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28. Vale

Chapter 28

Vale

T he castle had settled into an uneasy silence as the night bled to day and back into night. The air still carried the weight of what had happened. The stone walls bore scorch marks and cracks from the battle, and the lingering scent of ash clung to everything. The wards had been repaired, the gates fortified, but none of it seemed like enough.

I hadn’t seen Idris once since he’d sent me with Freya. He’d managed to avoid me all day, his presence in the bond distant and cold. Not severed—never severed—but strained enough to make my chest ache. All of our bonds were damaged, hurting, and I didn’t know if they could ever be repaired.

I could feel them now, though, a constant pulse of anger and fear simmering beneath the surface of my skin. They were in the war room, waiting, though for what, I wasn’t sure. A faint flicker of hope bloomed in my chest that maybe they were waiting for me, but as I pushed through the heavy doors, I knew that wasn’t the case.

Idris, Kian, and Xavier were gathered around a wide table, their voices low but tense. The air crackled with unspoken frustration. Idris was standing at the head of the table, his arms braced against it, golden eyes fixed on the map spread before him. His conjured armor had been discarded in favor of simple black leathers, but there was nothing casual about his posture. He was a king ready for war—focused, unyielding, and furious.

“You’re late,” he barked, his voice cutting through the tension like a blade. He didn’t look up, his gaze fixed on the map as though it might hold the answers we’d all been searching for.

“I wasn’t aware this was a meeting.”

The bond pulsed faintly between us, his irritation spiking like a lance in my heart. And he wasn’t the only one on edge. Kian and Xavier’s fear and pain and rage bombarded me, muddling my thoughts, making everything ten times harder than it needed to be.

“It isn’t,” Xavier murmured, his gaze softening as it met mine. He was seated near the fireplace, his posture more relaxed but no less watchful. “We’re trying to figure out our next steps. Malvor’s attack wasn’t just a raid—it was a message. And we need to be ready for what’s coming and that’s difficult to do when over half the council is scattered to the wind. Most of them fled when we were attacked. The ones that stayed are banged up but breathing. We’re running on a skeleton crew, and we need to regroup. We never expected Girovia to align with Direveil.”

“They didn’t. Malvor was working on his own. And what’s coming is Zamarra,” I said, moving closer to the table. “Malvor made that clear enough.”

The dark mage’s words echoed in my mind, a poison I couldn’t shake. Zamarra’s chains are breaking, little queen. Every realm trembles because of what you’ve done.

He’d been right. The moment I broken Idris’ curse, I’d felt it—a shift in the magic of the realms. It wasn’t just the return of Idris’ dragon or magic flooding back into the continent. It was something older, darker. A fracture deep within the Dreaming. I’d seen it myself when I’d confronted Zamarra in the jagged black edges of her prison.

And then there was the shadow I’d felt since. The oppressive weight of her presence pressing against the edge of my mind. I hadn’t told the others, but I’d felt her watching me, her claws scraping at the corners of my thoughts. She was free. Not fully, not yet, but it would only be a matter of time.

And Nyrah—gods, Nyrah was in her sights.

“Wait.” Xavier froze, his icy gaze pinning me to the spot. “Zamarra? What do you mean, Zamarra?”

“She’s coming back,” I said, the weight of the truth settling on my shoulders. “She’s breaking free. Malvor wasn’t here for us. He came because of her—to stop her by killing me. This battle—all this death, was to kill me, to prevent her from digging her claws into the Waking world. And she doesn’t plan on stopping with me. Nyrah—she’s next. He told me so.”

There was a beat of silence, the tension thick enough to choke. Kian’s expression darkened, his sharp gaze darting to Idris. “Please tell me this is some kind of cruel joke.”

Idris’ jaw tightened, his golden eyes narrowing. “How do you know this?”

“Because I’ve seen her,” I said, my voice steady despite the storm raging in my chest. Freya had been so wrong. All of this was on me. “In the Dreaming. After Rune, I— She was there. And she’s not just after me—she’s after everything. The Waking, the Dreaming, all of it. Breaking the curse didn’t just set you free. It didn’t just free your magic. It loosened her chains, too.”

Kian swore under his breath. “So Malvor was her pawn?”

I shook my head. “He was trying to stop her. But now he’s dead, and she’s coming.”

Idris let out a bitter laugh. “And what exactly do you propose we do?” he snapped, finally looking up, his gaze no less cutting than it had been since I’d stabbed him in the heart. Those golden eyes burned with fury, but there was something else there, too. Guilt? Fear? I couldn’t tell, and he didn’t give me any time to figure it out. “You unleashed her, Vale. You broke the curse, and now the realm is at risk. So, tell me—how do we fix this?”

I flinched, his words cutting deeper than I expected. “You think I don’t know that? You think I don’t feel the weight of it every second? I didn’t have a choice, Idris. I did it to save you. To save us.”

His laugh was cold, humorless. “Save us? Take a look around, Vale. The castle is in ruins, the wards are barely holding, and the kingdom is on the brink of collapse. Tell me again how this saved us. And now we’re supposed to believe she’s targeting your sister?”

“Enough,” Kian growled, moving between us. His amber eyes flashed as he placed a hand on Idris’ shoulder, forcing him to take a step back. “This isn’t helping.”

Idris shrugged him off, but he didn’t press further. Instead, he directed his gaze back to the map, his jaw tight as silence fell over the room.

I exhaled shakily, my hands curling into fists at my sides. “Zamarra isn’t just a threat to the realm. She’s a threat to my family. Malvor said she’s after Nyrah, and if she gets her hands on her?—”

“You have no clue what she wants with Nyrah or if this bastard of a mage was telling the truth,” Idris interrupted, his tone icy. “And running off to find her will only make you an easier target. I’ve already mourned you once. Do me a favor and don’t make me do it twice.”

His harsh words cut like a blade, but I stood my ground, meeting his golden glare with every ounce of strength I could muster. “What do you suggest I do? Sit here and wait? Watch as Zamarra tears apart everything I love?”

“I suggest you trust us,” Xavier cut in, his voice calm but firm. “You think you’re the only one who wants to protect Nyrah? You think we don’t care about what happens to her—or to you?”

“That’s not what I—” I broke off, my hands landing on the daggers at my hips. I couldn’t do this. Not with them. Not now. “You don’t understand.”

“Then make us understand,” Kian said, his amber gaze steady and unwavering. “Let us help, Vale. Whatever it is you think you have to do alone, you don’t.”

But I couldn’t. Because this wasn’t just about Nyrah or Zamarra or even the kingdom. This was about me. The choices I’d made, the lives I’d cost, the bonds I’d fractured. Idris couldn’t even look at me without his anger bubbling to the surface, and Xavier and Kian... they were trying, but I felt the strain.

They didn’t trust me—not fully. And why should they? I didn’t even trust myself.

Pained silence stretched between us, thick with tension and unspoken words. Idris finally broke it, turning back to the map with a frustrated sigh. “This is a waste of time. If Zamarra’s really coming, then we need to fortify the castle, regroup the council, and prepare for war. Chasing ghosts won’t save anyone.”

His dismissal cut deeper than I cared to admit. I swallowed hard, forcing the words that burned on my tongue back down. What was the point? He’d already made up his mind, and I wasn’t about to fight a battle I couldn’t win.

Without another word, I turned and left the room, the heavy doors slamming shut behind me. The cold, empty corridors stretched ahead, each step echoing in the silence. My chest ached, the weight of everything pressing down on me until I thought I might shatter under it.

They didn’t understand.

They couldn’t.

But that wasn’t their fault this time. It was mine. I’d shattered their trust when I broke the curse, and now I was breaking them again. The bonds that had once been so bright and steady, now flickered weakly, strained by anger and fear and everything I couldn’t say.

I reached Idris’ chambers and shut the door behind me, leaning against it as I tried to catch my breath. The room was dark, the only light coming from the faint glow of the moon through the window. My gaze landed on the small, worn satchel I’d packed earlier, hidden beneath the edge of the bed. I reached under the mattress, pulling the worn, half-broken book from its depths. Lirael’s words echoed in my head as I stuffed it into the satchel.

The book, my daughter. You must go back to the book.

I’d known this was coming. From the moment Malvor had spoken Nyrah’s name, I’d known what I had to do. But knowing didn’t make it any easier.

I moved to the window, my fingers brushing against the cold glass as I stared out at the night. What I would give to hear Rune’s voice right now.

Gods, you bastard. Why did you make me do this? He’ll never forgive me now.

But Rune didn’t answer. Of course he didn’t. I was alone. And until I found Nyrah, I would always be alone.

The castle below was quiet, but the scars of the battle were still visible—the broken walls, the bloodstained snow, the flickering wards. This was my doing. My choice.

But Nyrah didn’t have to pay for it. I could still save her. I could still do something right.

The bonds with Idris, Kian, and Xavier pulsed faintly in the back of my mind, a reminder of everything I was leaving behind. A part of me wanted to reach out, to tell them the truth, to ask for their help. But I couldn’t. Not when I was the one who had broken us in the first place.

I turned away from the window, grabbing the satchel and slinging it over my shoulder. My heart ached as I took one last look around the room. Just hours ago, I’d shared that bed with Idris, cementing the bond that I feared would never be repaired.

But there was no room for hesitation.

Not anymore.

Swallowing down my tears, I moved into the corridor, the silent castle suffocating me as I picked my way through the wreckage, my heart breaking just a little more with every step.

When I reached the ward, I carefully sliced through it, repairing the cut once I slipped past, adding a little more power to the magic so the protection would hold as long as it had to.

This side of the ward, I almost couldn’t feel my mates at all, and the first tear raced down my cheek as the loss hit me.

I’d done what he’d always needed me to do. I’d broken the curse—I’d freed him. He didn’t need me anymore. And Kian, Xavier? They’d find someone else—someone better. Someone they could trust.

I wiped away my tears. There was no time for those—not if I wanted to save my sister. Readjusting my pack, I slipped into the shadows and disappeared into the night.

I had a sister to find.

Thank you so much for reading Stolen Embers. I can’t express just how much I love Vale, Kian, Xavier, and Idris along with their ragtag bunch of friends. And we aren’t quite done yet!

Next up is Broken Fates and all the crazy, dragon shifter shenanigans that is to come. I hope you’re buckled in to see Vale & company contend with their crazy mate bond, the raging war, and the aftermath of breaking the curse!

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