Eyes of Ember (Imdalind Series #2) (26 page)

I looked to the muffin and bit my lip
, nervous about their sudden interest.

“No, I don’t think I am.” I did not meet the eyes of either of them, although I knew they were both staring at me. Instead
, I took another drink before placing my now empty mug next to the muffin.

“You are ready
.” I froze at Dramin’s words, my hand coming back to rest in my lap.

I turned to him, nerves and excitement g
etting all jumbled up in my body.

“Are you going to show me now?” Dramin nodded his head once in
response to my question.

“I’
m not sure I am ready,” I answered honestly, my voice quiet.

“You are,
Silnỳ.” I turned to Thom, his head nodding in encouragement.

“But... Ilyan said...
Will I really hate him?”

Dramin smiled in response to my question, but his face was sad. “Il
yan has worried for the past eight hundred years if what he said in the Hall of Sight was the right thing. That is eight hundred years of nerves. Of course he is scared. But know this, all that you are about to see will happen, you cannot change it. You are ready to accept that, and that is why you are ready to see the sight.”

Dramin stood
right before me, his frame towering over me.

“But what if I am not ready,
Uncle?” I sunk away from him, scared of what was about to happen.

“I am afraid, child, that you no longer have a choice.”

Dramin placed his hand against my head. But instead of pulling out my memories as Ilyan had done, I felt my head go light and airy as this time he put them in.

Twenty-Four

I
recognized the room as a Hall of Sight the moment everything came into focus. This one was bigger and more ornate than the one in our cave. The same sunken pool of Black Water filled the center of the room, but instead of the raised shelf that surrounded it, a number of chairs and thrones had been carved out of wood and placed facing the pool. In each of the thrones a man or woman sat. They did not speak, they sat with their eyes closed, heads bowed. Their features were obscured by large woolen cloaks. I knew what they were doing and it worried me.

I l
et my eyes wander away from them to linger on the carvings and beautiful stained glass windows that covered the space. I didn’t know what I was doing here, and I was still shaky about the details of what Dramin had done to me and how he was showing me this. Even if I knew everything about the process, I didn’t think I could shake the nerves connected with what I was about to see.

I tried to find comfort in the fact that I was about to learn everything, but I was still worried.  Ilyan
’s begging me not to hate him still echoed through my head. I thought of his sleeping body, of all he had done for me, and straightened a bit.

“He is coming
, can you feel him?” I turned toward the voice, surprised to see that one of the still figures had stood. His head moved from his bowed position to one of strength. I must have audibly gasped, but no one seemed to notice. I had come face to face with my Father. His face and body seemed younger, if that was possible, and his hair was shorter. He was powerful and strong, so much more than I had ever remembered seeing him. The change was startling. I could tell he was the patriarch among them. He was respected and revered, his commanding voice guiding all of them.

“We can feel him
.” The remaining Drak in the hall stood in unison as they spoke as one. Their voices echoed around me and I jumped a bit at the intensity of the sound.

“He wishes
to know,” Sain said, his voice deep and rumbling.

“Know of his future,” said another.

“Know of his heart.”

“Shall we tell him?”

“Shall we give him sight?”

“He is the only one who can see, the only one who understands.”

“That is why he has come, come to see us.”

I sp
un around as each voice spoke, their voices coming in quick succession. Each of the Drak stood still, their eyes black centered with glowing embers of color as they looked beyond their own sight and into the Black Water.

“He ha
s come.” I turned toward my Father at his announcement, as all of the Draks’ eyes shifted from black to their normal multi-colored array. I looked around them, unsurprised to see Dramin standing to the left of my Father.

I waited, my nerves on edge, wondering what was happening, what they wer
e talking about. No one in the Hall of Sight moved. Their eyes focused on the door that stood behind me, their gaze deep and unwavering. I heard the creak of the oversized door as it was opened, another gasp escaping me when Ilyan walked through.

Although he looked different,
I knew it was him. I would recognize him anywhere. In my head I pieced together why this seemed so familiar – I had seen him walk into this room in my first sight.

His hair was short and cut above his ears, the blonde strands
were darker and waved slightly against his head. I had seen his hair short once before, but somehow this look was different. The change was becoming, his features more defined. And, dare I say it, he looked... gorgeous.

He walked in quickly, his eyes strong and yet nervous. He wore the same clothing I had seen him wear for council, the long tunic, high boots
, and ornate jewels all firmly in place. And yet, I had the distinct impression that this was not some special attire, this was the clothing of the time.

Dramin’s
words of Ilyan having waited eight hundred years echoed through my head. Eight hundred years ago would make it around the year 1200, and Ilyan would be a little over two hundred years old. My jaw dropped as the numbers sprang to life in my mind.

Ilyan marched in
, before falling to one knee, his head bowed against his hand. He said nothing. He stayed like that while all of the Drak looked at him. I was frozen in place, my eyes glued to Ilyan’s back, waiting for something to happen. Finally, after a few minutes, Sain stepped off of his throne and toward Ilyan, who still did not move.

“
Welcome, My Lord.” Sain greeted him warmly, his pleasure at seeing him echoing around the large cavern. Ilyan rose at Sain’s words, and I was surprised to find his eyes bloodshot.

“You know why I have c
ome?” Ilyan asked, his head rising about a foot above Sain’s.

“How could I not?” Sain
smiled sadly and took Ilyan’s hand, leading him toward the pool of Black Water that stood in the middle of the hall. I reluctantly followed, my skin prickling with nerves.

“Tell me,
how did you survive for so long?” Ilyan’s voice was so pained, it cut straight into me. Sain smiled at him sadly, patting his hand softly.

“You of all people know that I did not
manage it easily. If I had then we would not have my lovely Dramin, and I would not be bonded to your sister. My life is full now, but only after many centuries of waiting.” Sain’s voice was not sad as it echoed around the stone chamber, if anything it was full of acceptance and comfort. It was a voice from my childhood; I had heard it with every scraped knee or tumble. The tone of his voice reminded me of home.

“I know, but still...” Ilyan
trailed off and he hung his head, looking into the still water that did not show him his reflection. None of the other Drak moved, their eyes stayed focused on Ilyan and Sain.

“You are lonely
,” Sain finished for him confidently. Ilyan nodded once, his eyes glistening with tears, which he tried in vain to hold back.

“I feel lost
. My heart breaks for someone I have never even met, someone who may never exist. I cannot weave my magic with someone without causing them injury. I am beginning to believe that the joy of a Zȇlství will never be in my future.”

I took a step toward him, wishing I could console him somehow
. I had to remind myself that this was a memory. Ilyan wiped the tears from his face before raising his head to Sain. My Father wrapped his arms around him comfortingly.

“Would it help you to know that I have felt your pain?”

“That is why I have come to you. I knew you would understand.” Ilyan clapped my father on the shoulder hard, causing him to lose his balance, both men chuckling at the stumble.

“And yet you still wish to use the sight to see into your future?” Sain
asked, his tone curious and worried.

I found myself growing concerned about what exactly I was about to see.
I had been told this was the sight about my true purpose, but Ilyan was asking about his love life. Cail’s words about Ilyan’s feelings for me shot through me, my body freezing in fear that the two things might be connected.

“Yes. I would gladly wait until the end of days if only I knew that she would be waiting for me
, that someday I would be with her.”

“The future does not always hold hope, Ilyan. What would
you do if no one will ever come into this world for you?” Sain moved away from Ilyan and around the pool before facing Ilyan from the other side. The Water began to ripple between them, and yet, their reflections still did not shine on the dark surface.

“
I would do what I have been doing, Sain. I will continue my work with Man, but at least I will know to stop looking.”

Sain studied him for a moment before com
ing to a decision. He nodded once and moved back to place his cloak on the throne he had originally come from. Returning to the pool, he knelt next to the water.

“Bare your chest
Ilyan. This is a matter of the heart, and not one that the Black Water will take lightly. My soul tells me that this is more than it seems.” Sain spoke loudly as he leaned over the water, each of the Drak kneeling in unison as he did.

Ilyan did not hesitate before removing his tunic, the fabric lying
in a heap on the ground near his feet. He moved to the center of the room wearing only the thick tights of the time and high leather boots. His chest was smooth and scar free. I had grown so used to seeing the scars that seeing him without them was odd.

“Do you wish to use my sight to know the matters of your heart, Ilyan
, son of Edmund, heir to the throne of our King?” Sain’s voice was loud. It had taken on that strange dead quality I had heard in my voice when I used my sight.

“I do.”

“Then show him,” the voices of every Drak in the hall spoke at the same time, their voices hollow as well.

“Tell me of what you desire.” Sain extended his hand until it hovered right above the
Black Water, his fingers barely skimming the surface.

I inhaled sharply, my stress at what all this could mean
growing.

“I wish to know if the fates have designed a mate for me
– be it now, or in the future. I must know if one will be born who is strong enough to hold my magic.” Ilyan’s voice ricocheted around the space, growing louder as he spoke. My neck muscles stiffened, my body reacting to what I knew was to come. What I didn’t want to hear.

“So let it be
.” All the Drak spoke together as Sain plunged his hand into the water.

The moment his
hand was submerged, the water seemed to come to life. The gentle ripples of before became a torrent. They bubbled over the surface in an angry pattern. The bubbles continued to grow until the water grew vertically into a pillar of thick darkness. I could no longer see my Father as he knelt beside the pool. I could see Ilyan’s back as he stood before it, his muscles flexing in anticipation.

Once the
Black Water had grown to a height above his head, Ilyan called out in pain. I ran over to him in a panic, needing to help him, even though I knew this was a memory. I stopped in place as I saw what was happening. Streams of Water flowed away from the pillar to drag themselves along Ilyan’s chest. I inhaled sharply, remembering what Dramin and Thom had told me. Black Water was poisonous to any but the Drak, but contact with it was necessary for the Drak to use their sights for others.

Ilyan
yelled out, his pain restrained enough that I could tell he was trying to hide how much it was hurting. He clenched his jaw as tongue after tongue of roving water dragged itself over his chest. His flesh bubbled and turned an angry red as it sliced through him, over and over. He yelled and screamed, but he did not call for them to stop. I could see the determination in his eyes, his fervent desire to know guiding him.

It took far too long
for the Black Water to stop slicing away at Ilyan’s flesh. His screams died as his magic healed him, his power taking away the pain. Ilyan squared his shoulders and looked straight ahead as the Drak began to mumble, their voices overriding one another until they began to join together.

The sound was
both deafening and terrifying. I cringed into myself as the sound grew in strength and in caliber. It ricocheted off of the walls and around my head until it became one voice, and as it did, the water exploded even further, the pillar extending violently up to the ceiling.