Page 89 of A War of Embers

Amusement tickles down my spine. Although Zeke’s questions sound concerning, his voice tells me he could give less of a fuck what my reasoning for leaving is. “No, she didn’t upset me.”

“You realize Lord Rowan is going to assign someone to keep tabs on you at all times, right?” Zeke asks. “Was your little adventure worth it?”

Sighing, I level a stare at him. “Zeke, don’t make me hit you. I know you took down Fillmore, but I promise you, my punch is a lot worse than anything you could lob at me.”

“Just for that hurtful threat I’m volunteering to be your babysitter. Something tells me it’ll be as enjoyable as watching paint dry. Then again, you’ll probably try to escape at some point so I do hope I’m there to join you on your next quest to drive Lord Rowan absolutely insane.”

Whatever. I roll my eyes as we enter the trees. “I didn’t know he was going to go ballistic,” I lie. Some part of me knew Rowan was going to lose his shit. I simply didn’t care. Part of me also thought, even though it was a very small part of me, that he really wouldn’t care if I left and never came back. Apparently I was wrong.

“I hope it was worth your freedom.”

Not even a cage welded to me would keep me from seeking the answers I need. Everything about my life is currently in limbo. Who I am, what I stand for, who is on the side of right and who is on the side of wrong. So many unanswered questions about a lot of things. Rowan won’t be able to answer them all, intellectually I know that. His knowledge only goes so far. But he’ll know more than what I do. And his texts hidden in his study might fill in the blanks enough to get a better idea of where I intend to go from here.

The walk through the forest is over in a blink of an eye. The large estate, with the roof of gold, stands tall before me. There’s warmth seeping out of the ground now, lights and flames flickering from different rooms so people don’t fall over themselves moving about to complete their tasks before heading off to bed.

Zeke doesn’t offer a goodbye as he deviates from the path, moving towards where I assume his private room is located while I head for the back entrance of the kitchen.

The sky is darkening quickly, something I hadn’t been paying attention to before. The ground rattles and I stumble on the walkway, having to lean on the iron gate to keep upright as the realm shakes. Did Zeke take off in his dragon form? But then a roar pierces the air, so loud and dreadful it rings in my ears.

No, not a dragon.

The sound of a soul enraged with the power to make the world tremble beneath them.

I walk quickly into the back kitchen. A few people cast me relieved glances before hurrying with their tasks. Apparently the Lord of the home is in a dark mood and no one wants to be around longer than necessary. Catching the eye of one of the ladies washing dishes, I ask, “Where is he?”

“We don’t know,” she whispers. “Hopefully he’s not coming in this direction.”

Based on the way the ground shook moments ago, I can’t say I entirely blame them for wanting to be as far away from Rowan as possible. Smiling tightly at her in thanks, I quickly move away from the kitchen and down the hall. He has to be in here somewhere. I walk towards the bedroom I typically use, noting the door is half ajar. Inside it looks like a storm has blown through. Clothes and furniture are tossed everywhere as if the room was torn apart in hopes to find me hidden in some crevice.

Spinning around, I rush down the hallway. Maybe he’ll be out speaking with someone? But everyone is quietly doing their work, their heads bent low like they want to seem invisible. And still no sign of Rowan.

Stopping to stand in the empty hall, I glance around at all the closed doors and think. If I was upset, where would I be? Nowhere where anyone could bother me. Meaning nowhere anyone can get to. Leaving his bedroom or his private study.

“Alright,” I whisper to the estate, “tell me where he is.” Nothing happens. Impatient, I cross my arms and glare at the walls. “I get it. I left, he’s in a bad mood, and you’re being protective. I understand. But I need to see him. So take me to where he is.”

Still, nothing happens for several long minutes. Time seems to drag on until the estate decides I’m either not worth stalling or it has better things to do with its magic. A door suddenly appears in the wall on my right. The gold, bulky knob giving away Rowan’s location.

“Thank you,” I whisper to the estate and grab the doorknob and give it a sharp twist. The door clicks, swinging open slightly to reveal Rowan’s private study. Everything is on the floor. Tables are turned on their sides. The back bookcases are ripped to pieces, huge chunks of splintered wood littering the entirety of the study.

Stepping quickly inside, I scan the room for any signs of Rowan but there are none. Immediately the door slams shut behind me, disappearing entirely and locking me in the destroyed room alone. Growling, I step forward and slam my fist into the wall.

“I’m trying to help you, you know!” I yell to the estate. “I’m trying to find him. You didn’t have to trap me in here.”

“The house didn’t trap you in here, I did.”

Spinning around, I come face to face with Rowan. His eyes are black, his monster taking control as he glowers at me. He’s definitely not a happy bunny to see me back and not in harm’s way. No, he looks like he wants to throttle me. His shirt is torn in a few spots near his neck but I don’t see any wounds on his body. Reaching forward instinctively, he flinches backwards out of my reach before I can check for myself that he’s fine.

“Don’t touch me, Keres.”

I’m definitely in trouble if he won’t call me by my little pet nickname he prefers to use. “I’m sorry–” I start but my words are quickly cut off by his booming, sardonic laughter.

“You’re sorry?” He sneers as he takes an additional step backwards. “You have no idea what those words mean. You’re too selfish to understand the depth of emotion you’re supposed to feel when you utter them.”

My voice comes out small as I fight the urge to shrink into myself under his murderous gaze, “I’m not immune to emotions.” I don’t want to appear weak in front of him, but my emotional limitations have maxed out for the day and exhaustion is winning; and the pain and sorrow are on the edge of filling me up all over again.

“Do you know where I’ve been today?” he shouts. Rowan doesn’t give me time to answer before he rages on, “I thought you were hiding in your room, so I went in search of you. Alyvia couldn’t find you either. The guards were dispensed throughout the estate but you were gone. I talked to Lady Cirilla. She thought you might have tried to go back to Tellus, find a High Lord or High Lady to help you. So I jumped in the fucking Blood Sea to find you.”

“Rowan–”

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