Page 69 of A War of Embers

He turns towards me and motions to his face, mimicking where I have the scarf wrapped around it. “Do you want to take it off?”

“No, I’m good. Anonymity feels like the best course of actions. You can’t identify me if one of my friends comes looking,” I toss out there. The only person who may come is Rowan in search of answers, but he doesn’t need to be aware of that. Besides, I doubt Rowan will actually give enough of a shit to come out all this way just to ask what happened when he already knows.

Jared shrugs. “It’s your funeral.”

Whether he intends to be funny at a moment like this, I have no idea. Instead I remain stoic, waiting for him to come closer so we can get this over with. After several more beats, he finally moves towards me. Alyvia backs up several steps, giving him space to work, though I have no idea how he’s going to pull the souls out. I doubt it’s the same way Sereia tried to.

When Jared stops directly in front of me, he doesn’t turn his hand into claws and force his way through my rib cage towards where my souls lie. Instead he begins chanting something under his breath. A language I don’t know, possibly the same one that goes along with the symbol to the right of us. Cutting my eyes towards Alyvia, I raise an eyebrow in question at her but she merely shrugs.

Before I can ask how much longer this is going to take, Jared taps his chest a handful of times before slowly drawing his hand away, tendrils of green light emit like a string from his chest to his fingers.

My heart begins to pound in my chest as adrenaline shoots through my system. It’s finally happening. After all this time wanting the end to be within grasp, everything is coming to a head. Part of me wants to close my eyes, let the world drift away and find peace. The larger part of me, the one currently winning, wants to watch him do it to ensure it’s really happening.

Jared slowly turns his hand around, dragging the magical strings further away as he comes closer to my chest. Little bolts of electricity seem to be running down the strings, causing sparks to shoot off in all directions. Cautiously he brings his hand up, holding it mere inches from my chest, right over where my souls are housed. Lifting one brow, he asks, “Are you ready?”

“Always.”

Jared reaches forward, brushing the tips of his fingers against my chest to make a connection. A bolt of blue light shoots between us, ripping us apart and flinging both of us backwards. Jared lands amongst the symbol in his front yard while I land further back, the force of the movement causing the scarf to fall off my face and hang around my neck.

“Fuck!” I yell in outrage. Fury swells inside of me as my mind spins. What the hell is happening? What is interfering with the souls in my body so they can’t be taken out? Surely this isn’t some failsafe Lady Gwenyth implanted so only she can be the one to kill me, can it? I swear I’m about to march across the sea and rip her head off her shoulders.

Alyvia rushes towards me. “What happened? What was that?”

“The same fucking light that prevented Sereia from pulling them out,” I snap.

“Are you insane?” Jared screeches as he staggers towards us, his eyes wild and manic as he stares at me. “You went to the Blood Witch for help and she couldn’t, so you thought a lesser being would be able to?” He points towards the side of my face where the tattoo is currently at. “You’re marked by Lord Rowan.” He twists to the side to glare at Alyvia. “You sentenced me to death!”

“No she didn’t,” I cut in. “No one is telling Rowan about this.”

If anything, my comment only seems to intensify his rage. “Rowan? You call the Lord of the entire fucking area by his name only? I’m really going to die.” He takes a threatening step towards Alyvia. “You–”

I recognize the attack stance, leaping between them before he can do anything to harm her. Then, I snap out my hand to shove him backwards but my hand goes through his chest, my fingers curling around a pulsating object just beside his heart. His soul; I’m touching his soul. Pulling him closer by the object, I glare in his face. “You do not go after her, do you hear me? I will eviscerate your existence and your family’s if you so much as breathe a word of what happened tonight. Come after Alyvia in any form and you will deal with me, are we clear?”

Trembling in my embrace, Jared nods rapidly.

“Good.” I shove him away with enough force he lands on his ass several yards back. Turning towards Alyvia, my mood sour, I bark, “Let’s go.”

She quickly and quietly obeys, staying by my side as we make our way back towards the Bone City. We manage to leave the village behind while marching at a rapid pace. The ground quickly darkens, mimicking my mood as the pyres begin to disappear the further away we get. Softly she reaches out and touches my arm. “We will find a way. We have backup plans, remember?”

I do. But it doesn’t stop the rage from roiling inside of me. It doesn’t give pause to the small, terrified part of my mind wondering what the fuck just happened as I threatened to pull a soul out of another.

The fear of being able to end someone’s life that way must be on my face, because Alyvia is quick to quietly ask, “I take it you couldn’t do that before?” She gestures towards my cheek where the tattoo lies.

“No,” I grit between my teeth, “I couldn’t.”

“Oh.” A long pause as we walk through the arch, back towards where the guards are located on the platform just outside the Wraithlands. “What do you think it means?” she questions once we’re out of hearing range.

“I think it means Rowan and I need to have a chat,” I answer through the fury vibrating my body and voice. Oh yes, when we get back to the Blood City, Rowan is going to have some explaining to do on what his damn monster did to me.

Everyone stays out of my way, giving me a wide berth after Alyvia and I came back from our little adventure a few days ago. Rumor has it Rowan and his crew of misfits are returning some time tomorrow. I’ve been too enraged the past few days to do anything other than pace the bedroom I’m staying in, wearing holes into the wooden floorboards beneath my feet.

With him coming home, I suppose it’s time to return the jewels. There’s no way someone is going to let me pay for my death after the disastrous turn of events in the Wraithlands. Holding onto them also proves I can gain access to one of Rowan’s private quarters. Not something he needs to be aware of.

Moving towards the dresser, I lift one side easily, sliding my hand underneath and towards the top where I concocted a hidden shelf for the jewels to lay. This way whenever the servants came in to make my room, no doubt also snooping to see what I was up to on orders of Lady Cirilla or Nox, they came up empty handed.

Gathering the jewels, I tuck them into the pocket of my loose linen pants. Something I found in one of the bottom drawers. They're light, airy, and don’t restrain my movements. Although I would never wear these outside of the estate. It would be too difficult to conceal a bulky weapon like a knife.

Opening up my door, I’m not surprised to find Nox and another guard standing there. Apparently my life is far more interesting than their mission. He’s also pissing me off with his stalker routine.

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