A Shadow in the Ember (Flesh and Fire 1)

“Thank you,” Ash said, his gaze still boring into me. A wave of tiny bumps spread across my skin. “Ector?”

The god cleared his throat. “Y-Yes?”

“Make sure the guards on the Rise are at all four corners and at the bay. Then make sure those at the Crossroads know to alert us at once if anyone arrives from another Court. Go now,” Ash ordered, his focus still on me. “And go fast.”

Alarm raced through me as Ector left at once. “Why…why are you doing that?”

Shadows continued gathering under Ash’s skin as he kept staring at me. “I felt what you just did. All of us did.”

“We all did, too,” Nektas’s voice startled me. I looked up to see him entering through the hall I’d come through. He was shirtless, his long crimson-streaked hair windblown. His flesh appeared…harder than before, the ridges of scales more defined. Had he just shifted?

I watched Jadis peel away from Reaver’s side and rush toward her father. He bent and picked her up. “I don’t understand.”

“That was a ripple of power,” Ash said, and my attention shifted back to him. I stepped back from the table, from where Gemma’s blood pooled. “One hell of a ripple of power, liessa. One that will most likely be felt through all of Iliseeum by many gods and Primals. There is no doubt in my mind that others will come searching for the source.”

My stomach twisted. “I…I didn’t know it caused a ripple of power. I assume that’s a bad thing?”

“Depends on who felt it.” A predatory edge had settled into Ash’s features. “It could be a very bad thing.”

I opened my mouth and reached for my dagger. Through the gown, I pressed my hand against the hilt. “When will we know if it is a very bad thing?”

Ash had tracked my movements, and his smile held a cold savageness. “Soon.” He took a step toward me. “That wasn’t the first time you did that, was it?”

I locked up.

“Liessa,” Ash all but purred, his chin dropping as he slowly rounded the table. I glanced quickly at the other gods and draken, but I doubted any of them would intervene. “I’ve felt that before. Over the years. Never that strongly, and I didn’t know what it was. Couldn’t even exactly pinpoint where it was coming from.”

I stiffened. He…he’d felt it before?

“And I know for a damn fact that I wasn’t the only one who felt it before,” he said, shadows starting to gather and move under the table, drifting toward him. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nektas motion for Reaver to come to him. “The night at the lake, liessa. I felt it earlier that day. I felt it the night before I came for you.” The area behind him began to thicken enough that I could no longer see Nektas. “And I felt it recently, the day you went into the Red Woods and the entombed gods broke ground.”

My heart pounded fast.

“The Hunters…they came for you twice that I know of,” Ash said, and I jolted. “Yes.” He nodded. “That is what they must be searching for. And I bet that is what Cressa and the other two gods are also looking for.”

“What?” My chest twisted. “You said it was—”

“That was what I thought until now.” Ash was only a few feet from me, the shadows behind him taking the shape of wings. “Now, I know they were searching for the source of the ripple of power, and somehow the mortals got mixed up in it.”

“Why? Why would they care? Why would they hurt them if they believed it had been them?”

“Because that kind of ripple should not be felt in the mortal realm.” His swirling eyes met mine. “Or even in Iliseeum. If I had felt it in any other part of Iliseeum, any part that was closer to the mortal realm, it would’ve drawn me out, too. Because the kind of power I just felt now? Many would take that as a threat.” He shook his head. “You are so incredibly lucky, liessa.”

I didn’t feel very lucky right then.

“Why did you not tell me about this?” When I said nothing, his head tilted. “Don’t go quiet on me now, liessa.” An achingly cold smile crossed his features. I gritted my teeth. “Where is all that foolish bravery of yours?”

“Maybe you’re scaring her,” Aios suggested from somewhere behind the pulsing shadow wings.

“No. Sera doesn’t scare that easily.” Ash stood in front of me, so close that I tasted citrus and fresh air when I breathed. I tipped my head back. “Sera knows very little of fear. Isn’t that right, liessa?”

“Right,” I managed to force out.

His skin thinned as his head dipped. Icy breath coasted over my cheek. “Then why didn’t you tell me about this little talent of yours?”