Imdalind Ruby Collection One: Kiss of Fire | Eyes of Ember | Scorched Treachery

by Ethington, Rebecca

  “Now Ilyan,” Dramin said, “remember, you cannot help her. As much as your body calls for you to do so, she will not be able to show you all that she has accomplished if you do.”

  Ilyan nodded once before turning back to me, the intensity of his gaze increasing. I felt my pulse quicken.

  “Great, Dramin!” I yelled back to him, my sarcasm weakened by the shake in my voice. “Now if I mess up who is going to come to my rescue?”

  Dramin laughed and Ilyan looked like he had swallowed a toad.

  “What’s the score again?” Thom asked as he flexed his fingers and shook his head, his dreadlocks swinging clumsily.

  “Six seconds for thirty-five attacks,” Dramin said with a hint of pride. I let out a deep breath and took another drink.

  “Sounds good. You ready?”

  I nodded in response to Thom’s question and closed my eyes. My mind opened up completely, letting my mind’s eye see the room in detail. The second I closed my eyes, Ilyan shifted his feet. Poor guy was getting nervous. I better make this good.

  “Go!” Dramin’s voice rang out in my ears and Thom rained hell in my direction.

  Rather than send things flying around me as we had done in the past, he sent each and every object flying directly toward me. I hesitated for less than a breath before clapping my hands together and forming a large orb around me. The objects began to hit my shield and the fireworks started. The magical arsenals hit the barrier with an explosion, conjured objects vanished, and with one flick of my mind, I sent each of the furniture pieces back to line up along the side of the room in a neat little stack.

  Everything went quiet.

  “Joclyn!” Ilyan’s voice was panicked from the other side of the smoke wall, but I didn’t move. With my eyes still closed, I could see Ilyan barreling through the mess to try to reach me. His magic was flaring through my shoulder as he desperately checked for injuries. The second he broke through the smoke, he stopped, his eyes practically bugging out of his head at seeing me standing there unharmed.

  “Four seconds!” Dramin yelled, his excitement evident. Thom swore loudly, but I was frozen under Ilyan’s gaze as he slowly walked toward me.

  “Don’t look at me like that, Ilyan. You’re making me feel like I am going to sprout an extra head.”

  He stopped his advance, his face breaking out into a smile rather than the oddly reverent face he had before.

  “You’re amazing.”

  “So I’ve heard.” Now it was my turn to chuckle.

  “I’m not sure you need me anymore.” He was clearly joking, which was good because his words made my stomach drop to my toes.

  “Haha. Very funny, Ilyan. Don’t forget, I have seen the sight. I know what was said, what you said.” He blanched at my bluntness, before his face broke out into a wide smile. I stepped forward and grabbed his hand, pressing it between mine.

  “I know, mi lasko.” Ilyan said, his finger tracing to my mark. The jolt moved through me again and I shivered.

  “I heard you, too, you know. The night you came to me while I slept,” he said softly leaning in so his words whispered over my neck. “I heard you.”

  Oh… I hadn’t expected that. I blushed and moved away as Dramin came bounding up, grinning from ear to ear.

  “See, Ilyan, I told you. Turn the girl into a Drak and suddenly the world opens up to her.”

  Dramin grinned at me, but I turned away from him still waiting for the blush to go down in my cheeks.

  “It’s a little weird, I must admit,” Ilyan said, “the fact that she can see into my future, although the extra power is nice. It makes my job a little easier.”

  Ilyan smiled widely and rubbed his fingernails against his black polo like he had just taken credit for something spectacular. I glared at him and smacked his arm, which only caused him to smile more.

  “Well, what do you say? Do you want to fight her?” Dramin’s eyes sparkled as his voice bounced through the cave.

  “I’m not sure,” Ilyan said, looking me over as his magic flared through the Štít. “Are you ready to lose, Jos?”

  My stomach twisted pleasantly at the use of my nickname. That made two times he had used it. My nerves melted, only to flare again at his confident smile.

  He didn’t know what he was getting into, I had beaten Thom twice after all. Ilyan would be much more of a challenge, but I was up for it. I knew I would at least be able to mark him without cheating, and that in itself would be a miracle.

  I swiped my hand through the air. A large, ornate sword appeared, only to fall gracefully into my hand. Gone were the days of the grungy metal ‘T’ shape. Ilyan’s eyes popped before settling into an impressed smile.

  “I’m sorry, what were you saying about losing?” I knew my attempt to trash talk him was useless, but I didn’t care. It was kind of fun to do.

  Ilyan smiled before producing his own sword and swinging it through the air. I rolled my eyes at him.

  “Magic and conjured weapons, first person to five wins unless I take you down first.” I announced confidently.

  “Wait. Magic and conjured weapons, Joclyn? Are you sure?” Worry built behind Ilyan’s eyes, but it just made me more excited to show him what I could do.

  “I’m sure. Will you keep score Thom?” I yelled back to him, but he only grunted in reply. I took that to mean yes and squared my shoulders once before attacking Ilyan. I wasn’t going to hold back.

  I swung my sword wide while simultaneously shooting a wave of fire toward him from the other angle. Ilyan swore loudly as he turned to stop the magical attack, my sword hitting his arm.

  “My point.” I couldn’t restrain my glee. I had never done that before, of course, that just meant Ilyan was going to come back at me harder.

  I jumped back, spinning through the air to land twenty feet away from him. I held my sword up, my head low in preparation. Ilyan froze and stared at me in awe before his jaw set, his eyes lighting up in eager anticipation.

  I winked at him before exploding into the air. He jumped at the same time, meeting me mid-air where our swords clanged, the force of our collision sending both of us back. Ilyan was content to glide back down to the ground so I quickly changed directions, shooting myself toward him like a bullet, sword ahead of me. I met him as he landed our swords clanging loudly as we met blow after blow.

  I closed my eyes and continued to fight him. Me closing my eyes must have freaked him out and he lost his nerve, his motions slowing. It was only for a moment, but it was enough. I swung wide, sending a strong burst of wind into him; it knocked him into my sword before he was slammed into the wall with a dull thud.

  “Two points,” I said as I smiled at him. He returned my smile and lunged at me, his eyes determined and dangerous.

  “You’re going to keep trying, Ilyan?” I asked as he swung wide, his attack blocked not by my sword but by my magic.

  He didn’t acknowledge the block. He continued to move, going from one attack to another as he got into his stride. Okay, so he had been holding back. He moved so fast he was a whirlwind, his magic strong as it rocked against the cave. I would have been impressed if I wasn’t the one to fight him. I only had enough in me to barely match him, even with my new found power.

  I sent another attack toward him and he spun away, the movement of his hair revealing tiny drops of sweat near his hairline.

  “You’re looking a little tired, Ilyan? Are you doing okay?” I asked lightly, he turned quickly, blocking my sword as he smiled inches from me, our swords crossed between us.

  I should have known what was coming, but his move blindsided me as he twisted behind me, his arm wrapping around my waist to bring me flat against him.

  “Did I ever tell you how beautiful you are?” he said softly in my ear. He released me and I spun away from him, my feet faltering. He took advantage of my stumble and hit my leg with the flat side of his sword. “My point.”

  “Once,” I replied, not going to give him the credit of admitting his dirt
y trick had worked. I had done the same thing to him, after all. “Several hundred years ago. You were very sweet about it, too.” I gave him a saccharin smile as I circled opposite him, watching my steps.

  “Of course I was sweet. My mind was filled with images of kissing this beautiful girl I had been told I could never have.” He smirked and I could have sworn the air was sucked out of my chest. Saying it like that made everything much more real.

  He took advantage, swinging his sword toward me, but he was not fast enough. I jumped and swerved, my body moving faster than I had ever been able to accomplish before.

  “You’re right,” I taunted him, trying to ignore the kicking in my chest. “You can’t have her.”

  “Yet.”

  I balked in confusion at his one simple word. “What do you mean, ‘yet’?”

  Ilyan only smiled wider.

  “I’ll tell you in a hundred years or so.”

  “Not fair.” I pouted and pushed two waves at him from opposing sides. He grabbed me and shot us up into the air, his instincts to protect me kicking in.

  “You don’t need to protect me here, Ilyan.” I smiled before kicking hard off of his chest and sending him flying back into the wall. I spun and flipped to land carefully on the ground of the cave.

  “My point,” I said as I watched to make sure he was okay.

  Of course he was.

  Ilyan jumped up and sped toward me, his body like a bullet through the space. I threw my sword to the side, the conjured weapon vanishing into the air as I jumped before he met me, my arms wrapping tightly around his neck.

  “Sorry, Ilyan,” I whispered in his ear. I kissed his cheek before spinning us around and pinning him to the ground, my sword appearing in my hand and pointing right at his heart.

  “I win.” We stared at each other for a moment longer, his eyes holding that same fiery look of desire that I had seen before.

  That same look from the sight. From this morning.

  It settled in my stomach and brought all of that bubbling swirling confusion back to life.

  I jerked myself away from him, sending the sword back into the air.

  “That was amazing, Joclyn!” Ilyan exclaimed as he jumped up. Who knew he would be so happy to lose? He hugged me tightly before stepping away, making it obvious he was giving me space.

  “Of course; you always knew she would be, Ilyan,” Dramin laughed as he walked up, a reluctant Thom following him over to us. “You did see her in the sight after all, and a sight is never wrong.”

  He smiled and looked between us, and I knew what he was getting at, all those images of Ilyan and me. Kissing. Laughing. More kissing...

  “What do you mean, ‘a sight is never wrong’?” I asked in alarm, the happy feeling in my gut instantly evaporating.

  “A sight is never wrong, Silnỳ.” Dramin’s eyebrows arched precariously high, Ilyan looked worried, and Thom looked as though he was preparing to settle in for a show.

  “Now, that’s a matter of opinion, Dramin.” Thom interjected, his voice hard.

  “Not in the opinion of the Drak, Thom.” Dramin glared sternly at Thom as he spoke.

  Both men stared each other down, jaws and fists clenching. Ilyan’s hand snaked around my waist protectively as he pulled me against him. I had the sudden feeling that a box of baby tigers had just been unleashed.

  “He understands that, my friend,” Ilyan said, Thom’s scowl increasing as the tension built. “He is only talking about the few times where sights have never seen fruition.”

  “We do not speak of the zlomený.” Dramin snapped.

  “Well I am speaking of it.” Thom spat, his shoulders tensing as he prepared to stand down the Drak who was drinking nonchalantly from his mug. “The sights which never came to pass.”

  “It is hard for a sight to be infallible when the one who gives it is being tortured,” Dramin said, his face inching closer to Thom’s.

  “And what about the one who was tortured after? What about her?” I had only seen Thom mad once—when Dramin had given me the Black Water for the first time—and that outburst had been nothing compared to this. The air around him seemed to ripple, his dreadlocks shook, and his fists were clenched firmly by his sides.

  I looked between them, their faces tight with nerves and frustration. I felt my shoulders knit together as their anger seeped into me.

  “What happens when a sight is wrong and everyone dies? She should matter, Dramin!”

  Ilyan pulled me into him as Thom continued to rage. I just stood in confusion.

  “That is not the fault of the Drak.”

  “How would you know. They were victims of the same lie.”

  “I’d take the word of a Drak over a stubborn Prince any day,” Dramin jibed, his smile falling away for the first time.

  “I’m not a prince anymore, Dramin.”

  “And my sight is never wrong.” Dramin tried to smile, but it was strained.

  “Well, I hope you’re right, Dramin.” Ilyan interjected in an obvious attempt to break them up, although he didn’t seem as worried as I did. “Because tomorrow we will find out exactly what we are facing.”

  “What happens tomorrow?” Thom asked, still glaring at Dramin; his anger was only barely masked.

  “Well,” Ilyan said. “I’ve been told I was asleep for three days. And if my sister has made it out of the onslaught in Prague, she will be meeting us in Isola Santa tomorrow.”

  “What!” Thom bellowed, his anger quickly returning. “You are bringing that bitch here? For what purpose? So that she can come here for a happy family reunion?”

  “For information, Thom. She still resides under my care.” Ilyan looked toward him, his face making it obvious that he was willing to stand his ground.

  “You would bring her to our door? You would meet with her?” Thom shouted, his voice threatening fire and his fingers twitching with static magic. “After what she has done to me? To Dramin? She destroyed my best friend and betrayed her love. She is single handedly responsible for the murder of every last member of Dramin’s family, of Joclyn’s family!”

  Okay, that was new. I had only heard of what happened with her and Sain. But to say she was responsible for the death of the Drak?

  I looked at Ilyan, but he was focused on the others, all of them locked in a death stare. Ilyan’s magic surged through my shoulder, a shield rippling out around us.

  “Do we need a time out?” I asked with a humorless laugh. They all ignored me.

  “You know she was tricked. She was used.” Ilyan spat, his arms trying to pull me behind him. “It was not in her full control.”

  “To what extent, Ilyan?” Dramin spoke, his voice strained as he tried to keep it level. “Even after everything, she still fought with him for hundreds of years.”

  “As did Thom.” Ilyan’s patience was gone. He roared and I cringed into myself, suddenly wondering if I needed to get myself out of here. Ilyan must have sensed my discomfort because his hold on me increased, his breathing leveling out as he gained control. “She came to me beaten and bleeding. Her heart has been in the right place for the past four hundred years. She has proven that to me.”

  “Then why don’t you trust her, Ilyan?” Dramin asked, the tone of his voice controlled.

  “I trust her.”

  “Not completely.” Thom’s loud voice ricocheted around the cavern and Ilyan flinched.

  “I have forgiven her the same way I have forgiven Thom. I must trust that.” Ilyan’s voice had almost taken on a pleading edge, like he was trying to convince himself of that. He had told me himself that he wasn’t sure if he could trust Ovailia.

  “And yet, you still dare to bring her here?” Thom stepped forward, Ilyan said nothing.

  “You are a fool.” It was not Thom but Dramin who spoke, his voice like venom.

  “Do not say such things!” Ilyan roared, that royal tone returning to his voice. I hadn’t heard it in months. I pulled away, glaring all of them down.

 
“Calm down. All of you.” I couldn’t help myself, I was yelling too. Their fury was infectious. “I’m clearly missing something, and I fully expect to be filled in later, but right now will you all calm down? You are freaking me out, and if you keep yelling like this you are going to cause a cave in.”

  “This cave can’t collapse, it’s held up by—” Dramin began, but I silenced him with one glare.

  Dramin and Ilyan backed down at my request, Thom however, was fuming just as much. He stepped forward slowly, his jaw hard.

  “Ovailia would happily see us dead, Ilyan,” Thom began, his voice laced with fury. At least he wasn’t yelling, but the firmness in his voice was nearly as bad. “You have hidden our existence from her for centuries because you yourself do not trust her, and now, you would bring her into the one place on earth we have to hide, the one place in the world that is a sanctuary. When she turns this information over to your father then where do we hide? Where do we go?”

  No one spoke. I looked between the three men, my nerves accelerated as my breathing increased into a panic.

  No, it wasn’t a panic. It was me. I felt my head grow light, my vision blur, and I knew I shouldn’t fight it. I clung to Ilyan’s shirt as the Black Water took over, the sight filling my mind and my eyes burning with the embers within me.

  I gasped as I saw her, Ovailia carrying Ryland out of the LaRue estate. She did not fight. She simply walked past those who should attack her. She moved quickly as she dragged him, her head held high, her nose crinkled as if she was carrying out the trash.

  My voice came in a wave, the monotone sounds rippling through the cave.

  “A tryst has been set in motion, one you cannot ignore. The father of the four is using his seed, one against another, and in the end none will fall until two lives are lost. It cannot be stopped. Beware where your trust lies.”

  My sight faded back to the cave, the three men staring at me as I stood trying to catch my breath.

  Okay, so Drak power was going to take some getting used to. But right now we had bigger problems.

  “Thom’s right,” I said, my voice thankfully back to normal as I turned toward Ilyan. “We can’t trust her, Ilyan. We have a problem.”