by Rebecca Rode
Even Bianca, who would officiate the ceremony. She caught Ember’s gaze and grinned weakly. Surely this brought back painful memories for her, but she was obviously trying her best to make this special for Ember. Dear Bianca.
The crowd murmured as they waited. Everyone was there—Amai, Syd, Reina. Brennan held Mar’s hand, although by the shades of pink on Mar’s face, it was a new development. President Zandar had offered Ember’s revolutionaries and the disbanded vanguard positions in his new military.
All her flickers had accepted with one exception—surprisingly, Syd. The girl said she wanted to travel instead. Apparently Amai was set to go with her. Bex stood near the front, Er’len’s hand on his shoulder. Terrance stood near the front as well in his new general’s uniform, his grin the widest of all.
Only President Zandar was absent. He was busy seeing to the construction of the new high-level prison facility that would soon house Ruben, ex-emperor and convict. The new president had been overjoyed at Ember’s suggestion of placing it underwater on a toxic liquid planet called Karralon. Ember grinned wickedly at the thought.
Finally Bianca began. She delivered the traditional ceremonial words in Romani first, then in Common for the benefit of Stefan and the audience. Her Common was much better now that Ember was teaching her. The sooner she learned the language, the faster she could take the post waiting for her on Kollander. Bianca was to head the new Cultural Protection Center under President Zandar’s direction, and she was incredibly excited to get started.
Stefan’s eyes widened as Bianca removed the knife from her pocket for the blood mingling.
“I thought you said it was a knife,” he murmured in a teasing tone. “That thing is a sword.”
“Romani tradition is big and bold,” Ember said, offering her palm to Bianca with a grin. “There’s no halfway here. Of course, it’s not too late if you want to back out.”
“There’s a sword pointed at me. I’d say I’m under duress now.”
Ember flinched as the knife sliced the end of her finger, but she kept her hand steady as Bianca sliced Stefan’s finger as well and tiny red lines of blood appeared on it. They placed their hands together, and Bianca tied them with a silken cord. The blood mingling was a tradition reaching back over a thousand years, maybe longer. Ember tried to imagine how many couples had done this before them, their eyes alight with love and hope for the future, just like hers and Stefan’s.
Red blood. Different heritages, languages, cultures, and yet all looked the same on the inside. Joy swelled within Ember, and for the first time since taking the antidote that had removed her abilities, she felt a warm tingling inside. Happiness.
Bianca finished the binding and lowered her head to offer a prayer in Romani. This she didn’t translate, but Stefan lowered his head as well. Love, protection, and happiness for them both. Ember lifted two fingers to her forehead as tradition required, letting the words sink deep into her soul, as Bianca added a little something at the end—an untraditional request for healing.
Ember jerked her head up to watch her friend wipe her eyes as the prayer ended.
Then Stefan pulled Ember close and pressed his mouth to hers in a long, insistent kiss that went tender after a moment. Bex made a gagging noise from the audience. They finally pulled away, chuckling.
“Now jump over the flames,” Bianca instructed Stefan.
After he unwrapped their hands, he stepped carefully down the shaky steps. With a flourish, he leaped over the bonfire, then gave a dramatic bow. The audience laughed as he turned to Ember and held out his hand. Maybe he would make a good Romani man after all.
Ember descended as well but jumped a bit more carefully, making sure her long skirt cleared the flames. Then she accepted his hand and they jumped back over together, heading for the platform again. The fire indicated the couples’ willingness to follow one another anywhere. As far as Ember was concerned, they’d already proven they would do that much.
The musicians were still playing, their music swelling over the crowd and causing Ember’s throat to tighten. And then it was done. They were bound as tightly as two people could be in the eyes of the realm and in the stars.
Normally they would have ridden off on horses, but they hadn’t been able to find any. Instead, the crowd would leave on a chartered revolution ship to allow the newly married couple their privacy.
Privacy was all Ember had thought she wanted, but now that they had what was left of Earth to themselves, Ember already had plans for it. President Zandar’s new government structure called for a senate gathering every six months. He’d already discontinued homages, allowing the planets to handle their own taxation systems except for a small levy on trade to keep the new realm going. It was a work in progress.
The feedback on the new system was overwhelmingly positive, although many of the higher society—those who had once been under the influence of Empyrean, for example—were grumpy about it. Even Stefan’s parents had tried to start protests, but those died pretty quickly when the instigators realized how severely outnumbered they were. They’d even tried to contact Stefan to convince him to step in for them. He never responded.
But none of that mattered now. She was here with Stefan, finally alone. The voice was gone, and with it her stomach pains. Surprisingly, her flicker ability remained intact, for which she was grateful. It meant she could still feel a portion of the incredible connection she’d felt the day she brought Stefan back. It wasn’t godlike by any means, but it was enough.
It had taken her a few days to fully grasp the magnitude of what had happened that day. She hadn’t reshaped the universe, not exactly. She’d just caused a tiny shift in the Empire’s trajectory. It was Ruben’s intended direction, she suspected, that would have fulfilled the Daughter’s terrible prophecy about genocide. But that was all finished now. As she reminded Stefan on occasion, the only person she was destined to become was the person she decided to be. And she’d made the decision to be gloriously and blissfully happy. She patted the slight bulge in the hidden pocket of her skirt. Mar had made her a new set of tarot cards, each hand-painted. Her first wedding gift.
The newlyweds mingled with the well-wishers for a while, then bid everyone goodbye. Now there was just one question left.
“Do I finally get to see that house you’ve been promising me?” Ember teased, threading her now-bandaged fingers through his and resting her head on his shoulder. She’d been kept from the big “secret” for weeks as the dwelling was being constructed. The two had chosen a different beach for their new life, one several weeks’ north of her old home. The sand was rougher and the water colder there, but it seemed to fit.
“I was supposed to build you a house?” Stefan asked, feigning alarm. “That would have been nice to know.”
She nudged his shoulder, and he grinned, taking her hand.
Minutes later, they rounded the top of the hill. Stefan stopped to watch her, looking triumphant.
It looked exactly like her childhood home.
The small hut was constructed of concrete blocks and had a tin roof. The outside was a dull, weathered orange, and the courtyard even had caged hens. She could hear them now, their gentle clucking a soothing balm to her soul. There were subtle differences, of course. The paint was too new, the ceiling too high. The front window was unbroken. But somehow it was exactly right.
“Bianca oversaw the details, and Brennan helped me build it,” Stefan said. “How did we do?”
Ember swallowed, unable to speak.
He seemed to understand. He turned to her, placing his hands on either side of her face and brushing away the wetness in her eyes with a gentle thumb. “If it’s too painful, we can change it. I want you to be happy.”
“No,” she managed, giving him a radiant smile. “It’s perfect.” She sniffed the tears away and turned back to the building. “Let’s see the inside.”
“Hold on there, lovely bride,” Stefan said, jogging to catch up. “You’ve had your traditions. Now
allow me mine.” He swept her into his arms, cradling her like an infant, long skirt and all. Then he strode determinedly to the front door and kicked it open.
The inside hadn’t been re-created as Ember remembered. Bianca had only been in her house a few times, and the traditional furniture was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Stefan had added a few tasteful, hand-carved pieces while sprinkling in some modern-day conveniences. It was the perfect blend of tradition and comfort, a combination of history and the present. A balance of old and new, just like their marriage would hopefully become.
Ember pulled him down for a long kiss, and his hands tightened around her. And then all but the two of them was long forgotten.
Thanks for reading Ember’s story.
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Hope to see you there!
-Rebecca
For fans of Divergent & Hunger Games
A citizen girl out to win the game.
A slave bent on breaking the system.
A secret the government will kill to protect.
Numbers Game (#1)
Numbers Ignite (#2)
Numbers Raging (#3)
About the Author
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REBECCA RODE is a USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. Her published fiction includes the Numbers Game trilogy, the Ember in Space series, and numerous novellas. She is also a freelance journalist. Rebecca has four children, two cats, one husband, and a ridiculous number of books. Visit her at AuthorRebeccaRode.com.