Page 102 of Drawn in Blood
“The prophecy,” Ember mumbled. She didn’t know how she knew; she just did.
Rowan nodded. “He isn’t content to just be back to full power anymore. He wantsallthe power, and he needs you to get it.”
“What do you mean byall?”Ember narrowed her eyes.
“All as in… more than the Vala and Merrow and Fae have combined. A power that would make him immortal.”
Like a god.
Ember felt a chill run down her spine. “What good am I to him?” she asked, though she wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer.
“I don’t know,” Rowan replied. “I just know the Wildling he has now doesn’t have the power he needs. He’s gotten greedy and desperate—and desperate men with power are dangerous.”
Ember’s throat tightened. That woman in the dungeon—was she the other Wildling?
“Why are you telling me this?” Ember asked. “Why are you suddenly so keen on helping me? You didn’t seem to care what happened to me last year.”
Rowan averted her eyes.“I regret every decision I made leading up to the day in the ballroom,” she whispered, “but I do not, for even a moment, regret becoming your friend.”
“Well,” Ember replied, “that makes one of us.” She tried not to wince as she saw the way Rowan’s face fell. The girl was trying, but could she really blame Ember for not trusting her?
“A few months ago, Collum started receiving letters from someone. He was giving them inside information, but something spooked him.” Ember held her breath as she listened. “He asked me to take the information he had gathered to the Jarl, but I read them instead. He was going to put so many people’s lives in danger, and I couldn’t let that happen.”
“Who were the letters from?” Ember asked, interest suddenly piqued.
“I don’t know,” Rowan replied, as she shook her head. “It was all anonymous. I don’t even know if they’re on the island. But what I do know is that it was that moment I decided to stop being Helvig’s puppet. I took over the letters, started writing back to them and feeding them information. I want to help.”
Ember wasn’t sure if she trusted her—wasn’t sure if she would ever trust her again. Her throat tightened as she took a shaky breath. “So, that’s all it took?” she asked, as she flexed her hand by her side. “A few measly letters from an anonymous source and the possibility of strangers getting hurt?That’swhatchanged your mind? Not the kidnapping of dozens of innocent children?”
“I didn’t know he was kidnapping anyone,” Rowan bit back. “I’m not the monster you’ve made me out in your head to be, Ember.”
“You tried tokill me, Rowan.” Ember felt the lick of flames against her palms, magic crackling at her fingertips. “You could’ve killed Killian or Fen. So, you’ll have to forgive me for not giving a damn that you want to do the ‘right thing’ now.”
“I wasn’t trying to kill anyone,” Rowan replied. “I was trying to survive. By the time I realized what he was, it was too late. I was in too deep, and I had to protect my mum.”
Ember bit the inside of her cheek. “You could’ve told someone,” She whispered, resenting the emotion that bobbed in her throat. “Eira or Otto or Professor Bjorn.” She swallowed as she silently cursed the tears threatening to spill over. “You could’ve told me. We could’ve figured it out together.”
“I didn’t know who I could trust. I didn’t have anyone.” Rowan shook her head. “My mum lost herself in grief, my brother and dad were gone. I was alone, and Helvig was there.”
“You were never alone, Rowan.”
“My daddied,” Rowan began. “My dad died, and I?—“
“So did mine,” Ember bit back, “but I didn’t decide to grieve him by hurting everyone who loved me. You don’t get to play the ‘dead dad’ card, Rowan, not now, not with me.” She could feel the magic rolling under her skin as Rowan hung her head. “We were there,” she continued. “We were there, and you were just too blinded by power to see the family you still had. We could’ve helped you.” Her chest ached, the wound she had so carefully stitched close now ripped open again, as raw as the day she received it.
“I can see that now,” Rowan nodded, cheeks flushed, “and I’m trying to make amends. I’m trying to fix the damage I caused.”
“Some damage can’t be undone,” Ember replied. She wanted to hurt her, wanted her to feel just an ounce of what she had felt in that ballroom.
“How many times do I have to apologize?”
“I’ll let you know.” Ember shrugged. She had no intention of forgiving the girl or forgetting all the pain she had caused.
“I’m not asking you to forgive me,” Rowan whispered. “I just want to help. I want to make things right.”
Theo grabbed Ember’s hand and looked up at her, then over to Rowan, tilting his head. She seemed to squirm under the weight of Theo’s stare until he looked back up at Ember.
“Second chance,”was all he signed before he turned back to Rowan and smiled, and Ember gave him a reluctant nod. She could try—that’s the best she could offer at this point.
