Imdalind Ruby Collection One: Kiss of Fire | Eyes of Ember | Scorched Treachery

by Ethington, Rebecca

  “Focus on that,” I instructed him before pulling away.

  My magic left him as I brought it back inside of myself, my heart thumping against my chest at what I was about to do.

  “Please don’t let me kill him,” I spoke more to myself than anyone else, but I knew that everyone had heard me, that everyone knew what I was going to do. It was what I had tried to do to my friend, Sarin, before I killed him a thousand years before. It was what I needed to do now in order to save Dramin’s life.

  My hands pressed against Dramin’s as I breathed in, bringing my magic right to the surface, before breathing out and surging it into him. I let in just enough to jumpstart his entire body and hopefully, ignite his magic, but not enough to kill him—or so I hoped.

  I looked up at Thom expectantly, hoping to see him looking at me, but his focus stayed on Dramin. The spark had obviously not ignited; his magic was still not strong enough to sustain his life.

  I needed to perform the ozdobit třásněmi one more time.

  I repeated the process, careful to keep my magic at just the right caliber inside of his body. This time, a small groan escaped Dramin’s lips, his hand twitching in response to my jolt. My heart froze for one terrible moment before I gently pushed my magic back into his body, stretching it right to the small spark I had found, pleased to now find a fire.

  I exhaled with a shake, the knot in my back loosening. I looked up to Thom, his eyes meeting mine.

  “He’s alive?” he asked in awe, his voice a heavy rumble over Ryland’s mumbling voice behind us.

  “Sotva.” Barely. I answered Thom, careful to keep my voice low. Even though Ovailia was now standing next to Ryland and Joclyn, I knew she was listening.

  “I’ve never seen anything like it,” I gasped through the tense feeling in my shoulders.

  “Me either,” Thom said, his voice awed. “Even when we sparred back in the cave, after she gained full use of her power, she was never able to produce something that strong.”

  I sighed and ran my hand through my hair, forgetting that I had already cut off the long strands.

  “Try to keep him alive, Thom,” I pleaded, trying to make it plain that I needed his help.

  “I will, but there is only so much I can do. With his magic so weak…” Thom’s voice drifted off as he placed his hands against the skin of Dramin’s face, his head shaking in worry. “Why did she attack Ryland like that in the first place? I thought she loved him.”

  “She did. She does,” I corrected myself, ignoring the heavy thumping in my chest. I looked toward Ryland, he and Ovailia now standing on either side of Joclyn as Ovailia hissed something to Ryland. That could be anything but good. I needed to get over there. “Something must have happened in the Tȍuha,” I continued, bringing my focus back to Thom. “He must have been attacking her somehow.”

  “Ryland was attacking her?” Thom asked, the alarm in his voice igniting the heavy Black Water inside of me again. I cringed against the burn, against the anxiety that was flaring in my chest, and stood.

  “I believe so.”

  “Is Ryland even safe to have here?” Thom’s eyes darted over to where Ovailia hovered beside Ryland.

  “Safer than Ovailia is at this point.”

  Thom’s gaze darted away from our siblings, his eyes narrowing at my words, almost daring me to say what he wanted to hear.

  “I need you to watch her.”

  “You need me to watch Ovailia and heal Dramin...”

  I sighed and straightened my back. Thom had put into words exactly how terrible our situation was. I had foolishly thought that Joclyn’s awakening would solve all of our problems, but now, somehow, she had only increased them.

  “Ano,” I said simply, knowing I was already asking too much of him. He only looked at me, nodding once in understanding, his own stress staring right back at me.

  “Take him to his room, Thom. I’ll be there shortly.”

  I stood as Thom carried Dramin’s body out the door, the knot in my heart relaxing. Dramin would be okay if the spark of his magic stayed strong. I wasn’t sure what Joclyn had hit him with, so I wasn’t sure if what I had done was enough.

  I turned, Ryland was still hovering over Joclyn. I could feel Ryland’s magic inside of her, the foreign power infusing her through the edge of the Štít. I dutifully kept mine on the other side of the Štít, even though keeping it there was a physical pain to me now.

  Ryland’s voice filled the air around us, the English words sounding out of place as he whispered to her.

  “He will live.” I spoke more to myself than to the room, needing to hear the words for my own benefit.

  “Honestly, I was surprised to see him alive in the first place.” Ovailia’s voice was high and filled with fury.

  I had known I couldn’t avoid this confrontation for long. Instead of walking into the ruins of Rioseco to find just Joclyn and I, Ovailia had found two others—both of which she had thought to be dead. Thom and Dramin, one her brother and the other the son of her former mate.

  Given where she had just come from, this conversation could easily be used to my advantage, something I definitely needed in this game of cat and mouse that my father had set up.

  I carefully fisted the burn on my hand, keeping it out of sight. Ovailia had laid her cards in front of me. I needed to play mine right. If I was going to get us out of this, then everything to do with the Black Water needed to stay hidden for my round to play out properly. Joclyn being a Drak was our greatest asset at this point, it was not information I would ever willingly hand over to Ovailia. Each of us continued to weigh our options as we danced around each other in a silent tango.

  “Is she alive?” Ryland’s accusatory voice was barely louder than a whisper, but it broke the tension between Ovailia and me.

  “Yes, I just put her to sleep.”

  “Why isn’t she waking up, Ilyan?” Ryland’s panicked voice cut through the silence as he shook her shoulders.

  I turned toward him, my frustration flaring at his questions. Had he not noticed what had just happened? Did he not care that the man who had saved him was fighting for his life?

  I brushed my irritation at his selfishness away. His hands were wrapped around hers as he whispered to her. I thought I had been prepared for this, but I was surprised by the uncomfortable thunk that sounded deep within my ironclad heart.

  Torture.

  “I am keeping her asleep, Ryland.”

  “Wake her up!” he demanded, his desperation making him edgy. “I need to see her.”

  Ryland ran his hand over her hair, his fingers touching the skin of her face as he looked at me, waiting for me to act.

  “I am not sure that is wise.” Ryland’s eyes widened at my response, my curiosity at his odd behavior peaking. “She just tried to kill you, Ryland.”

  He looked at me for only a minute before moving down to place his forehead against hers. I felt the pressure against my own head, and shook it off, surprised the bridge was still there even though I no longer had contact with her.

  “She didn’t mean it.” Ryland’s voice was heavy and low, his words spoken more to Joclyn than to me.

  I looked toward Ovailia, expecting to receive some support, but she only looked back with a wicked gleam in her eye. The shine in her eyes prickled at my better judgment in warning.

  “She woke up only a moment before you came in—”

  “I know,” Ryland interrupted me. “Thom told us she was sleeping before. She was just confused. She didn’t know she had woken up. I need to tell her she is all right, Ilyan. Please. Let me do that.”

  I felt my protective instinct flare at his words, the desire to push him away from her strong and growing. “Why would she have need to attack you in a Tȍuha, Ryland?”

  His eyes widened, they drifted from Ovailia to me uncomfortably, as if he was unsure what to say or how much he was allowed to reveal. The gesture made me wary, my fear rising quickly within me.

  I had always c
ounted on Ryland standing with me. He had gone out of his way multiple times to save me, to save Joclyn. He knew what her purpose was in this life, and yet, I could see the doubt in his eyes when he looked at me. He doubted that he could trust me, that I was telling the truth. The look triggered my own doubts about the situation, and I looked toward Ovailia, my eyes hardening.

  “What is going on?”

  Ryland’s body stiffened, the large muscles in his shoulders bulging beneath his blue polo shirt. My body prickled as my magic flared in expectation of an outburst.

  “She wouldn’t... I mean...” Ryland’s fingers began to dig into Joclyn’s skin, his grip tightening with every word. “If you saw what he made us do... I mean... YOU CAN’T HAVE HER!” He roared, making the glass in the window rattle, his magic erupting out of him. The whirlwind of power circled through the room, ripping blankets, pictures and ornaments out of their places.

  “SHE’S MINE!” Ryland yelled only a second later as the torrent continued, his hands digging into her, little drops of her blood trailing at his fingertips.

  That was enough. Seeing her blood was all it took for my instincts to kick in, for my heart to thump for her safety. My magic surged as I threw him away from her, slamming him into the stone wall of my suite where I restrained him.

  The second he had left her side, I had gone to her, my arms resting over her in a physical shield.

  Ryland looked at me in a panic, his eyes wild as he fought against me.

  “Don’t ever touch her like that,” I snarled, aware that my composure had left.

  “My, my, Ilyan,” Ovailia soothed as she came up beside me. “Having trouble letting him near Joclyn, are we?”

  “He was hurting her.”

  “That doesn’t matter. He’s her mate.”

  “That bond was broken. Or have you forgotten what it takes to break a bond, Ovailia.” I let my hard voice plague my words as I turned to face Ovailia, allowing my height to tower over her dauntingly. She met my hard gaze with a glare of her own, her lips turned up in that wicked, little half smile.

  “Oh, now, how could I forget? No matter how much you wanted me to.” She smiled wider, and I froze, my face in its hard mask.

  I wanted her out of here, out of this room and out of the abbey. If I forced her out now, she would only instruct the Trpaslíks to attack. My father’s plan was clicking into place now, his carefully woven web settling in around us. Like all webs, there was always a hole.

  “I’ll just take him to my suite for now, shall I?” Ovailia asked, the gleam in her eyes making it obvious she knew she had me. “I’ll calm him down and then he can come check on Joclyn in a few hours.”

  Ovailia moved toward Ryland as my magic released him, letting him slide to the floor.

  “I can’t leave her. I don’t care what you say, Ilyan. I need her. I can’t...” Ryland’s voice was so weak, so pained, and I couldn’t ignore the desperation that lined it.

  “I know, Ryland. I will let you see her again soon. I promise.”

  Ryland opened his mouth to say something, but Ovailia stopped him. With one whispered word from her, his face hardened, his eyes dark as he followed Ovailia out without a word, his eyes never leaving Joclyn’s sleeping body.

  I had no choice, but to let them go, to leave Ryland in Ovailia’s hands and let her manipulate him right in front of me. I could already feel the pieces of a larger game fall into place. Joclyn’s sight from only a few weeks before rang in my ears, the words strong beside the vision that she had shared with me. The vision of Ovailia carrying Ryland down the hall.

  ‘A tryst has been set in motion, one you cannot ignore. The father of the four is using his seed one against another, and in the end, none will fall until two lives are lost. It cannot be stopped. Beware where your trust lays.’

  For once I needed time on my side, but in only a matter of minutes, time had already effectively ruined our chances.

  One Hundred Thirty-One

  Joclyn

  A thump of a knock pulled me out of a fitful sleep, the sound mixed with the whisper of voices and my mind kicked into overdrive. I spun out of the bed, landing on the floor as I looked around the unfamiliar space in an attempt to get my bearings.

  This was not the cave from months ago. It was not the old moldy bathroom that I had been trapped in since.

  This room was old, with several large, stone arches that sat to the left of the king-sized bed I was in. Each one opened to a beautiful, star-filled sky. The whole room was made of dark stone and even darker wood. Any other time I might have called it beautiful. Safe.

  I couldn’t even find the word.

  This space was too open. I was too exposed here. Pain could find me.

  That was a word I knew. A person I knew.

  Besides the arches that opened into the night sky, there were two doors. I could hear voices behind one, so I crawled to the other, holding my breath in case I was heard. There were no sounds behind this one. I could hide here, at least until I figured out what was going on. I slipped inside, my eyes burning at the dim blue light that rippled over the walls.

  Slowly my eyes adjusted to a modern bathroom built out of porcelain and glass. Everything was clean, polished. I had almost forgotten that bathrooms could be this clean. I looked around for another way out but found nothing.

  You’re safe. Nothing is going to get you.

  I tried to convince myself of it, but the blood-bathed rooms of Cail’s mind were still too fresh. I could feel everything; the torture, the running, the fear. Still, I could see Ilyan’s face as he’d rescued me. And Dramin...

  My heart tensed and I slid myself between the toilet and the sink just before the door on the other side of the room creaked open, the whispers from before becoming audible.

  “I can’t do everything, Ilyan. Ovailia is already eyeing me, and I am not sure how much I can do for Dramin.” Thom’s voice was loud. Desperate. The depth of the sound shook through me and I twitched, my hands flying up to tangle in my hair as I pressed myself into the toilet.

  “We need him, Thom.” Ilyan was calm, so calm. I took a shuddering breath, trying to release some of the stress. Please let me be safe here. “The faster we know if he is going to pull through, the better. I cannot produce the Black Water and Joclyn will be needing some very soon…”

  “But that’s just it, Ilyan,” Thom interrupted him. “It’s almost as if he saw this coming. His room is covered with at least fifty mugs, each filled to the brim with that poison.”

  “What?”

  “I know, and if he saw that, then what else did he see? Especially with how Ovailia is acting.”

  “Is she still not letting him out of her sight?”

  “No. I don’t trust her, Ilyan.” Thom’s voice was heavy, hurt. I had never heard so much fear in him. Something was wrong, but I couldn’t think past my panic enough to know. It was as though I was trapped between two worlds.

  “I don’t trust her, eith—” Ilyan stopped talking suddenly and then swore loudly in Czech. I flinched again.

  “Where did she go?” Thom asked, his question fading as Ilyan closed the door.

  I didn’t hear Ilyan’s footsteps, I only felt his magic grow inside of me as he tracked me. His energy moved through me, strong and panicked; the absence of my barrier giving him free rein. It was the same warmth from before, when I was trapped… I gasped and moved closer to the wall, hoping to disappear behind the toilet.

  Ilyan’s magic lessened as the door to the bathroom opened and he approached me, crouching in front of me. He had obviously been sleeping; his short hair was tousled, his chest bare. Ilyan’s eyes were soft, wide, and shining. My heart rate settled at his gaze. It hadn’t felt this normal in months; the pain from the incessant thudding lessened.

  “H-Hi.” I whispered as my voice caught, I was scared to say more than that.

  “Hi.”

  I stared into those eyes, relishing the steady beat, the calmness that he was bringing me. I hadn’t ev
en noticed his hand was moving until it came to rest against my cheek. I jumped at the unexpected contact before settling back, my shaky hands moving to cover his.

  I clung to Ilyan, holding his magic deep within me as he healed me, comforted me. Part of me was still scared he would disappear or that this was all a trick; that he would hurt me, too.

  I leaned my head against the base of the sink—my hair falling over my face as I moved—Ilyan gently moved it away, his finger touching my mark as he placed the strands behind my ear. I jerked at the jolt that moved down my spine from Ilyan’s touch, the single jerk morphing into a million twitches.

  “Shhhh, mi lasko, shhhh.” Ilyan’s hands were firm against mine, his voice soft. It was just what I needed. I exhaled with a shake, forcing the world to calm.

  “Is-is Dr…Dramin… d-d-dead?” I tried so hard to keep the stutter out of my voice, but it didn’t work. It seemed to have followed me here. Ilyan’s eyes widened at my voice, and I realized I hadn’t spoken more than his name since my return to this world.

  “No, he had a shield around him, but your strength was still too much for him. He is alive, but we do not know for how much longer.”

  My heart felt as though it was being cleaved in two. I had done this. I had seen Dramin’s death in my sight, the unknown magic flying toward him. So to have seen it replayed in life, with my magic as the death blow, I knew what that meant; Dramin would not recover. I cringed, pushing my terror away as I clung to the cool porcelain.

  “It’s not your fault, Joclyn,” Ilyan whispered. I turned toward him, my eyes wide. I couldn’t tell him how wrong he was. I may not have been in my right mind, but it would never be anything other than my fault.

  “Ryland had a shield around him…” Ilyan’s sentence was drowned out by my screams.

  Just hearing his name brought every single memory that I had been trying to restrain to the surface. They cut into me like a blunted knife; tearing through me in slow agony. I cringed and howled, my eyes darting as I looked for him, expecting pain to come through the door at any minute and hurt me. Break me.