Chapter 42 #2
“I did everything they commanded until I was seventeen. I was so angry over everything I’d lost at that point, I wanted to bite back.
So I ran again.” Something hardened in her voice, and a bolt of pride shot through Roremar’s blood.
“I was almost of age. I had never completed all my proper lessons, but my mother had taught me more than any tutor could even before her death. She’d had an exceptional upbringing, and my magic was much stronger than most. I wanted to finish the qualifying rituals.
To complete the Fatorum Revelus, ascend as a full warrior, and earn the expanse of my Fate ties. ”
Unable to resist anymore, Roremar got to his feet, pushing the door open a couple more inches so he could watch her.
Emmeline gathered herself, hugging her knees tighter. “I enrolled in a school far from home, all the way near the coast of Gallantia, and completed the rituals. Then, I began my hunt.”
For the man who killed her mother?
Again, as if she heard the question, she said, “I killed the man who broke into our home two years later, but he was easy. A hired drunk. No, he wasn’t who I sought.”
One fingertip traced a line in the water, and Roremar almost sank to his knees in relief at seeing her move. Like sharing the weight of each sentence she’d kept bottled up for so long thawed her further. Cemented something between them instead, something he couldn’t name but wanted to carry.
“The temple near our home was the one who took my sister when I was seven. My parents barely spoke of her after, but I never forgot. She was my best friend. Only friend I ever had. And one day, they just took her.
“As I watched my mother’s blood pool on the floor when I was eleven and became utterly alone, I vowed I wouldn’t rest until I found my sister and killed the men who did it. I’m still looking.”
That was it. So many missing pieces of Emmeline DeLeoste slid into place, this puzzle he’d been trying to construct taking shape.
The reason she hunted at night. She was trying to track down her sister by finding information about the temple claimings.
Most of those kids never saw their families again. He had always been so fucking grateful it was on the continent and the children on Lyra were safe. That being forgotten on these islands had left them peace in one way.
Except at some point, the rot had spread here. Those responsible hid out on the Constellation Isles, to be forgotten with the rest of them. They didn’t know Emmeline was on their tails.
It was why she became a ghost in the night. Why she donned those leathers and became his Huntress.
If they took her sister, their family probably all had powerful magic. Emmeline did, so it would make sense it was in the bloodline. It would have to be really strong to warrant them chasing her and her mother down, but all the explanations lined up.
Finally, she made sense.
And she’d lost so fucking much to be here now.
To face that past tonight. The dancing. The snakes.
She’d turned herself into a serpent among the criminals, sliding effortlessly through the night and sinking poisonous fangs into men who leeched power from Starsearcher children. She’d become their own monster.
But her scars ran as deep as his own. And he knew how hard that was to live with. She may have become that ghost in the night, haunting the doorsteps of the vile, but he couldn’t let her become a ghost for good.
Hesitantly, he crossed the bathing chamber, ensuring his footsteps were heard. He’d stay away if she asked, but fuck, he hoped she didn’t.
When Emmeline didn’t move, he crouched beside the bathing tub, forcing his hands to grip the rim rather than touch her.
“That’s why you want to go to Valyn, isn’t it?” Roremar asked softly.
Emmeline lifted her gaze. He somehow both crumbled and could breathe again when their eyes met.
“You want to find your sister, and you think she’s in Valyn. That’s what Falliare offered you when this case is complete.”
Biting her lip, Emmeline nodded. She twirled the opal ring around her finger slowly.
“I don’t know that she’s there, but with the selection of the new Chancellor, everyone is saying they’ve been calling in powerful Starsearchers for deliberations.
” Her features melted into sorrow as tears silently rolled down her cheeks, that stoic facade breaking beneath waves of emotion.
She nearly leaped out of the water, clinging to him.
“She is powerful, Roremar, and that kind of power garners influence. If they even know a fraction of how much—if they have any control over her still—she’ll be there, I know she will. ”
“Okay, shh, shh,” Roremar soothed, holding her. Her head rested on his chest, his arms tight around her shivering frame. Water plastered his tunic to his body, the thin material the only barrier between parts of them.
“I have to find her,” Emmeline sobbed. “It’s been twenty-two years. I have to find her.”
She was begging now, frantic, hands tightening against his shoulders as Roremar pulled back.
Hair slicked to her skin, some would have looked like they were drowning in pity.
But not Emmeline. Despite the hollowness that had engulfed her, she still screamed with all the power of the stars burning deep within her.
It loitered there, a fire waiting for its kindling.
Roremar didn’t know when the match would strike. All he hoped was that he’d be there to see it combust.
“I promise, Emmeline, I will do everything in my power to get you to her.” Gently, he tilted her face up to his to ensure she didn’t miss a word. “We’ll find her.”
And she didn’t say it aloud, but he swore he heard a thank you shuddering through her breath.