Eyes of Ember (Imdalind Series #2) (12 page)

“Where?” I asked.

“I have a little house in the south of France. It’s right on the beach and has a few bedrooms and bathrooms. It’s mine. It’s not a safe house. No one but Ovailia and Talon know it’s there. After a week here I am going to take you there, until we figure out who has betrayed us and you are ready to kill Edmund with your own hands.”

“A beach house?” My spirits were soaring already. I had never
been to a beach in my life, let alone one in France.

“Yes
.” Ilyan said. “With your own bed.”

I bounced a bit, sending more dust in the air,
as I wrapped my free arm around his neck, bringing his tall torso down to my level.

“Thank you, Ilyan,” I
said. “For everything.”

“I am proud to do it, Joclyn.” Ilyan
returned the hug, his hand strong against my back. I let him hold me against him, my body leaning heavily into him. His arms were so comforting and the wildflower smell of his hair was so relaxing, I found myself slipping into sleep right then. He must have known it too. I felt his magic pulse against my hand, the heat of his energy growing strong for a moment before receding.

“Don’t fall asleep yet, Joclyn. I have a surprise for you.” I
pulled away, his smiling face greeting me. I stifled a yawn, but he only smiled more.

“Look
, Silnỳ.” I looked away from his intense glance and into the rest of the tiny room.

In that one pulse of energy I had felt in Ilyan’s hand he had completely changed the room. The bed was clean and covered with a new comforter. The carpet on the floor
was new, and the walls were white instead of the gross brown wood paneling. My mouth dropped as I looked at it. It would take me hours to create such a change, but Ilyan had done it in less time than it took to breathe. There was even a dark blue, black-out curtain over the window.

“I take it you like
it then?” Ilyan smiled from beside me. I quickly snapped my jaw shut, worried he had noticed.

“I can’t believe you did this...” I let the sentence trail away, unsure of what else to say. He did it all in a blink of an eye, all while still keeping his powerful shield centered around me.

“I can take it back if you prefer to sleep on dust...” I only laughed at him.

“No, no.
This is fine. Thank you, Ilyan.”

“Anything. Now, unless you want to hold my hand for the next week...” Ilyan held our hands up to eye level, and squeezed a bit. I didn’t feel awkward holding his
hand or being near him anymore, but being obligated to have him touch my skin for the next week sounded miserable.

“Uh, no. Shield me please.” I sat down on the new squishy bed, expecting Ilyan to
place an immovable shield around the house. It would mean I was trapped again, but I knew there was no other option. I steeled my mind against the thought of being trapped here for the next week and allowed myself to dream about being in a beach house.

But instead of shielding
us, Ilyan froze for a minute before coming to kneel in front of me.

“I want to try something new if you don’t mind.” His voice was soft, but this unknown suggestion
somehow made me uncomfortable. I scooted away from him out of habit.

“What?”

“I want to create a Štít inside of you that will hold some of my magic. It will never infiltrate your body, and I will always have control over it. But this way I can keep a stronger barrier around you, as well as be able to track you if we ever get separated.”

Ilyan had spoken very fast
, his voice strained like he was having a hard time breathing. I raised an eyebrow at him in confusion.

“A
Štít?” I repeated. I had never heard of what he was talking about, and just when I thought I was getting a decent hold on our abilities too.

“Yes. Think of it like a bubble inside of you that holds my magic. It will help me to keep you safe, as well as allow you to leave this tiny room from time to time.
” I jumped in excitement, and Ilyan smiled broadly at my response.

“I can leave?”

“If you let me do this.” He wasn’t as excited as me. My hope deflated like a punctured balloon.

“What’s the downside?” I didn’t want to hear it, but I could tell from Ilyan’s tone that there was one. I
knew I was right when he sighed and looked away, his classic hesitation. I reached out with my free hand and pulled his chin back to face me.

“Ilyan
. What’s the downside?” He sighed again, and I ran my finger along his hairline out of habit, it was something I would do to Ryland. I regretted it instantly. His face went blank as he stared at me. I pulled my hand away, screwing up my face like I had eaten moldy cheese – which was actually how I felt inside.

“I have
only done this to someone who has undergone the Zȇlství a few times before. I am not sure how it will work. It could upset the balance between you and Ryland in some way. It could upset your magic and you could fight against me even more when I try to heal or calm you. It’s a risk.”

My heart
plunged down like a lead weight. Hearing him talk about the connection between Ryland and I breaking made me uncomfortable. Silly, considering that the connection was the reason I was being tracked, the reason I was bound to enter the Tȍuha on a daily basis, and a probable cause of my nightmares. I wouldn’t have to have a Štít if it wasn’t for my bond with Ry. The only good part about my bond was Ryland, and he didn’t even remember me anymore.

“What if it does break the connection between
us? Will my body turn against me like before?”

“It’s a risk,” Ilyan
said, his other hand joining to mine. I could still feel his magic surging through me, his shield keeping me hidden from Ryland, keeping me safe.

“And if it does? Do you still have your mysterious back-up plan?” Ilyan
smiled, that odd look back in his eyes.

“Yes.”

“And what is this mysterious back-up plan?” I asked, hoping to get some more information out of him.

“Something a good friend told me about eight centuries ago.” He smiled coyly and I could tell that was all I was going to get out of him.

“I hate cryptic answers, Ilyan! Why do you always have to be so mysterious? It doesn’t add to the good guy persona very well.” I groaned and threw myself back on the bed in frustration, pulling Ilyan with me.

“Strangely, I am only cryptic with you,” he said as he pulled me back to sitting. “And, I only do it to protect you.”

“My Protector.” The words cut into me a little too heavily this time and I felt fear pit in my stomach at what it could mean. It all felt a bit more real after having been attacked.

“Yes, Silnỳ. And as your
Protector, I need to be able to keep you safe.” He paused and looked away from me, the pained look back in his eyes. “Will you let me place the Štít?”

I
groaned and dropped my head to my legs. I understood Ilyan’s warnings, but part of me, a very selfish part, desired the freedom that a Štít might give me. Ilyan ran his free hand over my back, his other still attached to my palm. I wished I had the strength and the ability to cast my own shield, to keep myself safe, but I wasn’t there yet. And even if I was, I knew I didn’t have the focus to keep it up 24 hours a day. Reluctantly, I nodded my head.

“Okay,”

“Lay down, Joclyn.” Ilyan whispered. I could still hear his trepidation even though I had given him the okay.

I laid down slowly
. Ilyan’s hand slid up my arm to rest on my shoulder, his fingers never losing contact with my skin. His other hand moved to my other shoulder leaving his head to hang over me.

We looked at each other, nerves and a heavy sense of personal space invasion creeping through me. I wanted to push him away, or at the very least
, stop him from looking at me.

“Try to push your magic in
to one place, Joclyn. Move it all to your toes, or your stomach. Focus it somewhere. I am going to have to battle through the barrier you have against me. It may hurt a bit, but the less you fight me, the less it will hurt.”

“You didn’t say anything about pain, Ilyan.” I said, second guessing myself.

“It may not hurt at all, Joclyn. I have never known anyone to be able to fight my magic before, so I don’t know what’s going to happen.” I could feel the warmth in his hands build as his magic congregated right under his skin.

“
But you have done this before?”

“Many times, Silnỳ. You have nothing to fear.”

I nodded and pushed my magic down to my toes as he had asked, nodding my head once it was done.

“Brace yourself.”

I cringed at his words. I didn’t know how to react or what to prepare myself for. I closed my eyes and felt the muscles in my face tighten in expectation. At first it felt as it always did when Ilyan pushed his magic into me, warm tendrils circling through my body, but then they began to grow. It reminded me of when I was sick, when his magic would whoosh into me with a speed I never expected. This time I could feel his power, but also a wall inside of me, the force of his magic building against the barrier I unwillingly kept within myself.

“Ilyan,” I gasped when the pressure began to build into a pain.

“Let me in, Joclyn. You have to break your barrier down.”

I tried to focus t
hrough the pain, tried to find a way to break the barrier I wasn’t even sure I controlled. I felt the pressure grow, Ilyan’s intent to break the barrier obvious. And then I felt it – what could only be described as a tear inside of me. I focused on it, trying to force it to get bigger. The pressure within me grew and I did the only thing that made sense to me; I relaxed my body, starting at the tiny tear in my barrier.

As soon as I did,
I felt the wall fall away, the tense shield inside of me disappearing. With the disappearance of the barrier, the pressure of Ilyan’s magic flooded into me. It was stronger than anything I had ever felt. I arched my back in an attempt to escape the pressure, the heat which bounded into me. I howled as it continued to build, Ilyan yelling and swearing in a panic as he sat over me.

Before it became too much, before I felt I would be torn apart by the intensity
, it slowed. The heat swelled in a spot inside of my left shoulder and seeped away from the rest of me, the pressure leaving and my body relaxed.

I wasn’t sore
. I wasn’t hurt. My body felt heavy and tired, my lack of sleep from the night before and the exertion of the last few minutes draining me. I sunk into the blankets, letting my body fall like a dead weight.

“Joclyn
.” Ilyan shook my shoulders, but my body didn’t want to respond. I could hear him. I could feel the desire to answer, to reach out and touch him, but I couldn’t make myself do it.

“Joclyn! Please be alright!”

I felt heat from the spot in my shoulder seep away from the whole, magic that was unmistakably Ilyan’s crawling through me. I opened my eyes to him, surprised to see his face so lined with worry.

“Oh,
God! Thank you!” He grabbed my shoulders and lifted me into him, my body collapsing against him. “Are you alright?”

He pulled me away, his eyes dragging over me. I could still feel his magic seeping through me.

“Did I hurt you at all?”

“I’m fine, Ilyan.” I was surprised at how weak my voice was.

His face lit up at my words, relief washing over him. The tendrils of his magic returned to my shoulder, but the all-encompassing warmth remained, his shield around me already in place.

“I’m so glad. You have no idea…” Ilyan shook his head, abruptly ending his thought.

I leaned forward into his chest; my body too tired to support my weight. “Was that supposed to make me so tired?”

“No, but I may have exhausted your body a bit more tha
n usual. I can’t normally push that much magic into a person.”

“Why not?”

He hesitated.

“Because I kill them, Silnỳ.” My body tensed, and I felt Ilyan
’s magic instantly move into me, relaxing me. It was odd to have him so willing to calm me, he had never used his magic on me so freely before.

“But I thought you said
that the Štít was safe?” I asked, alarmed.

“It is Joclyn
. I could never hurt you. I was just scared,” he pulled me to him, his arms wrapping heavily around me. “So scared.”

“
How do you know you wouldn’t have hurt me, Ilyan?” I tried to ignore the fear that was growing inside of me.

“
I know, Joclyn.”

“But you said you killed someone?” I asked, my voice breaking.

“I was very young at the time. You asked me why I was in the monastery, and that is why. Repentance for my sins I guess you could say. It was an accident and I have since learned to control it.”

“An accident?” Despite being so tired, my mind was now wide awake
. Fear at what had almost happened and curiosity at a piece of Ilyan’s past waking me right up. I felt Ilyan’s arms stiffen around me, his unwillingness to let me go evident.