Page 11 of War Of Fire and Fortune
“Regardless of how you may feel about me, I will always come back for you.”
“Flattered,” Ace signed with a bloody grin.
"I hope that one day you see me as more than just the villain," I said, breaking the silence that hung between us.
Ace's jaw tightened, but he did not turn away. The silence stretched out like a chasm that threatened to swallow any semblance of common ground we might have found in another life.
Gingerly, I dipped the cloth back into the jar of salve, the thick mixture clinging to the fibers as I drew it out. The room was quiet, save for the occasional drip of water echoing from some distant corner of the dungeon. My hands were steady as I focused on the task at hand—each application of the balm felt like a silent apology for wounds I had not inflicted but felt responsible for, nonetheless.
"Your empire is responsible for the near extinction of my people, the death of my homeland, the lives of my and Emelyn's loving parents." Ace's words were like blade to my heart. "At least you still have your father, your people. So I think I'll pass."
I paused mid-motion, the cloth hovering above his marred skin. It was true. My lineage was one of conquerors and tyrants. And though I sought to be different, to break the cycle of oppression that my father had woven into our world, the shadow of his deeds loomed over everything I did. One day, I hoped I would be seen in my own skin, rather than his.
"My father is a monster," I confessed on a whisper, a truth I had long since come to terms with. "And I'll have to live with his actions for the rest of my life." I resumed my work, spreading the salve over another patch of busted skin, trying to push aside the guilt that gnawed at my insides. "I've lived every day knowing that he is my blood and wondering if I carry that same evil within me."
I glanced up at Ace, seeking some semblance of understanding in his eyes. "Your family's death is but another drop in the ocean of grief I’m forced to carry, Ace." My hand stilled again. "And Iknow nothing I say will ever make the pain you feel go away. But I truly am sorry."
I waited, watching Ace for any sign of softening, any indication that my words had reached him in some way. But there was only the flicker of torchlight playing across the hard set of his jaw and the faint scent of healing herbs rising between us.
I turned back to my work, pressing a cloth soaked with cool water against Ace's lacerated skin before applying more of the healing salve.
"Just know—" I finally broke the quiet, my voice low. "Everything I do . . . everything I've done since finding out about Emelyn, I've done it all to keep her safe." I paused for a moment. "And I'll always do what needs to be done to keep her safe—and you because of her."
It took him a moment, but Ace eventually responded. "At least that's one thing we can agree on." His hands moved, carrying a note of camaraderie. A faint smile of understanding graced his lips, as if the acknowledgment of our shared goal had chipped away at the wall he had put up.
In that fleeting moment, something shifted—the slightest bit of tension eased between us. We were two men marred by legacies we’d never asked for, our lives intertwined by fate and the fierce will to protect Emelyn.
Chapter Five
Kade
Flashback…
The heavy doors groaned open, and my father’s firm hand guided me into the vastness of his throne room. The weight of expectancy hung in the air like fog, pressing against my small shoulders, making me feel as though I needed to stand straighter.
"Come, Kade." My father's voice resonated through the chamber, pulling me forward as my eyes danced over the fires that lined the walls.
Marlena and Willow, the soothsayers, sat on the opposite side of the throne room from us. Their gazes found mine across the room. A chill curled around my spine, but I squared my jaw and approached, mirroring the bravery I had seen in my mother countless times when she was scared of my father.
We settled before them. I had sat in the balconies countless times for the readings the soothsayers did for my father, but I had never been the one sitting in front of them.
"Welcome, young prince. It appears your fate has been chosen for you," Marlena said as her eyes clouded over, turning a milky white, the color of winter skies.
Despite the familiarity of Marlena's craft, something felt different this time. Maybe because the reading was mine. Then my heart quickened. I was worried she would see my secret: that I could wield shadows. Suddenly, I felt queasy at the thought of Marlena revealing to my father that I did. Mother had told me all my life to keep that power to myself, keep it hidden because it would one day keep me and my brother safe, and so far I had done well at keeping it under wraps.
All I could do was hope that she wouldn't see it.
"You are the master of all the elements," she said.
I swallowed hard, my mouth suddenly dry. What? It couldn't be. I couldn't be . . .
“He is the Peacebringer, and with him, the end shall come,” she finished, her voice dropping to a hushed, foreboding tone. Willow didn’t look very intrigued about what was happening right now. Did she think something different? I would have to talk with her soon. She always healed my mother after my father got too rough. And what did Marlena mean by the end? The endto what? My mind raced with the implications of her words, the weight of them settling on my chest.
Marlena's trancelike state waned, her eyes clearing to their natural color. I frowned, my role as the eldest son and heir to Ember already carrying expectations I could barely fathom. I was only a boy. I didn’t know how to save the world. But as my father clasped a hand on my shoulder and smiled down at me, I had a feeling he didn’t want me to save anything—because my father only knew how to break things.
Darkness clung to my rooms, the only light a faint glow from the embers in the hearth, when I the grip of my father's hand on my shoulder woke me. His fingers dug into my flesh, rousing me.
"Wha—" My voice was thick with sleep.
