Page 61 of Drawn in Blood
“Do what?”
“Talk about yourself like you’re not worthy of anything you want to achieve.”
Ember rolled her eyes as she leaned against the table. “That’s easy for you to say,” she sighed. “It’s easy to be wealthy and successful if you’re born into wealth and handed success.”
Killian sighed as he shook his head. “Aye,” he shrugged, “but a golden cage is still just a cage, Starshine.”
Ember wrung her hands as she looked around the library. Tall, arched ceilings and big open windows, gold details swirling across the mahogany and oak bookshelves. There was more money in this one room of her house than many families on the island had put together. She always imagined there would be a certain feeling of freedom that would come with living in a home like this—a feeling of reprieve from the fear and flight she had felt her entire life. But where the fear used to live was now replaced with guilt.
Guilt over the dryads that tended to the grounds at the manor and the payment she knew they didn’t receive. Guilt about Gaelen being trapped here, forced to work after being stolen from her family gods knew how long ago. Guilt overher little brother being raised without their father and with a mother who didn’t even truly understand her own children—a mother who didn’t seem bothered to learn sign language to communicate with him or truly learn anything about who they were and what they loved outside of Ember when she was six years old. Guilt that he wouldn’t ever know the mother that raised her because that woman seemed to be lost forever.
Was this her prison now?
“Alright, one more, Starshine,” Killian said, as he pushed off the table and clapped his hands together. He made quick motions with his fingers, hands moving like he was born with the knowledge.
Ember wrinkled her nose as she concentrated, trying to keep up. As he finished the phrase, he took a step back and crossed his arms over his chest. “Um,” Ember said, as she furrowed her brow, “something about a chair?”
“Aye,” Killian grinned, stepping closer, “and?”
“And…” Ember said thoughtfully, “something about a library? The chair in the library?”
Killian’s grin grew wider as he nodded. “You’re very close, Starshine,” he almost whispered, brushing a strand of hair from in front of her eyes. “The chair in the library, by the?—"
“Window,” Ember whispered, swallowing dryly as she bit her lip. “That’s as far as I got.”
A quiet knock sounded on the doorframe, and Ember and Killian whipped their heads around to find Theo standing there, a smirk painted across his face. His eyes locked with Killian, and he cocked his brow, and Killian’s cheeks turned bright red.
“Right,” he said, as he cleared his throat, taking a step back. “Lesson over for the day, I think.”
Theo walked further into the room, signing something before ducking his head with a small grin.
“Ice cream?” Ember laughed. “It’s freezing outside, and you want to go for ice cream?”
Theo’s grin grew, lighting up his entire face as he violently nodded his head, clapping his hands together in front of him like he was pleading.
“That sounds like a brilliant idea.” Killian grinned, clapping Theo on the shoulder and walking with him to the door. “You coming, Starshine?”
Ember rolled her eyes, throwing her bag over her shoulder and following them toward the door. They made their way down the many steps, and Ember walked to the front door, but Killian and Theo stayed behind.
“Terminal,”Theo signed and nodded back behind him.
“He’s right.” Killian nodded. “You’re bound to have a traveling room. It’ll be much quicker than the Echopoint.”
Ember nodded, furrowing her brow. She hadn’t seen a terminal door since she’d moved in, and she assumed everyone’s would be under some steps or in a closet. Theo grabbed her hand, dragging her around the corner, through the sitting room, and toward the back of the house. They entered through a set of double doors, into a small room the size of an office. There was a coat rack to the right, a small chair, and a fireplace to the left, and in the middle of the wall directly in front of her was a beautiful wooden door. A large, ornate tree was carved into the wood, its limbs and roots stretching to the edges of the frame.
Killian walked toward the door, tapping the brass knob a few times, and waited until the tree on the door began to glow. “Shall we?” he said, as he motioned Ember into the room.
She nodded, all of a sudden feeling like that fifteen-year-old girl who had just learned magic was real. She felt Theo gently grab her hand and squeeze. He looked up at her smiling, big green eyes sparkling against the sun shining through the window.
Killian swung the door open, and the trio stepped through into Yggdrasil Terminal and then out onto Waterware Street.
Elden’s IceCream Shoppe sat near the docks a few shops down from the playground on the beach. During the summer, it was swimming with families—children begging their mothers for an ice cream cone, fathers digging through their pockets for extra change. During autumn, on the other hand, it was almost deserted. Anyone walking through Sigurvik was bundled up in coats and gloves to protect from the harsh wind coming in off the bay, and no one so much as glanced at the little ice cream shop. Killian swung the door open, and the bell at the top of the frame jingled.
“Well, good afternoon, youngins,” Mr. Elden said from behind the counter. “A bit Baltic out for ice cream, isn’t it?”
“We’re taking a study break.” Ember smiled as she squeezed Theo’s hand. “Any specials today?”
Mr. Elden waggled his brow, conjuring three ice cream cones in his hand. “Chocolate is always a fan favorite with the weans,” he replied, and as he did, chocolate ice cream floated out of the container in front of him, swirling through the air. “Minotaur tracks is another popular one, and of course, Pint of Many Flavors.” Ice cream swirled around in front of him, bending back and forth in the air, just barely missing each other, and Theo’s eyes lit up in amusement.
