where he stood. The cheering of the crowd echoed in her ears. How dare they applaud Rumble’s fraud? How dare they support this pretender?
Grief and rage took flight, and her Song swooped outward on wings of pain. Was this the clan she wanted so badly to join? One who would encourage this charlatan?
A lifetime’s worth of slights and judgment exploded from her, and her Song rode this wave. It took down everyone in its path; the roar of the masses was silenced.
Everyone around her fell to the ground, taken out by her power. Even Murmur was silent and still, laying prone beside her.
She swallowed, once again leashing her Song. Tears streamed down her face, and her heart hurt. All here were warded against her, they would awaken.
But Ember, her Ember.
Nethersong could not heal him. Blood magic could not save him. He needed Earthsong.
She raced to a cart used by one of the food vendors and emptied it, then levered Ember’s body into it. He was so heavy that she wasn’t certain she would even accomplish it, but pure force of will drove her forward.
She pushed the cart along the pathways and toward the only person who could help her now.
She found Fenix at the small plateau outside the tunnel. He faced away from her, staring out at the darkness beyond. Grateful that she would not have to drag Ember all the way to the cornerstone, she stopped, trying to catch her breath. Night had fallen, and a bright moon illuminated the frost, which covered not only the mountain but the farmland beyond.
“Your father has gone. He told me to tell you goodbye. You see, I knew you’d come. I…” He turned and caught sight of Ember in the cart, and the smile he wore dissolved.
She was breathing heavily and sweating from the effort of maneuvering the cart through passages that had not been designed for such. Ember was solid and probably weighed twice what she did. But she’d done it. Now she just needed Fenix to help.
She pointed to him. “He’s gone. I won’t allow death to take him, but he’s in a sort of limbo. I need for you to bring him back.”
Fenix frowned, staring down at Ember whose blood coated his abdomen and legs as well as the inside of the cart. It was becoming harder and harder to draw the Nethersong away from him without something else to fill it. But she would do it for as long as she could.
“Help him,” she pleaded. Whatever force had held back her emotions up until now shattered, and she bent over the cart, tears streaming down her face. Sobs heaved themselves up from deep within. She fell to her knees, fingers gripping the edge of the cart. “Please.”
Fenix’s feet came into her vision; he kneeled next to her and tilted her chin up. “Of course.” He gazed at her with tenderness and sorrow as she tried to stop her breath from hiccupping.
Fenix stood, then lifted Ember easily and lay him on the ground. Mooriah had forgotten her cloak, but even the bitterness of the cold or the frost at her knees didn’t penetrate. Grief, hope, desperation—the emotions were like quicksand seeking to pull her under.
With a wave of his hand, the frost melted and the ground beneath her warmed. She looked up, surprised. But of course, she knew little of the extent of Fenix’s power.
He knelt at Ember’s head, hands at his temples. Very quickly, a bright light enveloped Ember’s body and the knife she had been too afraid to remove, pushed its way out. The blood congealing on his skin disappeared, even his stained waistcloth was now clean.
When Fenix pulled his hands away, Ember’s chest rose and fell as if he was in a peaceful, deep sleep.
Mooriah gaped and sat back in a daze. “I—I—” She shook her head trying to clear it.
“He’ll need to sleep for a while. When he awakens, he will be perfectly fine.”
She reached for Fenix, grabbing his hand in hers and squeezing. “I don’t know how to thank you. I owe you such a debt.”
His smile was sad. “You owe me nothing.” His gaze returned to Ember. “Is he why you will not leave?”
She swallowed, eyes drawn to the warrior’s sleeping form. She stroked his cheek. “He is one reason.” She set her shoulders and faced Fenix again.
She owed him a truth. “I have to admit that there is a part of me that wants to go with you. To… explore this world.