Eyes of Ember (Imdalind Series #2)

by Rebecca Ethington

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

  “That is not the fault of the Drak.”

  “I suppose that is a matter of opinion, Dramin,” Thom spat angrily.

  “I’d take the word of a Drak over a stubborn Prince any day,” Dramin jibed.

  “I’m not a prince anymore, Dramin,” Thom yelled.

  “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 the tension. “Because tomorrow we will find out exactly what we are facing.” Ilyan said as he moved back into a protective position.

  “What happens tomorrow?” Thom asked; his anger 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. “For what purpose? So that she can come here for a happy family reunion?”

  Ilyan looked toward him, his face making it obvious that he was willing to stand his ground. Dramin, on the other hand, looked on the point of tears.

  “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!” The tone of Thom’s voice scared me and I moved up behind Ilyan, his arm wrapping around my waist the second I made contact with him. I felt his magic surge through my shoulder, a shield rippling out around us. I looked up at him, concerned. I hadn’t thought we were in that much danger, but now I was worried.

  “You know she was tricked. She was used.” Ilyan spat. “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 yelled, his patience gone. He roared and I cringed into myself unsure of where to hide. Ilyan must have sensed my discomfort. His hold on me increased as his magic filled me, 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 I cringed.

  “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. He had told me himself that he wasn’t sure if he could trust Ovailia.

  “And yet, you still dare to bring her here?”

  “She is our sister, Thom, and I must trust her.” The powerful quality of Ilyan’s voice had returned, his tone loud and commanding.

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

  “How can you say such things, Dramin?”

  “You have sentenced us to death,” Thom snapped as he stepped closer, his blue eyes flashing red.

  “Do not say such things!” Ilyan roared. Again I cringed, my torso moving into his. He sensed his mistake and calmed, his tight muscles loosening and his breathing slowing.

  “I must say such things. Ovailia would happily see us dead; 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.”

  I looked up to Ilyan, his mouth open in wonder. I reached up and placed my hand against his jaw, needing him now, more than ever, to trust me. Even though this sight may mean I never get to see Ryland again.

  “You can’t trust her, Ilyan. Do this, for me.” Ilyan gazed into my eyes questioningly. His jaw worked soundlessly once before he nodded, his resolve weakened at my request.

  “Okay, mi lasko. Anything for you.”

  Twenty-Seven

  I yawned and took another long drink from my mug of Black Water. It had been hours since my sight and still they had not come to a decision. The bickering had gone on and on. Part of me wished I could use my sight and then tell them what to do, but Dramin had informed me it didn’t work that way.

  So I sat and drank deeply of what was now my only food source, letting their conversation roll around me as I avoided sleep, yet again.

  “I’m telling you Dramin,” Thom snapped, “if she shows up in Isola Santa and no one is there, she is going to think both of them have died.”

  “I don’t see the problem with that,” Dramin countered, his usual chuckle strained.

  “There are two problems with that old man. First, Edmund has control of the wells of Imdalind. If he thinks the Silnỳ is dead, he will do whatever he wishes with the power without fear of repercussions. I don’t fancy trying to clean up that mess, do you? And second, if Ovailia is working with them she knows every secret Ilyan has trusted her with. We don’t want Edmund knowing where we are, he has been after our heads for centuries.” Thom said emphatically from his white couch, his dread locks swinging wildly.

  “She knows about Sain at this point, that’s the problem,” Dramin countered. He gestured wildly and spilled some Black Water which Thom glared at evilly.

  “Only if she is working with my Father,” Ilyan countered, his words seemingly going unnoticed.

  “So, she knows about Sain,” Thom said, calming down a bit. “If she knows about Sain, then obviously she is going to go above and beyond the things she would normally do for Edmund, just to spite us.”

  “And with Ovailia that is the issue,” Dramin said.

  I knew exactly what he was talking about. Ovailia on a regular day was a pill. I would hate to see her unleashed. I took a sip of my Water and sat back, knowing that ignoring them was going to be impossible. Their voices kept getting louder and louder.

  “You understand now. We are all in trouble!” Thom yelled, his dreads whipping around more.

  “We? Us? Why are you including me in this? I am not even sure she is ‘crossed over’ as you two so eloquently put it.” Ilyan’s voice roared to life and I flinched automatically at the close proximity of the noise.

  They were talking in circles; they had, yet again, gotten themselves off topic and were focusing more on mud-slinging then the actual problem. This fight was not helping anyone.

  “Of course I am including you in this, Ilyan,” Thom snapped. “You’re the one who kept Sain from her for hundreds of years. If it wasn’t for you then this whole mess may not have happened!”

  “Oh, placing blame, are we. Don’t even get me started on your little debacle at the university!”

/>   “At least I was able…” Thom began

  “Will you guys shut up?” I yelled loudly, stopping Thom in his tracks. They all looked at me for a moment as I glared them down. Someone needed to stop them and get them back on topic, all this bickering was driving me bonkers.

  “Listen, what if we gave her a job. Something to do. Then she wouldn’t realize that we know… might know that she is a traitor. And then, if she doesn’t know we know, she wouldn’t go out of the way to do anything. But, if she has a job, maybe we can use it to our benefit.”

  “What are you saying, Joclyn?” Dramin asked, his eyes narrowing into that look I knew all too well. I returned it for a moment before looking back to the other two.

  “Well,” I said, “in the sight she was carrying Ryland down the hall in the LaRue estate, no one was stopping her.”

  “Yes, yes, you told us this,” Ilyan said. I turned to him. His face was worried. He didn’t like the idea of Ovailia having turned on him, again.

  “Well, if she is working for them and we give her a job, say… getting Ryland out of the estate,” I said strongly, hoping my conviction would give them all something to talk about instead of yelling,“…if she gets him out of the estate, then not only can she bring Ryland to us so we don’t have to worry about rescuing him on our own, but then she is proving to us that she is on our side, even though we know she is not really on our side. She will think that we know she is, and then she will think we trust her, and then…”

  I stopped; they were all looking at me like I had cats growing out of my head.

  “Well, that’s a brain twister if I have ever heard one,” Dramin chuckled after a moment.

  “Cool it, Dramin,” I said a little icily, before running my hand through my gross, greasy hair. What a stupid habit to have picked up from Ilyan.

  “Look,” I continued, “if she gets Ryland out, I won’t have a deadline anymore. That’s one less stress I would have to deal with.”

  “You don’t have to deal with any stress, Joclyn.” Ilyan said as he took my hand. I smiled at him but ignored the sentiment.

  “If she gets Ryland out, that’s one less thing to worry about. We get what we want, and she thinks she gets what she wants. Everyone is happy – some more the others,” I added softly, knowing what it would mean for Ilyan to have me back with my mate again. Not to mention the fact that Ovailia got nothing but double crossed in this plan.

  “It could work,” Ilyan said softly, his hand squeezing mine.

  “Thank you, Ilyan.” I sat back in my chair and recovered my hand, content to lose myself in my Black Water some more.

  “Joclyn and I will go to Isola Santa tomorrow to meet with Ovailia. We will instruct her to get Ryland and tell her where we are going…” Ilyan stood up as he spoke and began to pace.

  “Why does she need to know where we are going?” Thom jumped to his feet, alarmed. I put down my mug on the side table; so much for calming everyone down.

  “Well, if she gets Ryland, she has to be able to bring him somewhere,” Ilyan argued. Thom just continued to fume.

  “It’s risky,” Dramin said. He stayed sitting, but I could hear the uneasiness in his voice.

  “Of course it’s risky! Having Ovailia anywhere near us is risky! She is going to kill us!” Thom spat, the fire growing abruptly as his magic surged, causing everyone to jump.

  “Tomorrow we will go to Isola Santa, we will find Ovailia, tell her to get Ryland, and tell her where we are going to meet her. We will all go there, all four of us. After all, she will soon find out you are alive anyway.”

  “I don’t want to go anywhere; I would prefer to stay here. It’s nice, warm, and claustrophobic. It suits me here.” Thom sat down as he spoke, his body language practically closing the deal.

  “Thom,” Ilyan whispered. “Please, I may need you.”

  “Not right now you don’t.” Thom snapped, jumping up again. “But when you do, you know how to contact me. And when you call me, I’ll come running to your rescue. But right now, I am fine here.” He sat down and turned away, his eyes closed.

  “Thom.”

  “I have spoken my peace, Ilyan. I am staying here.”

  “Dramin?” Ilyan turned to his old friend, hopeful. I felt my insides clench, I didn’t want to witness Ilyan being undermined by two people in one night. I was surprised he hadn’t pulled out his ‘king’ voice yet.

  Dramin didn’t answer right away; he took a long drink before lifting his eyes to meet mine, then turning to Ilyan.

  “I will come with you, because she will need me.” His voice was darker than usual and I felt my magic spark up my spine in warning.

  “Dramin, what aren’t you saying?” I could tell this was more than a hunch. Dramin had seen something, and he wasn’t making it sound positive. I waited for him to respond. He drank from his mug, his eyes looking, unfocused, at the fire. My uneasiness grew.

  “What have you seen?” I clarified after it became obvious he wasn’t going to answer.

  “Ah, child, sometimes one’s sight is for personal use alone.” Dramin spoke softly, before waving his hand and refilling my mug from across the room.

  “I don’t like how that sounds,” I sulked, as I threw myself back in my chair, stubbornly leaving the newly filled mug on the side table.

  “Well, at least now we have a plan.” Ilyan sighed, before he too moved to sit back down. At least everyone had finally seemed to calm down.

  “Worst case scenario, Ovailia doesn’t bring Ryland, betrays us all, and we are dead by morning.” Ilyan mused humorously. “Best case scenario, she brings Ryland, isn’t a traitor, and everyone lives happily ever after.”

  While I was happy that we were finally going to have a chance of getting Ryland back, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of loss at what we were going to be leaving behind.

  “What will happen to Wyn if we take Ryland?” I asked, everything clicking together. “She was their bargaining chip. You don’t think they’ll…?”

  “They have Wynifred?” I jumped at the startling panic in Thom’s voice.

  My head jerked over to him, my eyes narrowing in confusion.

  “Thom, we can talk about this later,” Ilyan said, that thick royal line streaming into his voice.

  “But, she said…” Thom pleaded.

  “I know Thom.”

  Their eyes locked daggers, I looked between the two of them before looking to Dramin for answers but he wouldn’t even meet my eyes.

  “They will not hurt Wyn,” Ilyan said. I wasn’t sure if he was assuring me or Thom. “They will still need a bargaining chip to get you to turn yourself in. Without Ryland, Wyn is the best they have.”

  Thom nodded and sat down, Ilyan following suit as he grabbed my hand. I looked at him, but he shook his head. I was so confused; Wyn had told me she had never met Thom.

  I looked to Ilyan, but he still shook his head. I brushed it off, I would get answers later, besides it wasn’t just Wyn they held captive.

  “And what about Talon and my Dad?”

  “One thing at a time, child,” Dramin said, his voice low and comforting. “You saw her carry Ryland, so we know she will bring him. Maybe the others will be mentioned tomorrow, but at least we know of one who will be returned to us.”

  “I understand.” I said and grabbed the warm mug without thinking. This was war; there were always casualties in war. I already knew I was going to be one of them. My anxiety peaked at the thought, Ilyan’s magic instantly moving to calm me. He looked at me out of the corner of his eye, but I ignored the fact that I could see him.

  “We will get them back, Joclyn,” Ilyan said when it was obvious I wasn’t going to acknowledge him. “But if we don’t, please do not forget what you and I have seen. No matter what happens, I will always be there for you.” Ilyan leaned forward, his voice low and meant only for me. I knew the others could still hear him, but I didn’t care. I was grateful for his comfort, his support.

  “Well then,” Dramin int
errupted loudly, “if that’s all settled, I am going to bed. I have been awake for seventy-eight hours, and my body is a little tired. Seeing as Joclyn’s eyes are dragging, I don’t think she is ready to face a full two days without sleep.”

  Dramin stood and began to make his exit, his long black bathrobe dragging on the stone floor.

  “More water, child, more water!” he called as he walked away toward his bunk.

  “Good night, Dramin,” I called before taking an obligatory sip.

  “Well, if Dramin’s leaving then I sure as hell don’t have to be here to watch this gush fest.” Thom did not wait for anyone to say anything more. He stood and strode away; his hands plunged into his pockets.

  “Goodnight, Thom,” I called, although I knew he wouldn’t care either way.

  “Whatever.” He grunted as he disappeared behind the blanket he had hung over his bunk.

  I watched the blanket for a moment before turning back to my Black Water, letting it warm me.

  Ilyan sat silently next to me, watching me as I took sip after sip. After a few minutes, I began to feel uncomfortable. Mostly because I knew he knew what I was doing. I took another long drink, staring him right in the eye.

  “Are you ready?” he asked, softly.

  Honestly, I would never be ready. I looked away from him, back to the fire, and set my mug down with a gentle clink.

  “You know, with everything that has happened, you think I would be more ready,” I whispered, not wanting anyone but Ilyan to hear. “You think I would plunge into the nightmares and know exactly what’s going on and there wouldn’t be a worry or a stress about it.”

  I hesitated and pulled my blanket up to my neck, trying to fight the desire to hide. Instead I watched the fire, the magical flames burning and crackling in a rainbow of colors. I kept my focus on the flame, not knowing if I wanted to meet Ilyan’s eyes.

  “But every time I close my eyes, I am scared of what Cail is going to do to me. I’m scared of what he is going to make me witness. It’s the same with the Tȍuha. I’m scared of it too. I never know what Ryland will do to me the next time or how long he will let me stay in.”