Chapter 17 A Golden Cage
A Golden Cage
“Killian Vargr, is your Vegvisir broken?” Ember huffed, as she carried her breakfast plate to the sink.
Killian leaned against the counter, grabbing an apple from the fruit basket, and took a bite. “Of course not,” he replied, as he chewed.
“Then, why on earth,” Ember sighed, “would you not Helio before just popping over?”
Killian shrugged as he took another bit from his apple. “We have a lot to do today. No time to waste, Starshine.” And with that, he tossed his apple in the bin and made his way toward the stairs in the foyer.
Ember ran a hand down her face. It was going to be a long day.
“You comin’?” Killian grinned, popping his head around the corner again.
Ember sighed with a nod, following him up the steps toward the library.
She still hadn’t gotten used to the size of her new home—the way the halls wound in and out of each other like a labyrinth, the secret passages that led between rooms, the piles of books that seemed to line each and every wall.
She could feel her father here, traces of his magic were intertwined in every ancient fiber and grain of wood.
It was home—her home. Her father’s home.
So, why did it feel like something was missing?
“Alright, now where were we?” Killian asked, as he waltzed into the library and toward the stack of books Ember had left on the table.
Early morning light filtered in through the window, bathing the oak and mahogany shelves in a warm light.
She shuffled through the books, grabbing one off the bottom of one of the stacks, and flipped it open to where she had last left off.
“Conversations about food, I think,” she replied, as she scanned the pages.
“No, no, we finished that one,” Killian said, as he tapped his chin. “Was it the history of Ireland?”
“No, that was last week,” Ember replied, as she shook her head. Silence fell over them as they scanned the pages until Killian chimed in.
“So, have you talked to your mum about going to the Kitts’ to practice soon?” he asked casually, as he flipped through one of the books. “You’ll never get better if you don’t practice.”
Ember snatched the book from his hand. “I’m doing perfectly well, thank you,” she quipped, “and maybe in a few weeks. I don’t want to offend my mum.”
“Offend her?” Killian scoffed. “What about you spending time with your brother and his best friend is offensive?”
“He’s not my brother,” Ember whispered, sifting through the pile she had on the table behind her, “not anymore.” She could almost feel Killian roll his eyes as she turned around.
“Family is more than who you were born to,” he replied, like her statement had personally offended him.
“What about, ‘Blood is thicker than water,’ and all that?” she asked, stalking to a shelf on the opposite wall.
Killian followed her and yanked her around by her shoulder. “That’s not how that quote goes,” he replied, “not entirely. It’s: ‘The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.’”
Ember narrowed her eyes at him. “So, am I supposed to just forget about my mum? And Theo? Go running back to the Kitts’ and pretend she just doesn’t exist?” She was fuming, smoke might as well have been pouring from her ears.
“That’s not what I said,” Killian replied, as he shook his head. “You can love your mum and Theo and continue to love the Kitts. Family is more than just blood—so much more.” He spoke with a conviction that made him almost transparent—a glimpse into what he felt about his own family, no doubt.
“Just because you have awful parents and can’t stand to be at home,” Ember muttered, “doesn’t mean I do too. We are not the same, Killian Vargr.”
Killian’s eyes widened, and he looked like she had shot an arrow straight through his chest.
Ember squeezed her eyes shut. She hadn’t meant for it to come out that harsh, and she immediately regretted it. “Can we talk about it later?”
Killian nodded as he bit his lip, shaking away whatever clouds were momentarily hovering over his head. “Okay, I have an idea. How about a little quiz?”
Ember cocked her brow and shook her head. “I don’t know if I’m ready for a quiz.”
“Of course you are.” He grinned. “Shall we?”
Ember gave a small nod and flexed her hands by her side. Killian began spouting off words and phrases, some that she remembered with ease and some she had to think about longer than she would’ve cared to admit.
“Did you say, ‘Ember the Brave?’” she asked with a laugh.
“Aye,” Killian nodded, “the bravest of us all.” He stood at attention, giving her a mock salute, and his eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled.
“I am anything but brave.” Ember shook her head, crossing her arms tightly over her chest.
“You are one of the bravest people I have ever met,” Killian said, as he leaned against the table. “The way you stood up against Rowan last year? You saved the whole island, and no one even knows it.”
“Bravery can look an awful lot like stupidity in the wrong lighting,” she replied, laughing dryly as she rolled her eyes.
“Don’t do that,” Killian said, narrowing his eyes at her.
“Do what?”
“Talk about yourself like you’re not worthy of anything you want to achieve.”
Ember rolled her eyes as she leaned against the table. “That’s easy for you to say,” she sighed. “It’s easy to be wealthy and successful if you’re born into wealth and handed success.”
Killian sighed as he shook his head. “Aye,” he shrugged, “but a golden cage is still just a cage, Starshine.”
Ember wrung her hands as she looked around the library.
Tall, arched ceilings and big open windows, gold details swirling across the mahogany and oak bookshelves.
There was more money in this one room of her house than many families on the island had put together.
She always imagined there would be a certain feeling of freedom that would come with living in a home like this—a feeling of reprieve from the fear and flight she had felt her entire life.
But where the fear used to live was now replaced with guilt.
Guilt over the dryads that tended to the grounds at the manor and the payment she knew they didn’t receive.
Guilt about Gaelen being trapped here, forced to work after being stolen from her family gods knew how long ago.
Guilt over her little brother being raised without their father and with a mother who didn’t even truly understand her own children—a mother who didn’t seem bothered to learn sign language to communicate with him or truly learn anything about who they were and what they loved outside of Ember when she was six years old.
Guilt that he wouldn’t ever know the mother that raised her because that woman seemed to be lost forever.
Was this her prison now?
“Alright, one more, Starshine,” Killian said, as he pushed off the table and clapped his hands together. He made quick motions with his fingers, hands moving like he was born with the knowledge.
Ember wrinkled her nose as she concentrated, trying to keep up. As he finished the phrase, he took a step back and crossed his arms over his chest. “Um,” Ember said, as she furrowed her brow, “something about a chair?”
“Aye,” Killian grinned, stepping closer, “and?”
“And…” Ember said thoughtfully, “something about a library? The chair in the library?”
Killian’s grin grew wider as he nodded. “You’re very close, Starshine,” he almost whispered, brushing a strand of hair from in front of her eyes. “The chair in the library, by the—"
“Window,” Ember whispered, swallowing dryly as she bit her lip. “That’s as far as I got.”
A quiet knock sounded on the doorframe, and Ember and Killian whipped their heads around to find Theo standing there, a smirk painted across his face. His eyes locked with Killian, and he cocked his brow, and Killian’s cheeks turned bright red.
“Right,” he said, as he cleared his throat, taking a step back. “Lesson over for the day, I think.”
Theo walked further into the room, signing something before ducking his head with a small grin.
“Ice cream?” Ember laughed. “It’s freezing outside, and you want to go for ice cream?”
Theo’s grin grew, lighting up his entire face as he violently nodded his head, clapping his hands together in front of him like he was pleading.
“That sounds like a brilliant idea.” Killian grinned, clapping Theo on the shoulder and walking with him to the door. “You coming, Starshine?”
Ember rolled her eyes, throwing her bag over her shoulder and following them toward the door. They made their way down the many steps, and Ember walked to the front door, but Killian and Theo stayed behind.
“Terminal,” Theo signed and nodded back behind him.
“He’s right.” Killian nodded. “You’re bound to have a traveling room. It’ll be much quicker than the Echopoint.”
Ember nodded, furrowing her brow. She hadn’t seen a terminal door since she’d moved in, and she assumed everyone’s would be under some steps or in a closet.
Theo grabbed her hand, dragging her around the corner, through the sitting room, and toward the back of the house.
They entered through a set of double doors, into a small room the size of an office.
There was a coat rack to the right, a small chair, and a fireplace to the left, and in the middle of the wall directly in front of her was a beautiful wooden door.
A large, ornate tree was carved into the wood, its limbs and roots stretching to the edges of the frame.
Killian walked toward the door, tapping the brass knob a few times, and waited until the tree on the door began to glow. “Shall we?” he said, as he motioned Ember into the room.
She nodded, all of a sudden feeling like that fifteen-year-old girl who had just learned magic was real. She felt Theo gently grab her hand and squeeze. He looked up at her smiling, big green eyes sparkling against the sun shining through the window.
Killian swung the door open, and the trio stepped through into Yggdrasil Terminal and then out onto Waterware Street.