Eyes of Ember (Imdalind Series #2) (32 page)

Ovailia sat down with a pout, her de
scent making almost as much noise as her outburst.

“Get Ryland?” she hissed
. “Why in the world would I want to do that?”

“Because our F
ather has given Joclyn a one week window to save him, but she is too weak to do anything. And because I am commanding you to do it.” Ilyan’s voice was authoritative and far too loud. Multiple heads in the tiny café turned to us. I hoped they didn’t understand English.

I saw Ovailia calculate things in her
mind. Her eyes narrowed toward her brother before darting to me and back again.

“Last thing you commanded me to do, you ended up handing over your most valu
able piece of information to a traitor. Why should I trust you Ilyan? How do I know you’re not feeding me to the wolves?”

The two locked eyes, their blue gazes so different
, but yet, so similar. I couldn’t breathe as I waited for her answer. I knew she would do it, but at the same time, I couldn’t help but think that I was signing Wyn’s death certificate.

“Let Joclyn come with me,” Ovailia said.

Ilyan’s magic flared and I gasped as it pushed roughly against my barrier. Ilyan didn’t seem to notice. He was staring right into Ovailia, his eyes narrowed and angry.

“
Why would I let you do that? Not only is she mine to protect, but I told you she is too weak to fight.” Not to mention that she hated me – probably more than ever if she knew about Sain – but I wasn’t going to bring that up now. In fact, I was quite content to sit and let the two of them duke it out.

“She knows the interior of the mansion better than anyone
. Not to mention, I am going to need her there to get Ryland to cooperate.” She spoke as if it was the plainest thing, but I saw her flaw immediately. My head spun to Ilyan in hope that he had seen it too, but his jaw stayed tight and firm, and his gaze never left Ovailia.

“Ilyan?” I asked;
ignoring the glare Ovailia gave me at using his name.

I felt his leg press against mine and I held my tongue.

“Ryland’s mind is erased, Ovailia. How would Joclyn be able to help?”

“If Ryland’s mind is erased, then why does Joclyn want him
back so much?”

The two continued to stare hard at each other, neither of them spoke and I got the feeling they were very carefully dancing around each other in a game of chess. Each one was plotting their next move
. Each one was tracking the movements of the other and waiting for a misstep.

“I have my reasons,” Ilyan said. “I need a pawn to play with as well. They have Wyn and Talon. I want Ryland on my side.”

“That boy would kill everyone the first chance he got, including her,” she said as she pointed toward me absently, her eyes never leaving Ilyan’s.

“I can handle it
,” Ilyan said.

“Have a death wish do we?” Ovailia spoke slowly, her long fingernail pushing around one of the mushrooms delicately.

“Most
definitely.” Ovailia raised an eyebrow at Ilyan’s affirmation, the mushroom sliding away from her touch. Ovailia seemed to make her decision and stood as Ilyan placed a small envelope on the table.

“Our next location. Bring him there.”
Ilyan said, his eyes turning away from Ovailia to face me.

“Stay safe, brother
,” Ovailia said as she picked up the envelope, placing it in her back pocket without even looking at it.

“And you.”

Ovailia turned away from us and began walking down the small alley, her hair swinging as she moved.

“Oh and Ovailia,” Ilyan called out
, his eyes not leaving mine. “Don’t do anything that you will regret in the morning.”

“Same to you,”
Ovailia said as she turned away from us and continued down the street. Ilyan’s eyes finally left mine as he covered his face, leaning his head over the table. I let him stay like that for a moment, not knowing how to react, or what to say to him.

“Ilyan?” I whispered his name after a moment, reaching over the table to grab his hand from off of his face. He looked up at me, his eyes glistening.

“You were right, Joclyn. She simply can’t be trusted.”

“So you think she is working with Edmund then?” I asked as I put the mushroom I had picked up back on the plate.

“I am fairly certain of it. Just once I would like one of my siblings to stand by me. I want them to believe in something good and not to be taken in by his lies. My Father only leads to hate and heartbreak.” He was so sad. He had held out hope until the end, only to have his faith in his sister completely dashed.

I reached across the table and grabbed his hand, instinctively pushing my magic into him in an effort to calm him, I could feel his heart stutter and pulse as my energy wrapped around it,
his muscles relaxing as extra oxygen flew to them. My actions must have caught him off guard because he looked up to me with wide eyes, his expression startled. The look made me uncomfortable so I quickly pulled away.

“Sorry,” I said softly, dearly hoping he wouldn’t make me elaborate or say something gushy.

“Don’t be. No one has ever done that to me. Not since my Mother anyway.” His voice was soft, and I barely heard him.

“Healed you?” I asked, confused
. After all, Thom had been pushing his magic into him all last week.

“Comforted me,” he clarified, his eyes boring into me
. I looked away, my heart pumping much quicker than normal.

Twenty-Nine

I
walked into the cave late the next day feeling clean and refreshed, if not a little awkward. In four months I had been through hell and back, chased, beaten, and attacked. So, when Ilyan had taken me to a nice hotel after our unfortunate encounter with Ovailia I didn’t know what to expect. It had been amazing to have running water, and cotton sheets. But my life wasn’t normal anymore, it didn’t seem right to have normal things.

While there,
I had taken a two hour shower that cleaned the obscene amount of dirt off of me, only to get out of the shower to a perfectly folded pile of clothes. I had breathed in the fresh smell and rubbed the cotton against my skin, thankful for something clean to wear. Who would have guessed that I would ever feel so much joy over a simple pair of khaki pants and a blue t-shirt?

I put them on and ran out to thank Ilyan who then convinced me to
let him braid my hair. He had done it so gently, his finger rubbing over my mark frequently, each time sending a jolt up my spine.

So when I walked into the cave, my hair was pulled away from my face, my mark revealed
, and Ilyan’s hand was wrapped firmly around mine. The contact, and his magic, had been taking away the overwhelming aches I was feeling from my absence from the Tȍuha.

We walked in to
find Dramin holding two large mugs. He handed one to me and I grabbed it greedily, thankful for his preparedness.

“You wouldn’t be so needy if you would go into your Tȍuha when you are supposed to.” Dramin said
; his scold lost amongst his chuckle.

“Don’t judge me,
Uncle,” I growled between gulps.

“Next time you take her anywhere, Ilyan, remember a mug. This poor girl
is ravenous.”

I moved the mug away from me to scowl at him, but Dramin only chuckled more.
Ilyan smiled down at me before placing his arm around my waist and leading me right to the same squishy arm chair I had been using for the past few days.

“Ah!” Thom yelled at us as he came around his bunk
’s partition. “You’re back. And alone I see.”

“W
ere you worried, Thom?” Ilyan asked as he covered me in several furs before turning to his brother and embracing him in a slightly awkward way.

“I was.”

“Well,” Ilyan announced as he pulled away and moved to a large table laden with fruits and leaves, “you didn’t need to be. You were right.”

Thom stopped, hovering in mid
sit right before he fell onto his couch in shock.

“So she is a traitor then?” Thom said excitedly.

“I am still not convinced about that,” Ilyan said, causing Thom’s excited face to drop dramatically. Ilyan hadn’t said anything about this to me last night.

“But, you just said I was right
.” The disbelief in Thom’s voice was clear, but Ilyan disregarded it.

“And you were
. She can’t be trusted. I am sure she is working with our Father.” Ilyan’s voice was heavy, his heartbreak at the news still evident.

“But not a traitor?” Dramin spoke, putting words to the confusion we all felt.

I looked up at Ilyan, my eyebrows raised nervously; I had a feeling about where this was going, and I didn’t like it.

“No,” Ilyan said, his eyes meeting mine with deeper sorrow.

“Joclyn, you told me you saw my Father with Talon in your first sight.” My heart plunged to my toes, I didn’t want to accept this.

“She wasn’t telling the truth, Ilyan. She was lying to you to throw you off the trail.”
I pleaded with Ilyan as he returned to the fire with a small stone plate covered with what I could only assume to be dandelion leaves.

“I’m not so sure of that.” I could hear the regal tone creep into his voice, but I disregarded it.

“You have to be. Talon had nothing to do with this.” I begged him to understand. I had already lost Wyn, and Talon couldn’t be responsible for that. He wouldn’t have done that to Wyn.

“Talon?” Dramin and Thom’s voice
s blended together in alarm. I ignored them, desperate to get my point across.

“There is no reason for him to side with Edmund, Ilyan.” I reached for his hand, plunging my magic into him. I wanted to believe he was blaming Talon to try and take the blame off of Ovailia, but I knew it was deeper than that.

“The Silnỳ is right, Ilyan. Talon has no reason to double cross you.” Dramin said, but I wasn’t sure Ilyan even heard him. His eyes never wavered a millimeter from my own.

“The sight, Joclyn. Show me the sight.”

I sighed dejectedly before closing my eyes and pushing that portion of the vision into his mind.

Edmund h
eld Talon against the wall, his hand tight around his throat. Talon’s face was bloodied and battered.

“Give me what I need, Talon,” Edmund said, his voice the long echo that signified a sight of the past.

“You better make it look good, Edmund,” Talon laughed, his deep laugh echoing around my head.

I pulled the vision back, not wanting Ilyan to see too much. Ilyan
’s face swam back into view, his jaw set hard.

“You don’t think…” I couldn’t finish, I knew what it looked like, I had known from the beginning. I had always assumed that it was just Talon egging him
on because it seemed like something he would do. At least I thought it was.

“I do.” The look of ultimate betrayal
on Ilyan’s face mixed with furious anger in a way that terrified me.

“Wait
,” Thom said loudly, “Talon is the traitor?”

Ilyan nodded once.
“How is that even possible?” Dramin said. It was obvious no one but Ilyan believed this line of thinking.

“I’m not sure, but I will figure it out
,” Ilyan said.

“I can’t believe it
, he wouldn’t do that to Wyn,” Thom began, his body leaning forward, his dreads shaking. “Talon doesn’t make any sense. Ovailia, however, does.”

“I will give you that, Thom. If it is not Talon, then it is Ovailia.”

“Really?” I didn’t expect Thom to sound quite so surprised. He was hell bent on how evil Ovailia was a few days before. Ilyan obviously didn’t expect it either. He chuckled lightly, but the sound was strained.

“Now you’re surprised. You were sure of her guilt forty-eight hours ago,” Ilyan laughed.

“Oh, you misunderstand, Ilyan
. I am not surprised she is a traitor. I am surprised that you are admitting it.”

“Only partially,” he
said.

“So did she agree to it?” Dramin asked, heading off the bickering.

“She did,” Ilyan said confidently. “Not without revealing her true nature, but she agreed to do it.”

“So she’s a traitor,” Thom
said happily.

“We’ve covered this already,” Ilyan said as he popped a few of his favorite dandelion covered berries into his mouth. He must have known I was watching him because he turned to me and winked.
I looked away, unwilling to accept the mix of nerves I was filled with.

“So she knows about Sain?” Dramin asked, his intent to stop any argument obvious.

“Without a doubt.
If she is working for Edmund, then he has shown her. Especially if he is hoping it will fuel the fire of her anger against me.” Ilyan’s voice was firm.

“Oh, she must hate you
,” Thom taunted, his feet moving back and forth in joy.

“And yet, you do not think she is the one who betrayed you?” Dramin asked, his eyebrow
rising as he ignored Thom.

“You have seen
Joclyn’s sight, Dramin. You know what it looks like.” Ilyan’s voice was tight and restrained. He leaned forward in the chair as he pleaded angrily.

“I have
.” Dramin said calmly as he sipped at his Black Water. “But sometimes things are not what they seem. You know this better than anyone.”

Ilyan exhaled deeply and sat back against the chair, his jaw tight. I had never seen Ilyan like this
. He was so angry and betrayed. I reached out awkwardly and placed my hand against his cheek briefly.

“So,” Dramin
spoke loudly in an attempt to offset the tension. “Where is she bringing him?”

“The Rioseco Abbey.”

“In Spain? The same one...”

“Yes.” Ilyan cut him off in an obvious attempt to stop him from saying something.

I looked at Ilyan curiously, begging him to elaborate, but Ilyan only shook his head. Unfortunately, the exchange did not go unnoticed.

“
Tell her, Ilyan,” Thom moaned as he sat up on his couch. “Deep inside she wants to kiss you anyway, so you might as well let her know when and where it’s going to happen.”

I froze,
an onslaught of images from the sight ramming into my brain. Not yet, maybe not ever. I repeated it to myself, although I couldn’t ignore the excited heart slamming I was experiencing. My breathing picked up before Ilyan’s magic surged into me, calming me almost instantly.

“Not yet.” Ilyan spoke quietly in an effort to calm
me. It worked, until Thom spoke.

“
Get it over with, brother! Kiss her!”

“You’re right, Thom,” Ilyan said, his voice light
. I froze. “Would you care to practice with me?”

Both men
laughed in a way that said they were going to keep the bashing comments going for a while, something I wasn’t looking forward to.

I wasn’t the only one.

“Now, now boys,” Dramin said with a smile. “You can battle it out in the hall in a little while, goodness knows you need a bit of a testosterone release, but now is not the time.”

Thom huffed and put his feet back
on the couch, his hand moving to rest behind his head.

“If you do, I would want to watch,” I said, the th
ought of them battling out their manhood was almost too good to pass up.

“You can join in too,
Joclyn,” Ilyan teased, as he popped a berry into his mouth.

“No
, thank you,” I laughed.

“Why not,” Thom
said, sitting up. “You can be on my side. Together we can take him.”

Thom rammed his fist into his open palm and I almost choked on the
Black Water I had just drank.

“Number one,” I sputtered
as I tried to clear my throat, “I am not a man. And number two, I can probably take both of you with my eyes closed, thank you very much.”

Both Ilyan and Thom stared at me open mouth
ed for a minute as if I had seriously undermined their testosterone, but Dramin only laughed.

“Of course you can take them with your eyes closed, your mind
’s sight is better than your vision.”

“Is that a challenge
?” Thom said, standing up as if Dramin hadn’t even spoken. “Ilyan and I can beat you!”

“I’m not joining in on this,” Ilyan said, but no one seemed to hear him. I locked eyes with Thom
, trying to determine why he had gotten so upset, before shaking my head and turning away from him.