Page 69 of Drawn in Blood
“I’ll be there next time, Mo Stór.” She smiled, kissing her head once again. “I promise.”
Ember nodded. “Of course, Mum, have a good evening.” She smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.
Aoife blew her a kiss and headed to the Traveling Room, and Ember shook her head, willing herself to focus on the upcoming game and not the hollowness growing in her chest.
“Oh, thank the Gods,”Fen breathed, as he shot up from the bench in the changing room.
Ember scrunched her brow as she walked in, leaning her AirWave against one of the lockers, and pulling her gloves onto her shaking hands. “What are you on about?” she asked, as she looked around the room. Everyone was milling about and chatting, no one seemed to be as nervous as she was. No one was pacing the way her feet were begging to. Were they all just really good at hiding it, or was she on her own here?
“You were meant to be here by four,” Fen replied, crossing his arms tightly over his chest, sweat already glistening on his brow.
Ember tilted her head. “Did something happen to Killian this afternoon?”
“Of course not,” he said, shaking his head. “Why would you ask that?”
“Because last I checked,” she replied, “Killian is my captain, not you. If he has a problem with the time I’ve arrived, I expect he would tell me himself.” She pulled her phone out of her back pocket, quickly glancing at the screen. “Besides, it’s barely five past, so I’m not even late.”
“On time is late, Ember,” he defended.
Ember cut her eyes at him, readying herself to berate him about how oftenhewas late, when Killian came up and squeezed his shoulder.
“Cut her a little slack mate,” he grinned. “It’s five minutes, not five hours.” Killian’s eyes raked over her, and she suddenly felt very self-conscious in her uniform.
“What?” she asked, twirling a braid nervously in her finger.
Killian grinned with a shrug. “You look nice, Starshine. You ready?”
Ember let out a breath and nodded. “As I’ll ever be.” She began to tug on her gloves and shoulder pads, strapping the caman to her back when Odette came over with a water bottle and a soothing smile.
“Are you on the team?” Ember asked, as she took a swig of the cold water that did nothing to calm the nerves rolling through her stomach.
“I volunteered to hand out waters.” Odette shrugged. “Volunteer work looks good on university applications.”
Ember furrowed her brow. She hadn’t even considered university, let alone that she might take extracurriculars from amagical school. She shook the thought away as she focused back on the game ahead.
The stadium was packed, every seat filled, a sea of navy with gold and maroon with silver—the Wyverns versus the Griffins, the first official game of the season. Ember’s stomach rolled as she stepped onto the pitch, following closely behind Killian and Fen—captain and co-captain. She couldn’t help but smile as they whispered to one another, no doubt going over the plays that had already committed to memory. She felt the invisible chord at her sternum thrum—the string that connected them, reminding her she was not alone, not now, not ever.
The crowd roared to life as both teams made their way to the center of the pitch. Ember searched the stands, praying that maybe her mum had left her meeting early and made her way to the game.
Theo waved down to her frantically, a huge smile on his face, Gaelen sitting beside him and trying to keep him from bouncing out of his seat. Otto and Eira were sitting beside them, Maeve grinning brightly as she talked animatedly to Theo.
And looking completely out of place holding a handmade sign that said,“Go Ember!”was her mother, decked out in navy and gold, smiling widely as she waved.
Ember grinned, tears pricking her eyes as she waved back. Her mother had skipped her meeting, a meeting she said she couldn’t miss, so she could come watch her first Rukr game. Her heart swelled as she looked at her family in the stands, and the utter joy she was feeling could’ve filled the entire stadium. Ember looked over to Theo, who was smiling and waving, freckled face lit up in the sun.
“Good luck,”he signed, and suddenly every bit of the anxiety she felt walking onto the pitch faded.
She strapped into her board and sailed into the air, hovering in the spot she had been assigned as she waited. Sweat trickleddown her brow as she eyed Veda across the field, her eyes never leaving her, like she had forgotten the game entirely and was solely focused on Ember. Her heartbeat steadily in her chest as she focused on Killian and Fen. She just had to focus on the game, and everything would be fine.
Get the Brazul through the H-shaped goal post on their end—two points for getting it over the top of the bar, one for underneath. Dodge the Broja if it comes toward her, or hit it as hard as she could with the caman. The rules were simple—it was the lack of rules that made her nervous.
The whistle sounded, ricocheting off the high stands surrounding the pitch and rattling her bones, and the game began. Fen took off to the left, quickly pulling his caman from the strap on his back and got in position. Ember flew higher, one eye on Veda and the other on the Brazul she was desperately searching for. One of the Griffins had it, and she was speeding toward their end of the pitch, one of her teammates guarding her on the other side.
Ember caught the Broja out of the corner of her eye, whipping her body around as she sped toward it. She quickly slipped the caman off her back and wrapped her fingers tightly around the handle, the weight of the wood digging into her hand through her gloves.
She swung—just one swift swing--and sent the Broja hurtling toward the Griffin player, aiming to knock her off course long enough for one of her teammates to grab the Brazul. The buzzing ball of red light narrowly missed the girl’s head, and Ember grit her teeth as she sped forward again.
The game went on like that for ages it seemed. Each team scored several points as the game progressed. They were neck-and-neck, no one ever in the lead for very long. The clock hovering above the pitch ticked down, faster than Ember would have liked, and before she knew it, there were only three minutesleft in the game, and they were tied—and Ember needed this win like she needed breath.
