Page 126 of Jeweler to the Blessed
I let out a breath. Hart was with me. It didn’t fix anything, but it was a welcome positive when everything else seemed stacked against me.
The taste of him was still on my lips. All I had to do was close my eyes, and I could feel his hands on me—his touch—and the heat flaring between us.
“Do you want me to come in with you?” Hart asked.
He hadn’t said much on our walk, but maybe he was cycling through as many questions about what happened nextas I was. We’d have time to discuss it while working on my ring.
“Yes.” I didn’t know what I’d learn, but I knew I wanted him with me.
I let us in through the unlocked door. Father was in the living room, reading. He looked up at my approach. His questioning gaze turned to a glare as it moved over my shoulder to Hart.
“Emberline, what are you doing here?”
“I need to talk to Mother. Is she awake?”
He stood, crossing his arms over his chest. “What’s this about, Emberline?”
My tone must have given me away. I studied him, wondering what he knew. Did he know what I was? Did he know fate would come for me?
“It’s about my choices.” I wondered if that was enough. “About the information that’s been kept from me.”
His jaw set, and I knew he knew of what I spoke. “You’ll only upset her.”
I shook my head in disappointment. “I need to talk to her. You can join, or you can stay out here. I don’t care.”
The hallway to Mother’s room was just as bare as usual, but my every step felt like it took me toward something complex, a tapestry woven with infinite colors. Hart’s familiar footsteps trailed behind me.
Mother lay in bed … staring at the ceiling. She blinked a few times at my approach and tilted her head slightly to capture me in her sight. Hart stayed at the door. Father followed me into the room, but Mother’s gaze never left mine.
“Ember,” she whispered. “I hoped you’d come.”
“Mother.” I knelt next to her and took her hand. “I need to ask you something.”
“Of course you do, dear.” Her voice was distant.
“Did the latest tonic arrive?” I asked.
Father nodded, a look of confusion on his face. “She’s been quite strong recently. We went for a walk around the block yesterday.” His brow furrowed, and he looked at me with blame. “Ask your question, Emberline. You’re upsetting her.”
I released a deep breath. I needed to know what she did. “Did you know I was Chaos’s Champion?”
Father sucked in a breath behind me. From the corner of my eye, I saw his hands ball into fists. Mother’s lips curled into a smile.
I focused on her. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It’s your choice, baby,” she said dreamily.
I had made it, but it didn’t explain why they’d told me nothing. “What does it mean, Mother?”
“You are her champion. You can challenge what is known.”
Those were the exact words Hart had used in a time that felt so long ago. I glanced at him over my shoulder. Mother’s gaze seemed to follow.
“You trust him. I knew you would.”
My head spun back toward her. “Who?”
“She told me you would inspire chaos just like her—that your connection would change the tides of Kavios.”
