Rise From the Embers (Lightness Saga #4)

by Stacey Marie Brown

  “I don’t want you to.” He gripped the bars of the cage.

  “Then what do you want?” She pushed to the edge of the bed, her feet touching the floor.

  “I-I…” He scoured at the space between his eyes. “I came here…”

  Her eyes tracked him, watching Torin flail and stutter. “Yes?”

  He grunted. “I wanted to see you.”

  Silence followed. Her face remained impassive.

  He scuffed his boots along the floor and puffed out his chest, bracing his head to look back at her.

  “Why?”

  I could see and feel his struggle, the need to look away from her intrusive gaze, feeling she’d see right through to the feelings stirring inside him. Emotions had been growing since the moment he walked away last time. His entire world had been altered in one moment. She was the comrade in training, the partner in duty, the companion on their nights off, the friend who held him without a word after rounds of Aneira’s abuse. Who would patch him up, let him talk or not talk. He had always been the one who dictated their relationship.

  Now looking at this woman, he felt sensations…attraction…need…desire he had never experienced before. He had never been nervous around her. Why would he? He had never seen the woman. Only the colleague.

  Now all he saw and dreamed about was her. Her intelligence, her loyalty to him, her reliability. But also her curves, her mouth, deep, dark eyes, the feel of her silky hair sliding through his fingers. The woman who was a conspirator against the crown, convicted of sedition, had entered his thoughts, torturing him until he had to relieve himself.

  I had no idea what to do. Torin’s thoughts entered my head, letting me get a peek of some of the visions he had of her. Images of kissing her, of slowly undressing her body, laying her back on a bed, the feel of her bare skin, her moans.

  “Okay. Awkward.” I shook my head. “Hot. But awkward.”

  “Why?” She stood and strolled to the bars, never once backing down from him.

  “Damn, boy… You have so met your match.” I folded my arms, respecting Thara even more. Because of Torin, I never had the chance to get to know her. The more I watched and listened to her, the more I liked her. What she did was wrong. If Kennedy got hurt, I would have torn her apart, but I couldn’t stop myself from respecting her. Kennedy told me she spent a lot of time here after she returned from Ireland. Talking to her. Trying to understand. Ken said within the first week, she had already forgiven her. At the time I chalked it up to Kennedy’s unflappable kindness and big heart. Now I agreed with her.

  “I-I…don’t know.”

  “That is not an answer. A captain knows his every move.” She wrapped her fingers near his, not letting up. “Look at me.”

  He flicked his eyes to her, then glanced away quickly.

  “Look. At. Me.”

  Torin snapped his head to hers, a nerve in his jaw twitching. “For once I do not feel like a captain.”

  “Why?”

  He exhaled, struggling with the emotions flooding through him to me. Fear dominated. He was terrified to feel something truly real. What he felt for me, for Kennedy, was dim compared to the sprout that had started in his heart for Thara, tangling thickly into his core.

  “Ouch.” I feigned hurt at the realization he mostly loved the idea of me. At first he was awed by me, but later those qualities aggravated him. I was too reckless. Free. I spoke and acted from my emotions first and my thoughts later. We wouldn’t have been a good match.

  “Why, Torin?” she challenged.

  “Because.” He paused, swallowing. “War is coming again and when I looked to my right, you weren’t there.” He inhaled. “Because everything is out of my control, and I can’t stop any of it.”

  She tilted her head to the side.

  “My lady was almost taken today. Ember was…”

  “What? Ember?” Thara’s posture went stiff. “What happened?”

  “Stavros. He simply sailed in here.” Torin waved his arm in the direction of the lake. “And I could do nothing to prevent it. Ember and a fae named Ryker went in exchange for Nic and a human woman, Kate.” He gulped. “They sacrificed themselves, and I stood back and watched it happen. Watched Stavros take Ember.”

  “What could you have done?” Her brows furrowed. “You protected the Queen. That is your job.”

  He nodded.

  “Oh.” A realization flickered over Thara’s face and she took a step back. “You are still in love with Ember.”

  Torin snorted, scrubbing his face. “That’s the ironic part.” He slicked back his dark hair, lifting his gaze to Thara. “She’d been taken prisoner, the woman I was supposed to marry, spend the rest of eternity with, but she was not who I kept thinking of, not the one I pictured at my side, not the one whose advice and thoughts I wanted to hear.”

  Thara’s chest heaved with tiny pulses.

  “I am falling... and I don’t know how to make it stop.”

  Thara tilted her head. “You were protecting Her Majesty. It is all you can do. Whatever comes, I know you will die to keep her safe.”

  “No. You don’t…” He shook his head. “That’s not what I meant.”

  Thara scowled, confused by his statement.

  “Oh, for crap sake!” I tossed my arms, yelling at no one. “He likes you.”

  “Torin?” She said his name defensively.

  He picked up his head, his gaze fully meeting hers, his violet eyes full of emotion. “I see.” His declaration came out in a whisper. “I see you.”

  A wave of bewilderment flickered over her features. I could see a wall going up, as if she was trying to protect herself from hope. From being clobbered again if his meaning was not what she yearned it to be.

  “Kiss her already!” I swatted Torin, but he of course felt nothing, though I saw his tongue slip along his bottom lip, as though he heard me.

  “I better go,” he said quietly.

  “Yes.” Her wall locked into place. “You probably should.”

  He didn’t move, his gaze tracing down her neck to the fingers wrapped near his. One hand raised and he softly brushed his fingers over hers, as though he was caressed her entire body.

  A groan came from his chest before he turned and walked away. This time he did look back at her. Thara stood staring at the hand he had touched, then her hands fell to her sides.

  His feelings pounded down on me, along with his thoughts. He didn’t simply see her... He was in love with her.

  And for once he didn’t think about the honorable thing or what was right or wrong.

  He just wanted.

  My lids flew open and I had to blink through the grit, my eyes watering and burning. When they cleared enough to see I could make out a dark cell, the only light streaming in from the slit on top and bottom of the door. Goblin metal saturated the room, coated the walls, and wrapped around my ankle, keeping me pinned to the icy stone floor.

  The safety of my dreamwalk, the familiarity of Torin’s head, slithered out the door, leaving me cold and alone. Reality stomped in the room and bitch-slapped me.

  All my energy and magic siphoned out with every breath, robbing me of my will to fight or even move. My tongue slid over my chapped lips, and I tried to lift my head. Someone must have filled it with cement, because it tipped forward, smacking back down on the unforgivable stone.

  It was no surprise to wake up here. This was what I had expected. Nic and Kate were safe, away from harm. This was all I wanted in that moment, but like typical me, I hadn’t thought much passed that.

  Two down, two to go. The kids were my first thought, and I had no doubt it was Ryker’s too.

  Shit. The Viking.

  “Ryker?” I tried to call out, his name grinding in my throat. I twisted, lying on my back, drawing in a long breath. “Ry-ker?” I shoved the word from my gut, but it barely floated in the air like gauze. Air stumbled into my lungs, my head spinning with even the tiniest effort. Crap. Stavros was determined to make certain whom
ever was in these cells was minimally conscious.

  A rumble slipped through the wall near my head, the sound of chains and a moan.

  “Ryker?” I twisted my head, tossing my voice to where I heard the noise.

  “Ye—ah…” Ryker’s voice strained, more a sigh than an actual word.

  Knowing he was close ignited a flash of energy through me. My nails dug into the grout as I tugged myself the few feet to the wall, my limbs sagging with exertion.

  “You okay?” I pressed my words against the stone.

  “Sure.” The sarcasm dripped from him. No doubt he was chained the same as me, probably with twice as many chains, because he was a big muscular guy. Never one to do well with being helpless, my exhausted brain wheeled around any ideas for a plan. We were useless, chained up and stuck in these cells. Stavros would not risk losing us or letting us get out. If the war would begin in a few days, I had a feeling he would leave us here until then.

  Until he needed to use us... to destroy.

  I jumped at the sound of squealing metal, realizing I must have dozed off. I curled my body into the corner, staring at the window cut from the top of the door where Stavros’s face grinned at me.

  “My dear niece, I hope you enjoy your accommodations. I picked them out especially for you.”

  “You have crappy taste.” I spat out every word. “I prefer the ones upstairs.”

  “Oh, you mean the room with the soft gray duvet and beautiful view over the grounds?” His grin widened. “Oh, I hope you don’t mind, I gave that room to Amara. We’ve fucked in it several times. It has nice springs. She is relentless. I think we’ve already screwed in every room. The office was the best though. Right on his desk.”

  Bile burned up my throat, but my only response was to blink and sag back into the wall. Like a child, he wanted to degrade and deprecate everything of Lars’s. Taint it. Defame his sanctuary.

  “You will need your rest. My ships are coming in tomorrow, so by dinner, I will be back here, watching TV and planning the remodel of my newly acquired castle.”

  “Tomorrow?” A cord of fear laced around my lungs, strapping them together.

  A cruel grin tugged at one side of his face. “Don’t you know not to trust pirates?” He shook his head. “Not when money or treasure is concerned. They told you what I wanted you to know.”

  Crap on ash bark. “They work for you?” Shit. Shit. Shit. We had let a snake into our house, lying in wait to strike.

  “Pirates like to believe they work for no one, but they will soon see. I will reign over land, water, and air. Nothing and no one will be out of my reach.”

  I didn’t respond, my eyes never leaving him.

  “The war is coming tomorrow, and your side won’t be prepared. The Queen is first, and those who don’t follow her to their knees for me will die.”

  “You think she will simply kneel to you?” I snarled.

  “I know she will,” he responded. “When she sees how many are dying in her name. She will choose to bow to me instead of letting innocents get killed. Especially those sweet children and defenseless humans.”

  He was right. Kennedy would sacrifice herself if it came to people’s lives, children’s lives.

  “Don’t look at me that way. I do what needs to be done to win. You have never known what true leadership is.”

  I snorted. He thought this was what true leadership looked like? I had seen it before, and her head was no longer attached to her body.

  “You know what will happen if you don’t do as I say tomorrow?” He stepped closer to the barred window and turned his face to the side. “And you too, Wanderer. I know you can hear me.”

  There was no response from next door, but I could have sworn I felt a surge of magic leak through the stone wall into me. Angry and familiar…demon energy.

  This was something all three of us shared, though Stavros had us beat. Ryker and I were only half and no match for the new High Demon King.

  “I thought about rehearsing with you guys but decided it would be better to improvise.” He bounced on his toes, rolling his head back and forth. “Go with the flow. It makes it more organic. Exciting. You two rest up, come prepared to play tomorrow. Nighty-night!” He wiggled his fingers at me then slammed the plank of metal over the square opening, shutting me into the darkness again. His footsteps bled away into silence punctuated only by the sound of my own labored breaths humming against my ears.

  What were we going to do? I wanted desperately to get to Kennedy, warn her what was coming. How would I stop Stavros from using me as a puppet? That was another reason I needed to escape. Tonight.

  “Ryker?” I pulled down my sleeves, pressing my covered hand to the wall. It didn’t matter, every inch of this place was painted with goblin metal, but bare skin against the surface increased the torture. “We need to get out of here. Warn them. Please have an idea, because I have nothing over here.”

  Silence. Was he awake? Dying? Too much goblin metal in our system could kill us.

  “Ryker?”

  Nothing.

  “Dammit, Ryker, answer me.” I weakly hit my fist against the wall.

  The thud of chains clanking on the floor told me he was, at least, alive.

  “Hey, Wanderer? Talk to me.” A jangle of metal, but still no response.

  Twisting my neck, I pressed my naked ear to the wall, the cursed substance sucking more energy from me as if it were draining my blood.

  “Ry-ker…” I barked.

  “Stop calling for me.” Light streamed into the room from the door window. An outline framed the space. How the hell?

  “Ryker?” My mouth parted.

  “Stop talking.” His white eyes narrowed on me, then his focus went down.

  “But how?”

  “Hi!” A tiny brown head poked into the window. “The amazing, magical fingers at your service, suile-aisteach.”

  “Sprig?” I blinked my lashes a few times to make sure I was seeing the little sprite-monkey.

  “I prefer to go by Super Sprig.”

  “You’re gonna go by Flat Furball if you don’t hurry up,” Ryker growled, peering around him.

  “Someone is being extra ‘Viking’ today.” Sprig curled his fingers into air quotes, rolling his eyes.

  “Sprig…”

  “Fine, but I deserve a sink full of honey when we get back. Having to stay quiet and packed away next to your not-so-honey nuts.”

  “Sprig,” Ryker rumbled.

  Sprig rolled his eyes and disappeared down his arm.

  “Sink?” Ryker peered at me.

  “Sorry, my boys are a bad influence.” I pushed myself higher up the wall.

  Clank. Clank.

  The door swung open to my amazement. “How?”

  Sprig dropped to the ground, scrambling across the cell to me.

  “High fae always forget about us lower fae… We are powerful in our own way.” Sprig climbed onto my ankle, working the lock as Ryker stood guard. “Sprites have a talent for picking locks.”

  “I have two pixies. I never underestimate how mighty you guys are.”

  Sprig grinned, his chest puffing up in pride. “I like you, Suile-aisteach.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Strange eyes.”

  “Oh. Okay.” I shrugged. I had far worse nicknames.

  “Sprig, hurry it up.” Ryker repeatedly swiveled his head down each side of the hallway.

  “This takes time. Leave the master to his work.”

  “I’m surprised they didn’t find him.” I glanced over at Ryker. “You’d think they would have searched us.”

  Ryker’s eyes met mine, a snarl frozen on his mouth.

  “We’re not going to talk about it. Or think about it.” Sprig shivered, wiggling a finger back at the Wanderer. “Actually, I don’t think I want to talk to you right now.”

  “Promise?” Ryker huffed. “Like I wanted you there either.”

  “I’m scarred for life.”

  �
�Oh.” I pinned my lips together, trying not to laugh. This reminded me of several nights when Eli woke up to a passed-out Cal snuggling up to his cock, thinking it was Sinnie.

  “When no one was looking, I crawled into his pocket,” Sprig whispered to me. “I figured you guys would need me. He always does. Can’t take him anywhere.”

  “I thought you weren’t talking.”

  “I’m not talking to you.” He stuck out his tongue at Ryker before returning to the lock. “Her, I like. She called me mighty.”

  A handful of seconds later, the lock dropped from my ankle, a river of relief rushing through my system. The metal in the room still fatigued me, but without it touching my skin, I could rise.

  Scooping up Sprig, I stumbled from the room, grappling for clean air once I stepped out. I knew it would take some time to get my full energy back. What I really needed to do was go lie out in the forest, letting the plants and earth heal me. Not possible right now.

  “My son.” Ryker took a few steps, staring back at me. Sprig leaped from my hands to his shoulder, gripping onto his shirt. It was similar to Cal and Simmons claiming Eli was an asshole, and despite obvious love for everyone to see, Ryker was Sprig’s asshole. I learned no one messed with their asshole.

  “Don’t worry, Viking, I am not leaving this place until we have Wyatt and Piper.”

  He nodded, his shoulders lowering in relief.

  “But we need to warn Kennedy. We cannot let them be ambushed…or even attacked by those pirates in the middle of the night.”

  “I agree.” His attention curved to Sprig.

  “What? Me?” Sprig pointed at himself. “But you guys will need me.”

  “We need you to do this more.” He could easily slip out; we could not. “Please, Sprig.”

  “But...” Sprig threw his arms down like a teenager.

  “You know Zoey would want you to do this.” Ryker rubbed his head. Sprig’s eyes narrowed.

  “You’re throwing out the Bhean card? That’s mean!” He folded his arms. “I thought you were the fun parent.”

  “We have to get her back so I can be again.”

  “Please, Super-Duper Sprig?” I pressed my hands together, pleading. “The mighty one.”

  “Ohhh, I like that.” He placed his hands on his hips as if he were a superhero. “The mighty one. Savior and guardian of the honey gods.”