Page 131 of The Spark that Ignites
“The claws and shadows gave you away.” Emmery poised to strike, and her palms slickened with sweat. “Most people don’t sneak up on someone they don’t want to harm.”
“The claws, wings, and shadows are all part of the package.” She chuckled, a strange lyrical noise. “We don’t want to hurt you, lovely. The God of Blood and Ice is waiting for you. You need to come with us.”
“The feeling isn’t mutual,” she snarled, raising her dagger.
Tucking her wings, her shadows dissipated. “I fear we have not been properly introduced. My name is Melantha. Queen of the Forbidden Lands.”
“Save the pleasantries,” Emmery scoffed. “I don’t need any introduction.”
Melantha stepped forward, her sapphire eyes twinkling. “I’m afraid we got off to a rough start. An unfortunate introduction.”
“I don’t think we’re on the same side. After you burned that innocent village.” Emmery stepped backward, her hip bumping the basin.
“It was a misunderstanding.” A cold smile. “An accident.”
“Right.” She clucked her tongue. “Like I accidentally relit thekhaosflame.”
“You don’t know what you did.” Melantha’s eyes were wild, ensnaring Emmery as she spoke. “You are playing with forces far stronger than you can imagine.”
“So, what did I do exactly?”
“You woke her from her slumber.”
Emmery’s eyebrows pulled together. “Woke who? What are you talking about?”
“Kahlia of the Eternal Sky.” Melantha’s gaze flicked over her face. “She will wake now you have called upon her.”
“I don’t see how that’s a problem. Kahlia blessed this land. Created our people.”
Melantha laughed, a dark haunting sound. “Oh, lovely, you have so much to learn. If you come with me, I’ll tell you all you need to know.”
“I don’t think so.” Emmery stared at the shadow winged creature. She used to be a beautiful woman, all those years ago and now everything about her set Emmery’s teeth on edge.
Melantha sighed deeply. “I was hoping we could do this the easy way, but very well.”
As her crimson lips parted, an intoxicating song gripped Emmery’s throat. The melody caressed her ears, bloated her head, her heart, her mind, and it swam with the tide of song as she swayed from side to side. Her eyelids fluttered closed as the music reached inside her and touched her soul.
That song. It was one she knew.
It was the song Vesper hummed or whistled nearly every day.
Her heart ached at the thought of him. His betrayal.
The ache spread, dousing her in an icy chill, enough to snap her out of the spell.
Melantha paled as Emmery narrowed her eyes, letting the rage envelop her. The pain and disappointment fed her fire.
In a burst of gold, she became a living flame, the crackling ofkhaosdrowning the siren song. With a sharp flick of her wrist, she precisely threw her dagger, and it struck Melantha’s shoulder, knocking her back. She sent a silent thank you to Callias—the asshole.
Melantha hissed, bearing her pointed teeth like an animal.
But Emmery didn’t falter.
She raised her arms, channelling herkhaosflame as it fell in a crashing wave. It flooded over Melantha as she shrieked, writhing under the blaze. Her shadows formed a shield against the inferno, her wings tucked tight to avoid being scorched.
The two forces battled, gold against black, shadow against flame. Melantha’s shadows writhed, reaching for Emmery in the blaze. Emmery yelled between clenched teeth, the rush of her magic sweeping with a wave of fatigue. She released it too quickly. Let the flood seep out all at once.
The shadows coiled under the flame, wrapping around Emmery’s wrists and ankles. Fear caught in her throat as she fought off the shadowed hands binding her.
