Emerald Rose

by Emma Hamm

  “Gunpowder?” The Emperor opened the box and lifted it to his nose. He inhaled, then bared his teeth in a snarl. “The earthquake wasn’t natural at all, was it?”

  Danielle didn’t want to think her family would have attacked. Diana still loved her. The soldiers wouldn’t have tried to kill one of their own kind.

  Would they?

  She swallowed hard. “I don’t know.”

  “Danielle,” he growled.

  “I don’t know,” she repeated. “They would know the risk. I’m here.”

  “Apparently they care little for the forsaken princess.” He snapped the box shut with a crack. “Take her to my chambers.”

  Blacksmith bowed low. “As you wish, Emperor.”

  “Make sure she doesn’t leave them.”

  Danielle stepped away from the Dread who approached her. “I said I was staying, Emperor, and I meant it. I want to help.”

  He gave her one last, lingering glare before turning his back on her. His wings snapped close to his shoulder blades, his broken horn illuminated on one side by blue light. “We don’t need your help anymore, princess.”

  Blacksmith wrapped one of his arms around her waist and together, they shot up into the air. But the Emperor’s words still echoed in her mind.

  We don’t need your help anymore.

  Chapter 24

  Blacksmith brought her to the Emperor’s private rooms. He landed on the ledge with surprising grace, considering the wound on his wing. He kept his hand on her arm and dragged her into the private rooms.

  “I can walk by myself,” she grumbled, tugging on his hold.

  “I don’t trust you not to run.”

  “Where would I go?” Danielle snapped. She waved her free arm back toward the ledge. “Jump to my death? I don’t have wings like the rest of you.”

  Blacksmith looked her up and down, then shrugged. “I wouldn’t put it past you.”

  She wasn’t certain she could fling herself into the darkness, at least not without someone to catch her. The Dread excelled at making certain she didn’t hurt herself.

  So why wouldn’t they let her help them?

  Huffing out a long, frustrated breath, she let him drag her into the depth of the caves where the Emperor lived.

  A stone had fallen from the center of the ceiling and landed on the fireplace in the middle of the cavern. Coals still glowed weakly underneath the rock, but they no longer gave off any heat. The room was cold and dark.

  The nest of blankets and furs in the corner were covered with dust and debris. Even the weapons on the wall had fallen from the great shaking madness.

  Now that she’d stepped away from her anger, Danielle could see the writing on the wall. Her family had done this. Her sister had likely authorized the attempt on the Dread’s life.

  But how had the humans known where the Dread lived? How had they guessed this was where the monsters were?

  She stood in the center of the room and watched Blacksmith turn away. He would help his people, the very ones who didn’t want her near them.

  “Blacksmith?” she asked, her voice weak and trembling.

  He paused at the mouth of the cave. “Yes, princess?”

  “Were there any other explosions? Do you think the humans know this is where you live?”

  He seemed to hesitate before answering, a trait she recognized from before. He never seemed to answer anyone without thinking over his response. “I don’t know, princess.”

  As he moved again, she cleared her throat again.

  Blacksmith paused, although his shoulders tensed this time. “Yes?”

  “Are you going back down there?” She wanted to know how the people were faring. Someone needed to tell her there were more survivors than there were deaths. At least then the weight of guilt wouldn’t press down upon her chest.

  “No. The Emperor bid me to care for you.”

  “I don’t need anyone to take care of me.”

  But he had already left, slipped out the mouth of the cavern where he would stand watch at the ledge. It didn’t escape her notice he avoided remaining in the cave with her.

  Danielle wrapped her arms around her waist as a shiver traveled up and down her spine. She was alone again. And oh, how she hated being alone.

  Why wouldn’t the Dread trust her? She wanted to help them. Though she was a princess, she had learned how to stitch since she was a little girl.

  Flesh was a little different from cloth, but she could learn. She could lift stones, help others to where they needed to go, watch for more falling rocks. Anything.

  The Dread needed as many people as they could get, and instead, she was thrown away into the shadows. Put into a tower where nothing could hurt her but everything could still hurt them.

  Pacing helped. Danielle counted her footsteps from wall to wall, avoiding the stones on the floor.

  Did they think she wasn’t strong enough? She wasn’t Diana, that was certain. But Danielle could lift heavy objects if she needed to.

  An angry breath escaped from her lips. She could lift rocks!

  Danielle stared at one particular stone in the way of her pacing. She stooped, picked it up, and brought it to the other edge of the cave. It was heavy. The weight pulled at her shoulders and made her breathing labored.

  But she had proven she could move the stone if she needed to. Now it wasn’t in her way, and suddenly, that wasn’t enough. She wanted all the rocks out of her way.

  Danielle set up about picking up and lifting every stone which littered the floor. They weren’t where they were supposed to be. It made her feel better to pile them all in a corner where someone might remove them later.

  By the time she’d moved all the stones she could, her breathing was ragged and her shoulders ached. But she felt good. Better than she had for a very long time.

  Placing her hands on her hips, she inhaled and stared around the room.

  “All right,” she muttered. “What else?”

  The fire could be restarted, but Danielle couldn’t find anything to light the wood with. Which mean she was left with the bedding.

  She’d never had to beat sheets or rugs before, but she could figure it out. The maids always made it look easy.

  Thus, she spent most of her time alone cleaning. As a princess should never do, or at least, that’s what her father would have said.

  Instead, Danielle felt gratified. She could do the things people thought she couldn’t. Sure, the rugs were difficult. It took her likely ten times the time as her maids would have done it in, but she beat the rugs clean of dust and rubble.

  She settled them back onto the bed, making certain they were pulled just so. And when she was done, the bed looked better than it had before the earthquake.

  Planting her hands back on her hips, she surveyed her work with a careful eye. “That’ll do.”

  A rush of wind blew through the flap at the front of the cavern. It blasted by her, sweeping up all the dust from the front of the room, pushing it up and over the bedding she’d just cleaned.

  With a swear on her tongue, Danielle spun on her heel to glare at the offending intruder.

  The Emperor strode through the door without a by-your-leave. He didn’t even stop as he marched toward her, lifting a clawed hand and jabbing the air. “You will tell me everything you know of the device they used to attack us.”

  “You could say please.”

  He stalked toward her, wings lifted in aggression and his face twisted in a snarl. “No, Danielle. You will not be a spoiled little princess right now. Countless are injured, five are dead, all because of your people. So speak.”

  Her gut twisted with guilt and shame. The nobility of Hollow Hill were cruel. She’d always known that.

  But she hadn’t ever thought her family would kill innocents.

  She swallowed hard. “I know little about it. I never took the classes with Diana, nor was I trained to fight. I only know it exists.”

  “How much of an explosion does it ma
ke?” He ground the words out between clenched teeth. “How large is it?”

  Danielle licked her lips and tried to conjure the memory. “I only saw them use it once, and I was a little girl.”

  “Try very hard to remember.”

  “They used it on a mountainside where people wanted to build. They thought it would be better to build the homes closer to the capital, so they were pounding through the stone with the boxes. That’s all I remember. It was maybe the size of a house, but I don’t know what kind of house. I was five when I first saw it. The sound frightened me, and I never went again.”

  He let out a grumble and turned. The Emperor ran his fingers through his hair and tugged hard, the strands loosening between his fingers and falling down onto the ground. “Useless.”

  “Me?” The word struck her chest like an arrow loosed from a bow. “Useless? You were the one who brought me here.”

  “With the intent you would know how to fight your people.”

  “You wanted me to betray them?” She stumbled back, so surprised by the realization that she couldn’t keep her balance. “You wanted me to give you the secrets of my kingdom so you could... what? Attack?”

  “It would have been a start to freeing my people.” He strode away from her, standing in front of the banked and dying fire. His hands still clutched his hair and his wings spread wide. But there was a defeated slump to his shoulders that tore at her heart.

  Danielle didn’t want to feel pity for him. She wanted to keep the anger burning in her chest so she could fight him. He wanted her to destroy her people, for what? For his own petty pride?

  “I would never betray my people, nor would I ever let you attack them.”

  He tilted his head to the side, just enough for her to see the red flames reflected on his stone-like face. “Why did you come here, then? You wanted to learn how to fight, but there was no one for you to fight but me.”

  “That was why I wanted to learn. Don’t you remember? I said if you taught me how to fight, I would kill you.” Danielle hated the mere thought, now. She could no more put a blade to his throat than her own.

  “So like your father,” he muttered. The daggers of his words digging into her heart and twisting. “Do you not see the suffering here?”

  “I’d have to be blind to not see the suffering. But I’ve also heard tell of suffering in my own kingdom. Battle is not the answer.”

  “Perhaps it should be.” He turned away again. His broken silhouette outlined with flames. “Those who hold my chains arrived today. They told me to fight, for that was the reason I was created.”

  She stepped closer. “I can’t imagine you were created by anyone.”

  She didn’t know why but his memories seemed important. Though anger still made her face and chest flush, she desperately wanted to understand where he was coming from. If he had more of a reason to fight... No. Even then she wouldn’t betray her people.

  She couldn’t. Above all else, no matter how much they tried to push her away, Danielle would protect her people.

  The Emperor said, “I remembered family. But not as I am now. The alchemists, however, reminded me of my duty.”

  “Which is?”

  “To cleanse this kingdom of those who would drain it of magic and wealth. Your father is killing Hollow Hill, the Hollows, all who live within these kingdoms. He will not stop until the land is bathed in the blood of innocents.”

  She reached out, her heart breaking with pity but her mind unable to understand what she could do to help. Danielle placed her hand on his back, between his wings, where the skin was slicked with sweat. “I don’t know how we can stop him.”

  “We can fight.”

  “You tried that before, did you not? Isn’t that how the Dread ended up in the Hollows? A battle will only lead to more death.”

  His wings shivered on either side of her hand, the membranes fluttering. “I can create more Dread. Far faster than the humans can create more humans.”

  The ominous words sent a shiver throughout her body. Storyteller had told her the Dread were created, but she hadn’t thought... “Do you plan on turning me?” she asked.

  She didn’t want to be one of them. She didn’t want to be a monster, and yet, it made sense. Take the princess. Turn her into one of their own kind. Return her to the kingdom where her people would see her and then, perhaps, join her in great droves.

  Danielle took a step away from him, then another. He didn’t answer. Instead, all he did was stare into the flames.

  Fear raced through her entire body. Her palms grew slick with sweat and her heart pounded in her chest. She darted her gaze from one side of the cavern to the other, but she knew there was nowhere for her to run.

  If he wanted to turn her, then he would. There was nothing she could do to stop him.

  Once again, Danielle was trapped in her own life and she didn’t know how to free herself. How frustrating it was to live like this, when all she wanted was her own independence.

  Breathing skipping a beat, she remained silent as she leaned down and picked up the largest rock she could fit in her hand.

  She wouldn’t change easily.

  “Put down the rock,” he growled.

  “I won’t.”

  “Danielle.”

  “Please,” she said, the word warping around her tongue. “I don’t want to be one of you.”

  “And yet, you were more than comfortable enough to claim yourself Empress of the Dread.”

  She understood how contradictory her actions were. But there had to be a way to lead them, to give them assistance when they needed it, without becoming one of them.

  There had to be.

  She tried to think of words that would convince him of her fealty. Danielle didn’t want to betray either of the kingdoms. She wanted the Dread to live as they were now, comfortable and without being attacked. But she also wanted her own people to accept them, and no longer be under her father’s rule.

  Danielle wanted a lot of things, and none of them were easy to get.

  “I don’t know what you want me to say,” she whispered. “I can’t betray my kingdom and all the innocents there, just as I couldn’t give away your kingdom. Both are important to me.”

  “You cannot have a foot in both worlds.”

  “Why not?”

  His wings relaxed, drooping and curving in around his shoulders. Limp, they hung around his body like a cape. The Emperor turned to face her. “That’s the way the world works, Princess. We cannot have everything we desire.”

  She clutched the rock more firmly, determined to prove him wrong. “I will not accept becoming one of the Dread is my only choice.”

  “It’s not a choice. It’s a consequence.”

  “No more mincing words, Emperor. There is another way to fix this.”

  He opened his arms wide. “Then by all means, princess. Inform me what this new plan is, because I’ve run out of ideas.”

  The rock dug into her palm, abrading her soft skin and slicking her palm with blood. She didn’t have a plan. She didn’t even know how she would convince him to let her remain human.

  Fixing all the mess of these two kingdoms would take a lot more than two people, angry at each other, trying to coax the other to their side.

  She let the rock slip from between her fingers and dropped it onto the ground. “I don’t know, Emperor. I don’t want this, though.”

  “Neither do I.”

  “Then why even walk the path? Why even entertain the idea?”

  He let his hands drop to the side, open and limp. “What other choice do I have? My people are dying. The younglings are in danger, along with all those who fall under my wings for protection.”

  “There must be another way.” She took a step closer to him, threatening her own safety to force him to understand. “We can figure this out. Together.”

  “You ask for the impossible, princess.”

  “Do I?” Danielle took another step. “All I’m asking is for u
s to put our heads together and think.”

  This time, he was the one who stepped closer. The Emperor reached out and touched a hand to her cheek, cupping her face in his broad palm. “You begged me to take you from your kingdom, and I bowed to your will.”

  “I asked you to teach me how to fend for myself, not to take me from my home.”

  “You desired your freedom, and I gave you that on bended knee.” His claws scraped her scalp, not breaking skin but threatening to change her all the same.

  “I never asked you for any of that,” she whispered.

  “I never asked for you to exist, and yet here you are,” he murmured the words, leaning so close she could feel his breath on her lips. “You change everything and I cannot survive it. I will willingly move space and time for you, but I don’t want to give you my soul.”

  Danielle’s entire body seemed frozen, hovering, waiting for what was about to happen next. “I would never ask for your soul.”

  “And yet, you fool woman, you have it.”

  He framed her face with both hands, holding her jaw with infinite care. As if Danielle were made of glass. With a swift tug, he pulled her up and pressed his lips to hers.

  His lips were warm and soft, surprising considering his skin was rough as stone. But the plush, supple press of his mouth against hers burned her to the core.

  Somehow, she could swear they’d already done this a thousand times. She’d kissed him before, perhaps in her dreams, but never like this. Never with angry hands holding her face, nor with her own harsh fists pressed against his chest.

  She kissed him as though she could inhale all the strength from him. As though she could absorb his power and draw it into herself.

  Perhaps she could. Every movement of his lips against hers only gave her more courage and strength. She eased her body closer to him. At the first stroke of his tongue, she opened her hands and slid them around his neck.

  And when he drew her against his body, pressing every inch of himself against every inch of her, Danielle felt her soul take flight.

  In that moment, she had wings. He had given her far more than just strength, but power no human had felt before. She could escape this place, the chains that bound her.