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

by Ethington, Rebecca

  “I agree with Dramin.” I said quickly, my back creaking as I sat up. “Ovailia knew about the house. She tried to get me to come with her.” Thom was back on his feet at that. “This isn’t really up for debate, Ilyan.”

  Ilyan gave me a pained look before he exhaled deeply and sat back against the chair, his jaw tight. I had never seen Ilyan like this. He was so angry and betrayed. I reached out awkwardly and placed my hand against his cheek.

  “You are not alone.” A weight seemed to lift off him as I spoke.

  “Not anymore,” he repeated, his hand covering mine. I suddenly felt very awkward and tried to pull back. But I couldn’t move.

  “So,” Dramin spoke loudly in an attempt to pull focus. Thom was staring at us with the tiniest of smiles and my stomach sagged to my toes. I resisted the urge to hide underneath my furs for a while. “Where is she bringing him?”

  “The Rioseco Abbey.”

  “In Spain? The same one...”

  “Yes.” Ilyan cut him off in an obvious attempt to stop him from saying something.

  I looked at Ilyan curiously, begging him to elaborate, however Ilyan only shook his head. Unfortunately, the exchange did not go unnoticed.

  “Tell her, Ilyan,” Thom moaned as he sat up on his couch. “Deep inside she wants to kiss you anyway, so you might as well let her know when and where it’s going to happen.”

  I froze, an onslaught of images from the sight ramming into my brain. Not yet, maybe not ever. I repeated it to myself, although I couldn’t ignore the excited heart slamming I was experiencing. My breathing picked up before Ilyan’s magic surged into me, calming me almost instantly.

  “Not yet.” Ilyan spoke quietly in an effort to calm me. It worked until Thom spoke again.

  “Get it over with, brother! Kiss her! You almost did. We just watched you!”

  “Thom!” I hissed, sure I had turned an unattractive shade of red. “Shut up!”

  “Not until he tells you, and trust me when I say I can keep this up all night.” Given the look on his face, I didn’t doubt it.

  “You’re right, Thom,” Ilyan said, his voice light as he stood, already walking toward his brother. I froze. “Would you care to practice with me?”

  “I would love to,” Thom was already on his feet, something Ilyan clearly wasn’t anticipating. I had never seen him go so white.

  I couldn’t help it, I laughed so hard that I squeaked. They all turned to look at me and just laughed harder.

  “Now, now boys,” Dramin said with a smile. “You can battle it out in the hall in a little while, goodness knows you need a bit of a testosterone release, but now is not the time.”

  “Next time, brother.” Thom huffed dramatically and put his feet back on the couch, his hand moving to rest behind his head.

  “If you do, I want to watch,” I said, the thought of them battling out their manhood was almost too good to pass up.

  “Kiss or fight?” Thom asked, already back up.

  “Fight!” I squeaked before Thom got any more ideas. I don’t think I had ever seen him this light. It was endearing.

  “You can join in, too, Joclyn,” Ilyan teased as he popped a berry into his mouth.

  “In the kissing or the fighting?” Thom teased, even Dramin was laughing now.

  “No, thank you,” I laughed as Ilyan turned to me and winked. I looked away, as my stomach began to do its usual somersaults.

  “Why not?” Thom said, sitting up. “You can be on my side. Together we can take him.”

  Thom rammed his fist into his open palm and I almost choked on the Black Water I had just swallowed.

  “Number one,” I sputtered as I tried to clear my throat, “I have already defeated him on my own. And number two, I can probably take both of you with my eyes closed, thank you very much.”

  Both Ilyan and Thom stared at me open-mouthed as if I had seriously undermined their manhood while Dramin only laughed.

  “Of course you can take them with your eyes closed, Silnỳ, your mind’s sight is better than your vision.”

  “Is that a challenge?” Thom said, standing up as if Dramin hadn’t even spoken. “Ilyan and I can beat you!”

  “I’m not joining in on this,” Ilyan said, already backing down.

  “Don’t be a chicken, brother. You are doing this with me.”

  I knew Ilyan wasn’t one to back down from a challenge, he was declining for reasons that I could feel pulse through my spine as I tried to shift my weight.

  “Maybe tomorrow,” I said and twisted in an effort to relieve some pressure. Ilyan’s magic flooded into me more.

  “Tomorrow? I say now!” Thom had obviously been a little too cooped up in here.

  “I’ll spar with you tomorrow, Thom, I promise” I said from behind, Ilyan, who had gone into full protector mode at Thom’s outburst. “I’m too weak today.”

  Ilyan turned, his body dropping to my level, his face instantly concerned.

  “Is it too much? We can do it today.” I smiled at how he instantly knew what I was talking about and at his willingness to fix it. I felt his magic surge as he tried to repair any current damage that was being done to my body.

  “Not today,” I cringed. “I can wait one more day.”

  “Are you sure? It’s already been two days.” Ilyan asked, his finger tracing down my neck. I jumped involuntarily when the shock sped down my spine at Ilyan’s contact with my mark.

  “Yes,” I said somewhat breathlessly. Ilyan smiled at my reaction.

  “Let me know if you change your mind.”

  “Ugh!” Thom groaned loudly as he flailed around on his couch in obvious frustration. “Will you two get a room? With a door?”

  I blushed and looked away. Ilyan stood and moved away from me to stand before Thom, the two beginning to fist fight each other playfully. Dramin took a long drink of his Black Water while I did the same as I sighed and sunk into the chair.

  I watched the two men fight, their odd banter bouncing back and forth as they jumped around the large space. Dramin chuckled at their play. I sunk back further, and before I knew it, I had fallen asleep.

  My eyes opened to Ryland standing alone in the middle of the clearing.

  “Jos.” He whispered my name before running to me, his body strangely strong and whole again. His dark curls bounced as he came to me, his bright blue eyes cutting into my soul.

  “Ryland?” I didn’t dare hope, but right then I was so happy to see him after everything that he had said before that I needed to know.

  I opened my mouth to ask if it was really him, but I never even got one word out. His lips covered mine as he pressed into me, encompassing me with a kiss I could have never imagined would come from him. It was deep and needy in a way that made my toes shake. I sighed as a spot deep inside my belly spun with joy.

  He pulled away, his eyes gazing deeply into mine. His look was suddenly desperate and panicked.

  “Ryland?” I asked, growing worried.

  “You know I love you, right?” he asked, his eyes darting frantically over my face. “More than anything?”

  “Yes,” I answered breathlessly.

  “And you know I would do anything to save you, to protect you. Right?” My veins turned to ice. I didn’t like where this was going.

  “Ryland?” I asked, not willing to give him the answer to his question.

  “Break the connection, Joclyn. Now. Have Ilyan show you how. Do it the second you wake up.” He grabbed my hands tightly and pulled me down to the forest floor, my knees crunching against the dead leaves.

  “Ryland, why are you asking me to do this?” I could barely get the words out, my throat felt so tight.

  “It’s the only way to keep you safe, Jos. I should have never completed the Zȇlství. I thought I was strong enough, I thought I could…” He shook his head and looked away from me. “I thought I was right for you. But I knew I wasn’t. I just… you’re my best friend.”

  “Ryland?” I didn’t know where he was go
ing with this.

  “You have to break the connection, Joclyn. Hide the necklace. All of it. Don’t wait.”

  “I can’t. Ryland... I can’t.” I clung to his hands tighter, pulling him into me. “I need you.”

  “No, you don’t!” he yelled loudly, his voice reverberating off the trees. “I can’t save you. I can’t protect you. I never could. It wasn’t my place.”

  “Ryland,” my voice was a squeak, my heart thumping wildly in my chest.

  “You have to break...” He stopped and his eyes went wide as his gaze strayed somewhere beyond me, the panic evident on his face. I went to turn, terrified at what I might see, but Ryland forced me back to look at him. Quick footsteps were coming up behind me; a hand grabbed my hair and pulled me to standing.

  “Break the connection, and don’t go in...” Ryland’s voice was silenced in my ears as I felt a body behind me at the same time a knife was thrust against my throat. Cail’s wicked laugh echoed through my head before I woke up clutching my neck. My breathing came in sharp, panicked spurts, but I did not scream.

  I stared at the roof of the bunk I had obviously been moved to as I waited for my breathing to calm, my mind playing Ilyan’s song for me inside my head. I listened to it until the panic was gone, most of the vivid images of the nightmare fading into the netherworld that existed between sleep and waking. I curled into Ilyan’s chest—partially wondering why he was already in my bed—before I drifted off to sleep again

  One Hundred Eight

  Wyn

  “Is he all right?” Sain asked, his voice a whisper. I gaped at him, shocked he had the balls to say anything, and risk them coming back down to hurt us. Not like that mattered anymore.

  “Yes.”

  I could see the gentle rise and fall of Talon’s chest, so slow it might not have been there at all. My heart rate picked up, the sharp staccato overriding the pain in my body. Please just be knocked out. Please.

  “Are you all right?” Sain whispered from the other side of the jail, the regret I saw in his eyes earlier just as heavy in his voice now.

  I was beginning to hate that question. I hated what it meant. I hated that it was the first thing we asked one another. I missed asking someone how their day was, or even talking about the weather. God, how I missed talking about the weather.

  I didn’t answer Sain. I rested my head against the rock wall, my arms tight against the skin of my cheeks.

  “It will be soon,” Sain said, and this time I looked at him. Something about his voice was different.

  “What will be soon?” My voice creaked in worry, the muscles in my throat burning as I forced air through them.

  “When that life is lost, there will be a moment when you can do anything.” His voice was strangely deadpan, his eyes focused on Talon and not on me.

  “Sain?” I asked, ignoring the throbbing of truth that was burning through me. His words seeped into me and rattled my bones with a sob that wouldn’t leave. I pushed it to the side. I locked it away as my pride, and my fear, took over.

  “No, Sain,” I pleaded, not wanting him to continue.

  “Follow the light, and you will escape. Follow the pain, and you will die.”

  “Sain! Stop it!” I screamed at him, not caring if I was heard, not caring what beating might follow. I just wanted Sain to take his words back. I didn’t want to hear them.

  Sain turned his head to me, his hands wrapped around the bars as he looked at me with dark eyes. I barely made out the crinkle of a smile before footsteps thundered down the stairwell.

  My father bolted down the steps and right into my cell, right to me. His hand collided with my jaw, dark eyes staring into me wickedly. He was daring me to challenge him, daring me to speak back, glare, anything. I couldn’t. I couldn’t see beyond the blinding words Sain had just unleashed on me. They leached out of the air like a poison and zapped all the fight out of me.

  “Good girl,” Timothy said, his lips turning up. He raised his hand and the chains that suspended me loosened, my body dropping to the ground as much as the chains would allow, leaving me in a weird squat that was almost worse.

  “Don’t cause any more problems,” Timothy spat as he walked away, just as more feet and voices echoed down to us.

  “Oh God, what is that terrible stench?” Ovailia’s icy voice cut through the air, adding to my fear.

  “The smell of fear and oppression, my dear,” Cail said, laughing as he walked back in. Ovailia, Edmund and one of their guards followed him in.

  My father turned at Edmund’s arrival, bowing slightly as Edmund surveyed the prison. I stared at Edmund, knowing that defeat was evident on my face, knowing it didn’t matter anymore.

  “Lovely,” he said, his voice stiff as he tried not to inhale. “I think you two have done a wonderful job.”

  Edmund paced in front of us, his hands clanging each of our cells as he moved past.

  Ovailia followed her father, Cail right beside. As she moved past me, I caught her gaze. I didn’t care that everything hurt, that I couldn’t fight her. I gave her my biggest grin.

  “You’re looking well, Wynifred.” She smiled, and Cail laughed at her taunt before grabbing her hand and dragging her to the cell against the far wall.

  To their true prize.

  “Hello, Sain,” she said as she kneeled down before Sain, the sharp points of her high heels stuck out precariously, the glistening of the black leather caught in the low light. I looked at the shoes, wishing I could grab just one of them. It would make a spectacular dagger.

  “How are you doing, dear? Did you miss me?” I could hear the laugh in her voice, the taunt, but Sain only smiled, his eyes crinkling in joy.

  “I never missed you, Ovailia.” Even I could hear the lie and the heartbreak that his voice held.

  “You never were a good liar, Sain,” Ovailia sneered. “I have a gift for you.”

  Ovailia lifted her hand, and the servant that had followed them down put a large, brown mug in it. She lowered it down so that Sain could see, and he jumped, his body pressing against the bars. Sain’s chained hands reached for it, his desperate fingers unable to gain contact.

  “Water,” he gasped, the need revealing a primal urge that I hadn’t been aware he possessed. I watched as he grasped for the mug, his fingers reaching as Ovailia’s smile increased.

  “Thirsty, are we?” she asked, and the men behind her snickered.

  “Calm down, Sain,” Edmund said, he was almost bored. “You know our deal.”

  The old man backed down, his chains grinding against the floor as he retreated to the corner of his cell.

  “What would you have me see?” Sain asked, his voice distanced as he recited words I was sure he had said a million times before.

  “Ilyan wants Ovailia to give him Ryland,” Edmund said. I moved against my chains, trying not to call attention to myself, but wanting to hear everything. “We need to know if the boy is ready for the job we have prepared him for.”

  Sain nodded once in understanding and then Cail swung the door to his cell open, letting Ovailia walk in with the mug in her hands. She walked right to him, her heels clicking as she spat in the mug, her saliva dripping down the inside wall of the cup before she handed it to him with a wicked smile. He clenched it greedily, his fingers shaking as he held it against his chest.

  “Not yet, Sain,” Edmund said as he, too, stepped into the tiny cell. I could barely make out Sain from behind the forest of legs between us.

  I watched in silence as Edmund took out a tiny silver dagger, cutting his daughter’s finger and then his own, adding their blood to the mug before stepping out.

  “Don’t you want to try some, Ovi?” Sain asked, causing Ovailia to turn, her heels clicking to a stop.

  “I never did, Sain,” she sneered, folding her arms, her hair swinging as she glared at him. “I only told you that so you would think I loved you.” She smiled and exited the cell, thinking she had won, but I could see the crinkle around Sain’s eyes.r />
  “You only lie to yourself to decrease the hurt, Ovi. Don’t deny what you have felt for me.”

  Ovailia turned to lunge at him, but three pairs of hands held her back. Sain had already pressed the mug to his lips and was drinking deeply of the disgusting mixture of saliva, blood and Black Water. He drained the mug quickly, resting his head on the wall as he sighed in appreciation.

  Sain opened his eyes, the large orbs of green now the purest black, the very center glowing with the red heat of a fire before extinguishing to deep black like the rest. I gasped. I tried not to, but it came out anyway. Thankfully, no one looked my direction; no one seemed to hear.

  Sain had opened his mouth, a deep moan releasing before he began to speak, the deep, unnatural sound I had heard before taking over his voice. “Two men stand, one will fall. Blood will drip. The game is played, and those with the most pawns will take the stage. Take your man and play the game, but be careful where your trust is laid.”

  The same deep groan filled the halls as his voice faded out, his keening continuing as the voices of our captors overlapped each other, trying to decipher the sight.

  I didn’t hear them; I didn’t even try to break words out of the mess of sound. I just stared at Sain, his eyes now back to their usual bright green. I wanted to make sense of the stories in those eyes. I wanted to hear the explanation and know what he had seen behind the black. He only stared, the sadness telling me all I needed to know. He had seen something, and it wasn’t good.

  “Stop.” Edmund’s lone word broke through the bickering, and my focus went right back on them. “If I send him, I could lose him. That was always an option. I don’t think Sain’s sight says that however. Cail has used the same terminology about pawns with Joclyn, this is a chess game, and it is all about foresight. The pawns are certainly in our favor.”

  Edmund turned and looked over each of us, his eyes lingering for a moment on mine, the only one of the captives who stared right back. He smiled, the hatred in his face looking through me, as though he saw someone else. I could see the need to control me in his eyes, the same look he had in my dreams as he hurt the beautiful child. No one should be able to hold that much hate in their heart.