A Shadow in the Ember (Flesh and Fire 1)

“Good.” I stepped out from under the alcove into the too-bright sunlight and didn’t look back.

Not once as I led the boy away.

“I see I was correct.” Ezra noted the moment I sat across from her in the carriage after depositing the boy beside Marisol.

“About what?”

Ezra flicked a finger toward my chest. I looked down, seeing dark spots sprinkled across the freckles there. I sighed.

“Did you kill that man?”

Smoothing out the skirts of the gown, I crossed my ankles. “I believe he slipped and fell upon my blade.”

“Was it his throat that fell upon your blade?”

“Odd, right?”

“Odd, indeed.” Ezra tilted her head to the side as she stared blankly at me. “That happens quite often around you.”

“Unfortunately.” I arched a brow at my stepsister. “Men with careless fists should be more mindful of where they step.”

A faint smile appeared on Ezra’s face. “You know, you do frighten me a little.”

I turned to the carriage window as we rolled down the sunny street. “I know.”

Chapter 9

Fractured sunlight streamed through the thickly branched elms as I walked through the forest toward the lake. What I had done to Nor threatened to haunt each step. I felt nothing with just a little bit of…something.

Something I didn’t like.

Something I didn’t want to think about.

I pictured the smile of relief on Nate’s face, how toothy and contagious it had been when he saw his sister waiting for him at the orphanage along the Cliffs of Sorrow. I tried to use that to replace the image of his father’s shocked, wide eyes. I thought of the joyous rush the boy made toward his sister. I watched through the carriage window instead of dwelling on the utter lack of remorse I felt for ending a man’s life.

Or I tried to, at least. My stomach gave another sharp twist as I passed the musky-scented wildflowers growing into thick bushes at the base of the elms. What is wrong with you? My voice echoed in my thoughts, over and over. Something had to be, right? My palms dampened, and I carefully made my way over the branches that had fallen, and the sharp rocks hidden under the foliage—hidden just like the wake of death I was leaving behind.

Something beautiful and powerful…

I didn’t feel like either of those things.

Two mortals had come for me since the night I’d failed, having learned my identity and thinking to use it to gain whatever they wanted. There were three more, including Nor, that had met death at the end of my blade. None of them were good people. They were all as unworthy as I was. Abusers. Murderers. Rapists. Death would’ve found them eventually. Five had died by my hand on the orders of my mother, and they didn’t include the Vodina Isles Lords. Fourteen. I had ended fourteen lives.

What is wrong with you?

My stomach churned again, and I blew out a ragged breath. Barely any sunlight penetrated this deep into the forest, and it was slightly cooler here, but my skin was sticky like those wood floors in that chamber. Tacky with sweat and blood. I was half tempted to pull the cape and gown off now. I could. I knew no one else would enter these woods. Everyone was afraid of the Dark Elms—even Sir Holland. But I kept my clothing on because walking in a slip or nude through the woods just seemed odd, even for me—

A sudden rustling of bushes stopped me mid-step. The sound…it had come from behind me. Spinning, I scanned the trees. There weren’t just spirits in the Dark Elms. Bears and large cave cats called the forest home, too. As did barrats, which grew to ungodly sizes, wild boars, and—

A shock of brown and red burst out from the foliage ahead, startling me. I stumbled and then jerked back against the trunk of the nearest elm, heart dropping at the flash of russet fur breaking through the trees. For a moment, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

It was a kiyou wolf.

They were the largest breed of wolves in all the kingdoms. I’d often heard their calls in the woods, and sometimes even from within the castle. But I’d only seen one up close; when I was half the size I was now. The white wolf.

Every single muscle in my body locked. I didn’t dare make a sound or breathe too deeply. Kiyou wolves were notoriously fierce, as wild as they were beautiful, and not exactly friendly. If someone got too close to them, they usually paid dearly for it, and I prayed it didn’t see me. That it wasn’t hungry. Because I hadn’t even reached for my blade. There was no way I could kill a wolf. A rat the size of a wild boar? Yes. That I could stab all day and night.

The wolf rushed over a moss-blanketed boulder, its hefty paws kicking up loose soil and small rocks. It took several shocking leaps past where I stood, seemingly unaware of me. I still didn’t move as it went to jump again. My breath caught when it stumbled. The wolf’s legs simply crumpled beneath it, and it went down onto its side with a heavy thud.