Roars thundered through the air, shattering their illusion that they were alone in the woods.
“But I do know two things for certain. That for you, Emory, I will go to the ends of this forsaken country to keep you safe. And that your parents...” Brokk’s lips quivered as he snapped through his anger and welling sadness. “...even though I don’t understand why this is happening, I trusted their dream. I trusted what they wanted Kiero to flourish into, and it’s not this. It got twisted with their secrets.”
Memphis was so still, he looked like a statue carved from the ice around them.
Her heart welled, and she pled, “Then keep their dream alive.”
Focusing on Memphis, Brokk nodded. “I can do this. Jump through time, to keep her safe. But will you stay with me?”
Panic flashed through her. “What do you mean?”
She looked to Memphis, whose face had turned grave. He ripped his gaze from Brokk and looked like a ghost as he walked toward her.
Emory whispered, “Memphis?”
Palms tingling, her breaths came in quick bursts. She could practically feel the ground underneath them quake, the distant army closing in on them. Her pulse flew unevenly, sweat collecting at the base of her neck, as she absorbed Memphis’s pinning gaze.
She flicked her eyes to Brokk, and he nodded once.
Memphis was before her, dissolving the space between them. His voice was gruff as he leaned in, his breath hot against her cheek. Both of his hands cupped her face gently. “I love you. Please, just never forget that.”
Ice ran through her veins, and the world dropped away. Her stomach felt like it was being ripped from her, and she had the illusion of warm hands supporting her. Labored, sickening wails were echoing around her... Or maybe that was her.
The forest became a blur, the ivory bleeding into everything, leaching it all of color. In the distance, a voice bounced toward her, like cutting through a fog.
“Em, hold on.”
And then, her world cracked into thunderous light. She was falling, the wind roaring around her, but she felt another presence, and she knew she wasn’t alone. They spun and spun, brilliant golds, greens, and blues fracturing around them like diamonds, blazing like embers. Ice ruptured through her, numbing her, until she was tearing through a sea of light.
The golds bled into silvers, curling and twisting like liquid metal. The blues and greens softened into teal, and it reminded her of crashing waves. She wasn’t sure she had ever been to the ocean. The thought struck her violently, and she tried to twist, but gravity pulled her down faster, her hair tumbling around her.
Where was she? Where had she come from? Who had she been?
With each thought, she spun faster, dislocating her sense of self, until there was the sweet scent of damp grass and the trickling warmth of sunlight on her skin. Her body slammed against the hard ground. There was a whisper of words, his soft voice dying, and then there was nothing but pain. Nausea and throbbing raked through her, and she was distantly aware of the world churning around her.
She was greeted blissfully by the darkness with open arms, and she knew no more.
Chapter Twenty-One
Emory
“Miss? Hello?” a woman asked.
“Do you think she is dead?” a man responded.
“Will you shut up Aideon and call 911?”
The two voices bantered around her. There was a pause, and then a series of clicking as the male voice, Aideon, spoke smoothly, “Yes, hello. My wife and I are pulled over on Gore Road, just outside the city, where a young woman looks to have been beaten and is unconscious.”
Another pause.
“Yes, visible wounds, dried blood, bruises. Okay, thank you, and yes, I will stay on the line.”
The padding of soft feet sounded further and further away.
She felt the cool tickling of grass underneath her, a soft wind brushing across her face. Unfamiliar sounds whirled around her, all too sharp, too fast, and too much. Groaning, her eyes fluttered, catching snippets of the scene around her. A piercing blue sky and downy clouds. The woman beside her, her blonde hair tumbling around her shoulders, her features pinching with worry. A strange shaped box was behind them, pulled off to the side from the winding paved pathway, crawling with more people and some form of...carriage?
Coughing, she shut her eyes again, feeling dizzy.
The woman’s voice was gentle when she said, “Hold on, sweetie. It won’t be long now. Everything is going to be okay.”
She didn’t know what she meant, but she was happy to lay here while her body radiated pain. Emory drifted on the sea of sounds and smells circulating around her. Concentrating on breathing in and out, she was comforted by the rattling wet sounds of her lungs dragging for breath. She winced, her eyes flying open when a piercing, wailing noise sliced through the air.
The man, Aideon, stated, “There’s the ambulance and the police. Is she awake?”
Her heart clawed faster at the strange words. Ambulance? Police? Tears seeped from the corners of her eyes, burning as they trickled down her cheeks.
There was an intense squealing and then chaos erupted. Overlapping voices collided around her, questions being shot every direction.
Flinching, Emory tried to get away as another man and woman came into her view.
“Can you tell us your name and how you got here?”
Squinting, Emory took in the big white box with red flashing lights blinking on it. They carried a strange bag; the man took out several tools, and she bared her teeth in a feral way. Heart pounding as they came closer, panic immobilized her.
My name.
The world spun.
What is my name?
A spark bloomed in her chest, becoming an inferno.
“Emory Fae. Emory Reia Fae.” Her voice sounded a thousand miles away.
“Can you tell us what happened?”
Trying to sit up, they responded, coming too close to her, too fast.
“Get away from me!”
