Page 38 of Drawn in Blood
Ember nodded as she swallowed, feeling like her eyes might bulge completely out of her head. Mrs. Kitt was going to kill all four of them if she ever found out about this.
They walked down a hill and into a city that resembled Aztec ruins. The entire city sat at the top of three towering waterfalls, and Ember was mesmerized as she watched the blue crash into the jagged rocks at the bottom. Maia took off into the sky, and Ember gasped as the draic flew away, spinning and diving through the air as she let out a loud roar that shook the trees around them.
“She’ll find her way back,” Odette whispered. How the girl saw Maia fly away, she was unsure.
They walked over a bridge and through a gate, presumably the entrance to the city, and picked up their pace as they followed Asteria down the glittering roads. The streets were near silent, everyone presumably winding down for the evening while they spent time with their family and friends. Young Fae played on the front stoops of their homes as their mothers tended to the gardens, something Ember had never seen anyone do at night. The plants at their fingertips glowed, and small wisps of blue glowed around them. Ember averted her eyes and focused on the road. The moon lit the ground in front of them, and Emberthought it felt closer than it had before. The wind pulled them down the path, toward a temple at the center of the city.
“This is eerie,” Fen whispered from Ember’s left, as he rubbed his arm. The teenagers looked at each other, and Ember shuddered, taking a step closer to Killian without even realizing it. They traveled up the gold steps of the temple, and Ember took slow breaths as she listened to her footsteps echoing through the trees surrounding the city.
Asteria shoved open a large set of wooden doors and ushered the group inside. “Quickly this way,” she ordered in a hushed tone.
They followed her through the temple, and Ember felt very small under the arches of the grand ceilings. Asteria quickly ushered them through another set of doors and closed them behind her. Ember wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t two beautiful Fae sitting on a couch in front of a fire.
The whole room emitted a warmth that Ember hadn’t felt in months, and she wanted nothing more than to curl up with a book in one of the plush chairs and read the rest of the night away. She was quickly jolted back to reality when Asteria place a firm hand on her shoulder and pulled her further into the room.
“My Lord,” she said firmly, as she cleared her throat, “I’ve brought Ember Lothbrok and her—erm—friends as you requested.”
Lord Erevan turned toward the group and gracefully stood from the couch. His dark green robe hung just above the ground, and Ember drew in a breath as he stood at his full height. He was close to seven feet tall and all lean muscle. His chiseled jaw twitched as he watched them all gape, the bronze in his skin almost glowing in the moonlight, and Ember could just make out the pointed ears poking out from his perfectly groomed brunette hair.
There was a woman to his right, who stood with him, her violet gown brushing the tops of her bare feet. Her golden hair hung in waves as she smiled warmly, and Ember couldn’t help but feel like she recognized that smile. Not just in Asteria, but from somewhere else.
The royals were both barefoot, casual in dress and in the way they greeted their visitors. Ember furrowed her brow. This was not what she expected from royalty, but she didn’t have much to go off, either.
Ember looked to her left, just in time to see Odette’s face pale and throat bob as the royals came into view. What she was seeing—or feeling—Ember wasn’t sure.
“Good evening, Your Majesties,” Odette said, as she curtsied.
Lord Erevan furrowed his brow but quickly blinked away the confusion written on his face “Welcome, Ember and friends,” he said, as he motioned for them to sit.
The group sat as close together as they could without being on top of each other, and Ember notice both Killian and Fen were sitting straight as boards, hands clenched tightly on their knees. Odette flowed across the room, settling on a pillow on the floor as she crossed her legs over one another. She relaxed her back on the front of the couch, leaning against Fen’s legs. He grimaced as he visibly tried not to squirm away from the contact.
“You wanted to see us?” Ember asked quietly, as she looked back and forth from the royals to Asteria.
“We did,” he replied, gently patting the woman’s hand to his right as he smiled. “My name is Lord Erevan, and this is my wife, Lady Adalaena. I’m terribly sorry we haven’t made your acquaintance until now, and I do wish it were under better circumstances.”
Ember nodded as her stomach dropped, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood straight up.
“It’s lovely to meet you,” Odette chimed in, like this midnight rendezvous in the Fae territory wasn’t abnormal in the slightest.
“I understand there have been children going missing on Ellesmere this summer,” Lord Erevan continued.
Ember nodded slowly and felt both boys stiffen beside her. Killian’s jaw twitched, and she could’ve sworn she heard him growl. She gently squeezed his knee and listened as he let out a breath.
“Yes,” Ember replied warily, glancing briefly back toward Asteria who currently had her feet propped up on the couch, catching grapes in her mouth as she threw them up into the air. She wouldn’t willingly walk them into a trap. She wouldn’t knowingly put them in danger. Not the Fae that helped her last year, not the woman that made her tea on the weekends and listened to her go on about her class schedule. She couldn’t.
Right?
“And if I’m understanding correctly,” Lord Erevan continued, as he crossed one leg over his knee, “there are a few suspects, yes?”
Ember swallowed and bit her lip. “Um, yes, sir. They suspect it might be Fae kidnappings.” She cleared her throat and fidgeted in her seat, glancing around them room and hoping thatsomeonewould help her out.
“We of course don’t believe that,” Odette chimed in with a smile, “but you seem to know that already.”
Ember’s eyes widened at the frankness in her voice. This was the most she had ever heard Odette say. Her white hair swayed past her shoulders, and she could’ve sworn she heard Fen choke beside her on the couch.
Lord Erevan cocked a brow as he looked at the girl, eying her carefully. “Of course.” He nodded seriously, uncrossing his legs, and leaning both elbow on his knees. “We seem to be in the same predicament.”
Ember scrunched her brow as she slumped in her seat. “I’m sorry I don’t think I follow,” she replied hesitantly.
