Page 47 of Shattered Heir
I cut her off. “Shad does.”
“How do you know for sure? He is soulless. He doesn't really—I mean, there isn't much going on up there, is there?”
I turned to look at her. She was still looking at the sky.
“Shad was there. He asked who Cade was, and I told him that it was his brother, and that I thought he was Cade. He was annoyed that I couldn't tell the difference. But he remembered my birthday, or I don’t know if he had it scheduled before he became a soulless, maybe, because he brought me a pink rose yesterday.”
“Remember, Emma, Shad isn’t himself, but hey, that's good that he got you something.”
“I know he is supposed to be soulless, but he seems just like a crankier version of himself, with these moments, almost teasing glimpses into the Shad I love. He is still in there, I knowit, and I let him down. I don't want to let him down, Ash. He is counting on me. He sacrificed himself to save me.”
“You didn't let him down. You are amazing, Emma. But he also doesn't have much in the way of memories, right? Wouldn't that be frustrating? That was probably why he was mad. He didn't even know his brother. He doesn't fully remember you, either.”
“I can understand that, I guess.” I paused, looking back at the sky. “But, Keil told him that we were kind of a thing, and so he was also mad that I never told him about our relationship; then I slipped up and told him that we had kissed, and that I loved him, and well, it was a mess,” I cringed.
“Wow, that is a lot, I think, for anyone to take in, Emma.”
“Yeah, and you didn't see the look on his face, Ash. He hates me. How am I to live in a world where Shad hates me? I don't think I can do it.” I sat up, trying to stop the tears from spilling from my eyes. Ash followed my movements and sat up. She put an arm around me. I watched as several students passed by us, and I tried not to cringe when they gave us odd looks. I needed a more private spot to do whatever it was I was doing out there.
“I thought you said that he gave you a rose yesterday. Didn't he used to do that before? That is a good sign, even if he had it scheduled, or even ordered beforehand. He didn't have to put it in his bag and bring it to school, let alone give it to you, right?”
“I thought so, but then after he gave it to me, he wanted to take it back, and I said, ‘no,’ that I wanted it, and I slipped it into my backpack, and he looked mad again, like I had said something that upset him. Why would he be upset that I wanted the rose?” I put my face in my hands.
“Emma, we’ll figure this out.”
“I can't go in there,” I said as a few tears escaped. I sniffled, nodding toward the school.
“Yes, you can. We will do it together.”
“Ash,” I whined as she stood up and reached for my hand.
“Emma, I promise, it will be okay,” she smiled. Ash had a way about her. Pure joy just radiated from her. I wondered if it was her melody that made her that way, but I didn't really know if it was because she carried a crystal around her neck, and I couldn’t really hear her melody, now, could I? I hadn't really ever tried, though, to be honest.
“Don't leave me,” I said, throwing on my backpack and tucking my hair behind my ears.
“Wouldn't dream of it.” She looped her arm in mine. “Oh, and girl, we really need to get you out of wearing all this black. I mean, I know some stuff has gone wrong, but the Ancients will turn things around for you.”
“The Ancients hate me.”
“Why, in all the realms, would they hate you?” Ash asked, stopping and folding her arms across her chest and glaring at me. She would have been super intimidating if she had been like five inches taller, but Ash was small.
“They let my parents die, and Shad hates me—”
“Sometimes, the bad stuff is just the Ancients’, or the Creator’s way of preparing us for something amazing that is coming just over the horizon. I mean, like after you get over the hard stuff, for example, a mountain. As you climb a mountain, it's hard, and you get tired and sweaty, and your muscles ache, and hello, you can even get hurt or lost—”
I looked at her and wondered where she was possibly going with that, because I had, literally, just climbed over said mountain, just two weeks earlier.
She held up a hand as if to say that she would explain, and I waited.
“So you get to the top of this mountain, then you go down again. You reach the other side where it’s grassy and beautiful, and there is a hot spring and your favorite ice cream.”
“Is there a point to this fantasy?” I asked, laughing. It was getting oddly specific.
“Yes, just wait for your hot spring and ice-cream reward, Emma. The Ancients always bless those who do good.” She took a large breath and sighed. “I think it made more sense the way Glass said it, but mine was more fun.”
“What was his reward?”
“He didn't say, just said, ‘your greatest desire,’ and he said it all weird and cryptic-like. I am telling you, he is an odd one.”
