A Dance of Flame and Shadow (Embers of Destiny #1)

Prologue

“ T hey’re coming.” He looked over at the three of us, wide-eyed, before opening the hatch that led beneath our cottage. “You need to hide, just like we practised. When you’re under, retrieve the satchel and run to the forest as fast as you can. You remember what to do next?” I nodded, my hands trembling as I held my brother close.

“Papa!” My sister cried.

“Come with us, please,” I begged. He shook his head and knelt on the floor.

“I wish I could, my little bird, but we’ve run out of time. I love you with all my heart.” He pulled me into his arms and kissed me before helping my siblings and me down the ladder, which led to the hidden passage beneath us. He clicked the floor back into place and held his hand over the latch momentarily, as if reaching out to touch us—to hold us one last time.

In the darkness, I looked up at my father through the light peering in through the slats in the wooden flooring. Everything around us fell into silence, broken only by the faint scrape of his sword as he slowly drew it from its sheath.

“Now go! Run as fast as you can, and don’t ever look back!”