Ember looked at Noor and saw the pain in his eyes as he looked back at her. What could this mean? The soul-thread sheets creased where he sat. She began to shake, nerves clouding her senses as she felt more paranoid.
“Please, just tell me what it says,” Ember pleaded. She remained seated, rooted to the spot as she waited. She couldn't take more bad news. There wasn’t any more space for her heart to mourn.
Oma handed over the letter and with shaky hands, Ember uncurled the parchment.
Embrence Dragon Daughter,
Your letters to Hasley Jeweler have gone unanswered because she is missing. I went to her parents’ house to find her; she hadn’t been to her purpose in days. They haven’t seen her. They fear her to be fateless.
Please send guards to locate her. I am running the shop alone. For all that I have done for you as my apprentice, I implore you to help me now.
Your former mentor,
Amlin Jeweler
“Hasley…” Her first friend’s name escaped her mouth in a whimper. Noor stood from the bed and knelt to hug her on the vanity stool. She held onto him and let guilt and shame overcome her. She should have known, should have thought to send someone to check on her when the letters stopped. She was the heir; she had the resources. She could have packed up and left to go to her or demanded some sort of search party. She should do that now.
“We-we have to help,” Ember said as she pushed back her tears.
Noor rubbed a circle on her back and said, “Of course we will, Amir is already putting together a group to look for her.”
“No,” Ember said, untangling herself from him. That was not enough.
“Oma,” she addressed her grandmother.
“Yes, Fireheart?” Oma’s dark blue dress reflected on her hair in the low morning light. Her grey hair almost looked blue, reminding Ember of Jedoriah.
“We should leave early for the Mutrien ball. Rather than leaving in a week or so and going straight to Cruelindime, we’ll treat it like a tour and spend a day in each province. Me and Noor,” she hoped he’d agree, “will follow you to your home and then travel back the opposite way to see the other side of the kingdom, including Firetop.”
“Yes, that's a great idea,” Noor said.
“We have yet to meet the people outside of Azororion, other than at the ball,” Ember said, gesturing between herself and Noor.
“We could get to know the citizens and the keyholders better while we look for Hasley,” Noor added, going along with the idea. She felt unbelievably grateful that he understood immediately how this could work.
Oma appeared pensive, looking at her granddaughter and her pair. She tapped a finger to her chin before nodding.
“We could use this as an opportunity to kill two wraiths with one stone,” Oma said. She tapped her chin again and the strength seemed to drain from her. She leaned down onto Ember’s bed, heaving a sigh and her shoulder’s slouched.
“Are you okay, Oma?” Ember asked.
“Yes, yes. I'm thinking through our needs. With the number of people we’d need to keep you safe and the preparations we'd need once we got to each province… It would take about two weeks to reach Cruelindime stopping at each province instead of going straight through, then the ball… No, it wouldn’t do to go to both sides. Karwyn and Jedoriah would go on one side of the kingdom then you and Noor with me on the other.”
Ember could practically see the mental checklist forming in the Dragon Matron’s mind. She was forming one of her own. But would she trust her sick mother and the malicious man she refused to call father to look for Hasley? An idea struck her. Zhieve would be with Karwyn and Jedoriah. He could hurt Hasley like the nameless man in the woods if he found her first. She could send Wally with Zhieve. The wheels were turning, and soon she was making her own list. She eyed Noor, who was looking at her with cautious eyes. What was on his list?
“I’ll send wraiths, Cindrea, and a few of the guards ahead of us to prepare the way and make sure all the rooms are ready in the castle. She can also prepare notices so people know to look out for your friend,” Oma decided. She nodded her head as if reaffirming her own idea.
“I have preparations to attend to. We leave in three days,” Oma said and stood back up from the bed. She gripped the sofa, balancing momentarily for additional strength on the way out.
“What’s the real plan?” Noor asked when the door was shut a few moments.
“Jade said we needed to decide how to tell the rest of the resistance, right? How about we visit each of the factions? They can also help search for Hasley, and we'll start to organize them. Bring the different factions together. She may be hiding with one of the groups, like the people we are sheltering.” Ember’s smile widened. This would work. She’d have every side looking for her friend. Once they found her, she could bring her to the community home and help her.
Ember had never wanted to save someone before, never imagined herself as much of a heroine, but she had also never imagined herself as a Princess and that didn’t make her reality any less true. Her moms were gone; her new family was either insane or misguided by hatred for those on the outside of their walls. She would do what she could for her people. She would bring together each faction under her banner. They would save the Fateless, Hasley and Karwyn included. They would remove the wall. Together, they would greet the beasts and kingdoms outside it.
“We have to speak with Jade and Jardano again tonight. In fact, every night until we leave. If we’re going to each faction, we should let them know exactly where the weak points in the wall are across the kingdom,” Ember said.
“How will we use these weak points?” Noor questioned as he grabbed his jacket.
“That part of the plan is still in progress,” Ember admitted. Because honestly? They had no idea yet how to break through those weak points without being stopped. It would have to be quick, across the kingdom all at the same time. She took out another piece of parchment and scribbled a note.
We’ll tell them tonight. Be ready.
Twenty-Two
Run
Day fell into night in a blink. Noor, Ember, and Amir were back at the resistance base for the third time that week. While it was likely their final time visiting the hidden city under the market before their trip, it would not be her last late night. For the next few weeks, Ember wasn’t sure when she was going to sleep. She had to meet every base she could. She would take one half with Noor, while Wally would visit the other while accompanying the other half of her family on their tour. She needed her own troops, her own resistance members working the problem with royal support. Well, her support anyway.
She could only hope that these next few visits would involve less emotional turmoil. She wasn’t sure what to do with the information Jardano gave her the night before. Could it have been only hours ago she had learned the royal guard was responsible for the death of her moms? And even less time since she was told her best friend has fallen ill to the disease that also inflicted her mother. Continuing as if nothing were wrong was not something she could do. Uncovering irrefutable proof, beyond that of the word of the resistant members, was her next step. If Jedoriah was going to pay for what he had done, she'd need to learn which guards took out the orders to kill her moms.
She took a deep breath as the clamber around her died down. Her scales stood out in the open for the first time in this underground city. It was harder than she expected to tell them the truth after being a smaller figure in the crowd the past few weeks. It reminded her of what her life could have been if she weren’t the Princess. If she had met Noor before Amir had found her, would that have been what her life was like? Would she have ever even found out she was the Princess?
"I am Embrence Dragon Daughter." It was the obvious place to start.
The time for hiding was over. While those that were privy to the news about the wall was a shorter list, that was not the truth for this announcement.
It was a risk, but one Ember wanted to make. Ever
yone would know she was here. Amir stood at attention near the tent flap; he couldn't avoid his unease. They were vulnerable now, her position no longer hidden, and his and Noor’s secret identities revealed.
She resisted the urge to scratch her scales under the pressure of the underground. Having everyone know about her scales had advantages. Her identity was undeniable. The rush of conversation did not die for several minutes. Fear, anger, confusion rung through Ember like a snake crawling beneath her skin. By the time she was able to speak to the men, women, and children around the meeting tent, she was shaking.
“I am here today as a friend. I am trusting you with this secret in the hope that you'll also trust me,” Ember began. She thought of her moms and their involvement with the scribes. She thought about Noor and his family’s involvement. No matter what, she likely would have found herself here. There was peace in knowing that.
“I have a friend in Firetop named Hasley Jeweler. She is missing and presumed fateless.”
The crowd seemed to hold its breath. Everyone knew the impact of the Fateless. They all had lost people. Ember looked to Noor, thinking of her birth mother and the companionship Noor couldn’t have with his fateless sister.
“I’d like your help to find her and bring her home.”
“Why not use your own resources? Why were you even here?” A woman in the front asked.
“Not everyone agrees with my policy to save the Fateless. The community homes are new and not everyone believes in the mission yet. We can't wait for that to happen before we take action. There are people that would hurt her if we don't find Hasley first. It's the only way to guarantee her safety,” Ember said.
"As for why I am here..." she smiled at Noor, "my fate led me here, my family, and my hopes did."
“Dragon Daughter, how is the search for one fateless girl going to help us?” One older man asked with a creased brow and hunched back. Despite the tired appearance of his body, she could see the determination and will of his expression. Ember couldn't imagine all he must have seen in his lifetime, life where Oma was Queen. What would that have been like?
Ember considered lying. She thought to say that Hasley had answers they all needed. That she somehow was the answer to all their problems. But in truth, she was just a girl looking for a friend and calling in any favor she had under her belt. She hadn’t taken care of Hasley. She had to do that now.
“Because that girl could be your daughter. She could be your cousin,” Ember replied.
“This girl, Hasley, is the best friend I do not deserve. She is the kind of person that would have made a great Princess. She is part of us. I want to treat all of the Fateless and all citizens in the way that she would, with tremendous care, patience, and respect.”
Ember’s eyes moistened as she spoke, imagining what Hasley would have done if she had been in Ember’s place. Her heart hurt for her lost friend. For Hasley’s parents. For Ember’s mothers, all three of them. This was what she could do: fight for one and then for all.
“We’ve made so much progress with the Fateless through the building of the community home and our new policy against their harm. These safe places for them will be ready any day now. But we can only do so much without making a stand,” Noor added, “we have to be their advocates. It starts with how we care for even one person.”
Ember smiled at Noor, gripping his hand in solidarity. That he would even say that warmed her heart.
“I have one final question for you, Dragon Daughter,” the same man asked. His thin lips grew thinner as he considered. She looked him in the eye and nodded, prompting him to ask it.
"What is your stance on the wall?"
The room was silent, her public opinion resting on the top of a pin.
Ember smiled, thankful they asked the one question she had an answer too.
"I am looking for an opportunity to remove it. If you or anyone in this room," she lifted her head to the crowd, "have any information or tools that can help me on that quest, I welcome you to speak with me."
"Thank you," the man replied with a smile and nod. She nodded back to him as the whispers resumed.
Glancing between Ember and Noor, Jade interjected. She stood from her desk as Amir pulled away from the tent flap and to their side.
“I think we’ve asked our Dragon Daughter enough questions for today,” Jade interrupted.
The little girl interrupted with a bounce to her feet and swaying pigtails, “but I haven’t asked where the dragons are yet!”
Ember was glad they hadn't.
“We can talk about that with the Princess at another time,” Jade promised the bouncing five-year-old. She responded with a pout before her mother apologetically pulled her back down to her lap.
“For now, know that we are protected by the heir of the throne herself. Embrence Dragon Daughter is still Emairy Waiting, the same girl we've gotten to know. She has a special request and as a friend, we will help her." She gave a cursory stare at the group before she located Amir.
“Amir, hand over the descriptor of Hasley, and we’ll start circulating it. Now, let’s move on to updates,” she concluded. Jade gestured to one of her own personal guards to gather extra seating. Noor and Ember sat beside her as they listened to updates from their teammates.
Ember heard a rushing of steps in the distance. Heads turned. It grew louder, and a man pulled back the tent with a pant.
To her surprise, it was Zhieve, Wally’s pair. His gold eyes roamed the room, his breath stilted from his quick movements. She knew that Wally had told him about the resistance, but had no idea he'd know where they were. When Zhieve’s eyes found hers, his yell shattered the room.
“They’re here! Run!”
“Zhieve? What are you doing here?” Noor exclaimed.
But Ember grasped the truth before Noor could, jumping up from her honorary seat before the confused men and women. She yelled, “The royal guard is here! Run!”
Zhieve barreled towards them as the crowd began to panic. Many stood frozen in their spot, fear paralyzing them, while Ember saw the little girl that asked about the dragons get swept up and carried out the tent before most of the crowd could decide their path.
Zhieve grabbed Ember’s arm and pulled her with him to the back of the tent. Noor and Amir followed without question. Jade called those around them to run and hide. The sound of feet began to stampede towards them, whether they be other scared resistors or the guards closing in - Ember couldn’t tell. Amir pulled up the back of the tent, pulling up the edges to go through as the crowd bottlenecked out the opening flap.
“Where to now?” Noor asked in the low light behind the tent. He gripped Ember’s arm, bringing her closer to him than Zhieve. Despite being Wally’s pair, trusting him was a gamble. How did he know they would be here tonight? Did Wally tell him? Did Zhieve tell Jedoriah Knight she was here?
They stood sandwiched between the tent and the wall, shadows, and lights flickering on and off as other parties became aware of the chaos around them. More people than Ember had seen at one time in the underground city were moving around them.
“Follow me!” Amir responded, taking them back around the other side of the tent ahead of Zhieve. People ran scattered, finding the different entrance points around the province. Amir went in the opposite direction of the crowds, down towards the large shackles that once held dragons. Screams echoed around them, and Ember cried out as she tripped on her full skirt, her feet unable to keep up with the pace. Noor pulled Ember up, sweeping her into his arms as he ran.
Turning the corner behind the large dragon irons, Amir stood in front of an empty wall. A few bits of trash lay in uncleaned sections, but the space was mostly clear. Did he want them to hide in a corner?
“Why are we here?” Ember asked, rushed and out of breath. Noor held her tighter in his arms. Amir turned in circles around them, looking for something. Noor looked too, both of them seeming to know something she and Zhieve did not.
“In here!” Amir exclaime
d in excitement, having found his intended target. He braced his two hands against a seemingly random bit of wall. A groan escaped the space and it opened inward like a hidden door. It blended into the grey and low light.
“Get in!” Amir called and Noor walked in, still holding onto Ember. She wiggled, forcing him to let go of her. On the floor around them and the small shelves against the back of the room, Ember saw small baskets of shimmering blankets and smaller shackles. They shined like the large irons outside the hall. Wait.
Ember bent down and ignored the sounds of Zhieve and Amir arguing outside the door. The blankets were soul-thread. Seeing the two items beside each other, Ember could see the similarities between the soft blanket and the hard material meant to constrain outside. Were they made of the same material? She picked up one of the blankets, seeing several of them in a pile in the hidden closet. Why would they be in here? She looked behind them and saw more shelving with other mysterious objects shadowed around them. It was difficult to see what they were in the dark, they did not shine like the blanket in her arms.
“Guys, get in, stop this!” Noor called. Ember looked up, holding one of the blankets with her. She felt calm despite the circumstance, happy to have found such an interesting clue to the dragon captures of the hidden underground.
“I’ve got somewhere else to be,” Amir replied, looking straight into Zhieve’s eyes as he said, “Thank you for the warning.”
“Don’t you dare,” Zhieve growled at his fellow captain. They were both bound to the crown. Bound to a job that meant being the first line of defense, protectors of their Knights and the descendants of dragons that rule the kingdom and their hearts. Amir shook his head at him, a look of resignation crossed his features.
“No,” Zhieve whispered.
“Take care of them,” Amir responded back, shaking Zhieve before turning him forcibly around. The screams grew louder, feet marching towards their direction. The sound of tent flaps forced open in the distance and personal belongings clashed to the floor filtered their way. The royal guards were searching everything in their path, getting closer to their hideout.
Royalty Fantasy Boxset: Ember Dragon Daughter & Hasley Fateless (Fated Tales Series 1 & 1.5) (The Fated Tales Series: YA Royalty Fantasy) Page 18