Page 123 of Drawn in Blood
She leaned into hug him, brushing a kiss against his cheek, and whispered, “Protect them. I’ll be right behind you.”
“This might be a little easier.” Odette smiled as a ball of light appeared in her hand. She cast a quiet spell, and Ember’s gorgeous dress turned into pants and a shirt, the same deep blue and black that she had been wearing before, her knife still strapped to her thigh. She scowled as she thought about the knife, she hadn’t even been quick enough to grab it. She tied her hair back in a braid, stuffing the tiara and mask in her bag and made her way to the front of the hall.
“Quite the commotion.” Aesira smiled, her eyelids heavy. “I was wondering who would come out on top.”
“A warning would have been nice,” Ember said, as she rolled her eyes, quickly unlocking the door and swinging it open. The woman sat in the corner, ankles and wrist shackled.
“Tis a blood spell,” she said, as she held up the shackles. They clanged as she set them back down, like the weight was too much. “Only his blood can open it.”
“Well, it’s a good thing I’m his blood then, isn’t it?” Ember smiled, grabbing the knife from its holster at her thigh. She winced as the blood pooled on her palm, and then squeezed her hand tight. She walked over to the woman, letting the blood drop on each shackle, and whispered the spell she had committed to memory from the year before. The locks popped open with a quiet click, and Aesira gently shook herself free.
“I owe you a life debt,” Aesira said, as she stood. She was shaky on her feet and soon fell back on the stone bed at the wall.
“Well, you can cash that in now,” Ember said, as she made to hoist the woman up. “We need to get the kids out.”
Aesira shook her head. “I’m too weak,” she whispered hoarsely. “I’m afraid all I would do is hold you up.”
“If you stay here,” Ember replied, “they’ll lock you back up again without a second thought. You have to come with us.”
“I’ll make my way out,” Aesira shook her head, “but you must go. There isn’t much time.”
“I can’t leave you here,” Ember replied, as she bit her lip, glancing toward the open door behind her. “Maybe we can just?—"
“No,” Aesira replied, “get the children out. I’ll find you when I’m well again.”
“I don’t think I can do this by myself,” Ember whispered, watching as the wisps circled around her wrist and palm.
Aesira grabbed her hand and flipped it over. “Do you see this blueish vein on your wrist?”
Ember nodded.
“The blood flowing through them contains hemoglobin—a protein that has four iron atoms incorporated into it.” She ran her cold finger down the vein on Ember’s wrist. “Iron is only naturally produced in one place. Do you know where that is?”
Ember shook her head, brow furrowed.
“It can only be forged in the core of dying stars,” Aesira whispered. “You are built from, and kept alive by, pieces of stardust—you can do anything.”
Ember nodded, anything she wanted to say dying in her throat as she steadied herself. Aesira mumbled something weakly in the palm of her hand and then grabbed Ember’s right wrist. The magic flowed over Ember’s finger, wrapping her ring in blue light. It pulsed, burning into her skin and through her veins as it spread through her arms and into her chest. She thought she might collapse from the sheer intensity of it all, but then it was gone, only the gold band on her finger remained. Aesira gasped for air, like she had used the very last of her magic in the one enchantment.
“Your father put a protection spell on this ring when you were a child,” Aesira whispered. “It’s what kept you hidden and safe for so long. This will protect you from him, for the time being anyway. You must never take it off.”
He quickly pulled a small gold ring off his right hand and dug in his pocket, pulling a chain out and slipping it through the ring. He pulled the little girl off his shoulders, setting her gently on the ground, and slipped the chain over her head. “If there ever comes a day that I’m not here,” he whispered, as tears pricked the corners of his eyes, “this will keep you close to me. This will keep you safe.”
The memory reverberated in her mind as her chest tightened. Had he known what she would have to face, what she would have to fight? She rubbed the ring, feeling the warmth of the metal against the pad of her thumb. He had sacrificed everything for her, given his life to try to protect her. Even in death, she could feel him there, steadying her.
“You must go now,” Aesira said, as she ushered her out of the cell and into the cold corridor.
“Be safe,” Ember whispered, and then she ran out the door and down the corridor, meeting up with everyone at the end.
“Your Wildling friend decide to stay behind?” Killian asked, as she walked up beside him.
“She’ll be okay,” Ember replied, but she wasn’t so sure.
They made their way through the tunnels, Rowan, Odette and Fen in the front with Theo, and Killian and Ember bringing up the rear. They walked for what felt like hours, winding through the tunnels, only whispering if they came at a fork and needed to figure out what way to go. The tunnel finally widened, and they found themselves in a large room with walls of stone on all sides, a giant pool of water glistening in the middle. There was no exit, just rock all around and above them, and Ember felt her stomach drop.
“Where’s the cave?” Fen asked, as he found a rock to sit on.
“I think we’re in it, mate.” Killian sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck.
