by Rebecca Rode
“My wrongdoings have been great,” the Daughter continued. Her voice wobbled. “I am not worthy to be your leader, my people. As I have no heir, it sorrows me to officially end the rule of our honored family line. Let it be known that my first and last official decree is thus—that my father’s most trusted and admired high commander, Ruben Kane, ascend to the throne in my place.”
Before anyone could react, she reached toward Ruben’s belt and swiped his stunner, then placed it against her head.
“No!” Ember shrieked. The memory of Harlow’s death overcame her. His terror. The way his head had snapped back. His slow fall.
She lunged for the woman’s light, desperate to shove Ruben out, but his grip on Ember’s light tightened and the room around her flickered as unconsciousness hovered in her mind.
Ruben pretended to grab for the weapon in Lea’s hand. “Your Eminence, don’t—”
Chapter 30
The stunner went off.
Somewhere in the room, a woman screamed.
Then there was chaos—commanders yelling for the cameras to stop, sprinting for the doors. Nobody dared approach the body. Stunner deaths were cleaner than most, but the shot had occurred at a close range. Blood dripped from the dead woman’s nose and mouth. It was clear she was gone.
“You’re a monster,” Ember growled.
Ruben tenderly closed the Daughter’s eyelids for the cameras, which were still running. His reply was a whisper. “I’m their savior. I’m only taking what should always have been mine.”
“If you have to kill for it, it was never yours,” Ember said. “You will not win.”
“I already have.” He straightened and flashed a grim smile at the audience, then turned back to Ember. “Tomorrow, when everyone calms down, they’ll crown me in her place. You will publicly lend me your support. What happens to you after that depends on your performance.”
Ember knew exactly what would happen if he got his way. He would wield his power like no ruler before him, ensuring those who questioned him were struck down at his hand or Ember’s. Aligning herself with Ruben would ensure she became far worse than an assassin. She’d become a monster herself.
Ember wasn’t supposed to conquer the universe as some tool in a killer’s hand. She was supposed to defend them against Ruben. She was the only person who could.
The mantra sounding deep inside Ember ceased. Instead, she felt a restlessness coming from her light, like it was waiting for her. Release me.
Ruben was stronger than she was. He’d overcome her twice, and he wouldn’t hesitate to do it again. Ember couldn’t smash through his shield, yet she’d done it to others while wearing Kane’s collar. Perhaps the disconnect wasn’t in her ability but in her mind. Maybe she just needed to get out of her own way.
Her inner light writhed within her again, as if it could see her struggle. It yearned to break free. Let me go, let me go, let me go, let me go, let me—
Ember examined the room. What remained of the audience sat in stunned silence, as if sensing something critical was happening on the platform. The cameras’ indicator lights still glowed red.
She turned to Ruben. “Whatever your plans for this realm are, you will not succeed as long as I draw breath.”
And she released the light.
Like a lake of molten lava, rage filled Ember as she and her inner light became one. White-hot pain coursed through her, overcoming her sight and screaming through her veins. It was as if she were channeling the light of the stars themselves. In an instant, she felt the shields of dozens shatter at a thought. Information overwhelmed her—names, family members, positions, experiences, childhoods.
She was one with every person in the room. They were at her command. Only one, Ruben, withstood the intense heat of her power. She watched him through the perspective of forty-six pairs of eyes as he went starkly pale and took a step backward.
She had the guards unlock her wrists first. Then Ember stood and approached Ruben with a smile. She was the most powerful being in the universe. He couldn’t challenge her. She could take the throne with her pinky finger if she desired. The entire realm loved her. She deserved to sit in the chair and wear the emperor’s ring. It was what the stars wanted.
Somewhere inside her, Ember felt a small voice scream for escape, but she wouldn’t allow it to trap her again. Now that she was free, she would kill those who thought themselves above her.
“Ember!” a voice called from the doorway.
She turned to see what pitiful human being would dare address her at her feast of power. The man in the doorway had a familiar face, and his expression went from excitement to confusion. He held a small glass object in his hand. Something about the man made her heart lurch within her.
That voice, the insignificant one trying to hold her back, was screaming now. Stefan, it was saying, the name somehow infused with emotion.
“You were supposed to die with your friends,” Ruben growled, tearing her attention back to him. “I gave you the opportunity to lend your public support, but it seems you’d prefer a public execution instead.”
His attack hit like a tidal wave slamming into a coastal village. He curled his fingers around her shield and began to close them. She pushed against his shield in return, but it was useless. He was too strong with her attention so divided.
She released the individuals she held bound and directed all her strength to the fight. Seconds later, shrieks and weeping sounded from the newly freed crowd as they threw themselves at the door, trampling each other in their eagerness to escape. Less than a minute, and they were all gone—except for one. The man from earlier, Stefan, made his way slowly toward the platform.
Ember’s fingers curled tightly around her enemy’s shield, but it held firm. Hers, however, felt the strain. Pressure like nothing she’d ever felt closed in on her, stealing her sight and sapping her strength. She’d used too much, too early.
“Ember,” a soft voice said. “I finally have proof. I know what your gift really is.”
She ignored the annoying man, resentful of the fondness in his voice. Then she conjured a second hand from her light. She reached out and grasped Ruben’s shield in both hands and squeezed with renewed strength. Ruben’s eyes widened in surprise.
From somewhere in his shield, there was a tiny crack.
Ember plunged inside and swallowed up the space, shoving aside the thrashing light that was Ruben’s soul. She took possession of him within two heartbeats. Her vision shifted to the perspective of her enemy. She saw the visitor, Stefan, watching her in horror . . . and she also saw herself.
Ember was a stranger—a woman with a long black dress wearing a wide smile, a wildness to her eyes.
Deep within, her pitiful subject was fighting her grasp. Time to end this. She drank in the fear she felt emanating from the soul she occupied. Then she held his thrashing light back as she stepped out of his mind and crushed his shield in her mighty hand. Ruben collapsed to the floor in a heap.
The next instant, her perspective returned. Ruben lay sprawled on the ground with his eyes closed, but his inner light was still intact. Perfect. She wanted the entire Empire to see this.
She stepped over to the dead empress and retrieved the stunner.
“Ember,” Stefan said again. “This isn’t you. Once you give in to the virus, you’ll never return. It will ravage you.”
Ignoring the voice, she trained the weapon at Ruben’s heart. Ember was power itself. Once her challenger was gone, she would rule uncontested. She deserved this. Even the stars would bow to her. Ember, the most powerful flare in the universe, would—
Then Stefan was there, right in front of her. He placed his hands on either side of her face. “Come back to me.”
Ember scowled, reluctantly letting her weapon drop to her side. How dare he touch her. She was the living embodiment of power itself. She—
He lowered his lips to hers.
This had happened before. A man had kissed her against her wil
l days ago, the man who now lay on the floor. But that kiss had raised revulsion within her. This one was gentle, questioning, as if Stephan were holding back. Waiting for her to respond. It stirred something deep inside her.
It was as if water were pelting the lava within her, then dowsing the flames until all Ember felt was a very different kind of heat. The kind that enveloped rather than destroyed, healed rather than hurt. She closed the distance between them, resting her hands on his chest, then raising them to his shoulders. She melted into his kiss and felt him respond as his lips moved more fervently on hers. She ached for more, demanded more.
Ember’s inner light slid out of her mind and into her subconsciousness. She was still aware of it, but it no longer controlled her. She was trembling now.
Stefan pulled away and looked deep into her eyes. “It’s you.”
Ember nodded, her eyes filling with hot moisture. She felt a deep weariness that threatened to overtake her, but Stefan’s arms around her waist supported her in a way that felt destined. She was whole like she hadn’t been in weeks. Maybe ever.
He cocked his head, gazing at her lips like he wanted to kiss her again. “Dare I ask what just happened?”
“I’m not entirely sure.” Her voice was husky. She cleared it, feeling the room spin around her. A sleeping body lay on the floor. Ruben.
She could still kill him. It would take less than a second, and she’d never have to worry about him again.
“I don’t understand,” Stefan said, eyeing the Daughter’s slumped body. “The prophecy stated that she would kill the emperor—”
“Which she did,” Ember pointed out.
“—and set the universe on a war-filled path that would mean the end of nearly every existing race. But Ruben killed her. Does that mean the prophecy was broken? Did we actually change what was meant to happen?”
He needs to die, her inner light wailed. They all do. Just kill them all.
Ember pulled out of Stefan’s arms, taking a step backward. The things she had done, the thoughts that had run through her head. They sounded like Ruben.
Neraline was right. If it weren’t for Stefan, she would have been lost.
This was what Dai went through all those years ago. He’d lost control, killing the people around him whether friend or foe. The carefully trained Empire weapon had become a bomb, lethal and uncontrollable. It was a miracle he made it as long as he did. His refusal to even discuss flicker abilities made more sense than ever. He’d locked his gift away and tried to live a normal life. He just hadn’t counted on his daughter inheriting his curse.
Stefan was wrong. She hadn’t changed the course of the stars. If Ember killed Ruben, she would become the person who fulfilled them. She will have given in to her inner light, given it power to overcome her.
If Ember crossed that line, it would be she who waged a bloody battle that extinguished the races, not the Daughter.
She took a step backward, feeling as if she were standing at the edge of a cliff. She intended to shape the universe around her like the prophecy stated, but not like this. “I have to leave.” Her voice was tight, nearly strangled.
Stefan pulled a vial from his pocket. He seemed oblivious to the battle she waged within. “I found this. It’s the serum administered to your grandmother, the liquid she drank that infected her with the virus. It kills its hosts eventually, but their children are more resistant. It takes them until adulthood to feel its effects. I suspect Lazarus Kane had his wife drink it as well, which is where Ruben’s powers came from. If we bring this with us, I’m certain we can reverse it in you.”
Ember shook her head. “I can’t let you come with me. I’m too dangerous.”
“It’s my decision to make, Ember, and you’re not leaving my sight again. Besides, if that . . . thing . . . happens again, who else will pull you back?” He grinned. “Don’t think for a second I’m going to let somebody else kiss you like that.”
The old Ember would have pushed him away. Ember was pain. She was tired of those she loved suffering for her decisions. But then she thought of Harlow’s biggest regret. He hadn’t listened to the woman he loved. He longed for the chance to trust her again, a chance life had taken from him.
She still had that chance. She would allow Stefan to make his own decisions whether she understood his actions or not. And hopefully those decisions would always bring him back to her.
“You up for freeing a few prisoners before we leave?” Ember asked.
Stefan’s grin widened. “My assistant may want to come too.”
“We’ll make it a party, then.” Ember took his hand, then looked down at Ruben. She dipped into his future, only slightly ahead of where they stood. The man would live. Their battle here would haunt him, and he would seek her out.
Eventually they would meet again. She didn’t have to read further to know that. But she needed time to conquer what was happening inside of her. She had channeled a power no human should be allowed to wield. The hunger for destruction that had coursed through her still echoed in her veins, a shadow of what had been. She needed to heal, to allow herself to love and to trust. She needed to save the Union from the ships pursuing them.
Most of all, she intended to do exactly what Stefan’s grandmother predicted. The civilizations of the universe didn’t need to be united under a single hand. They needed to live the way they wanted, to explore their cultures and speak their own languages. To dress as they desired and to live without fear. They needed freedom—a freedom only she could give.
Ember wasn’t a monster. She wasn’t a good person, necessarily, but she was trying to be. Maybe that was a good thing in itself. Harlow had taught her that.
She glanced at the back of the room. A single camera had been left on in the chaotic exodus, its light red like fire. The entire ship seemed to be holding its breath. She could feel it, thousands of souls hovering over their wristbands. Millions. Perhaps many more.
“My friends,” Ember told the camera. “You now see the lies and corruption that grip your leadership. You are only under the Empire’s power if you want to be. It’s time for you to decide what you’d like the realm to become. Stand for your freedom. Declare your terms. I’ve taken the first step for you, and they’ll soon see that we’ve only begun.”
Then she turned and walked out, Stefan at her side.
Time to reshape the universe.
Chapter 1
The control room was nearly silent as Ember stared at the instrument panel, willing it to come to life. Brennan was ten minutes late, which wasn’t like him. Any second now, he would respond to their calls and give his mission status report.
Small electric lights were strung across the top of the rectangular cavern, giving the room’s eleven occupants and the instrument panels a faint bluish hue. The scent of unwashed bodies and dirt clung to her nostrils. When a settlement of fourteen thousand people only had one water source, they got only one shower a week. Ember had quickly grown accustomed to the griminess of life underground, but others still struggled with it. Particularly cabinet members who thought themselves entitled to special privileges.
Ember glanced up at Stefan, who stood behind her seat, arms folded, ice-blue eyes intent on the speaker—as if he could make it respond if he stared hard enough. He noticed her watching him and gave her a grim smile. His dark-brown hair was longer these days, a shaggy look that felt more . . . well, Stefan. Ember loved the newer, more easygoing side of him she’d seen over the past three months. He still insisted on being clean-shaven, though—an old habit from decades of flicker military upbringing.
That was one reason he stood here now, waiting for Brennan’s report with the rest of the cabinet. Stefan had managed to impress most of the ex-Union officers with his knowledge of tactical theory. Now he ran the control room around the clock, ensuring their “recruiting” missions ran smoothly. Even General Pyne, however grudgingly, had accepted Stefan as one of them.
The Daughter’s former general paced the con
trol room with his usual slow-yet-determined gait. His remaining patches of white hair stuck up wildly today, as if he’d forgotten to use a comb. But there was nothing forgetful about the way he paced the room, glaring at everyone like a king awaiting a late servant. “Should’ve trained the boy myself,” he muttered.
The former Union leader had transitioned quickly from the Union to Ember’s revolution, moving smoothly into the role of war general and senior cabinet member. Like most former Union officers and soldiers, he still wore his deep-green uniform. Ember didn’t mind. Her followers ranged from years of fighting experience to none at all. The revolution had better things to do than replace perfectly good clothing. Keeping fourteen thousand people alive inside a mountain was no small task.
Twelve minutes.
Ember sighed, turning back to the panel. Brennan had taken half her Union flicker team on this mission, including his twin sister, Reina. Were they dying as Ember and the cabinet waited safely in this distant underground cavern? Would this be the day her team was discovered, overcome, and turned over to the Empire? Or would the team return as they always did, with a new ship, eager recruits, and a cargo bay full of stolen supplies?
Stefan must have seen Ember scowl because his hands gripped her shoulders from behind, giving them a reassuring squeeze. Her tension melted beneath his touch. At least Stefan had stayed behind. They’d agreed to remain together from now on, an arrangement she was quite happy with. Despite their separate duties, he found every opportunity to touch her—a brush of his hand against her waist, stolen kisses in the dusty corridors. He lit her on fire like nothing else could.
Even lovers keep secrets from each other, a voice deep inside Ember said. Important secrets.
Her scowl deepened. That voice had a way of jumping in when it was least welcome, and sometimes it was irritatingly right. Ember found it easy to talk to Stefan about nearly everything. But there remained one thorn between them, something she couldn’t discuss. After two months of pushing, Stefan had finally dropped the subject, and that was just fine with her.
