“Embrence Dragon Daughter, no matter what, you look amazing. They’ll prefer you over me in no time. In fact, I already prefer you over me. Over them too,” Noor said flippantly as he tied the laces of his boots, a curl plopping over his brow. If Noor’s family were part of the resistance, odds were their opinion of the royal family was not favorable, and Ember hoped to show this other side of her. She was not raised royal, and she hoped that difference would mean they’d give her a chance.
“Why do you act so nonchalant about them?” Ember asked curiously. He’d been saying similar things for weeks, cracking jokes whenever his parents were mentioned.
“My sister raised me. My parents are nice, but they’ve always put the resistance first. I don’t like to think about their opinions often.” And with his shrug, Ember understood why he held quick answers to every question Ember asked about his parents. It was his sister’s opinion that mattered… and she was fateless.
Hand in hand, Ember and Noor followed Cindrea into the dining room. The room practically glowed in white light, a stark contrast to the darker tones of the castle’s exterior. It held more lanterns and torches than she’d typically see in a single room - making sure every crevice of the space had perfect lighting. Oma looked almost ghostly in the brightness. But Ember’s eyes weren’t looking at her, they drew to those in the room she had not known. Stopping short, Ember saw two people sitting at the table already.
She looked at Noor and knew immediately who they were. Her stomach dropped. She thought she’d have a few more hours to think about what she’d say to them until they arrived.
“Mother, Father, I wasn’t expecting you until lunch. What a nice surprise,” Noor said. His cheeriness rang false in the stale air. Some extra time ordinarily wouldn’t be a grave concern, but the slowly growing smile on Oma’s face set Ember’s heart to flip-flop.
“Isn't it a happy surprise, Nori? The Queen Matron invited us to stay at Cruelindime with her,” Noor’s mom said with an erratic bob of her head. Her short curls held the same bounce as Noor, but their deep pink and white strands reflected the light.
There was a missing piece of the conversation here, something his mother was trying to convey to him. Ember could only imagine what Noor’s mother was actually thinking, a rebel asked to live in the palace of the former queen. It was an information goldmine.
“They’ll be living here indefinitely, Noorworth,” Oma elaborated, taking a sip of tea.
“Did your Knight’s parents live with your matron, Oma?” Ember asked, cautiously hoping it was a tradition. She should have known not to hope.
“No, they did not,” was her cold reply. Noor’s father coughed suddenly and dropped his fork on his plate. It clanged loudly, and he waved his hands as if to say he was okay. The blonde of his hair reminded her of Amir.
A threat then. What did she know? Why now?
“Noor, are you going to introduce us to your pair?” His father hedged, working to break the tension.
Ember and Noor lingered before them. She squeezed his hand again, jolting him out of his spiraling thoughts.
“Of course, I'm sorry,” Noor said. He rolled his shoulders back and let go of Ember’s hand. He gestured to her and said, “Mother, Father, this is Embrence Dragon Daughter.”
“It's nice to finally meet you, Embrence. Especially since Noor didn't mention he was even going to the palace until after he was fated. I am Drae Owner,” Noor’s mother said, sucking her teeth.
Drae gave Noor a pointed look as she stood up from her chair and moved to hug Ember. It was a stiff and unwelcoming hug that Ember hoped to never repeat, despite it lasting half a second. Ember could practically feel the disdain roll off of the woman.
“Please, call me Ember,” she replied automatically, already regretting giving this cold woman the power of a nickname. How could someone with such immediate distaste for someone, based on their birthright alone and no other facts, raise such a beautiful being?
“It's a delight, Ember. My name is Cane Builder.” Noor’s father said, ruffling Noor’s hair as he passed him to give her a hug that felt opposite of his pair. Ember took an immediate liking to him. He must be the key to Noor’s sweet nature. Thank Aaleia.
“Sit,” Oma demanded quietly. Cindrea did so as well, moving from the corner of the dining room to take the opposite chair to Oma. Ember glanced, confused. She’d never seen one of the staff sit with Oma before. Ember felt a tremor move through her. An intuitive moment telling her to fear.
Cane pulled Drae to the table and they sat back in their earlier spots. He put his arm protectively around his wife. She did not seem to feel the impact of the situation as they did.
Noor held his breathe as he sat beside Ember. There was something unreadable in him, a distance Ember hadn’t felt before. She held his hand and stared her grandmother in the eye. Oma was a murderer. Oma was a manipulator, installing a fake Knight to the people and kidnapping that Knight’s pair and child to keep him compliant. This odd behavior after over a week together was not good. She knew something.
Jedoriah walked into the room, the heel of his black shiny shoes clicking on the floor.
“And my daughter?” Omanox asked him, keeping her eyes on Noor.
“Asleep still,” Jedoriah answered. He surveyed the table and its occupants, seeing the tension in their stances. He sat beside Cindrea, giving her a sideways glance as if to ask why she was at the head of the table. She remained silent.
“Good, we can begin then,” Oma said and stood from her chair. She dismissed the servants bringing in food and one of Oma’s guards closed the door behind them. Ember surveyed the room. Wally and Zhieve were nowhere to be seen.
Oma cleared her throat and looked each individual in the eye.
“Every single one of you has betrayed me,” Oma said flatly, clasping her fingers together as if in prayer. She shook those clasped hands and pursued her lips.
Noor was rock still, staring across the table at his parents. Ember’s heart began to beat erratically.
“Is everything okay, Oma? What happened?” Ember said and stood up again, feigning innocence. Her legs quivered, but she hoped Oma wouldn’t notice.
“I am surrounded by rebels. Even my heir is a rebel. This will not do.” Oma’s voice came out in a sing-song.
Jedoriah stood too, glancing between Ember and Oma.
“There are no rebels here, Omanox. Come, let’s discuss without company,” he said. He pushed back his chair and walked towards her head of the table.
“Sit down, Jedoriah,” Cindrea said from the opposite end of the table. He blinked in surprise at the outburst and turned back to sit down, looking to her. Was Cindrea also a secret rebel? Ember wondered, trying to piece together her reason for being summoned to this occasion. How had she betrayed Oma, and why would Jedoriah listen to her?
“You too,” Cindrea said in warning to Ember. Jedoriah nodded to her and given his recent confessions, she sat. What part of the puzzle was she missing here?
Oma smiled slowly, surveying the many confused faces before turning to Noor’s parents.
“I have her,” Oma said.
Hasley? Ember looked wildly around the room, but there were no more people here than there were when she entered. Thoughts began to spiral around her. Did Amic betray them? Was she captive in another room? Her thoughts halted when Noor and his mother stood quickly, both pulling out a knife and pointing it to the Dragon Matron. His father froze in his seat, tears gathering in his eyes.
They came to radically different conclusions. This was not Hasley. The threat was aimed at Noor and his parents.
“Where is she?” Noor asked and hedged the knife closer in threat.
“Who are you talking about? Noor, where is who?” Ember asked, left in the dark.
“Don’t you know, Dragonia?” Cindrea said and leaned back in her chair. She crossed her arms and smirked.
“Noor’s sister is alive. We have her.”
Thirty-One
Accepting a Crown
The world seemed to circle around Ember like a tidal wave, echoing again and again in her mind with blood rushing to her ears.
Noor’s sister is alive. We have her.
Her first thought was, yes, I know that, before the second sentence jumped out. We have her. We have her. We have her.
“Give. Her. Back,” Noor said, a growl rumbling in his chest. He edged closer to Oma, his knife coming higher. His mother moved behind her son, face drawn in anger.
Oma laughed in the face of the knives.
“You think you can get the answers you seek, kill your pair’s grandmother, get out of the castle, and get your sister? Is there a rescue party outside that door waiting for you?”
She laughed at the notion.
“What do you want from us?” Cane asked, pulling his wife away. Drae let him.
“Good question,” Oma purred, picking off a long silver hair from her dress. “What is it we want, Cindrea?” Oma posed the question to Ember’s lady in waiting.
Cindrea dropped her hands on the tabletop and pushed herself up.
“What are you doing?” Jedoriah asked. She ignored him.
“We want,” she began with a long drawl, bringing herself between Noor and Oma as if she belonged there, “for Embrence and Jedoriah to behave.”
Cindrea placed a delicate finger on top of Noor’s dagger, pushing it down easily in his confusion.
She smiled, her demeanor mimicking the Dragon Matron with one distinct difference— the hand on her stomach.
Ember stood, leaving Jedoriah the lone occupant at the table. He seemed immovable, a stone statue while Ember now understood the blood in his veins and the wear and tear of his heart.
“You are Jedoriah’s pair,” Ember said, the pieces fell together in a horror. Actions snapping into place and just as before, conversations with hidden meanings and stolen moments firing through her subconscious.
Jedoriah helping Cindrea into the carriage on that first day.
Cindrea’s comfort in calling Jedoriah by name.
Leaving rooms together.
Arriving within moments of each other.
The day she caught her bringing the tea to his office and Jedoriah’s exclamation through the closed door...
A dislike and yet camaraderie with Ember’s grandmother. The person who gave them their position.
Her leaving the day after Amir’s death.
A swell to her stomach.
Jedoriah’s confession.
“No,” Cindrea said darkly, her eyes twinkling with mischief as she watched Ember put the pieces together, “he is mine.”
Words from long ago snapped into Ember’s mind.
“Your pair helps you reach your full potential,” Ahnika had said in that first lesson.
“If I had the chance to be queen, I would not hesitate.” Words straight from Cindrea’s mouth. It was right in front of her this whole time.
Cindrea’s potential brought her here, a hair’s breadth from the throne.
Jedoriah dropped his hand into his hands.
“She got to you,” he whispered.
“No, Jed,” Cindrea replied flatly. “I chose the side of the person who took care of our family. Not the little girl that doesn’t even want to be here.”
Ember felt the offense like a splash of cold water. No, she had not wanted to be here. Had that lead to all of this? Amir’s death, Cindrea’s betrayal of Jedoriah, and the kidnapping of Noor’s sister?
“You know the truth of our installed Knight as well?” Oma laughed manically. “You are more far gone than even I knew, dear Fireheart.”
“Why my sister?” Noor asked, his voice cracking. Drae and Cane observed, taking in what they could. The royal family was riddled in deceit.
“Because you hid her and because your family is a problem,” Oma responded honestly.
“I’ll do what you say, just let her go,” Ember said and gripped Noor’s sweaty palm. His posture fell and he leaned into her side.
“I know you will,” Oma said. “Let’s begin with having breakfast. All this planning has left me famished. We’ll talk later on how to rid ourselves of the rebel vermin you decided to play with.”
Oma sat back down, with Cindrea on her opposite chair. They each prepared a heaping plate of food before them. The rest of the occupants sat in silence, a heavy weight teetering between them.
“Naive little girl, I certainly hope you have a more aggressive plan in mind,” Noor’s mother sneered as she paced her and Cane’s room.
A knock sounded and Wally popped his head in, his expression was drained of color. “They say you only have one minute before we are escorted back to the tower.”
Ember nodded to him, and he closed the door.
“That is enough, don’t you think?” Noor said once they were alone again.
“Excuse me?” Drae asked with an arched brow.
“I said. That. Is. Enough,” he said slowly, exhaustion punctuating his words. “Naomi is captured, and we have nothing to bargain with.”
“We are resistance leaders. We can get her back.”
“Are you sure about that?” Ember asked.
The three occupants turned to her.
“We don’t know how long they’ve known we were in the resistance. They could have been watching all of our movements to time it perfectly. When was the last time you saw your daughter?”
Cane’s face reddened in shame as he said, “two weeks.”
Noor sobbed into his hands, giving in to the breaking of his heart. The sight broke her heart too. She hadn’t known Naomi, hadn’t been able to come up with a plan yet to help her, but she was her family now. She’d find a way to help this part of Noor’s heart and history.
“How could you have not seen your daughter in two weeks and not know she was gone?” Ember asked incredulously, she rubbed her hand in circles on Noor’s back as she tried to process that fact.
“We move her frequently throughout other rebel homes. We couldn’t inconvenience anyone for too long.”
“She is your daughter!” Noor yelled, tears rolling into his mouth and nose running. He pushed both his parents against the dresser near the door. It banged back and his mother yelped. He pointed his finger at the both of them, “you were supposed to take care of her! She was yours!”
“And who was going to watch her when you left, Nori? Huh? Who did you think would take care of Naomi while we were out working to take on the royal family and you went to join them,” Drae accused, pointing her own finger at Ember.
“I am not responsible for the world,” Noor whispered. A thought he had repeated to himself, undoubtedly, when he decided to leave and make a mark for himself.
“You are a Knight,” Cane said back as if that proved that Noor was, indeed, responsible for Naomi and much much more. Cane rubbed his arm where a knob had indented with a wince, Ember did not feel sorry for him or his pair.
The guilt that was bred into Noor his whole life was apparent. His need to add humor to every situation, to make light when he was responsible for the care of his sick sister and the pain he felt when he left to the one profession his parents would disapprove of the most. Ember thought again of the fateless man that ran for her in the woods near the palace and hoped that the madness that took Naomi was calmer, a subtler descent into pain and forgetting.
The door opened and Zhieve entered with Wally and other men she did not recognize.
“Time to go back to the tower, Embrence Dragon Daughter,” a stranger said. She nodded to the woman and filled out. Noor held her hand like a lifeline. Neither of them looked back on the couple.
“I'm sorry,” Ember spoke into the silence between them. They stood in the center of the small tower room. Clothes were strewn everywhere from her morning indecisiveness. Had that morning only been a few hours ago? It felt like ages as her body was alight with tension and the figurative crown heavier on her brow.
Ember had never felt this helpless. Years of pain an
d loneliness did not compare to this embedding dread. Ember pulled him into her until they fell together into bed. She was not as strong as him, not by a long shot, but he let her pull him away.
“It's going to be okay,” she said, stroking his curly hair.
“No, it’s not,” he responded, pushing back her hands and wiping his face. They laid staring at each other, matching each other’s breathing.
“I wish our world was just this. Just our arms around each other,” Ember said, “but it isn’t. I’ll solve this, Noor. I may not have wanted this crown, and I may not have been trained for it, but that training doesn’t mean anything. My mother was raised to be queen and now she is queen in name only, imposters taking her birthright and leading our people to ruin.”
Our people reverberated in Ember. While she had begun to think of them that way after getting to know the resistance, she hadn’t said it aloud. She hadn’t admitted to herself that she was preparing, actually trying, to take part in this life thrown on her.
“There is more than the wall. More to our oppression than we know. I will find out what it is, and I will get your sister back.”
And unbidden, without warning, Ember’s mind added, “and I will be the true queen.”
Thirty-Two
Scaled Beasts
The two weeks that followed were stagnation and whirlwind. The two oppositions threw Ember into a state of confusion. She couldn’t help but compare herself to her birth mom. The mad queen of Ashkadance was seen when necessary and hidden when not. Though Karwyn was more puppet than Ember hoped to be, she still played her part. Oma had successfully kept two of her family members in towers and one faux Knight at her beck and call. She was the ringleader here, and Ember knew of only two ways to escape. She would attempt one the night of the ball. And if that failed, she’d figure out if she was capable of the second.
Guests came in and out of the castle as they prepared for the Mutrien ball, taking up the majority of Ember’s faux puppet time. She was paraded around and prompted to say and do as Oma asked. Ember saw Jedoriah in passing, but wasn’t able to speak with him alone again. How long did he do her bidding willingly? When did he join the cage she was now in?
Royalty Fantasy Boxset: Ember Dragon Daughter & Hasley Fateless (Fated Tales Series 1 & 1.5) (The Fated Tales Series: YA Royalty Fantasy) Page 24