Page 10 of Ashes In The Wind & Islands Of Ash
I touched his shoulder, gently tugging him to face me. His eyes stayed pinned on the dirt at my feet as he turned. I wrapped my arms around him tightly. The throbbing pain in my shoulder barked at the movement, but I didn’t care. I felt him rest his head in the crook of my neck as he accepted my embrace. After a few beats of my heart, he wrapped his arms around me and squeezed. I felt the warmth of his tears on my neck.
I hissed as Ace wrapped my bleeding hand. It would heal within a few hours with my fae healing, or I could heal it now if I had some water on me, but I didn’t. And I didn’t need to waste any more energy by trying to wield it from afar.
“I’m sorry,” Ace signed. “I should’ve come to you.”
“Don’t be.” I shook my head at him. “I can’t imagine what you’re going through, but I can promise you I’ll be here.” I gave him a reassuring smile.
“Thank you.” He offered his hand to help me stand as he stretched out his wings. “We should—” He stopped signing as he looked out toward the open expanse. The bright orange glow reminded me of the sun rising over the ocean. But it wasn’t the sunrise. It was the burning glow of Ember fae soldiers creating a wave of fire in the distance, almost as if they were waving a flag to let everyone know they had arrived. I could already feel the heat gathering around me as the flames grew taller. My eyes widened and my lips parted as Ace reached out his hand.
“Time to go…” My voice trailed off as he gathered me into his arms and launched us into the skies, toward the direction of our front lines.
Chapter Seven
The heat radiated from the glowing flames as we grew closer to our people waiting on the ground below. My father and Hallan were on the front line together, and a cascade of faces glared at Ace and me as he landed and gently placed my feet on the soil. My father was next to me within three long, quick strides, pulling me into his embrace. I buried my head in his chest.
“Where have you been?” He let out a shaky breath. “I was so worried about you.” I had never heard fear in my father’s tone before, but it encompassed every word. He feared what was coming, and it made my heart plummet to my gut. My father had never been afraid of anything in his life. He was always strong, and fierce, and my rock anytime I needed him to be. He was the reason I grew up to be everything that I was, and he’d be there to watch everything that I would become after we made it through this. I was sure of it.
Hallan stood still as stone when he laid eyes on his son. They glared at each other solemnly as the silence of loss stretched between them. The pain on both of their faces grew as they approached each other. Hallan released a shuddering breath as he pulled his son into a firm embrace with tear-lined eyes. He held him close, as if letting him go would mean losing him too. It seemed to be the first time they were seeing each other since Kali’s death. They had lost so much within a night. We all had. But there was no time to mourn. We would mourn once the battle was done.
“Where’s Ima?” I asked as I peered over at the faces closest to us.
“She fell back with the rest of the healers, where she’s needed most.” He released me. “If you hurry, you can get there and back before we march.”
I nodded and gave him one last quick hug before darting around the crowd of warriors. I glanced back at Ace and signed to him I’d be right back before I disappeared through the array of bodies. Pushing my way through sweaty warriors and slick leather armor, eventually I made it to the back, through the trees, where the healers were preparing themselves.
Something seemed off. All of them were standing still. Tears lined their eyes, as if we had already lost this battle. Our people always had a strong will, so I didn’t understand why the healers all seemed to be in a somber trance.
Seeing my mother, I ran and barreled into her, wrapping my arms around her, breathing her in. I had seen how much could change within a night, and I didn’t know what was going to happen from this moment forward. I savored her warmth before she stepped from my hold and cupped my face in her hands. Tears were already streaming down her face. I smelled the metallic tang of blood and glanced down at her, looking for wounds.
“I’m okay, Eme,” she said with a shaky, reassuring smile.
“Why are you bleeding? What happened, Ima?” I asked, seeing a small, leaking wound on her side staining her clothes. I tried to tend to her, but she brought my attention back up to her face.
“Listen to me, Eme.” Her voice was a tremoring whisper. “I love you with every fiber of my being…”
“Ima, you’re scaring me. What’s wrong?”
Her eyes shook as she studied me closely, and then she suddenly realized something. She removed a hand from my face and moved it to her side. The movement was so faint as she told me something.
“Poison,” she signed with her hand. It was so minuscule anyone else would have missed it. Especially if they didn’t know the language. It was a warning.
I kept my features calm, but I was falling apart internally as the dread of what had happened dawned on me. Ember poisoned our healers.
Being a healer meant you had the ability to restore others, finding their injury from the inside out, using your power to mend them. Most water benders had the means to heal themselves, but to use your abilities on others was a unique gift entirely that took time to master. Even if our people had the potential to heal, if they were bleeding out or weak, doing so would be impossible if they had already expended their energy in battle. And it wouldn’t matter if they tried if a moment later there was a sword waiting at their necks or fire aimed at their hearts.
I tried to steady my breathing, but the looming shadow of what was happening was waiting within the trees. Ember was here, somewhere, and I had interrupted their plans. The wave of fire was a taunt, like a flag waving us in the direction they wanted us to go, herding us like animals, thinking that waswhere the attack was forming. All the while they planted poison in our healers and were ambushing us from behind.
My mother brought her hand back up to my face, bringing me out of my thoughts as her lip trembled.
“Eme, go back to the front with your pada. We have everything taken care of back here,” she tried to reassure me again, but in reality, her eyes were telling me to run, to get help. I shook my head, but her eyes grew stern at my resistance. Ember was here, but my mother was only thinking of my safety.
“Now, Eme,” she commanded.
“Ima—” My voice cracked.
“No, my love, do not say goodbye to me.” She sniffled, pulling me into a tight hug, placing a gentle kiss atop my head. “I want you to know that whatever happens, do not let this world take away your light.”
“Enough with the sap.” A vile cackle followed the man’s statement as he came out from behind the trees. More followed behind him. They were lying in wait, listening within the trees. Some healers were already so weak, they lay on the ground or leaned against a tree, their breaths growing more ragged by the minute. All the men wore all black, and some wore masks while others showed their faces proudly. Their uniforms were not the same as Ember’s, but I was sure Ember had something to do with this.
