Page 102 of A War of Embers

“He’s going to chain you to the estate, you know that, right?” Zeke pushes. “If I agree to this, he’ll bitch and moan at me for a few months. But you,” Zeke twirls his finger at me, “he’s going to literally lock inside and possibly even somehow magically bind you to him so you can’t escape.”

Chewing on my bottom lip, nerves race over me. Zeke’s entirely right, Rowan is going to lose his fucking mind once he realizes I’m gone. But I’ll be back here, with no reason to leave if we complete this. Plus, the urge to die is slowly lowering inside of me. The need to seek vengeance on Lady Gwenyth is becoming my sole focus. I just need to be alive to take her on, and to do that I need these immortal souls removed. “Well, once we’re back over I don’t exactly have any reason to hop back over the sea.”

Zeke snorts. “You’re serious about this? You plan to stay after the souls get removed?”

“Yes.”

Suddenly Zeke shrugs, sauntering closer to our group once again and taking up his post against the fence. “Alright,” he agrees.

Alyvia gasps in outrage. “You can’t be serious! There has to be another way.” She turns pleading eyes towards me.

“We tried looking for another way,” I remind her. “We scoured through books this entire afternoon. And unless Zeke happens to know where a High Lord or Lady in Aïdes is hiding that will take out my soul, we’re shit out of luck.” We both turn to Zeke who shrugs. “See?” I gesture towards him. “The only High Lord over here is Micah and he refuses to deal with the living. I already tried to get him to remove the souls and he said he couldn’t. The only people who can do that are living across the Blood Sea.”

“Behind enemy lines!” Alyvia snaps.

“Okay, let’s look at this another way,” I grit between my teeth. “Do you want me on your side or do you want me to kill a lot of your people? Out of control because I won’t know what’s happening since the souls will be in charge? What do you prefer, Alyvia? I’m gaining more control of myself every day I’m here, but it’s not going to be enough if Lady Gwenyth chooses to cross the sea. You know that. I’m not proposing doing something dangerous by myself. I’ll have Zeke.”

“Who could give a fuck if you live or die,” Alyvia challenges.

Well, she’s not exactly wrong there. We both turn to Zeke to get his input.

He rolls his reptilian eyes and focuses on Alyvia. “Keres isn’t going to die as long as she’s with me. I’d have to be legitimately suicidal to go up against Lord Rowan by returning without her. I don’t have a death wish.”

Good enough for me. “There you go, I won’t die. Everybody wins.”

“Except Lord Rowan,” Alyvia stubbornly says. “Who is going to murder all of us the minute I have to tell him where you’ve gone.”

Zeke steps forward and patronizingly pats her on the shoulder. “Think of it this way, he’ll be so furious your death will be over quickly.”

“You’re not helping,” I inform him.

“Who cares?” Rubbing his hands together, Zeke looks over at the guards still training to where I am. “Ready to do this? Expect a full on clusterfuck the moment we leave.”

Alyvia opens her mouth to continue arguing but I cut her off.

“Yes. The sooner we get this over with, the better.” The sooner I’ll be back here, ready to tell Rowan how I can help in this war and not put any of his people in jeopardy. Turning back towards Alyvia, I say, “Tell Rowan he can chain me here like Zeke suggests. I know I just got back, I know I’m rushing into things, but this war could start at any point. The more time we give Tellus to prepare, the shorter amount of time we’ll have to get the souls out of me. I will not put anyone in harm’s way if I can prevent it from happening.”

“Spoken like a true queen,” Zeke tacks on. His gaze hardens as he looks at Alyvia. “If you’ve got a problem with it, remember her word carries just as much weight as Lord Rowan’s. She’s his mate. Defying her holds the same punishment as defying him.”

“That is not how he’s going to see this,” Alyvia warns.

Zeke purses his lips. “True. But we won’t be here to deal with the fallout. Now come on, little monster, before we get caught trying to escape.”

“You’re not going to eat me, right?” I holler out as Zeke steps back into the clearing, blocking the guards from being able to intervene the moment he transforms. He doesn’t bother answering me, but if the laughter changing into roars is anything to go by, I’m not entirely sure I'll be safe from his beast.

Within seconds, Zeke is back in his beastly form. His onyx scales grow darker by the minute as the sun behind the gray sky disappears entirely. One of his massive wings dips down, acting like a running board for me to climb. Everyone turns sharply to see what’s happening in the training area, but I make a run for his massive body ignoring their sudden shouts.

Zeke’s wing is like stone beneath my feet as I climb onto his back. I make out the outrage and horror on Nox’s face just beyond the opposite wing. The guards all move at once, probably having no idea what the hell is happening but leaping into action all the same.

As soon as my grip between Zeke’s spikes on his neck tightens, he shoots off straight into the air with a massive roar. The air whips across my face, battering against my skin like icy prickles. The sky sharply turns a shade matching the same color as Zeke’s scales, hiding us from view.

He has magic.

I knew this, but to see it being used is astonishing. Zeke being a powerfully built creature is one thing to know and see, but watching how his magic clings to us invokes an entirely different experience. Screams and shouts can barely be heard beyond the harsh beats of his wings as he soars towards the coastline.

Fuck. My eyes track the slight shimmer in the air. I forgot about the veil protecting Aïdes from being seen by outsiders. Tellus will be able to see the soaring golden roofs and the lights from the cities.

I brace for impact the closer we get. As soon as Zeke’s massive head hits the veil, I watch it shatter around us like glass. Billions of pieces fall, twinkling in the light cast by the Blood City before crashing into the Blood Sea. Guards patrolling the coastline look up in shock, their cries following us as we continue on.

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