Page 55 of War Of Fire and Fortune
Rhet's lips curled back, and with an insolent sneer, he spat a mouthful of blood at our father’s polished boots. "Eat shit." His voice was hoarse and weak but laced with defiance. It even caught me a little off guard. My brother had always tried to be level-headed, so much so he would even sometimes get lost in the background, but it looked like he'd endured so much torment that he just didn't care anymore.
Our father recoiled, his face contorting with rage. His arm drew back, muscles coiling beneath the fine fabric of his royal attire. A crack shattered the quiet as his fist connected with Rhet's jaw. My brother's body crumpled, hitting the cold marble floor.
"Take him to the courtyard," Father bellowed, his voice echoing off the walls. "He shall be made an example of. The people shall know that even my children won't escape my wrath if they betray me. Just like the rest of my family didn't."
Valla's grin stretched across her face. She snapped her fingers, and her men obeyed without question, hauling Rhet's limp form from the floor. Their hands were rough, their faces impassive masks as they dragged him toward the heavy doors that led outside.
"Fuck," I muttered under my breath. They were going to kill him, execute him for all to see. Every fiber of my being screamed to intervene, but I held back. I needed to wait for the right moment to strike.
Each soldier who lagged behind, I struck—my powers lashing out from the darkness to ensnare them. One by one, they vanished into the void of my Hollow, their absence unnoticed by the rest as I dispensed them elsewhere within the palace.
I saw keys dangling from one of the soldier’s waists. A flicker of my shadows reached for them, and then they were mine. The remaining men exchanged puzzled looks, brows furrowed in confusion as they glanced behind them, but they marched on regardless. Fear kept their questions at bay, of what lurked in the shadows, Valla's wrath, and of my father. I could taste it coming off them.
As we breached the courtyard, a sea of faces turned toward us—eyes wide, whispers already spreading like wildfire. Soon, everyone would know about the betrayal of the Prince of Ember. People clustered around the stone dais, its surface stained with the memories of royal blood spilled all those years ago. My breath caught as they heaved Rhet onto the platform. His consciousness had come back, but the pain etched into his features made me want to kill everyone here.
"My people, I come to you today because there is a traitor in our midst." Valos's voice boomed over the crowd. He seized Rhet by the hair, yanking his head up brutally to expose his battered face to the kingdom. A collective gasp rippled through the onlookers. "And it's my own blood."
He shoved Rhet aside with disgust, turning back to address the masses as if continuing some performance. My muscles tensed, my senses sharpening; this was the moment. With a subtle movement of my shadows, I slipped the keys into Rhet's hands. The faintest upturn of his lips confirmed to me that he knew I was here for him. I watched him start to work to get the cuffs off as my father's rant filled the air.
Valos stood tall, his silhouette a dark smudge against the pale sky. His voice rolled over those gathered like thunder. "We have been here before, haven't we? I have shown Ember that I will kill anyone who stands in my way, regardless of blood or not, and today will be no different."
His head swiveled toward Rhet as a hush descended over the crowd.
"Any last words, son?" Valos taunted. Flames sparked to life in his palm, dancing around his hand. But when Rhet met our father's gaze, defiance was burning from his bruised features. A wry smile played on his lips. And then, he released the shackles, letting them clatter to the ground, the sound echoing starkly in the sudden stillness.
In that heartbeat of chaos, that perfect sliver of distraction, I moved. Shadows wrapped around me as I Hollowed through the space between us. I materialized next to Rhet, close enough to feel the heat radiating from my father's hand. Time slowed, and the crowd's gasps and whispers faded into insignificance. I reached for Rhet, the shadows curling around us both, ready to disappear.
“Eat shit,” I hissed. The shadows around us churned violently, tendrils of darkness wrapping tighter around Rhet and me. My father's eyes, wide with shock and fury, locked onto mine for a fleeting moment, the realization dawning that he had failed, that I had been there all along, rejecting everything he’d ever done. Both of his sons were traitors to their empire.
I wrenched us into my Hollow. Behind us, the echo of Valos's roars cleaved at the edges of my darkness. It reverberated through the void like thunder, a storm of fury that raged against the inky shroud that we slipped through.
And then we were gone.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Emelyn
The sharp, metallic scent of blood swirled in the tent, mingling with the earthy aroma of healing herbs I had crushed between my fingers to make a tea that would hopefully help Rhet feel better. He lay on a cot, his chest rising and falling with shallow breaths. I hovered above him, my hands glowing with faint blue light as my bending washed over him. The deep lacerations that marred his skin slowly began to knit together, the angry red of exposed flesh fading to the healthier pink of newly healed scars.
Kade's presence was a shadow at my back, solid and warm, while Ace stood by silently for his friends. Cyran sat at Rhet’s side, his expression carved from stone, but I could see the slight tremor in his clenched fists. I knew how he felt. Watching theone you loved suffer and feeling helpless was one of the worst things to experience.
My focus tunneled into healing when suddenly, Rhet's hand shot out, his fingers wrapping around my wrist. His touch halted the flow of my bending, the blue glow dissipating.
"Emelyn, I'll be alright," he rasped, his voice hoarse but steady, though pain flickered across his features.
"Are you sure?" I questioned, my brow furrowing.
"Yeah, you're just as bad as Cyran," he muttered, a ghost of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. Cyran hadn't left his side from the moment he’d appeared through Kade's Hollow. His unwavering gaze had followed every motion I’d made, every tea I’d steeped, every wound I’d healed, as if he wanted to commit them to memory and get his revenge later. I couldn’t blame him.
"Alright, you know where I am if you need anything." I stood.
“Thank you,” Cyran said to me as Kade's hand moved to the small of my back and guided me out of the tent.
“No problem,” I replied as the flap closed, and we moved through the quiet camp, the tension between us palpable, thrumming with an intensity that sent shivers down my spine.
Kade’s thumb traced small circles against my back, each stroke igniting a flame deep within me. I yearned for him now more than I ever had before. Rhet had been returned to us, Shay and the baby were settled, and everyone and everything was okay for the moment, but we knew this calm before the storm wouldn’t last long, and I was sure everyone wanted to take advantage of it.
As we neared our own tent, the world fell momentarily still, peaceful. There wasn’t anything that needed our immediate attention, and it was nice.
