Page 122 of The Spark that Ignites
“What I want doesn’t matter,” Briar put simply. “This was your pactum. Your choice. It’s your fate, not mine.”
As Briar shuffled to the door, Emmery choked out, “Where’s Callias?”
Briar stilled, her knuckles white on the door handle. “He left.” She cleared her throat and lifted her eyes to Emmery’s. “I hope you know ... he didn’t mean what he said. He’s ... not like that. I don’t know what that was. He was struck by grief, I guess. But still ... it was unfair of him.” Briar gave her a small, sad smile. “If you need me, you know where to find me.”
The door clicked shut and crippling weight descended on Emmery’s shoulders. And she knew as time ticked down, she couldn’t wait any longer.
Emmery retrieved the box holding her sister’s letter from under the bed. Holding her breath, she unclasped the latch and summoned all her strength before she opened the last scrap of her sister. A final goodbye.
And there it was—in small, cramped letters:
Because of you, I’m fearless. I love you more than all the stars in the sky.
Emmery cried herself to sleep, a tangle of conflicting knots in her chest. She cried for her sister, her mother, her past life, and lost future after Vesper’s passing. But it was time to move forward. To make that bright shiny gate and land full of promise a reality.
But, if she held everything she desired in her hands, why was she so damn empty?
Chapter Forty-Three
The stars cradled her, the full moon winked to life, and yet the knot in Emmery’s chest sustained. The Divide embraced her tonight, and she hadn’t dreamed but merely opened her eyes there. Her dress mirrored the night sky, all eternal darkness and smattering bursts of light, her shoulders bare except for the dainty straps and long billowy skirts. She studied the inky ripples at her feet.
“Emmery? You’re—you’re really here.” An inconsolable note laced his tone and Shade’s voice reached for her with an invisible hand. “I missed you. I missed you so much.”
She spun and her heart inflated.
His black misty silhouette offset the backdrop of stars stretching to kiss him. A sob rose in her throat as she drank him in. Oh gods, she’d missed him too. He brought her calm like no one else and quieted that roaring in her mind. She hadn’t seen him since the night he came for her too late. Hurt soured in her chest. Why hadn’t he been here? Had all this been too much and he decided she was no longer worth it?
“Where have you been?” Her throat burned with tears. “I needed you, Shade. I needed you and you weren’t here. The last few days have been ... bad.”
“I’m sorry.” His voice snagged. “I couldn’t cross into your dreams. Something happened.” His jaw hardened. “I need you to listen. I don’t know how much time I have.”
The frantic spark in his stare made her pulse race. “What is it? What’s happening?”
“I need you to find me,” he said. “I don’t know what’s happened, but I need you to find me.” His green eyes flared, the urgency rising. “You need to wake me.”
“Wake you up? What do you mean?” She shook her head, her unbound hair catching in her lashes. “What’s going on? Are you in trouble?”
“Please, Emmery.” His shaken voice faded already, misting into the night. “I don’t have much time, and I can’t explain it. This is all I know. That's all I remember. I need you to remember this when you wake. To remember me. You’re the only one who can do it. I need you.”
“I don't—I don’t know how to find you, Shade—” Her voice broke on his name. Hopelessly, helplessly, her eyes clouded with tears.
He was all she ever wanted, and she would give anything to find him, but there was no path to him. No guide to lead her into his arms.
But then Shade cupped her cheeks, and she forgot how to breathe.
She could feel him. Reallyfeelhim—his fingers against her face, the caress of his breath on her lips, the warmth radiating off his body. Emmery’s skin pebbled, her blood heating and every nerve in her body lit up like a starry night sky.
He smiled wistfully, circled her waist and tugged her to his solid body. His gaze overflowed with so much tormented longing and unending love her heart stumbled. He traced her birthmark, down her cheek to her mouth. His thumb skimmed her bottom lip like it was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
“I can’t believe it. Am I dreaming? It’s like ... you’re here. You feel ... perfect.” His eyes sparked with playfulness despite the dire circumstances. He dipped his head, his sultry voice low. “Maybe I can convince you to remember me.”
Shade tilted her head back and his eyes ensnared hers. Those green eyes she loved so much. The ones that held home inside them.
He traced his nose along hers, prolonging that exquisite moment where only a sliver of space separated them.
And his lips found hers.
The kiss was soft, but her entire world narrowed on that touch. He tasted of freshly fallen snow—a hint of magic laced within. Emmery sank into him, melting, consuming, and she burned alive. A kindled fire in a dark room. The brightest star in the sky. A flicker of an ember promising to burn bright.
