Page 105 of The Ember and the Emerald

Ahav saved.

My mother protected.

The kingdom spared.

A plan settled into place. But so did a vision.

The cavern vanished, images rising. Except, it didn’t feel like a normal prophecy or memory. It felt like now. Fire roared around me. Black smoke clawed at my lungs as a battlefield erupted into existence. Royal soldiers screamed, bodies collapsed, gleeful roars sliced into my awareness. Flames tore through armor, charring flesh. The ground shook.

“No,” I whispered, already running for Ahav. I spun, blocked and struck when necessary, frantic, heart hammering, searching⁠—

Elowen.

She moved like chaos in a storm, fighting three monstra at once. A beautiful, powerful sight. Ducking, rolling, striking, her twin short swords flashing silver as she carved through the enemy. Victory hovered within her grasp.

Pride flared in my chest. Then she hesitated.

Just for a breath. Speaking to a monstra. The biggest I’d ever seen, but not Ian. This one was at least double his size, with bright silver eyes and scales like living obsidian.

He opened his mouth, revealing teeth like swords. Silver fire sprayed from him—and through Elowen’s shoulder. She dropped, a cry tearing from her, raw and animal.

“Elowen!” I screamed, thrashing in the water.

Then I saw myself charging after her. My eyes were swollen, tears wetting my cheeks. I wore the green gown, a flurry of material as I passed through soldiers, smoke, and bodies like a ghost. My hands stretched for her… I would help her. Whisk her far from here.

She reached for me—the massive monstra bathed her with more of those silver flames.

Another scream ripped free, tearing my chest open.

Zoom. It snapped like a cord cut, and I was back in the cavern, the pool, choking on water, my lungs burning as I broke the surface. “No,” I bellowed.

I hauled myself out, hands shaking, vision swimming. Rage eclipsed grief in a blinding surge. I must end Ian now. No more waiting. I already had a plan. A sneak attack no one expected. I would let myself be taken captive. He would meet with me face to face, eager to claim the Ember. Forget crystallizing him. I would drown him in buckets of water.

Trembling, I reached for the only clean clothing within reach. The emerald gown. Nope. Not gonna wear it. I’d go in my undergarments and find clothes along the way.

The air shifted. I braced, on instant alert, ready to slay whatever threat approached.

Fog slithered in, spreading out. From its depths, Elowen emerged, wide-eyed and shaken. “Come quickly,” she urged. “Ian changed his strategy. The battle has already begun.”

What!

“The palace is under siege, with Mother trapped. We’re out of time.”

To prove her words, an alarm blasted through the cavern.

My pulse tripped. The vision. The battle. Elowen’s death. “You stay here. I’ll go.”

“That’s not happening,” she declared with such dominance, there was no doubt she was queen of the seas. “Come.”

“No! I just watched you die,” I cried out. “In battle. This battle. Killed by a massive beast with silver eyes.”

The color drained from her cheeks, but she nodded. “So now we know what to guard against. Let’s go.” She took my hand and tugged me forward, into the fog with her.

I cast a glance over my shoulder at Kevin.

He stood with his arms at his side, mechanical and creepy and smiling more than usual. “I’ll see you again soon, Moriah.”

With that—warning? promise?—ringing in my ears, I vanished in a pulse of light.