Chapter Two

“Vexen,” a male voice emerged from the shadows of the misty jungle.

Vex frowned in its direction and stood. “Rahu, is that you?”

A man with skin even darker than Vexen's and yellow eyes stepped out of the jungle and into our spot of sun. His eyes caught the light and glowed for a second before he ducked his head and held out his hand. “It's been a long time, cousin.”

“Yes, it has.” Vex shook the man's hand.

I stood up, looking from Vexen to his cousin, noting the difference in attire and attitude. Rahu was dressed in loose cotton dyed in the shades of the jungle—deep green, rich brown, and black. His hair was longer than Vexen's—to his waist, where Vex wore his to mid-back. He did wear the same braids at his temples to hold back his hair, but Rahu's braids were bound with strips of leather knotted around bits of bone. His boots were a patchwork of leather and laced to his knees, he had a dagger strapped to his hip, and odd symbols were tattooed on his forearms. Symbols similar to the ones in Vexen's tattoos.

“I come by to check on your place now and then,” Rahu said. “Just to make sure it's still standing and no animals have taken up residence.” He grinned, showing bright white fangs. “I didn't expect to find you here.”

“I brought a friend.” Vexen gestured me over. “We needed to get away for a while.”

“A friend, eh? Do you always roll around in the grass with your friends?” Rahu started to smile, but then got a good look at me. His smile vanished.

Vexen's entire demeanor changed along with Rahu's. I had been coming forward to meet his cousin, but he flung out an arm and pushed me back as he slid between us. “He's a wraith lord, Rahu. And he's with me.”

“I don't give a fuck who he's with and there's no fucking way that he's a wraith lord. He's human. How dare you bring him into our village?!”

“Whoa!” I held up my hands. “The world is changing. The Emperor has adopted a human girl. We are not your enemies. We never were. Death Magic was used against.”

“Because your kind are too weak to protect yourself from it. You are without magic,” Rahu hissed. “It's an abomination against the Goddess.”

“Is that what you think?” I growled and stepped around Vex. “I happen to have met the Goddess, motherfucker. She loves me. She thinks I'm the key to ending the war. Oh, and one more thing.” I held up my hand, and it burst into flames. “I don't just have magic. I have all of them!” The fire hissed as water consumed it. “How's that for a weak human?”

Rahu's expression went horrified.

“Ember,” Vex said in a chiding tone as he pulled me back again. “I'm handling it.”

“He's being a dick,” I said.

“He has good reason to.”

“Excuse me?” I turned to Vex, as horrified as Rahu.

“His sister was killed by the Corrupted,” Vexen said. “A lot of my people were.”

“Yeah?” I snarled. “Well, that wasn't humans. It was the Corrupter. And now we know it wasn't even the Corrupter. It was Death. So, how does he have a good reason to hate humans?”

“It's a good reason for him. In his mind ,” Vex said gently as he took my upper arms. “Let the magic go, please.”

I looked down and realized that my hand was still coated in water. “Oh. Sorry.” I dispersed the magic.

“He has magic,” Rahu was finally coming out of his daze. “That human has magic! ”

“I'm surprised you haven't heard of him,” Vex said. “Word has spread across Varr about the human wraith lord with power even greater than a Varraen.”

“Greater than a Varraen?”

“Yes. Ember has mastered all the elements and Spirit,” Vex said proudly. “Don't you see, Rahu? He is a living symbol of the Goddess' love for all her children. She does not see humans as abominations.”

Rahu's face twitched as he looked from his cousin to me. “A human wraith lord with magic.” He shook his head. “No. Not possible. This is a trick.”

“It's not a trick,” Vexen said patiently. “How would we know you were coming here? We came to be alone. We wouldn't have prepared a trick on the off-chance that you showed up.”

“Alone,” Rahu said slowly. He blinked and then snarled. “You're fucking a human?!”

“Enough,” Vexen growled, finally losing patience. “I've given you some leeway because we're kin and I know your past, but that is as far as it goes, Rahu. He's important to me.”

“You said he was just a friend,” Rahu sneered.

“Only because I'm waiting for him to love me!” Vexen shouted.

The following silence was deep, somehow echoing in my ears. Even deeper than that.

Rahu gaped at Vex. “What the fuck? Who are you?”

“Who are you?” Vexen shot back. “The man I knew wouldn't reject reason for blind hatred. I assume it's too sudden. That you need time. So, I'm going to let you think about it, Rahu.” He glanced at me. “Ember.”

“Yeah, I'll go,” I said.

“You're not going anywhere, human ,” another man said as he stepped out of the trees.

With ten others.

They surrounded us and started looking very intimidating. The bared fangs were a big factor.

“Tell them to stand down, Rahu,” Vexen said.

“You tell them.”

“This man is a wraith lord!” Vex shouted at the other Tiger Ladrin. “He is blessed by the Goddess with magic. If you move against him, you are attacking me and all the other lords.”

The men paused and looked at each other.

“Rahu, is that true?” one of them asked.

I pulled my wraith lord pendant out for them to see. “It's true, but if you need more proof, I'm happy to oblige.”

“Ember, please,” Vex said. “These are my people.”

“I'm trying to solve this peacefully,” I said. “I don't want to hurt them.”

“Just go,” he growled. “They think you need me to fade you.”

“He can fade?” another man asked.

“I'm a fucking wraith lord!” I snarled. “I've already proved it to your friend over there, but he refuses to accept it.” I summoned a wind tunnel around Vex and me. It was a non-confrontational way to protect us and prove yet again that I had magic. “There!” I shouted over the wind. “Do you believe me now?”

“Damn it, Ember!” Vex grabbed me.

He didn't say another word, just faded us back to the Wraith Lord Citadel.