Page 70 of A Clash of Embers

I held it in my lap and let out a large sigh before opening it. This time, when I did, I was transported visually to another place.The future.

I couldn't see the people we were with, but saw the lock, theportcullis.It was the same stone that I bore on my finger. The Onyx. It was embedded into a tree, and there was white ice onthe ground all around me. I was reaching towards the stone when my power reached out to it, and it unlocked.

When I lifted my eyes, I saw her. The girl with red hair. She was tall and lean—strong. She stepped forward and smiled at me.

"Clara. Clara." I heard a voice as I watched her.

"Clara!"

Ev's hands were gripping me as I opened my eyes to see him with concern sketched across his face. "Clara, come back to me."

I blinked a few times, staring at him, "I-I think I had a vision."

He pulled back slightly. "What was it?"

I sighed, "I saw the girl, the red-haired girl, and-and I saw the lock that we needed to go to. To open. Weneedto open it."

My heart was racing. I had my first vision of the future. It was odd but exhilarating. It was as if the book needed me to see it. I didn't want to, but it did.

"Do you know what the place looked like?" Eros asked.

I told him the description, and I told him everything that I had seen.Everypart of it.

"Tomorrow. We will go tomorrow," I stated.

He stood, reaching his hand out to me. "Come on, darling. It's time to get some rest. We can discuss it in the morning."

I gripped his hand and stood alongside him. "I thought you wanted to—"

He held up his hand to me, turning our bodies to face one another. "We will have plenty of time to do what I have planned, but tonight we rest."

I bit my lip, and his hand quickly lifted to my mouth as he smirked. "Don't forget what I said about biting that lip."

Ev leaned in softly, pressing his lips against mine. Not rushed. Just slow and tender kisses. He pulled back just slightly, whispering, "These are my lips. Forever. Do you understand?"

I nodded, and he leaned in again, kissing me. Sealing that promise.

Forever I would be his, and he would bemine.

Chapter 35

That night we did exactly as he said we would. We rested quietly together. I felt his breaths across the hairs on my neck, and the warmth of his chest as he gripped me tightly in his arms, and I feltsafe.

In a turn of events, I was becoming attached to him. I was falling in love with him again. That was so scary for me to do because I wanted to trust him. I wanted, but now I don’t need. I didn't need anyone for me to be successful and powerful.

I heard a knock on the door, and my mother walked in. "Mother! You can't just walk in here. What if we were doing something?"

She laughed, "Oh sweetheart, I would've heard it."

I pulled the blankets over me as Eros still lay therepretendingto be asleep. There's no way he was still sleeping.

"There's been a little change in plans for our festivities. We will be moving up your coronation to tonight," she said.

I raised my brows. "What do you mean tonight? Liketoday?"

She sat on the side of my bed, looking at me with her soft, motherly gaze as she grabbed my hands. "Yes, dear. Tonight. Our time frame is changing, and we need to get you on your way to Avellino tomorrow. The more time we waste, the more uncertainty we will have in this war."

"So, we have to make me queentonight? Does that make me the Doyen as well?" I asked my mother quietly, just in case Eros was, in fact, sleeping.

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