Page 85 of Embers in the Snow

His expression is so earnest right now. I so badly want to believe him.

There’s a poignancy to him that I hadn’t noticed before.

“I just needed you to know this, Finley, before we embark on solidifying our bond. There’s much to unravel, but I’m doing everything in my power to find the answers. It’s the only way we’re ever going to know peace.”

“Is that what you want? Peace?”

“Amongst other things, yes. Peace is fragile, and unfortunately, it can only be kept by preparing oneself for war.”

“That’s why you’ve turned this place into a military fortress.”

“I won’t allow anyone to destroy what we’ve fought so hard for. What my men died for. The people of Tyron are my responsibility now.”

His expression turns hard. His eyes are like flint.

I sense his will; powerful and unyielding.

What really happened to Corvan and his soldiers up in the mountains? I have so often heard that the war against the barbarians was bloody and brutal, made all the worse because of the biting winter and the unforgiving terrain.

Men freezing to death.

Monsters and terrible magic unleashed.

Evendragons.

What happened to you, Corvan? What did you see?

I run my fingers over his hand, feeling the broadness and power of it; the old nicks and calluses that speak of brutal violence. “Did you really see the Goddess of the Underworld in your dream?”

He closes his eyes and lets out a soft sigh, dark lashes falling against his luminous skin. Although his hair has turned white, his eyebrows and lashes remain deep brown; a remnant of his human self.

“It wasn’t a dream. I felt it with every fiber of my being, more vivid and profound than life itself. I died, Finley. Then she sent me back into the world of the living, even though the threads of my soul were tethered to the afterlife. And when I opened my eyes, everything was brighter and more intense than ever before. The sun burned right through me, but I relished that pain like nothing else, because it meant that I’d been given another chance.” He brings my hand up to his lips and kisses the backs of my fingers. “The only other time I’ve ever felt so alive is when I’m with you.”

I try to ignore the thrill of being wanted; the intoxicating notion that I might be irreplaceable to him. “I believe in gods and monsters,” I say softly. “If you really did go to the underworld and return like this, then Hecoa must have sent you back for a reason.”

He frowns. “Do you really think that?”

“You have power, Corvan. And you are no demon.Danger, chaos, and misery are as innate to the world as the night. Do not allow fear to become resident in your heart. Seek out the strong; those that refuse to enact the script Master Fate has written for them. Better yet, become one of them.”

I quote a book I found in father’s small library. It was one of the many volumes he brought back from the capital to fill his shelves when I was a young child. Amongst the nobility, it’s fashionable to have a library filled with scholarly titles, even if those books sit gathering dust.

At least, untilIlearned to read.

“On PowerbyOwasus,” Corvan exclaims, his smile filled with surprise and delight; sudden innocence making him seem almost childlike. “He’s one of my favorite philosophers. You read the classics, then?”

“I like to read,” I say softly. “But I didn’t know that title was a classic. I just thought it was full of useful advice. Especially for a girl entering the cusp of womanhood, with nobody to guide her and the specter of a forced marriage looming in her future. I always worried that one day, I’d have to run a household. And without adequate training or experience, I figured a book about power was a good place to start.”

Corvan chuckles. “You’re much wiser than you give yourself credit for. Does marriage still feel like such an imposition to you?”

I shake my head. “No…”

“Good.” He raises my hand and leans in, planting a gentle kiss on the back of my hand.

His mouth is warm and gentle. His touch is like magic, sending a surge of wild energy through me. All of a sudden, I want his lips on mine.

“Come, Finley. It’s time to announce our existence to the world.”

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