It was too damn much, and she hadn’t recovered from healing in the mountain village. Gritting her teeth she clamped down on it and the stream severed.
Charred flesh steamed as the beast's charcoaled remains slumped to the floor. The last two hounds skittered away, leaving the corpses of their comrades to rot in the chamber.
Six animated bodies fell limp as Vesper doubled over, panting. He clutched his chest, his dimming vestige only a dusting of snow now. Between the bruises darkening his eyes and his pinched brows, his exhaustion was explicitly written in the lines of his face.
“Fuck. Those. Hounds,” he wheezed between breaths.
Vesper stepped toward her, and a red tile sank under his foot with an audible grind of stone on stone. And whatever that sound was, whatever that tile did, it flared Vesper’s eyes as he stared past her, a shadow of unfettered terror in them.
And if Vesper was scared—
No.
Emmery lunged for him, but her world careened as a hearty gust of wind knocked her off balance and she stumbled. A whistling grazed her face and warmed her cheek with blood.
There was no time to wipe away the blood before pain exploded in her thigh as a steel bolt sank its teeth into her. Her knees buckled and she hit the ground, her ears ringing and edges of her vision fraying as blood soaked her trousers. Her trembling finger grazed the shaft, and she bit back a cry.
Oh no, it was bad.Reallybad.
From the location and depth, it could have been embedded in an artery. And if it did and she removed it, she’d bleed out.Obviously, that wasn’t an option. She would have to leave it and keep moving. Maybe Vesper could help her up all those damn stairs.
Fuck, this would be agony, but being ripped apart by hounds soundedwayworse. If the bolt stayed in, her blood would too. She would leave it.
Emmery glanced up from her leg, swiping the back of her hand across her bleary eyes. And ... she couldn’t process what she was seeing.
She blinked.
Blinked again.
A wave of shock and unacceptance clouded her mind and all she could do was freeze, her body an ice sculpture, heart numb.
She hadn’t heard Vesper hit the floor. She’d been too distracted by her own pain and the ringing in her ears. He lay on his back, his body crumpled and still. So damn still.
The amulet lay discarded, the chain broken, and a bolt protruded from his chest, puncturing through his armour. But that wasn’t what doused her in frigid panic.
It was the thick, gaping slash across his neck, oozing blood even between his white knuckled fingers. It pooled on the floor, stained his hair, and smeared his face.
Emmery’s heart lurched. He must have twisted, but not fast enough, and the bolt sliced his throat.
And that gust of wind—washiswind.
No, no,no. He couldn’t have. Their pactum was done.
Why would he—
A sob rose in Emmery’s throat as pain splintered her chest and the realization sunk in.
