Human bones were scattered around me, charred and brittle as they smoked, the scent of burned flesh overwhelming.
Tucking my head into my chest, I forced them from my sight. I didn’t want to think about who they might belong to. I didn’t want to think about what I had done, that Sain might have survived. That Thom did not. I didn’t want any of it.
Not yet.
“Not yet. Not ever!” I sobbed, the words exploding from me as I stared at the floor, skin rebuilding over my bones as I clawed at the ground.
“I’m sorry,” I gasped, the word broken by tears. “I’m so sorry.”
Huddled into a ball, I pinched my eyes shut, crying as the flames died around me, their crackle leaving as silence overtook the room. Only the sounds of my sobs were left.
Then even those died, just like everything else.
Just like everyone else.
Just like me.
I could feel death grip me as I lay there, new skin stretched over my body, my heart shattering over and over again until the tiniest voice broke me out of my sorrow, her warm hand on my back.
“Mommy,” she whispered, tugging at my shoulder with her other hand in an attempt to get my attention. “Don’t be sad, Mommy.”
“Rosaline?” I asked, my voice hoarse and broken as I lifted my head to look at her. The little girl I loved so much was standing amongst smoldering rock and char with a massive smile on her face.
“Mommy!” she squealed, wrapping her arms around me as she fell over me, her long, dark hair swimming around us and the smell of her white cotton nightgown clean in my nose. Like the lavender soap I used to use to wash all her things. Clean. Perfect.
“Rosaline!” My voice was a sob as I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her into me exactly as I had when she and I were in the blade together. The thought seemed to wipe away my joy.
“Oh, no,” I groaned, holding her securely against me and pressing my face into her hair, hoping to get lost in the smell of her. “I failed.”
“Is that why you’re sad?” Rosaline asked, sitting up to cup my hands with hers, pressing my hands against her skin.
Her skin. It was so warm.
She was so warm.
“Because you think you died?” She giggled, the sound out of place with the subject matter, but it didn’t matter. The joy in the sound soothed me, the riot of my heartbeat slowing. “You didn’t die.”
“Then how are you here?”
“Because you saved me.” Her smile widened as she squealed, throwing her hands up in the air like it was a party. “Your fire! You freed me, Mommy! You saved me!”
Everything heated and burned, my jaw dropping as I stared at her, the little girl who had jumped up to dance, swirling amidst the dark cave as she giggled, her white nightgown flowing around her.
“I saved you.” It wasn’t a question, even though it felt like it should be.
“Correction.” A voice even more familiar than hers pulled me from my shock, right to my brother, the lanky boy standing next to me, looking at something far off with a cigarette in his mouth. The unlit thing made him look just as he had before the Zámek curse had split his mind. “You saved us—all of us. Everyone Edmund had trapped in that thing, every piece of every soul, you set us all free.” Cail looked at me then, the corner of his mouth twitching like it used to, his jaw moving as he chewed the cigarette. “Remind me to thank you sometime,” he said, a true smile breaking free as he threw some overly singed clothes at me, the shards of fabric scarcely enough to cover me, let alone put on. But they would have to do.
Cail ran from me to dance with Rosaline as I gingerly pulled the clothes on. Then the little girl ran back to me, a wide smile on her face.
“Come look what I did, Mommy!” she said, grabbing my hand as she pulled me away, tugging in an attempt to get me to follow her.
“Look what Uncle Cail did, you mean,” my brother said, the joy on his face unfamiliar. He smiled wide before throwing the cigarette away from him, nodding his head toward something behind me. “Go see, sis.”
“I helped, too, Uncle Cail,” I heard a pout in her voice, which seemed very far away as I turned, my heart beating in my throat. “Hurry, Mommy!”
Rosaline ran past me into the dark of the cave just as a body came into view, a squat, muscular man groaning and complaining about something as he pushed himself into a sitting position, the long dreads hanging around his face.
Thom.
He was alive.
“See! Mommy! Look what I did!” Rosaline squealed, running right to her daddy, tackling him back down to the ground. His own astonishment washed over the hall.
I stared at them—Thom’s astonishment, Rosaline’s loud giggles—before it clicked inside of me.
Tears streamed over my new skin as I ran toward them, my still healing body stumbling over the uneven rocks in my mad attempt to reach them. Luckily, Cail came to my rescue, holding my arm as I made it over to them, only to collapse back down.
Thom and Rosaline wrapped me up in their embrace, laughter and tears and unbreakable joy cementing themselves in this moment.
In me.
“Mommy!” Rosaline yelled joyfully, planting a big wet kiss on my cheek. “Daddy!” she yelled even more loudly, giving Thom a kiss just as large.
Thom’s eyes met mine for the first time, tears spilling down his cheeks as his joy seeped into me.
I felt it, too.
The happiness.
But it couldn’t last.
Rosaline pulled us back into a hug, her arms tight as she pulled our heads together, another laugh tickling in my ears.
“We’re all free, Daddy!” she announced, her voice quick as she plunged into the usual titter that was so familiar, something that had been so missed. “Mommy killed Sain and released us! Cail saved you because he says he likes you, and he thinks you need to be with Mommy. I quite agree, although I am still not sure I like your hair like that. It looks silly.”
Thom laughed at that, a deep rumble that moved inside his chest and exploded into the hall in a sound of pure joy that I hadn’t heard for centuries. The sound smacked against me, jumpstarting my heart in a flurry of butterflies that I hadn’t felt for quite some time.
“I like his hair,” I said, and Rosaline turned toward me, her lip jutting out in a pout. “It’s better than that stupid hat.”
Thom’s laugh deepened, and Cail joined in. Rosaline looked between us all in confusion.
“I’ll explain when you’re older.”
I said the words without thinking, the impossibility of that hitting me as the laughter stopped, as the joy in Rosy’s face fell and Cail sat down beside us with a look just as grim on his face.
“This isn’t forever,” I provided, the joy in my heart turning to lead as I suddenly had far too much trouble breathing.
“It’s for good-bye,” Rosy said, her voice breaking as her own tears dripped from her eyes, staining the ash that had fallen on her face. “It’s for now. I’m not gone forever—”
“Just for now,” Cail finished for her, wrapping his hand around mine as he held on tightly, his eyes glistening.
“Just for now,” I repeated.
Thom wrapped his arms around me as he pulled me into him, Rosy curling up in our laps as she began to cry, pulling and gripping my hip. Her tears fell in my lap as Thom’s dripped onto my shoulders.
“I love you, Mommy,” Rosaline cried, holding onto us more tightly. “I love you, Daddy.”
“We love you, princess,” Thom gasped. I was surprised he could get the words out, while I could only cry, the words broken and mutilated by my sobs.
“We love you.” Cail gripped my hand more firmly as I tried to speak, looking at him once more, the pressure from his hand leaving as he faded into nothing and the weight of my daughter on my lap leaving also.
The tears flowed, Thom holding me tightly against him as we cried together, the sound of our sobs increasing into a roar that seemed to move into the stone around u
s, into the cave, shaking it.
It took me a moment to realize it was not the pain of our breaking hearts that was causing it. It was from something deep inside the cave, something that was ripping apart.
“Thom,” I gasped, my magic reactivating into the familiar heat as it, too, began to sense what was happening.
Thom looked up at me, the same look of panicked realization clear.
The cave was coming down.
“Run.”
RYLAND
31
Her panicked breaths echoed inside the long corridors I soared through, rumbling over the stone as they bounced back to me. The panic and fear in the sound were a delectable prompting. She wasn’t far ahead, only steps, only one dark turn.
I was almost to her.
Don’t let her get away.
Staying as quiet as I could, I floated above the stone floor as I tracked her, careful not to alert her to my presence. I was sure she knew I was following her, but if I could convince her I had lost her, I might still have a chance … as long as she didn’t stutter. I couldn’t follow that.
I couldn’t risk losing her, not when I was so close.
Keeping my own eager pants masked, I listened to her ragged ones, to the uneven stomps of her feet against stone. My eyes narrowed as we moved deeper into the unfamiliar space, the doors on either side increasing as a deep rumble I was not familiar with boiled my veins.
It’s the earth’s magic, son.
If you can feel it, I am sure you can use it.
I wasn’t lying when I said you were powerful.
Use it to destroy her.
The words brought a smile to my face and prompted me forward, the sound of her steps getting louder and louder until they stopped, the sound of an old, rusty hinge replacing them.
A door.
I sped forward, quickly shielding myself from view. If she shut it, I could lose her. The forest of doors I was surrounded by would make it impossible to know which one she had disappeared behind.
The slam of wood against stone never came, however. Instead, there were only low and angry voices that hissed through the dark.
My chest tightened painfully at the scratch of their voices against my mind, everything buzzing as I moved closer, careful to keep my shield tight but knowing it might not be enough.
Then move up.
With one glance, I looked up at the high stone ceiling of the cave. The height of it was masked in a shadow so dark even I couldn’t see past it.
A perfect cover. This time, it was my voice, my eagerness that whispered back to me, the sound of my father’s laugh drowning it as my magic pulsed.
The already powerful wind I had conjured pushed me higher, letting me soar into the dark shadows of the high ceiling until, through a narrow ribbon of light and a dimly lit room, I could see her.
I could see them.
Míra and Ovailia.
Their shadowed figures paced before the crack Míra left in the door, blocking the light in spurts of light and dark that, from high above the cave, felt like a child playing with a flashlight.
“I got it, and I found him. I’m not totally incapable, Ovailia …” Míra pled, her words drowned as the light left the hall again, blocked by Ovailia this time as she came to stand right before the door.
She stared down the corridor with the same plastered disgust she always had. Her nose was turned up, an ugly sneer spread over her chapped and cracked lips.
I held my breath, sure she could sense me if not see me.
“You are sure you were not followed?” she sneered, a slow-moving ribbon of light slithering down the hallway from her, her magic checking the dark for some sign of me.
“Would it matter if I was?” Míra said, coming up beside her and pushing the door open so that she, too, could have a look. “We need him.”
The disgust on Ovailia’s face deepened, her focus shifting from the hall to the girl who stood next to her with a look just as smug.
“We do. Don’t look at me like that. You know we do, Ovailia.”
Seeing them both together, standing there as though nothing had happened, as though they hadn’t killed and murdered so many people, made me want to kill them even more.
My magic flared dangerously, my teeth grinding together in a desperate attempt to keep everything under control. To keep myself hidden. But then …
Why do you need to hide?
I know.
They are both right there.
Ready to pay.
You can take them.
I know I can.
Words bounced around inside of my head as I watched them turn from the door, back into the room that was now bright enough to illuminate the entire hallway, leaving my formerly perfect hiding place exposed. Not that it mattered.
I dropped to the floor without so much as a sound, my magic catching me and placing me gently on the cold stone floor, still shrouded by my magic.
“You have done well, Míra,” Ovailia began, her voice muddled as I began to creep toward them. “We need to get Ilyan to us. Sain must have already left the stadium by now. If we can find him before he finds Damek—”
“What are you saying?” Míra asked, her scared face pressing against the opening in the door for a moment.
“I need you to go back.”
“Go back!” Míra exclaimed, the panic in her voice causing me to jump a bit, my already accelerated heart rate bounding through the roof. “You can’t be serious.”
“I am. And what did I warn you …”
I stepped again, my foot catching on a tiny rock on the ground, sending it flying across the hall and against the door.
I stared at the stone, cursing the luck I had, that after all my stealth, it came down to a tiny stone with a sound so soft that, at any other time, it might have gone unnoticed. But Ovailia had heard, the simple sound stopping her short while I froze in place.
Now! Take them now!
My father’s voice beat inside my head, rattling inside of me as it tried to prod me forward, my magic raising in temperature as it, too, answered the call.
“Are you sure you weren’t followed?” Ovailia’s voice was the last to seep past the gap in the door before a flurry of hushed whispers, a gasp, and tiny pop all came in quick succession.
The pop, one I had heard many times before, spun in my stomach. My magic flew to my fingertips, ready to attack, but before I could move, a wall of ice pressed against my back, freezing my magic in place and pulling my shield from me.
“Oh,” a tiny voice came from behind. “I guess I was followed.”
Míra’s attack came before my magic recovered, hitting me hard in the chest and sending me scuttling across the floor and into the room Míra had just stuttered from.
My feet flew out from under me, and I fell into a threadbare high-back chair. The wooden feet creaked loudly as my impact sent us sliding across the stone floor, forgotten articles of clothes and belongings scattering, as well.
The remains of a bedroom surrounded me. A bed leaned up against the wall, and a dresser was torn apart, its contents scattered around us. Just like every other part of these ancient caves I had seen, this room was in shambles. Everything looked as though it had been forgotten long ago.
“Hello, Ryland,” Ovailia said, her voice a silky taunt that twisted up my spine, taking me right back to the prison she had created for me. My muscles tensed, agitation rising as my head twitched to the side on its own. “I haven’t seen you in a while. How’s your head?” Ovailia stepped toward me slowly, running her hands through my hair. The simple touch gave rise to the panic and madness I had already been fighting.
I fought it, desperate to keep control, but just seeing her again brought it all back. The crazy she and our father had infected me with controlled my magic. Controlled me.
She was always the strong one.
You are nothing compared to her.
Ovailia noticed the change in me, and her smile spread. Her magic sparked at her
fingertips as she raised them to attack.
I stared at the electric warning, feeling my magic bubble and boil, but I couldn’t move. I sat, glued to the chair Míra had thrown me into, my mind screaming while I tried to fight the dragon she had raised inside of me.
One flash of light and she attacked, light streaming toward me, and a scream broke free, erupting through the room in a painful howl.
I pushed past the pain and let my magic explode, soaring right toward her as hers did mine. Mine was faster, though, cutting through her attack like smoke, speeding past and slamming into her, sending her off balance as she wobbled around on her ridiculous heels.
Or maybe not.
Now’s your chance.
Take it.
“I’m just fine, thanks,” I spat as I jumped up, magic rumbling, ready to face them both head-on. “You seem to be doing well. Of course, being surrounded by soulless demons like yourself seems to suit both of you.”
“You speak as though you know either of us,” Ovailia said with a demonic laugh, flipping her hair behind her.
“You have tortured me, Ovailia, helped our father rip my mind apart. My family has died by your hands. Yours and that beast of a child!” My voice was darkening as my anger rose, my head twitching painfully with the memory, with the need for retribution. “You think I don’t know you, but I know what you’ve done, and that is enough.”
“You foolish boy,” Ovailia hissed, her eyes narrowing gravely as she leaned toward me. “You see with your heart. You would do better if I ripped it from you. You know nothing of what life truly is.”
“How could I? You have taken away my only chance.” I attacked again.
Her smile was as wide as mine as she deflected my assault and jumped into the air, soaring around the wide room while Míra pushed her own attack toward me. The new flash of magic pulled my attention to my sister.
Blocking it easily, I turned, ready to face Ovailia, but I was sent stumbling as a second attack impacted against my side, instead.
Warmth spread over me as blood began to pour down my side, the agonizing sting of ripping flesh tearing me in two.
Crown of Cinders Page 37