Amir pushed Zhieve Captain into the closet with Ember and Noor with urgency. Zhieve fell into them, his strong and broad body blocking the view of one of Ember’s only friends.
“Goodbye, Zhieve Captain. Tell Wally. Tell him it’s not his fault. I’m choosing my purpose. And Zhieve, choose your pair. Always choose your pair.” Amir closed the door, a captain weighing the risks.
“NO!” Zhieve called again, hitting the door as Amir somehow locked it from the outside. A sliver of movement caught her eye, and Ember saw the small hole to the bottom left of the door. It must be the locking mechanism. How would they get out? What was his plan? Ember tried to push past Noor, but the space was too tight and he was too strong. The four of them would not have fit.
“I don’t understand,” Ember protested to herself. She dropped the shimmering blanket, and her heart began to clamor in her chest. The darkness seemed to grow; only a small crack below their feet brought in light outside of the small hole. There was no way to open the door from the inside. Zhieve hadn’t come to that conclusion, didn’t realize yet they were trapped. He banged at the door, occupying almost the entire mystery closet with his figure.
Noor took command. Keeping Ember behind him, he covered Zhieve’s mouth with his hand.
“Everyone, be quiet,” he scolded in a whisper, pulling the taller man back with more ease than Ember anticipated.
Zhieve’s eyes began to moisten, his hands shaking at his sides. The space was cramped, Ember could feel the heat of the two muscular men surrounding her. This was the most vulnerable Ember had ever seen Zhieve. The most he had ever spoken in front of her too. It would have never occurred to her he had this bond with Amir, just as his relationship with Wally had seemed foreign.
“Do you think everyone else got away okay?” Ember whispered. They had been at the back of the underground structure, Zhieve must have run past many people before reaching them. Were there other closets, or panic rooms, like this one where people could hide? Or other hidden doors they could escape from? Her thoughts swarmed back and forth between Amir and the other resistors.
“Everything is going to be okay.” He nodded while saying the statement, but she noted that wasn't the answer to her question. She took comfort in the fact that she didn’t know about this room. That must mean there could be others. It was a difficult to move as cramped as they were, but Noor was able to bring his arms up so that they hovered on top of her shoulders.
Zhieve leaned against the door, blocking the little light they had. But then from the corner of her eye, another bit of light came into her sight. It was a hidden lookout hole, confirming her thought that this was indeed a panic room.
Zhieve noticed it first and his eye peered into the small slit. Feet pounded in the distance, as did the screams. Ember lay her head on Noor’s chest, squeezing her eyes shut. Shouldn't she stop this? She gripped Noor tighter, and he held onto her. Doubt crept through her. Was keeping her identity worth these lives? Would they kill all the resistors or only a few to leave a lesson? Was Jedoriah here with them bringing what he thought was justice? If Zhieve knew with enough notice to get here, Jedoriah had to be the instigator. More blood she could blame on his distorted perspectives. What justification did he have for the death of the moms that raised her?
The cries and commotion in the camp continued. What was better, Ember wondered, for the screams to keep going or to stop? It grew silent and Ember looked back up at Noor, tears streaking down her face. She was letting her people down. She opened her mouth to demand Noor break open the door of their hiding place when she heard it.
She closed her mouth with an audible snap and Noor’s eyes grew wider. Familiar voices were approaching them, closer and distinguishable from the screams due to the echo of their lesser-used hall. Noor shivered, bringing Ember closer to his body. They held each other, waiting.
“It's disgusting down here,” a raspy female’s voice said. Her tone dripped of venom. Ember felt she knew her, but she wasn’t sure how.
“What were they thinking? They might as well have hidden in a cage,” the man replied. She knew him immediately, the man she refused to call father.
“Which way did he go? Are you sure it was the guard?” The woman inquired, her tenure gravelly and deep. On the second listen, she knew that voice too. She didn’t want to admit that she knew that voice. A tear that had nothing to do with the potential death of her friends peaked out of Ember’s eyes, dripping down onto her scales. They were tears of betrayal, sticky and hot. Noor gripped her harder, and she knew that he recognized her as well. Ember pulled away from him and crouched quietly to the floor. She put her eye to the small hole from the lock. Zhieve hadn’t moved an inch from the taller peephole. Only Noor was left without a view.
“Yes, I’d recognize Embrence’s captain anywhere,” Jedoriah said.
“I would agree, but your competence has been in question as of late.” Oma sneered back to him. Ember watched as she came into view. Oma was no longer the picture of a tired elder Queen she was familiar with, rather she stood rod straight. An act. So much had been a lie. She shuddered in the dark.
“Don’t test me,” Jedoriah said. He stood behind Oma, staring daggers into her back.
“Oh, I most certainly will,” Oma said. She turned around and mirrored his glare. A hatred was shining between them, one Ember had never seen before. In her presence, Jedoriah had always seemed to bow to the Dragon Matron’s will. In private, it seemed to be a different matter. Or had something changed?
Ember couldn’t believe her ears. Zhieve backed away, shaking his head and pulling at his face and hair. She saw the panic in him. If he was caught, what would become of him and Wally? Would he be tortured for more information on the resistance? Or just killed in spite? The risks he took to get here first, to warn them...
Zhieve’s backward step pushed Noor against the shelves. Noor held his lips shut with a grimace, keeping in the pain. The wall, however, disagreed with the need to be quiet.
Ember turned her eye to the lookout hole Zhieve vacated just as Jedoriah and Oma turned towards the hiding spot. They inched closer, aiming a torch in the general direction of the hidden door. Just as Ember feared they were about to be caught, a clear voice ten feet away called, “You've found me.”
Amir moved into the light, smiling gravely at the pair. His eyes ignored where he knew his Princess and friends stood.
“I knew it was you,” Jedoriah said, his triumphant look as vain as his disposition.
“And you are always right, aren't you? It’s one of the things I hate about you,” Amir said with a laugh. Not a laugh of joy, a tone she had never expected of him.
Oma snorted at the comment and Amir’s eyes turned to her.
“I've been in the castle for ten years, ten years working on my purpose and learning how to be a good guard. You know what I learned in those ten years, Jedoriah Knight and Omanox Dragon Matron?”
Amir didn’t wait for an answer. He walked in a circle around them, forcing his body between Ember and the other members of the royal family. He pointed his finger at Jedoriah and spoke again.
“You are not my Knight. Who I follow is of my choosing. I follow Embrence Dragon Daughter. I follow Noorworth Knight. I do not follow you. I do not follow Omanox Dragon Matron. And I do not follow the Queen you keep hidden away. Ember is our true queen and Mutrien is going to make it official soon enough.”
“I think you’ve been around long enough,” Oma replied coldly. She pulled a dagger from the folds of her black dress. It held a blue gem at the handle. On the other side of the door, Ember held her breath, unsure what her birth family would do. She wished she could see more, see the expressions on their faces more closely and know what they were thinking. Instead, she heard the muffled cackle of her grandmother. She felt Noor beside her as he looked from the other peep hole. Zhieve had switched positions, shaking behind them.
“You know what to do about this insolence, Jedoriah,” she said. Nothing was heard for severa
l moments beyond the breathing of her, Noor, and Zhieve.
“Well, you have guaranteed you won't be in the castle any longer. How about you join the community homes? Who is going to tell me that I am wrong, that you aren’t fateless? No one,” Jedoriah spoke the threat easily, while Oma shook her head.
“No, we can do better than that, Jedoriah,” she called. He looked back at her, face weary.
“Him or her?” She asked him with an arched brow. The long braids of her silver hair shone brightly in the firelight of her torch. He stared at the dagger in her hands as she tilted the blue gem hilt to reflect in the firelight.
His face turned up away from the dagger and to the Dragon Matron again. He nodded before turning back to Amir. As if on command, his face turned to malice. He reached backward and accepted the dagger in Oma’s outstretched hand.
“Or better yet, how about I kill you?” Jedoriah asked Amir.
Zhieve sat on the floor, taking up more space seated than when he stood. He rocked, head on his knees. They were powerless. Reveal themselves and possibly live the same fate or accept Amir’s willing sacrifice. Honor what he gave them. Those were the choices.
She couldn’t do it. Ember raised her hands, about to push and bang the door and reveal their hideout. This was her friend. She couldn’t watch him die for her sake.
Before her hands could make their strike, Noor’s reached in front of her and held her arms down. She kicked backward, protesting against him but he was too strong. He held her back with one arm snaked around her chest and arms and the other over her mouth. Ember screamed into it. Frustrated, afraid, and helpless. She heard the physical signs of their fight. Blows hit skin and feet scuffling on the floor resonated as their bodies pushed together in battle.
Her pair held her back, keeping her from watching as her Captain fought the head Knight. Blows were hit, but she didn’t know who. Fear circulated in and out of her quickening breath. Helpless again. Helpless to help Amir. Helpless to help Hasley. Helpless to save her moms, birth mother, and Noor's sister. There was so much out of this bubble of control. Lack of control felt like the only constant in her life.
Amir cried out in pain, a gurgling sound escaped from his throat. She knew it was too late before she even heard the thump against their hiding spot. Something heavy now leaned against the only door in or out. A body. It was silent for a moment.
Noor let her go and gently rubbed his hands over her shoulders and arms. She couldn't feel it. The heat was rising in her. She looked through the hole, but Amir was not visible, laying below the lookout hole. She could see Jedoriah and the look on his face did not appear to be one of pleasure. He stared in her direction, at the body that must be just beneath her eyesight. His expression was blank, motionless, and sweat dripped near his ponytail of blue hair.
“Hurry up, let's go,” Oma said impatiently. Jedoriah re-animated, putting on a bravado so jarring from his expression mere seconds ago. Ember’s eyes trailed to her grandmother. Oma glanced towards where Amir must be. Her eyes uncaring, she addressed Jedoriah again.
“There, problem solved. Didn't I tell you someone in her household was involved? We’ll have to see how much our Fireheart knew about it,” she said.
“Your Fireheart, not mine,” Jedoriah replied bluntly. He wiped the knife’s blade on his dark pants. Ember hoped that meant her grandmother was not the same as Jedoriah, hoped beyond reason that she would defend her and damn Jedoriah for his actions.
“She is a dragon and deserves your respect, especially while we are still grooming her,” Oma snapped back. They walked out of frame. All reason to hope splattered onto the ground. Grooming. She was a prized beast pulling their carriages.
Ember turned back to Noor. His broad shoulders a mere outline in the dark. He reached for her, and they held on tightly for several moments before their souls were rested enough to detach. She could sense Zhieve in the small room, quivering at their feet. Noor and Ember looked through both small holes in the door, double-checking the coast was clear.
She stepped aside as Noor pulled a key from his pocket, one she didn’t know he had, and pushed open the paneling. He had a way out of the room the whole time, in sync with Amir and this plan, to her surprise and anger. A weight pushed on the door. Noor strained his muscles as he pushed it farther open and light began to fracture into their vision again. They were only able to open it far enough for them to squeeze out. Blood smeared where the door trailed.
As Ember emerged, her feet had to step over a red puddle. Beside it, the body of one of her only friends. His chest was still. Amir’s lifeless eyes looked up at the three of them, as if he knew they would stare back into his face. Zhieve fell to his knees again, this time in the pooling blood. His voice croaked, a harrowing sound. What he meant to say wasn’t clear. He laid his body over Amir’s and sobs wracked him.
Ember didn't cry. She felt too dried up for that. Her whole body felt like it was constructed of salty flames. Dried up. Heated. She knelt before Amir and Zhieve. A stain grew on the fabric of her dress and on her mind, one she knew she would never be rid of. Without a word, she reached into his pocket to take out the pin that represented his captainhood. She smiled down on it, correctly guessing that even in civilian clothes he would not have left it behind. She held it gently in her palms.
“We have to get to your room. Jedoriah could come looking for us at any moment,” Noor said from behind her. She could hear the tears in his voice. The regret.
She clipped the pin to the inside of her cloak, hidden and safe. She walked back to the hidden room, picked up the blankets and put the small iron chains in the inner pocket of her cloak. Detaching herself from the cries coming from around the camp, Ember held the blanket in one arm and Noor’s hand in another. They ran, Noor leading the way back where they came.
Twenty-Three
A Temple of Lies
Noor pulled Zhieve behind him as he and Ember ran up the stairs of their tower. He prayed no blood dripped a trail. At the top of the stairs stood one solo guard.
“What’s going on?” Wally called from above them. He pulled out his sword at the panicked pace of their steps.
“Zhieve!” Wally called in fear as they reached the landing. “Have you been stabbed?” He dropped the sword with a clang. His voice quavered as one arm curled around his lover’s shoulders, the other checking his chest for wounds. Blood soaked his shirt where Zhieve had held Amir.
“There’s no time to explain. Take Zhieve to your room, and don’t come out until we tell you too! Clean him up as fast as possible,” Noor said in a rush. As Wally opened the door to their room, he was already taking off Zhieve's blood-stained shirt.
Ember could still hear Zhieve’s ragged breath as Wally closed the door to their room. Everything quieted besides their panicked disrobing. Her whole body shook as they moved and tried to detach herself from the event. The blankets lay on the bathroom floor, her dirty clothes on top.
“Are you sure he’ll come here?” Ember whispered as she cleaned her hands in the sink. When the water ran clean, she stopped to inspect her hands. There was a spot of blood between the groves of the pearl ring Noor picked for her that first day in the market.
Ember ran her finger under the water but the spot did not budge between the silver casing. She pulled off the ring as she slipped into a clean sleep-dress. Before she jumped into bed, Ember hid the ring in her jewelry box. Noor was right behind her, shirtless and in linen pants. He reached under the bed before climbing in, checking for his dagger. He pulled it out from its hiding spot and tucked it into his pants pocket before settling in beside her. She shuddered.
“If I were head Knight, I would. He’ll be here,” he affirmed.
Noor pulled her close to him, and she inhaled his sweet scent. His heart galloped beneath her head, and its glamour brought her own heart down to her stomach. She focused on the fast rhythm, pushing her fearful thoughts away. She hoped Jedoriah wouldn't come, that Noor was wrong. Maybe they should grab their bags
and run away, live in Jardano’s bookshop and never come out. She hoped Jardano escaped. She didn’t remember seeing him in the crowd. Maybe he hadn’t come tonight?
“I can’t believe…” Ember began before her head snapped to the sound at the door. Jedoriah opened the door.
She sat up in the bed, too shaken to get up and pretend to be courteous.
Jedoriah stood twenty feet away, still in the living area of her tower rooms. He walked towards where they sat. As he passed into their room, she noticed he had also changed clothing. He did not wear his uniform or Knight pin. He wore brown pants and a rough-spun white long sleeve shirt, colors and clothes she had never seen him in. If it weren’t for the deep worry lines of his face and the tension in his shoulders, she would say he looked casual. Her chest tightened at his different appearance. Would Oma be walking through the door next?
“Embrence, I need to speak to you about a serious matter,” he said solemnly.
“I’m listening,” Ember said, still seated in her bed. She pulled the covers tighter around her lap. She felt Noor reach into his pocket from beneath the sheets.
“Your captain is dead,” he said softly. His mouth pulled into a frown, part grimace and part fear.
A choked sob escaped Ember that was not faked. At least she could share her pain. Let out her grief. If she did that, she wouldn’t have to act. Not like Noor would have to.
“How?” Noor asked as he stood. Amir’s blood was on their clothes, the ones lying on their bathroom floor. They knew the answer to that question.
Jedoriah examined Ember’s expression, his eyes trailed over her tears.
Royalty Fantasy Boxset: Ember Dragon Daughter & Hasley Fateless (Fated Tales Series 1 & 1.5) (The Fated Tales Series: YA Royalty Fantasy) Page 19