Page 29 of A Clash of Embers

Immediately Luke fixed me a glass of red wine, and I continued to follow my two friends into the courtyard to sit at an available velvet green ottoman across from them. The air was crisp and fresh. The mixture of mountain air with the luscious green forests that surrounded it made it the perfect place to seclude yourself and relax.

“I’m so happy to see the two of you. It has been such a whirlwind and I have no fucking idea what is happening, also Bethany what are you doing here?”

Bethany eyed Luke and he nodded, giving her the signal to tell me. “I came here because I knew you were coming. I needed to see you."

The feeling of love washed over me. The two people in front of me loved me. I knew they did. "How are you feeling about all of this?" Bethany asked me sweetly.

“I felt like I knew everything until I talked to Queen Anne. All that did was leave me with even more questions.” They both nodded at me and they looked at one another and I pursed my lips at them. “Why do I get the feeling you know the answers?”

Luke sighed, throwing back the remainder of his drink. “It’s because we do.” He gestured to my wine glass. “You might want to finish that first.”

So, I did. I chugged the wine so quickly, the burn seared my throat, but I was ready to learn what I needed to know andnow.

Chapter 13

Luke's blue eyes were comforting, but what he said next was nothing of the sort.

“You know why there was a war to begin with, but what you might not realize is that the war isn’t over yet.” He paused, running his tongue over his teeth, clicking his tongue. “There are militia from Ingria and Cervatto assembling, preparing to strike at any moment. The curse we were under was just a pause for the war. It didn’t changeanything.” Luke said casually.

“Who are they going to strike? I thought this was over and done in Carondelet? Queen Anne spoke of a meeting they would have with all of the royal families, a type of agreement. Shouldn’t that be enough,” I countered.

Luke reached his hand up to grab his neck, pulling at it like he had a crick in it before responding to my question. “I'm sure Queen Anne told youmanythings that were beneficial for her, and I’m sure she told you that Athiana made Amari strip her bond with Theo, but she was already pregnant...” I nodded, understanding where he was going with this.

“When Athiana and Theo were at each other’s throats, there was a story that circled around Darthium. The story was that Evander was being controlled by Theo but that wasn’t the case.” He paused, glancing over to Bethany before he continued. “He actively chose to be on Theo’s side, to fight against the Angels, the Fae, and us, the Shapeshifters. I knew Evander. He never seemed like a man who would want to destroy an entire population of people for his own righteousness. It never made sense to me. Until I remembered something."

Before I realized that Bethany had even gone inside to retrieve the wine, she was back outside ready to fill my glass again and I let her.

“I remember you telling me about your father saying you were of pure blood and goodness. I thought about that over and over until a childhood memory resurfaced, whether it's my memory or someone else’s, I'm not sure, but there once was a being that was not a god or a goddess, but a DivineBeing. The Divine One constructed and paved the way for fate to happen, but something stopped during the time that Evander was born. There was a shift in the world. Everyone knew there was something that was off. Different. No one could pinpoint exactly what."

Luke stood and walked towards me sitting directly next to me.

"Amari, who is Evander's mother, would have known what the change was. She would know why the world shifted at the moment she gave birth, yet she refuses to share that information with anyone. All we know is that Evander must also know some of the information and deep down, I think he may begood. I'm well aware the evidence shows that he is not, but there is a small— very small— part of me that does."

I looked at Luke with confusion but with great despair as to what I was supposed to feel about Evander. Although he made it clear I was nothing to him, he was still my mate. Born to be together through the fates.

Bethany spoke, “In a few weeks, he will descend upon our city. Heknowsyou are here. He knows that you will be in this war.”

I looked at her and shook my head, “Why will it be a few weeks from now?”

“It’s because this week it's our region's annual celebration, called Wassail. It is in solidarity with our people. Once a child turns ten years old, they endure something called tribulation. They must learn how to shapeshift and become strong warriors for our region within the next seven years of their lives. This event is the perfect time for Evander and his slaying crew to attack us, but we’ll be ready. We are going to train you and... you will be the one to take him down.”

I laughed. A genuine laugh, but also a giggle at the thought because this entire situation was completely absurd. I could piece together different memories from Carondelet and the stories that I read about and the thought of Colette kept coming back to me. I needed to find her.

My powers knew the intentions of others and I could very well sense that Luke and Bethany were being honest with me, but sometimes when someone is being honest, what they share is only true to them, but not to reality.

“You seriously wantmeto defeat Evander? Is that even his name here?”

Luke stood and so did Bethany, so I followed them into the house, setting our glasses on the counter in the kitchen.

“Here, in this world. We call him Eros. He renamed and disguised himself in Carondelet so that the others wouldn’t be so quick to call him out or maybe he hoped they'd forget.”

I thought I had blacked out. I thought the world around me went up in flames with that four-letter word. Eros. He was Eros. Hewasmy true mate. He was the Fallen Angel.

“The first few cycles of the curse, he acted as if he didn’t remember anything that had happened before, then he slippedand we knew he was Eros. Whenever you came along, he changed. He was cautious about his words and actions. Deep down I think even now he feels deeply towards you, but his powers cloud his better judgment.” Luke stretched his arms as he continued. “I just can’t seem to make sense of how there is such a strong desire to want to help him. I know he wants to attack my city, but maybe he has ulterior motives. I wish you would still be able to talk to him.”

Don’t do it, Clara. Keep your mouth closed. Don’t say it.

“He— he spoke to me, through our bond, but I want to know how I can break this bond between us. I know Amari did with Theo, and I want to have that same option. Just in case—"

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