Fire in the Darkness (39 page)

“Guards, dispose of them both,” the Queen ordered.

Overcome with terror, I could feel my powers rise to the surface. But, there was too much iron in the room for them to work properly. The Queen did not suffer from this same weakness. Being Queen she probably could handle higher amounts of iron before it affected her like the rest of us. Good to be Queen.

“My Queen, please listen to me. You do not know the whole truth,” Torin exclaimed through gritted teeth. It was taking every bit of his strength to fight against the Queen's painful hold on him.

Whole truth? What was he talking about?

“What whole truth?” The Queen echoed my thoughts; her voice was tight and barely able to utter the sentence. All she wanted was to kill us right then, to see her betrayers destroyed, not to listen to words. But Torin seemed to have some kind of hold over her that prevented her from gutting us right there.

“She is a Dae . . .”

Annoyance flickered over her face. “I know that.”

“No, but that is not all she is.”

My head jerked over to look at him.

“What are you doing?”
I said into his head. Torin and I had always been able to communicate in our heads. It wasn’t the same thing I experienced with Eli. Torin and I could communicate without looking at each other.

“Trust me,”
he pleaded.

Did I really have a choice at this point? It would be death now or later. I voted for later.

“What do you mean? She can’t be more than that. She is either a Dae or she is not.” The Queen’s patience was waning and her previous admiration for Torin would only go so far.

“She also has the blood of a Dark Dweller.”

Her audible gasps echoed through the room.

Oh. My. God. . . . No!
I had never told him. How did he know?

His eyes met mine.
“I dreamwalked in on you and the Dark Dweller doctor talking about it.”

“You what?”

“I am sorry. I wanted to make sure you were safe. I overheard him telling you.”

My memory recalled that evening with Owen—the moment I had felt someone watching me, the chills. It had been Torin. It was the same reaction Jared and Kennedy had when I dreamwalked on them, perceptive to the spirit form visiting us.

The Queen stood in shock for a few moments before her voice wavered, “T-That is not possible.”

“It is, Your Majesty.” He looked up at her. “It was my plan to tell you this all along.”

My eyes widened. He said to trust him, but my past record of people betraying me was consistent. I found it hard to fully believe this revelation wasn’t solely to save his own ass.

The Queen lifted her fingers and the pressure in the room eased. Torin climbed back up to his feet, standing tall and proud. “Torin, I cannot foresee what game you are playing or why you would lie to me since you know I can easily find out the truth of this claim.”

“I assure you I am not lying.”

The Queen cocked her head, taking in Torin’s genuine demeanor. “Thara? Come forward.”

A girl who looked all of sixteen came forward. She had long, flowing, dark hair, deeply tanned skin, and dark, almond-shaped eyes. She was elegant and majestic and looked like a descendent of Pocahontas.

“Yes, Your Majesty?” The girl’s soothing voice seemed to slide into my bones, immediately calming me.

“Thara, could you please verify what Torin said is true?”

Thara bowed her head and walked up to me, closing her eyes. She didn’t touch me or do anything except take a deep breath. My skin tingled and I knew, like the forest, she was “tasting” me. I stayed frozen, watching her.

She stepped away from me, reopening her eyes. “Yes, Your Majesty, he is speaking the truth. She has Dark Dweller blood in her. Her body has adapted and taken on some of their traits.” Thara smiled at me, which was warm and somehow comforting.

“How is it possible?” the Queen mumbled to herself in disbelief. “No Fae can take the blood of another species.”

“Remember she is no ordinary Fae, my lady; she is a Dae.”

The Queen took this in, the wheels of thought spinning in her mind.

Torin looked over at me.
“You are safe from death, mo chuisle. Do not be afraid. She will not kill you now.”
His voice spoke softly into my mind.

My defensive walls instantly cracked. I should have known Torin would do everything and anything in his power to keep me safe. My heart warmed as I looked at him. Love was never a word I said or admitted easily. I kept myself guarded and protected from it. But in time, there was a possibility I could find myself falling for him. He must have seen something different in my eyes because suddenly his own glinted with hope and . . . love.

A slow, seductively dangerous smile spread over the Queen's face. “Torin, I will not forget your duplicity, but in time, if you keep proving yourself like this, I might come to forgive this transgression.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Torin looked pained as he uttered the words. He would take whatever came his way. All because of me.

“Guards take him to my chamber and tie him up. I will see he is properly punished.”

A boulder plummeted into my gut. “What? No . . . !” She would torture and abuse him.

“Ember, let it be,”
Torin said firmly into my thoughts.

“No Torin, I can’t let you do this.”

“You don’t have a choice. I can handle it. I can handle anything if I know you will be all right.”
Grief filled my entire body. This was so wrong and twisted. Disgusting. I felt like I was going to throw up.

The guards circled around. He held up his wrists as they clamped on iron cuffs. It took everything I had not to fall to the ground as they led him out. He kept his head high; his form was tall and proud even as he was being led away to humiliation and abuse.

“
Stay strong. You will stay alive as long as you are useful to her. I love you, mo chroi,”
he uttered into my thoughts before he vanished out the door.

Tears freely fell down my face now. How did our plan turn out so wrong?

“I am so glad I did not kill you. You will be even more useful to me.” She clasped her hands together, her fiery mood simmering into giddiness. “Dark Dweller blood mixing with a Dae? Who would have thought?” Her delight was clear. “Oh, the things I will be able to do now.”

This time the Queen escorted me, hauling me down the rows of cells. The dungeon was dark and smelled of urine and feces. One of the guards pushed me into the far cell and pulled gloves off his belt, sliding them on, before reaching around me for the chain hanging on the back wall, a manacle dangling from it. He bent down and slipped it over my ankle, locking it in place. Then he did the same with one of my wrists. I instantly felt my energy being pulled from my body and my legs give out, falling onto the stiff, smelly straw.

Damn iron.
It always took a few minutes before my body accepted the shock and relaxed into it. After that I could function somewhat, but the first part was a bitch. I swallowed through the flash of pain. I hated feeling so helpless and vulnerable even for a short time. I held up my shacked wrist. “To keep us slaves well behaved?”

She smiled smugly. “There was a reason Torin wanted you down here. But if he thought it would be more than a little reunion, he was sadly mistaken. Sorry, Ember dear, nothing down here can help you. I think my favorite prisoner is way past that—seemed a little broken the last time I tried to play with it.” Aneira nodded at the guard and he slammed the gate. The bars rattled, the reverberation hurting my teeth. Something at the other end of the cell stirred. I wasn’t alone. They locked me up with another prisoner.

“I do hope you enjoy your time with us.” Aneira turned and swept out of the room.

When the room emptied, my prison mate’s head rose up. Glare from the little light that was in the cell reflected in the eyes. It reminded me of when your car headlight catches an animal’s eyes. They nervously assessed the space. Sensing there was no immediate threat, the form sat up. The chains clinked and scratched across the floor and against the walls. By the simple movement I knew it to be a woman. The figure was too delicate and small in stature to be a man.

“Hello?” The voice was quiet and groggy.

“Hi,” I responded back, hauling myself up into a sitting position. The pain of the iron began to fade.

“Did they just bring you in?” she asked, her voice so quiet. I couldn’t stop feeling like I recognized the voice from somewhere else.

“Yeah. Guess I should not have checked the Dae box at immigration.”

The woman went quiet for a moment before I heard her whisper, “Oh, holy crap on ash bark.”

My stomach plummeted and chills rolled over my flesh. There was only one person I knew who had ever used that phrase—but there was no way. No way.

“What did you say?” I demanded.

“No, I can’t believe this . . . you aren’t supposed to be here. That was the whole point,” the lady mumbled to herself.

Fire and ice seared through me. My legs began shaking but somehow I got to my feet. Shadows were thick, but my eyes were slowly adjusting. I didn’t need to see, though; my heart and gut knew. The woman in front of me was a shell of what I remembered, but it didn’t keep me from seeing who it was. This was too much, my body quaked underneath me.

“Oh, my God.” My throat felt tight as I whispered out, “Mom?”

“Yes, sweetie, it’s me.”

My mother was alive.

TWENTY-EIGHT

Air no longer moved in and out of my body easily. I stared at the outline of my mother with a numbness that cut off all thought. If I blinked, I was afraid she would disappear, an apparition created by hope and memories. My vision took in a hand reaching for me, the chains rattling. They sounded far away, muffled. The hand grazed my shoulder, but it didn’t feel like it was touching me. It was as if I was not present in my body.

“Holy ash bark . . . you have grown up . . . into such a beauty.” She continued to ramble on about my looks, height and how old I had gotten but it was simply buzzing in my ears.

“Breathe, Ember.” Both her hands moved to my shoulders, gripping me. Her orange-brown eyes stared into mine.

With a sharp inhale everything came back into focus. Warmth from her hands soaked into me. She was real. “Mom,” my voice squeezed out, emotion choking me.

“Yes, my beautiful girl. I am here.” Her arms wrapped around me, pulling me into her.

I broke. Hot tears spilled vehemently down my cheeks. Nothing made sense. Once again my world had turned upside down. But, the deep joy I felt at her being alive was almost too much for me to take. I crumbled in her arms, sobbing like a child. My mom was alive.

She kept her arms tight around me, rocking me as I continued to cry. “Shhh. I’m here,” she whispered over and over, her hand running continuously through my hair, soothing me. It took a long time for me to stop crying or for any thought to enter my head besides my mother was breathing and holding me like I had wished and dreamed about for so many years.

“I don’t understand,” I hiccupped out. Sobs ricocheting through my body.

“I know. I will explain all in time.”

Pulling away from her arms, sitting up. “No, tell me now.”

She bit her lip and looked out of the cell. “I’m sorry I had to leave you. The soldiers were getting near and I needed to protect you.”

All of a sudden some anger and hurt bowled over the joy I had felt a moment earlier. I had lived almost seven years thinking she was dead. Every day the images of her shredded, tangled body robbed me of any sanity I had tried to salvage. She had left me. She had left Mark. Alone.

“You were dead. I saw your body.” The words fervently spit out of my mouth. “I was the one who discovered you. How do I even know you are my mother? You could be glamoured to look like her. The Queen set this up to mess with me, huh?” I looked around ready for the Queen to come from out of the shadows, laughing at my gullibility.

“Ember, it’s me, I promise you.” She extended her hand out to me. I yanked my hands away from her reach. “I had to do it. I am
so
sorry, but it was the only way to keep you safe.”

I stood, anger causing me to move away from her. “Safe? So letting your twelve-year-old daughter discover your remains, lose her sanity, and grow up not knowing what she was or capable of, is what you call safe?”

“Compared to the other choice, yes. I did what I thought was right. I had to keep you safe no matter what.”

“What could be worse than that?”

My mom sighed, sorrow deep in her eyes. “The Queen.”

“But, she didn’t find me until recently. You supposedly died almost seven years ago. In a different realm.”

“Time and space mean nothing here.” She sat up on her knees, the weight of the chains straining out from the wall. “From the day I snuck you out of the Otherworld, she has been hunting us. I did my best to keep protection spells around you. I even tried to block your gifts, but you were too powerful and every once in a while, especially when you were young and didn’t understand, they would come out. I couldn’t always keep them at bay. If an ‘incident’ happened, we would move to a new place and start all over again.”