Queen of Ash

Darkness

Emerson

 Rye was gone when I woke up, the bed next to me cold. I sat up and saw a note sitting on top of his pillow. I reached over and grabbed it.

Had an early meeting with Gale, I'll find you before lunch

-R.

I put the letter on my night stand and try to go back to sleep. With Gale's word looming in my head all night I barely slept.

I would never chose power over love.

I have to be sure of who my friends truly are.

His words played over and over in my head. When did I become a person to automatically assume the worst in someone, I wasn't always this way. I closed me eyes and slowed my breathing to try, all I saw was Gale's face when I accused him. The hurt, the anger, and sadness that resided there. I opened my eyes and got out of bed. If I just sat here that's all I would think about. I quickly changed into a pair of fleece leggings and a black top.

A quick workout would help distract me. The silence and rhythm of the movements would quiet my mind and give me something else to focus on. I grabbed Ashwood from behind the door and walked out of the room. I didn't even make it to the stairs before someone called my name.

"Emerson," she purred. I slowly turned around. Yara. She stood before me in a blue almost white dress. Her dark hair a sharp contrast to the bright white.

"Yara," I tried to sound civil.

"I was just wondering you knew anything behind the riots. I know Rye is taking this very personally, working non-stop to try to figure it out." She moved like liquid over to me.

"I can't say that I do. You know they tend to keep things from us," besides Rye most women were left out of the loop. They were simply used for their powers in the Arena and then not trusted with anything else. She gave me a soft smile, but behind her facade I could see the sharp teeth she had.

"My apologies, I just thought that he would have said something to you. The rumor is you two are quite close, so I assumed he would have. He seemed so distraught yesterday morning, running to Jase's room with a most peculiar sword." She curtsied to me, "I'll leave yo—"

"Did you saw peculiar sword?" My mind flashed to the half-black half-iron sword that killed my family.

"Yes, he seemed very concerned about it. It seemed one of a kind." She looked up at me through her lashes, trying to make herself look innocent in whatever was happening. Acting like she didn't know the exact right words to say. Yara was probably trying to put a wedge between me and Rye before the Bellum.

But then how did she know about the sword. Rye was the only person who knew here. He always got stiff or uncomfortable when I talked about my family. I thought he was just not the best at comforting people, I thought it was normal.

"What did the sword look like," I held my breath. It could be the wrong one, it had to be the wrong one or Yara was lying to me. There was no way that Rye would keep that from me. He knew what my family meant to me and he knew I was searching for their killer. My nails started digging into the palm of my hand. I took deep breaths to control the raging star inside of me.

"I don't know for sure. I think it was half-black half-silver." The world fell away from around me. I was right back in the secret hole in the wall. Watching the heads of my parents fall from that sword. Watching that sword plunge through the chest of my sister. It took all my strength not to fall to the ground. Yara was lying. She had to be lying. Rin put her up to this, so they could distract me before the Bellum. Rye wouldn't lie to me, he wouldn't hide this from me.