Page 135 of Drawn in Blood
I’m here.
“Ember, Theo, please come and stand in front of me,” Thea said gently, as she touched her arm and moved them to the center of the circle. “Now, Eira, hold Ember’s forearm, and, Ember, do the same.”
Ember’s eyes met Eira’s, and it took everything in her to hold back the tears. Eira’s eyes were misty as she smiled.
“Otto, please do the same with Theo’s arm.” And he did, giving them both a gentle squeeze and a soft smile that eased Ember’s nerves.
Thea didn’t have to tell Ember and Theo to grab hands. He held tight to her, like she was a lifeline, and she did the same. Thea hovered her hand over their arms, and a silver cord spun from her palms, wrapping around Ember’s skin, and hugging it like a glove. It felt warm and safe, like crawling into bed the night before Yule and reading till you fell asleep. The cord wrapped around Eira’s and Otto’s arms as well, and Ember could feel the magic already beginning to thrum through it.
“I will say the incantation, and when I’m finished, the cord will disappear, and the bonding ritual will be complete.” Thea smiled. “Are you ready?”
Ember took a shaky breath and nodded. “I’m ready,” she whispered. Her eyes met Fen’s, and he gave her a teary smile, quickly wiping his eyes with the back of his hands.
Thea closed her eyes and spoke the incantation like she had known it since birth, and goosebumps ran up and down Ember’s arms.
“Two families,bound together.
Strength for storms that they might weather.
May the Gods of Asgard guide their steps,
Fill their hearts where they have kept
An open spot for love to fill,
and move mighty mountains so they might be still.
Not bone of my bone,
Nor flesh of my flesh,
But a child of my heart with each dying breath.”
Not just an incantation.It was a prayer to the gods.
Magic swelled around them, the cord wrapping around their arms with an intensity Ember had never felt. Her heart thumped heavily in her chest as the light grew brighter, and just as quickly as it began, it was gone, the chord disappearing and leaving Ember’s wrists tingling. Eira wrapped her and Theo in a tight hug, tears soaking the tops of their heads as she sobbed.
“Welcome home, Mo Chroí,” Otto whispered, as he hugged the both of them. “Welcome home.”
Sometimes it happens that new beginnings don’t come at once, but at last.
Life settledback into something akin to a normal rhythm. Ember settled back into her room, all her things already waiting for her from when Fen and Killian had retrieved them from Maize. She put books back on the shelf, unpacked all her clothes, and put her father’s journal safely in her bedside table drawer. Looking around the room made her heart ache. It was a glimmer of who she had been before grief had decimated her so thoroughly for the second time in her life.
It would never be like it was, not entirely. The gaping wounds would heal, but the scars would remain—a stark reminder of the pain she had endured, and would endure until her dying breath. She shook away the thought and unpacked the rest of her things, then made her way across the hall.
Theo’s new room was right beside Fen’s, and he couldn’t have been happier. Out of all the things he acquired from their father, the most notable was his love for reading. Books were stacked on every surface he could find, pulled no doubt from the library down the hall. Ember rolled her eyes with a grin as she leaned on the door frame.
Theo was sprawled out on his floor, bags still halfway packed, three books open around him as he laid on his stomach. He jumped when he looked up and saw her, a sheepish grin on his face as his cheeks colored red.
“Three at a time? Really?” she asked with a laugh.
“How will I ever read them all?”he signed back, his grin growing.
“Don’t forget to eat.” Ember laughed, then pushed off the door and made her way downstairs. She walked outside, having had every intention of going to the orchards for a ride, but she stopped short when she saw Maeve sitting on the couch on the sprawling porch, knees pulled up to her chest as she stared at the setting sun. Della laid in front of her, curled into a ball and fast asleep. She hadn’t left the girl’s side in the week that followed their return, and Ember marveled at the bond between the animal and the little girl.
Maeve didn’t seem to notice her walk up. The shadows of grief danced across her face. She was not the same seven-year-old who had been taken from her bed in the middle of the night. Grief had molded her into something no child should ever have to become.
“Mind if I sit?” Ember asked, as she walked over to her. Maeve gave her a quiet nod, and Ember sat down, chewing on the inside of her cheek. They sat like that for a while as Ember tried to think of something to say.
