Page 101 of Drawn in Blood
Helvig cocked a brow, a smile playing at the corner of his mouth, like he was enjoying this—like he wasentertained.
“Enough, Ember,” Aoife shot her a warning glance. “Drink your juice.”
Ember barked a laugh, throwing her head back as she grabbed the glass. “Drink the juice?” she asked. “How can I even trust that this is actually juice, hm? Perhaps it’s poisoned, and your grand plan is to get rid of me in the middle of brunch.” She slammed the glass on the table, orange juice sloshing across the wood. She stood, causing Collum to stiffen, hand against the dagger that sat strapped to his belt. Ember scoffed—some Valahe was, doesn’t even trust his own magic enough to not carry a weapon.
Rowan kicked her under the table, but she chose to ignore it.
“Maybe we should go for a walk,” Rowan whispered, grabbing her wrist, “to clear your head.”
Ember twisted it out of her grasp and slammed her fist on the table.
“No one is trying to poison you, Ember,” Aoife replied, a warning dripping in the words. “Sit down.”
“Perhaps we should have the Jarl try it first.” Ember grinned. “Just to be sure.”
“That will be quite enough of that,” Aoife hissed—another warning.
Ember grinned, but that grin faltered as Helvig barked a laugh. “Now, now, Aoife,” he raised a hand in the air, “it’s to be expected that she would be upset, even hurt. I won’t hold any baseless accusations against her.” He talked about her like she wasn’t there—like her temper tantrum hadn’t affected him in the slightest. He turned his attention beside her, to Theo, and smiled. “Perhaps we should take young Theo on a tour of the castle.” He smiled. “After all, it will be his home soon.” His teeth sparkled against the midday sun beating through the windows, and Ember saw red.
“Over my dead bod—" she started to shout, but Rowan quickly stood up beside her, grabbing her arm and smiling at Helvig.
“That is alovelyidea,” she cooed. “I’ll do the honors. Shall we start with the garden?” She dragged Ember away from the table, and Theo followed without missing a beat. Ember stumbled as Rowan pushed her through the glass doors, her sweet smile never faltering as she pulled them into the large garden. A maze of tall hedges sat in the middle; a large fountain lined withbenches right in front of it. Rowan gestured toward the maze and walked Ember and Theo into it.
“Let me go!” Ember hissed, yanking her arm free and rubbing the spot Rowan’s nail had dug into her skin. “What the hell are you doing?”
“What amIdoing?” Rowan whispered loudly, checking over her shoulder. “What areyoudoing?”
“Apparently, I’m going for a walk,” Ember gestured to the hedges around her, “with my own little watchdog.” She was not pulling any punches, and she didn’t care who they landed on.
“If I didn’t get you out of there,” Rowan replied, “Collum was going to hang you from the chandelier by your toes.”
Ember rolled her eyes. “I don’t need you watching out for me.”
“Well, apparently, you do, Em,” Rowan replied, as she crossed her arms,
Ember stiffened. “Don’t call me that.”
“The more you push back, the worse it’s going to be,” Rowan replied. “They do not tolerate rebellion of any sort. They’ll have you locked in that dungeon too before they let you fight.”
“The dungeon?” Ember asked, furrowing her brow. “What do you know about the dungeon?”
“More than you think.”
“So, what do you want me to do then?” Ember asked, anger rumbling deep in her chest. “Just give up? Give them what they want and forget about Maeve or Theo or all of those kids locked up under our feet?”
“Of course that’s not what I want,” Rowan replied, as she rolled her eyes. “I’m saying you have to be discreet. If we’re going to save them, Helvig and Collum and everyone else have to believe you’re on board with the idea—excited about it even. It will be much easier to make plans without nosy lieutenants hovering over your shoulder. If we want to win, you must makethem think you’ve accepted your fate. You have to make them believe you’ve resigned yourself to lose.”
This wasn’t the girl she had fought in the crumbling building at the foot of the mountains. This wasn’t the hollow faced girl she had first seen in the foyer months ago. No, she was different. There was a new light in her eyes—something had shifted.
“He has other plans,” she replied. “He doesn’t just want to heal his magical core, not anymore. He wants control.” She sighed. “Control overeverything.”
“I’m going to need you to be less vague,” Ember replied. “I don’t have all day.” She shifted her weight—the truth was she would rather be out there with Rowan than inside with everyone else.
“He believes the island is his birthright—that it was promised to his family, specifically by the gods when they settled the island.”
Ember remembered her mom saying something about that, but what did that have to do with her?
“He found a page in the Book of Shadows that would heal him, that much is true,” Rowan continued, “but he also found another page—not a spell so much as an old legend—instructions of sorts.”
