Queen of Ash

Revenge

Update: Just to let y'all know this is where the book really starts to ramp up, I am so excited for the chapters, scenes, and quotes that are coming up. This was one of my favorite chapters to write so far, I really hope you like it. Thank you all for your continued to support and I hope you love this chapter as much as I do, so....... There will be an extra chapter released Saturday. I was also wondering if you guys would be interested in me annotating some of the upcoming chapters. I would share my thoughts, intentions, and ideas about a chapter. I don't know if y'all would be interested in that, but comment in this section if you would be interested!!! Without further ado........ Revenge 

Emerson 

The words I said left me raw, our city. I couldn't pin-point the exact moment that I saw it as our city and not my city. I said it as if this, us, was a choice and not something I had to do to live. We might be engaged and soon to be married, but I had to remind myself that this was fake, none of it was real. I crossed my arms around my, chest as if I could somehow guard my heart underneath.

Just as I opened the door to leave, I saw a head of black and grey run towards me. My hand instinctually reached for the dagger at my waist. I had to force myself to pin it back to my side.

"Emerson!" A voice squealed from across the hall. My heart seized up; the voice was so familiar. My entire body froze, old memories flooded in, ones that I had suppressed for so long.

She was running towards me; we were playing outside in the brook. The sun was shining, and the earth seemed to pause for a moment, for us. I splashed water on her and she squealed my name and ran from the—

His little sister snapped me out of the memory I was just in. She was running towards me with a bouquet of sunflowers. "I got these for you. I wanted to say sorry for dinner." She pushed the flowers towards me. I started to shake. She was so much like my sister, Clay, I heard her voice ring in my head. She looked like her too, the same youthful innocence and wide eyes. I tried to tell my hand to grab the flowers, I couldn't. Reach forward, take them, but I couldn't. I was staring at a ghost from my past, even after all this time it still hurt, it still hurts.

Are you alright? Maybe Rye saw that my hands were frozen, maybe he saw the fear in my eyes, or maybe he heard the silent pleading in my head but he reached out and grabbed the flowers from his sister. "Thanks you Ember, Emerson has just had a rough night. You know adjusting to Mother takes time." His tone was so light, his smile so genuine. I didn't realize how happy other people were. I felt a warmth creep in to my bones, a gentle coaxing fire, except it wasn't my fire that was warming my bones. I took a deep breath and held on to that warmth. I climbed my way out of old memories and pulled myself to the present. Ember was just looking at me, her bright blue eyes piercing into me.

"I—Thank you." I tried to make my voice into steel, but I could still hear the small quivers, giving me away. The three of us just stood there in silence. I could hear the ticks on the clock throughout the silent room. Ember started rocking back and forth on her heels. "I like your hair." I blurted out, trying to ease the awkward silence growing in the room.

"Thank you," she picked up a strand of hair and played with the end of it, "I think you would look good with hair like this. Then we can match since we are going to be sisters." I swallowed hard. Sister, I didn't deserve to have another sister, not after what happened to my own. I tried to calm my hands from shaking. The walls seemed to close in on me, I couldn't breath, I couldn't panic. I tried to take deep breaths, but they just came out raggedy.

"Ember, we have to go, but we will see you in the morning." I felt Rye grab shoulder. I just stayed there blinking at Ember as I had never seen a young girl before. Rye pulled me out of the front door, he stopped me on the top of the stairway. I still didn't move, I couldn't, her face was running through my mind. He turned me to face him as he buttoned up the top of my cloak. His warm hands touched the base of my throat, I swallowed. "Are you okay?" He pulled the hood of my cloak over my head. He was taller than me, so I had to look up to see him.