Page 22 of The Spark that Ignites
Leaning against the wooden siding as she exited the cottage, Vesper slid her a sideways glance.
“I have one more thing for you,” he said, his brows drawing together as he caught her tight expression threatening to crack as she dragged under the impossible heaviness of that box in her pack.
In his gloved hand, he held out a twin dagger to the one Fionn had given her. The black blade glinted in the sunlight, but instead of rubies, onyx gems adorned the handle. Emmery’s jaw slackened as she surveyed the gorgeous gift.
“Where did you get this?” she asked, her voice strained. She’d never seen another like it. Not that she had searched but the odds seemed slim. And for some reason, seeing this dagger resurrected the despair of losing Fionn all over again and although she shoved it down and clamped a lid over it, the emotion spilled over, and she blinked back tears.
“I have a few weapons at my disposal.” Vesper gestured to his sword, daggers, and assorted weapons strapped to his chest and thighs. “I thought your dagger might want a dark friend.” He winked as she took it from him.
Emmery sheathed it on her opposite thigh, cleared the lump in her throat, and eyed his sword. The light bounced off the blade’s long heavy curve, the onyx hilt wrapped in a dark leather tie for grip, like that of her dagger. At the base of the hilt a wolf skull peeked out over the scabbard, matching the embroidered wolf on his cloak.
“When do I get a sword?” she asked with a cheeky smile.
Vesper snorted. “When I’m convinced you won’t maim yourself.”
She scowled at him, but he strolled away, unbothered.
Taking one last glimpse of her childhood home, Emmery’s heart stuttered, stretching for it though it made no logical sense.
Maybe because there were too many memories contained in those walls. It was where her mother took her last breath, and Maela took her first steps. It was the place Emmery had skirtedDeath’s embrace after the attack she survived in the woods. For two months she’d wandered amongst the trees and the scars from the severe wounds still marred her skin though the blurred pocket of time was missing.
But sometimes she swore she could recall the bite of the blade sinking into her heart and painting a jagged smile across her abdomen.
And to this day, she was still uncertain what happened.
Why she was attacked. Why she’d been out there in the first place.
All she knew was she had never been the same since, like whoever had attacked her had sliced her open, unhinged her ribs, and stolen something integral, leaving only this gaping bottomless darkness inside her.
But the memories of her childhood, sister, and mother remained though they were now distant. Deceased. And the overgrown lemon tree still bore fruit, unlike her life here. It had died long ago and her hope and zest for life with it.
It had all gone with Maela.
Emmery straightened her spine, adjusted her pack, and readied herself.
It was time to make things right. And the bargain was a way to do this.
To see her sister again. To tame her magic. To reclaim her life.
She turned her back to the cottage and jogged to catch Vesper.
And as it disappeared behind her, Emmery didn’t look back.
Chapter Eight
As they walked in silence along the ocean shoreline, Emmery’s mind tumble back to those seemingly endless years after Fionn and her had parted ways. She’d travelled east toward the mountains separating the two territories, thinking the distance from home and the kingdom capital would provide her with some illusion of safety. Or at least relieve some of the ghosts following her wherever she ran.
She had been terribly wrong. The law was the same everywhere. Those with magic, bearing the scars, were sentenced to death. No exceptions.
Vesper’s gaze repeatedly slid to her, though she pretended not to notice. In the silence she plotted, deciphering how she would play this. If she was too friendly, he would surely grow suspicious of her plans. Perhaps aloof and distant would be best.
“Since we're on such a tight timeline, I guess you didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to your family,” he said.
Emmery studied the sandy ground to look anywhere but at him as she admitted, “I don’t have any family left.”
“Friends then?”
She suppressed the urge to snort. “What friends?”
