C.C. Peñaranda

A Sword from the Embers

Bia || Alpi 

His assessing silence was a battle of ire and curiosity. She took his moment of distraction to yank down his hood, wanting to see every part of her killer if that were to be her fate.

She didn't expect the stunning silver locks. Cropped to sit above his shoulders, while some strands framed his tanned complexion, two braids on either side held the rest from being a hindrance. Yet the eyes she met forced a few conscious blinks from her own. They reminded her of the night sky to which her thoughts had drifted earlier. His sapphire irises captured the stars, though it was not dreams but nightmares that lay within them. She had to tear herself from their distraction only to map every detail she could about him. His high cheekbones led to a strong jaw that twitched under her assessment. She gauged him to be no older than twenty in human years.

 shouldn't have done that," he growled. As he pushed away from her, she was drawn back to his eyes despite the promise of violence ingrained in themn. No, that was only a mask. Berneath it, she found notes of hollow sadness, something lost, and she wanted to discover what invoked it.

She was in the right mind to deny him, and if she lived beyond being trapped by the alluring killer, she might do well to reprimand herself for listening to her 

 mind. Sliding her hands under the material, she didn't break his stare, a current of 

 slowly building between them. Her long lengths of chestnut-brown hair came flowing down her chest.

"Your eyes," he said with a million thoughts behind those words. "I suppose I don't need a name. You're easy enough to find."

Her breath hitched in her throat when he reached for her hand. Her heart slammed furiously at the contact. Palm to palm, he kept their hands by her head. She wanted his fingers to slip between hers and itched with the desire to know how they'd fit together, but he didn't.

Only after a few seconds did a cool breeze wrap around her finger, alerting her to what he'd stolen. His other hand held up her ring. She lashed out for it until his fingers curled around hers, interlocking their hands. The electrifying sensation shocked her still, warmth racing up her arm to settle in her chest.

If he felt it too, he gave no reaction, admiring the gold ring with careful attention instead. It was embellished with small crystals that glinted in the moonlight: golden butterfly wings anda white opalescent body.

EITAAAAAA ent ela tava em Rhyenelle antes ???? Interessante…..

Easing out from shadows, those gold eyes pinned her, letting her know she'd been caught. They were golden like her own, yet hers could never match the otherworidly beauty of her mother's.

"I came back early. I returned" — her mother took slow steps, the waves of her impeccable red gown trailing after — "for you."

"Shh," she soothed. "I cannot blame you, Aesira."

As Aesira accepted the embrace, her mind flashed once again to the stranger who'd so desperately wanted to learn her name.

"But I need you to swear to me you won't go out alone again. The world is full of those who want to do you harm."

If only her mother knew who Aesira had met that night. A killer, yet someone far more than that, whose starry eyes defied her to remain at the forefront of her mind. For now, she could only hold onto her one sure line of safety, riddled with guilt for defying her.

She would never know why her mother didn't want to be called as such. Aesira whispered, "I promise, Marvellas."

Stumbling to her feet, dizzy in her bewilderment, he raised her hands as though expecting to see something alien. She couldn't contain her gasp as she found a single intricate pattern of golden vine trailing past the cuffs of her leathers. She tried to push up her sleeves but couldn't be certain where it ended. Then she found the symbol marking her palm. Horror drenched her.

It was unmistakable: a hollow circle with three lines scored past its circumference.

Faythe's heart beat erratically. Raising her other trembling hand, she dared to flip it over. A breath of fear left her to find she'd also been branded with Marvellas's mark: a hollow circle with a downward-pointing triangle within it and a single line striking through its circumference.

She'd seen the symbol appear before, when she'd harnessed power from a Temple Ruin. Yet now, Faythe didn't want to believe her skin had been permanently tattooed with the ancient Spirit markings. They glowed in a beautiful gold against her skin, which had caught a tan since coming to Rhyenelle.

 Her last conversation with Aurialis trickled back in as a haunting note.

Faythe didn't know how much time had passed when her emotions eventually wore her out, tired her tears, and subdued her with a numbness instead. I died," she whispered. Cheek pressed to Reylan's chest, she treasured every thump of his heart as if it beat for them both. She couldn't let him go.

Reylan stiffened. Faythe studied him taking a few calming breaths. It pained her so deeply to imagine what he'd been through, neither of them knowing for certain they would have this again.

"Transitioning" was a generous word for what it took to merge with something all-powerful. Faythe couldn't comprehend that in her new form she harbored Aurialis's power. Didn't yet know what it meant.

"You're right here," he said at last, his voice just as hushed. "You're alive. I'mn right here with you, Faythe."

Faythe forced herself to pull back, but his arms stayed around her. She searched those sapphire irises for a long moment, having felt at one with the sky in them since the moment she saw him. She ran her hand through his hair, and when her fingers reached the ends of the short silver strands, she imagined them to continue through the beautiful lengths to his shoulders.

"You once had longer hair," she said vacantly. Faythe had seen it before in Varlas's memory, but the image that focused in her mind right now felt new and personal, so clear her vision blurred.

AIIII eu adoro tanto esse casal que não é casal AAAAAAAAAAAAA

Zaiana had barely spoken a word to Maverick since they'd left Dakodas's temple. It wasn't because she held any regard for him killing the human. That should have been her act to shoulder. Perhaps she was simply waiting for repentance while Maverick held out on claiming his praise for completing the quest.

She had felt little at all since. Her mind was reinforced with steel, her chest frozen with ice. She had failed.

Twisting smoothly, she began to walk off without a response.

Maverick's hand hooked around her arm, and the snap of her gaze to him was nothing short of a violent warning. In contrast, foolish concern swirled in his obsidian irises, grating on her irritation.

"You've not been yourself since the temple," he said quietly, as though he didn't want anyone else to catch his arrogant mask faltering.

Zaiana maintained her harsh glare, snatching her arm from his grasp. "You don't have to pretend that you care. That you're 

 of caring. Dakodas hasn't requested me for anything since we arrived. I'm sure you've had plenty to do." It came out with a sneer, but she didn't care. She couldn't. Harboring no emotion was better than letting in what threatened to destroy everything she had left.

Maverick's jaw flexed. His eyes hardened. He didn't bother to deny it.

Zaiana scoffed, casting her gaze away from him as she began to stalk away. He'd never caught her off-guard before, so Zaiana could only curse her own pitifully clouded senses for not detecting Maverick's brazen movement before it was too late. He pinned her to the wall, the press of his body holding her still against the flash of rage that jolted through her.

"You're not lamenting because I killed her. You're lamenting over why you couldn't," he whispered as he leaned in. His breath rumbled across her ear, stilling her movements, for the flashback he inspired slipped past the barrier in her mind. Her ire became confused with desire for a moment. "I would do it again. If I have to choose between you or me, I'll step up every time." 

For glory. For reward. It had to be. Zaiana's flare of challenge returned. 

"Then what are you waiting for?" she hissed. "Why haven't you told her what happened in the temple?"

"Why?" he repeated, war raging in his depthless eyes. The depthless eyes of someone on the verge of slipping. As quickly as it stirred, in his next blink, Maverick's eyes matched her icy glare. "Hate me, Zaiana, by all means, but can't you see this works in our favor? I'm their villain. I took their precious princess. They'l be too focused on exacting their revenge on me to see you carrying out Dakodas's work. Isn't that what you wish?"

She gave him nothing while she calculated his words, trying to find an ulterior motive.

Se os Nightwalkers poderosos vem da Marvellas e os Oráculos da Aurialis, quer dizer que o Kyleer e os Shadowporters vem da Dakotas????? 

Dakodas displayed the full might of her gifted ability: Shadowporting. Shadows surrounded her like spilled smoke. There were either too many to contain or she simply enjoyed their company. The Spirit's fingers reached idly to play with the living tendrils as she tipped her chin elegantly upward. Zaiana's proposal seemed to please her by the slow half-curl of her mouth.

Faythe sat up fully and got to her knees, unable to drag her attention from him as her mind raced with questions she already had answers to, but which she needed to hear from him. Questions about what they were to each other.

"How long have you known?" A pain nagged her from within. His, hers — she didn't suppose it mattered. But the moment his lips parted to respond, she echoed the same words with him.

Faythe shook her head, feeling a fool for not realizing sooner. Reylan's firm expression creased.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA É ESSE MOMENTO SIM AAAAAAAAA 

"I have something I've never been able to let go of. A ring intricately crafted with golden butterfly wings. I don't know where it came from, and I suppose all this time I've rested my mind thinking it was my mother's, but that's not what I truly believe. I sealed it away and tried to forget about it... until what came to me in my dying moment not long ago seemed so familiar I had to follow it. I began to hear thoughts, but not in words. They were echoes of wonder and loneliness and dreams. I don't think I found you, Fay the. At least not at first."

Her heart thrummed so wildly at his soul-searching stare.

Faythe remembered. Her head weighed heavy as the memory flooded her. "I see you, and I hear you..." The incredulous words escaped her lips. They weren't just a promise from High Farrow.

Reylan's knees entered her vision, near touching hers. "Look at me, Faythe," he pleaded softly.

She shook her head, unable to comprehend. "I thought it was simply my own childish fantasy. I wasn't accustomed to Nightwalking and Nik was helping me to understand. But I was so lost that night. Without even realizing, I was searching, reaching, for..." The lump in her throat grew painful, but she bravely met his stare, "You were really there, weren't you? You answered me. And I think when you arrived in High Farrow, some part of me did recognize you. Enough that I couldn't fear you. It didn't make sense. You were from Rhyenelle, and I'd never left High Farrow. It wasn't possible..."

Reylan didn't move. she couldn't read his blank expression.

When I went back to my room to retrieve it, I caught a glimpse of the golden ring I didn't realize had fallen from its box and lay coated with dirt on the floor. It brought me to my knees. I dusted it off and couldn't stop apologizing for neglecting it. I felt as if rd failed it by giving up. In myself... in my search for this 

 that didn't exist. Salenhaven was my cowardly plan to run away from it all. Until I saw that ring again and knew I couldn't leave. To regain some sense of purpose, I accepted Agalhor's offer to go to High Farrow, as delirious as it sounded. I knew I could get the main task done the most efficiently. Kill his spymaster. But when we arrived there, when I went before the king, there you were. Your eyes, Faythe. Then, now, perhaps long before, something awakens in me every time. They have become my sun, and should darkness fall for good then So will I."

"Just know, before you decide what you want, I choose you, Faythe Ashfyre. With or without a bond. As humman and fae. I choose you in every life. Your promise to me was that you would always come back to me. And you did. I spent thirteen agonizing minutes believing you never would. Your heart... 

 The Word came out through a pained breath that brought fresh tears to her eyes. It struck with the ghostly truth. "Everything was so still and cold I truly believed mine had stopped too. Thirteen minutes, twenty-nine seconds. You were gone, and I couldn't stop thinking there would be no other salvation. No other search. I would have followed you, but not until I hunted down Maverick and strung out his death for talking you from me. I still plan to hold true to that. But this is my promise to you: no matter what you decide or what may try to separate us, even if you reject the bond, I will always stand by your side."

Nothing else mattered in that moment. Not time or space. War or conflict. The world around them ceased to exist. Faythe was still so riddled with confusion and uncertainty, and Reylan seemed tied to all, but right now, they'd both suffered enough.

Reylan's hands carefully grazed her hips, and Faythe lowered until no air could pass between them.

"Why didn't you tell me about the bond before?" she asked, her voice hushed, eyes darting between his. She tuned in to the quickening of his pulse, 

 a shift she deciphered as lust. So many new discoveries were expanding her world beyond what her human self imagined. What frightened her was her excitement to experience it all.

Reylan's hand didn't leave her as his fingertips curved up her spine. Her body answered as if she were molding to his every touch. Her mouth parted, and she pressed tighter to him until his palm cupped her nape.

 reason — which has already crossed your mind — why I'm standing by you. I don't choose you because of some answering bonded power. I choose you because I love every damn reckless, brave, impossible part of you."

My heart just broke for Zaiana rn 😭😭 poor thing

She turned to him. The wind picked up and she adjusted her footing against its push. Maverick braced, eyeing the ledge while trying to hold her stare. Canting her head, Zaiana shifted back, slipping her heels over the edge.

"Your wings," he bit out as if she weren't aware of her glamour.

Zaiana smirked, sliding back again until only her toes strained to keep her on the ledge. She closed her eyes, enjoying the force of the air that threatened her balance.

The air that wrapped around her felt like a pull into another realm — one that both stopped time and made it race. Hair whipped free from her braid. She knew the seconds were zipping by fast and she had to adjust her careless backward fall, yet she didn't want to. To a risky proximity she wanted to test how long she could enjoy the drop into nothingness. A part of her chanted not to twist and release her wings: a small voice full of dark taunts but also the promise of peace and liberation. Just as she was about to succumb to its demands, something wrapped around her, and her eyes flew open. Her breath whooshed at the impact, arms and legs instinctively clarmping around the force that stopped gravity's claim.

Maverick's onyx eyes were livid, his brow pinched tight with ire. Zaiana couldn't help herself-amusement broke a grin.

"You really thought Id fall to my death?" She toyed with his obvious irritation, but when he didn't respond, her smile began to fade. She quickly became aware of the position they were in. A flash of memory, but not with him.

"You just told me you feel as if you could burn the world with a thought." Reylan reflected on Faythe's words carefully. His face pulled back from where he'd been resting on her chest while her fingers weaved through his hair. "How am I supposed to leave you and go back to Ellium?"

Faythe huffed a short laugh. "Because I can't have you there to save me all the time. If I have any hope of discovering what I'm capable of, now is the opportunity." Her brow furrowed as she looked over his face, the thought of being parted so soon aching in her chest. "I don't like it either, but this is the best plan we have to find out if the dark fae know about me. One month. I didn't mention it earlier with the others because I've been thinking it over. Livia, Reuben, and I will head to Fenher. It should pass the time enough for you to at least escort Nerida home. If all is still silent, I’ll head to High Farrow. Nik will be able to keep me hidden. It seems fitting, really, to go back to where it all began. Go back to my old life."

"You weren't born to remain hidden." Reylan watched her with an air of awe. "You were born to rise. Made to defy. To carry the dreams of those who can't fight for them." 

What happened back there?" she asked carefully, examining the disturbance that hadn't left Livia's expression since they came face-to-face with Nessair.

The tremble that straightened Livia's back was so subtle Faythe might have missed the movement. It set unease in her stomach to see her so affected.

Livia shook her head. “It can't be the same person."

Faythe heard the commander's pulse drum with fear though she kept her exterior hardened.

Livia paused as she marched, and when she spoke again her words were dark and icy. "It's the name of my father. Reylan's uncle." She shook her head with a ghostly vacancy. "The one he killed."

Alone with his king, Reylan paced to ease the nerves he was unaccustomed to.

Many things. All of them circling back to her.

He had wanted to confess this for a while, but with everything they'd had to tame and control these past weeks under the guise of Faythe's death, there hadn't been a right moment. Yet Reylan's deception had begun long before this quest. He halted, and it poured out of him. "I need you to know it was never my intention to deceive you. Or her." He'd never felt like such a fumbling fool, childish even. "I also need to make it clear there is nothing I would ever do to harm her, and nothing I wouldn't risk for her. Should all of this have been a horror of reality instead, I would not have returned from such a failure. That is what she means to me."

Agalhor squared his stance. His eyes pinned him with a cool warning that dried out Reylan's throat. There was a chance it wouldn't matter, his confession. That he never had been and never would be worthy regardless of it.

No other sequence of words would make that fact any easier to deliver. Though it struck him with pride and fleeting liberation to voice the secret he'd harbored for so long, unwilling, 

, to believe such an impossible dose of magick could be real.

"I’m not the only true heir," Faythe said. It was the only thing that rang with familiarity within her. "There was another before me. Do you know what happened? How did they not succeed?"

Laughter scattered around the space, yet Faythe couldn't pin its source. It itched over her skin, and her hands rose to her ears, only halting when the Dresair eased its amusenment enough to speak again.

"Oh, dear child," it drawled. Faythe saw it had taken her her own face. It is almnost time for you to remember. We have all been waiting. Marvellas achieved her goal after all with you, but what she could not anticipate was the last sister's interference turning the end into fresh hope. You have been a pawn for too many lifetimes. Now, Faythe Ashfyre, you must become her doom."

Dreaded images that didn't make sense tried to enter her mind, but Faythe clamped her eyes shut and cast it all away. She saw flaming red hair and eyes golden like her own, but these ones with an added ethereal fire. So much terror filled her., and she couldn't breathe, couldn't think. She wanted to run from her own mind so as not to see the visions that tried to push through.

"I’ve given you a lot. More than perhaps I should. But I have spent far too long in this forsaken place."

Zaiana waited for the probing or mocking or taunting over what it was.

She slid her eyes back to him just in time to see a small, thoughtful frown vanish as he continued his examination. Just below the cross guard he squinted.

 he recited. "It's not of the Old Language." He didn't ask her again. He twisted his wrist once, though the sword was not at all of a comparable size to what he should wield. "Impressive blade," he admired all the same.

He tilted his head. "Tm trying to figure you out."

She didn't expect his honesty. Her head fell back against the stone. When you do, enlighten me."

He'd first heard of the disruptions weeks ago. Reylan himself had dispatched several patrols to the outer towns where Raiders were being conveniently outed, though none of his soldiers had been able to find out how.

Until Izaiah witnessed who was behind it ali.

Reylan had been filled with pride but also riddled with anxiety that they weren't entirely sticking to the plan. Faythe was masked. Smart. But he couldn't rest easy knowing she was deliberately getting in harm's way. Though he couldn't blame her for needing some excitement.

"Do you really just sulk in her rooms every night?" Izaiah strolled around the games room, peering into the bedroom that remained untouched.

Reylan felt the rippling essence of magick before the shadows dispersed.

"He does. It's unnerving," Kyleer chimed in.

Faythe freed her blade, but Maverick simply watched her, waiting. Her grip was painful to offset her tremor. Then Faythe heard shuffling from behind her, and as she spared a glance, she didn't think the world could tunnel avway from her farther. It was simply unbelievable that the fates could condemn her like this time and time again.

"You make it too easy, Faythe," Maverick taunted. "Don't you know capturing leaders only leaves behind vengeful followers?"

She looked out over the bodies climbing up the hill. So many fae. Some she recognized, and with Maverick's words she concluded who they were.

The dark fae sang, "The time for hiding is over, 

I don't have enough words to explain what this book did to me. I love almost every part of it, what I didn't enjoy were the spicy scene (lots of them) that give me the feeling that it was just to fill the pages, or maybe because this was trending when the book was published. But overall, I'm in love and I couldn't see all the betraying from everyone not even a bit. 

A Sword from the Embers

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