From Flame and Ash

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  “We’ll figure it out.” I laughed then, and he gave me a weird look.

  “What’s so funny?” he asked.

  “Only that I keep saying that. I’ve been saying it for over a year now. Almost two, now that I think about it.” I sat back, thinking about how much time had passed since I first saw the Neg when I was out for a burrito after a run of all things.

  I wasn’t that girl anymore, and honestly, I wasn’t the same one from a year ago when I lost everything.

  I didn’t know what to make of any of that.

  “I keep saying that I’ll figure it out. But at some point, we just have to. I’ve been to all of the territories now. I don’t have all of my elements yet, but I will. I don’t think there’s any getting away from that. And when I figure that all out, when I have all of my elements, I have a feeling there will be no going back at all. Everything will be going forward a hundred miles an hour, and we’ll just have to hang on for dear life.”

  “It must be so weird to come at this so new. I’ve had my entire life put in front of me, and I knew what I would be. I knew I would be a Fire Wielder, and I knew that I’d protect Easton. Even when he was just a prince and the son of the queen. I knew I would be his friend, and I knew where I would be in the end. Wyn came later, but I knew we would be connected somehow.” He gave me a wry look. I was not going there. That was their business, not mine. “And I knew we would be warriors. Arwin came next, and I instantly knew we would be a team. The three of us have been fighting for quite a while now, but not as long as others because Arwin is still so new. But we have always been the king’s guard, Easton’s guard. It was just never foretold that we would also be yours.”

  I blinked and looked at him. “You’re not my guard. You’re Easton’s.”

  “You’re the Spirit Priestess. We’re your guards, too. Even that warrior, Luken, the Air Wielder. Rhodes, as well. Don’t you see that everywhere we go, someone fights us? Someone doesn’t want to lose their powers, doesn’t want to lose their place in this fractured realm. And because of that, they want to take you out. Because they’re afraid of peace and what change it will bring. The quieter ones, they are the ones who see you as their savior. So, when you reach the next step in your priestesshood, your guard will be there for you. Though Luken is Rhodes’ guard, and I am Easton’s, and we’re on two sides of an immortal war, we will both still be on your side. Remember that when the time comes.”

  And with that, he walked away, leaving me confused.

  I didn’t know what to think about any of that, or how I should feel. And before I could figure out exactly what he’d meant by any of the things he’d said or how I felt about them, we started to descend. I stood up, going towards the front of the ship where Easton and Rhodes stood side by side. They parted slightly, and I stood between them.

  Each of them looked down at me, but I couldn’t read their faces. I didn’t know what to do, so I reached out and ran my hand over Easton’s arm and then Rhodes’, just to tell them that I was here. Because I knew Easton was weakening from his power being bound and used, and Rhodes was in pain.

  They weren’t my soulmates, they weren’t my future. But the Lady of Air had said that they were the futures of these kingdoms, and they were my friends.

  So, there was no choice, there was only my place. By myself as the Spirit Priestess, following my own path.

  By the time we settled on the Water Estate’s grounds, everyone seemed a bit nervous, even though I didn’t know why we should be. At least, not on the surface. After all, we were here for the funeral of the Lady of Water.

  Not for war.

  And yet, it felt just like before when we had been ready to fight Lore, the Creed, and the League. There was a sense of anticipation that worried me.

  I just didn’t know what it meant or what was to come.

  The Lord of Water came towards us, Durin’s face a mask.

  It slipped for just a moment, though, and I didn’t see the grief that I thought should be there. I didn’t see the agony of a man who had just lost his soulmate, his one true love.

  Instead, I saw rage mixed with surprise.

  Why would he be surprised to see us?

  I couldn’t help but wonder why he had pushed us away to begin with.

  Something was going on here, and whatever it was, it wasn’t pretty.

  We would figure it out, though.

  Because even though I didn’t know the rest of my prophecy, I wasn’t going to allow people to get hurt because of those in power. That was one thing I could do. Or, at least begin to do.

  “I’m surprised to see you,” Durin said, his voice low.

  I froze beside Rhodes, who stiffened.

  “What do you mean, Father? Surprised to see me here for my own mother’s funeral? Why did you send me away? What were you thinking?”

  Rhodes’ voice grew louder with each question, and I reached out and tugged on his arm.

  People were staring, and I could feel the power of Wielding around me.

  Durin looked as if he wanted to strangle his son, but still, there was no hint of grief there. Just anger. And all of it directed at Rhodes. With no outlet.

  “Let’s go for a walk,” I whispered to Rhodes. “Just a walk.”

  He looked down at me and glowered for a moment before rolling his shoulders back and masking his emotions. His face went carefully blank, and then he looked at his father and bowed.

  “If you’ll forgive me, I’m just shocked. I’m going to walk off my emotions. I will be back later to talk about Mother.”

  There were so many pieces in play, so many others watching, that as much as I wanted Rhodes to lash out at his father and figure out what had happened, this wasn’t the time or place. Not when so many people could be hurt, and not when we didn’t know exactly what was going on.

  And so, without a word, Rhodes stalked off, and I followed him, looking over my shoulder at Easton, who gave me a tight nod. I could see the relief on his face. He was glad that we weren’t going to be around. Because if Durin lashed out, using the full force of his Wielding, innocents could be hurt. And we needed to find out why we’d been sent away first.

  I walked with Rhodes in silence. We didn’t say anything. There wasn’t anything to say.

  We just walked, and I tried to take in the sights, to look at the waterfalls and the bubbling brooks, but it all seemed so muted now. As if it were mourning its lady, as well.

  How would the rest of the realm react to the loss of the Lady of Water?

  “I’m sorry,” Rhodes growled under his breath. “Something’s going on here, and I want to know what it is and why. But I shouldn’t have said that. I should have waited until we were in a place where Father might actually answer me, instead of doing it when he felt so superior.”

  “I’m sorry about your mother, Rhodes.”

  He looked at me then, his silver eyes watery. “Me, too. I loved her. The mother you met? That wasn’t the one who raised me. She wasn’t always so frail. I don’t know what happened, but now she’s gone, and there’s nothing I can do.”

  “I wish there was something I could do to help you.”

  “I know.” He sucked in a breath and then shook his head. “Let me get you back to your room so you can get some rest. We have a long day ahead of us with the funeral coming up and all of the politics that come with that. And I need to see Rosamond. She and Luken weren’t out there to greet us, and I just need to see my sister.”

  I opened my arms, and he stepped into them. I gave him a hug, holding him tightly and him grasping me tight in return. I inhaled his scent, the one that had always made me dizzy before, but it wasn’t the same now.

  This was my friend, the person who’d helped me see the realm which I had been born to live in yet hadn’t known. And he was grieving. And there was nothing I could do.

  He hugged me tightly for one more moment, and then let me go without saying a word. He led me to my room, the place I had stayed before, and then nodde
d and walked away.

  I found myself alone in my suite, missing Brae, missing my old home. Missing everything that had once been.

  Because I didn’t know what was going to happen next. It seemed I never did.

  I showered and got ready for bed, the lateness of the hour surprising me. We had traveled for so long, and I never seemed to just be able to rest.

  With so many things going on inside my head, I didn’t know if I would be able to rest at all, even though I knew I needed to.

  There was a light tap at the window. I narrowed my eyes at Easton, who stood on the ledge, looking in.

  I opened it for him and snorted. “What are you doing?”

  “It’s bedtime.” That was all he said as he jumped into my room, walking around.

  “That doesn’t answer my question. What are you doing here?”

  “Something’s up. And none of us are alone. Arwin, Wyn, and Teagan are in one room, each taking shifts. I don’t know what’s going on, but we’re going to stay on guard.”

  I put my hands on my hips and just glared. “So that means you think you’re going to be in my room tonight?”

  He gave me that grin that always did something to my insides, but I just glared at him. “I promise you, nothing’s going to happen, little girl. Just go to sleep. I’ll watch over you.”

  I did not like the fact that that made me feel better. It shouldn’t make me feel better. It should make me feel creeped out.

  Instead of thinking too hard about it, though, I just pushed past him and got into bed, careful not to look at him. Because I wanted to sleep, my whole body was tired. And I knew Easton was likely exhausted, as well.

  “Wake me up halfway through so that I can take the next shift.”

  He just raised his brows.

  “Don’t give me that look. You said the others were taking shifts. I’ll take the next one for us. You need sleep too, Easton. Especially since you had that headache earlier.”

  Something came over his face, but I didn’t know what it meant. Instead, he just took a couple of steps forward and then tucked me into bed. It was such an intimate gesture, so out of character for the two of us. But then he leaned down and kissed the top of my head as if he were tucking in a family member and not the girl who wasn’t his soulmate.

  “Sleep well. I’ll watch over you.”

  “And then I’ll do the same for you.”

  He smiled but didn’t answer.

  I didn’t think he would.

  After all, nobody was allowed to take care of Easton. Let alone me.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  I vaguely remembered the first funeral I had ever attended. It was that of a coworker of my father’s, one who had died too young. I’d been too young to understand what was going on, had been shushed more than once by my mother for asking questions.

  I remembered the casket, the way everybody sniffled and cried but didn’t speak. Or, if they did, it was in hushed whispers that seemed to echo within the chamber.

  I couldn’t remember much of it, not that there was much to remember.

  I’d been to a few other funerals in my lifetime, one for a grandmother, and another coworker of my father’s, but never for anyone that I had truly known or had a connection to in my adult life.

  So, as I sat on a bench next to Easton and behind Rhodes, I wondered what we were going to say, and what would happen.

  Only a day had passed since we arrived from the Air territory, and we were already laying to rest a woman I hadn’t really known. I couldn’t remember if I’d even heard her voice.

  Isn’t that odd? Shouldn’t I remember if I had heard her speak? She was the mother to Rhodes and Rosamond. The daughter of the Lady and Lord of Air, people I already respected after knowing them for only a short time.

  And she was gone.

  Others were silent around me, but there wasn’t a single tear in the place.

  Nobody was crying or talking or using hushed whispers to let their voices be heard.

  We all just sat there in silence as the water of the stream that went through the estate itself trickled along.

  Burble. Drip. Drip. Drip. Burble.

  It was just a trickle, but it was the only thing that echoed in this tomb.

  I sat on the left side of the pulpit along with Easton and the other Obscurité. We were the only ones that got looks since everyone else in the room was Lumière.

  No, not the Lumière as a whole, just the Water territory.

  The only other people there, were those on the left from the Air territory, the ones who had come with Rhodes’ grandparents.

  Everyone else was from the Water territory only.

  I found that odd and wondered about it.

  The King and Queen of Lumière weren’t here. No one from the court either, from what I could tell.

  It was just those in the Water territory. It was as if we were in our own little world with this funeral happening so fast that either no one else had had time to come, or they hadn’t been invited at all.

  The whole thing seemed almost a farce.

  But I would never say that.

  Because the people in front of me truly were grieving, as were those that had known the Lady of Water as a child.

  They were mourning, and I didn’t know how to help them.

  The Lord of Water wore dark gray. The others wore black, but he didn’t. He stood out like royalty amongst the rabble.

  He didn’t smile, he didn’t frown. He had the perfect look of a royal who knew his due and wanted the praise and consolation of someone who had lost his wife.

  I didn’t see grief there, didn’t see a single inkling of sadness at all.

  And I couldn’t help but wonder why we had lost that frail woman so quickly.

  And why we couldn’t be there for her.

  “My wife is gone,” the lord began.

  “She is gone, my Áine. My sweet Lady of Water. Though she was never truly Water. Her Wielding was that of Air.”

  I stiffened and looked over at Easton, who gave a slight shake of his head. This was not the time for questions, but I didn’t know what this was. At all.

  “My wife is gone, but we must remember who she was and what she stood for. We must remember that the time of change is upon us, and we have the Spirit Priestess on our side.” He gestured towards me, and I refused to look away, refused to look at anyone who was now murmuring under their breath. There were whispers, words that I couldn’t hear, not with the ringing in my ears.

  How dare he bring me up during his wife’s funeral? This was not my time, nor the time to talk about change.

  This was a time to remember a woman who was no longer with us. A woman who had been a warrior but had been stripped of that when she fell in love. A woman who had been a mother but hadn’t been able to say goodbye to her only son.

  I didn’t like Durin. I hadn’t liked him before, but now I loathed him.

  “The Spirit Priestess is among us, and that means we are truly fruitful indeed. Let us not weep for Áine. For she has gone to a better place. A place where the old kings and queens and those who have fallen before us reside. Let us remember that she was weak, not strong enough to lead us into the new era. But that is fine, for the weak have their place, as well.”

  I’d noticed that those in front of me were holding Rhodes down, and Rosamond’s body was shaking next to him. The Lord and Lady of Air didn’t say anything, they just sat there staring at their son-in-law as if they were waiting for the right moment to end his life.

  And though I wasn’t truly bloodthirsty, I would hold their robes for them as they pummeled him with their Air.

  “My wife is gone. But the future remains. Let us rejoice in what she has left us and what we have. For the Lord and Lady of Water will always be with you. I am the Lord of Water, who rules this territory. The lady is gone, long live the lord.”

  And then he turned on his heel and left, his guards hurrying after him.

  I narrowed my eyes at
a few of them as they passed, wondering why they looked so familiar even though I hadn’t seen them the last time I was at the estate.

  People started getting up then, whispering fiercely to one another. I just sat there and then looked over at Easton.

  “What on earth?” I asked in a shaky voice.

  “Not here. Go back to your room. We’re leaving.”

  He stood up then, and I followed him. I did not want to stay in this estate any longer. And while I wanted to make sure that Rhodes and Rosamond and their grandparents were okay, a weird, sinking feeling had crept over my skin, and I knew that I couldn’t stay for long.

  Something was coming, and something was wrong with the Lord of Water. We couldn’t stay here any longer. The fact that they had let the Obscurité stay for as long as they had didn’t seem like a boon any longer. It seemed like a threat.

  I had to remember that while I might be of neither kingdom, not truly, the Obscurité and the Lumière were at war.

  All of this talk of change and weakness…that meant something.

  We needed to go.

  I was just at my door, Easton practically pulling me by the arm, when Rosamond came running up from behind us.

  “You must go, quickly,” she said, her eyes glossy. “I don’t know what’s coming. They’ve blocked my Sight somehow. But you must go. Protect the Priestess, King,” she said, her voice low as if not hers. “Protect her and protect the prophecy. I can’t See what’s coming. Why can’t I See what’s coming?” She put her hands over her face, and I reached out to help, but then Wyn was there, holding Rosamond close. “Go, grab your things. Easton, grab mine. If we can, let’s take Rosamond and Rhodes with us. I have a feeling it’s going to get dicey soon.”

  “Bet they’re not going to like that,” Easton said dryly. “But you’re right, there’re more important things than old rivalries to worry about,” he said and then looked at me. “Go. Grab your stuff. Something’s wrong.”