Page 46 of War Of Fire and Fortune
She looked back to me, still cradling Emeris’s lifeless body, and I saw it.
The shift.
The realization that she was no longer in control.
With a snarl, she turned and barked a command to any soldiers still standing.
“Fall back! FALL BACK NOW!”
They didn’t hesitate. Those who hadn’t already collapsed scrambled to retreat, trampling their own dead in their desperation to flee the darkness that was hunting them.
Valla cast one last look at me. Not victorious. Not mocking.
Just . . . wary.
Then she vanished into the smoke.
And I was left alone, holding the body of the only creature who had never betrayed me, never doubted me, never left me—until now.
Another surge of pain shot through me, and I toppled over, wanting to scream as Baron rushed to me.
“Shay!” he cried out as he made it to me, sliding to me on his knees and cupping my face as tears lined his blue eyes and stained his cheeks. He searched my body for any injuries, but I just shook my head.
“The baby.” I breathed. “Is coming.”
“Fuck.” He went to grab me and cradle me in his arms, but I didn’t want to leave Emeris.
“Wait—”
“We will come back for her. We have to take care of you first. It’s what she would have wanted.”
I groaned and gripped onto Baron as another wave of pain rushed through me, and then the shadows darkened around us and the world went dark.
Chapter Thirty-One
Rhet
The clank of my chains echoed in the dim cell. I slumped against the cold stone wall, every breath a struggle against the enchanted restraints that sapped all my strength. My wounds continued to weep since I couldn’t fully heal before Valla would come back and tear me apart all over again. A mixture of blood and dirt soaked into the tattered remains of my shirt. Bruises marred my skin in varying shades of color.
I had tried to free myself. I had tried to send a shadow crow to let the rebellion know what was happening. I had even tried screaming, hoping someone would somehow hear me, but I knew it was useless to even try.
Emelyn had been here once, trapped just like me. Guilt gnawed at my conscience as I remembered how we had lefther alone in a similar place. We didn't torture or starve her—we had some shred of decency. But now, feeling the relentless drain of my own power, I understood the exhaustion she must have felt, the despair. It was a slow, torturous bleed, a constant leeching that left you empty and hollow. I made a mental note to apologize to her again next time I saw her.
I closed my eyes, trying to shut out the world, to find some solace in the darkness behind my lids. But there was none to be found, only the haunting image of what could be happening. Was the rebellion ambushed? Was Cyran safe? Did Ember capture Emelyn again? Kade . . . was he okay?
My chest tightened, and I cursed myself for a fool for getting caught. I didn’t know how long I’d been here. Days had melded into nights. Normally, I’d try to keep track of the time based off of when meals would come, but none ever did. Hunger gripped me, and the enchantments were relentlessly draining.
Valla should have already come in here and done whatever she wanted before leaving, but today was different. I’d been awake for at least a few hours now and she still hadn’t arrived. Which I assumed meant they were supposed to ambush Ember and Valla was there instead. Which would mean I’d probably have more time before she returned.
The door slammed against the wall with a clank. Valla staggered in with a little bit of a limp and fury painted across her face. The stench of blood, sweat, and ash assaulted my senses before I saw the dark stain of blood on her side and the crimson along her leg. Her armor was singed and blackened by fire. And her hair, usually in a meticulous crown for battle, hung in disheveled locks around her angry face.
Without a word, she closed the distance between us, her gait a little unsteady. She was back too soon. Where were the ships docked? Surely, she couldn’t have gone to battle and gotten back that quickly. My pulse quickened as her iron fist hit my jaw. Asickening crack resonated, and for a moment, the world spun, pain exploding like stars behind my eyes. I slumped to the side, my chains rattling against the wall.
But as agony pulsed through my head and blood trickled from my mouth, a grin curved my lips. Because she was angry and bleeding. Which meant she’d lost.
I saw our victory through the fury in her eyes. The rebellion had slipped through her grasp, and now she was here to take out her frustrations on me. Good. I’d let her do whatever she wanted to me as long as I knew they had gotten away. My mate, my brother, my true family. I wasn’t sure how Valla had ended up the way she had, but I didn’t consider her my sister anymore.
Her grip tightened in the fabric of my shirt, twisting it in her bloodied fists as if she could strangle the defiance from my very skin. "You are a traitorous piece of shit," Valla hissed, bringing my face to hers. "And I should kill you right here for what you did." She shoved me back so hard against the wall, my head slammed against the metal.
