Chapter 4 Ashes and Secrets

Kaela's POV

Cold stars as well as unspoken promises surrounded me under the untiring night sky. I occupied the cliff's edge with the wind pulling at my cloak as though trying to recall me to a location I desired to avoid.

Looking at the muffling fire helped divert my attention from the person seated opposite me.

Ash.

At least, that's what he said his name was.

He had barely spoken since we escaped the ruins since I saved him from that creature born of shadow and bone. His current gaze toward me appeared to view me as an unsolvable enigma which left my skin feeling unsettled.

I removed any note of strength from my voice when I told him to sleep while I added another stick to the fire. "We leave early."

He didn't answer right away. The firelight revealed reddish-black colors in his eyes while he maintained his stare at me. It was unnerving. Familiar.

"You should tell me what that was," he finally said. "That light. What you did."

I tensed. The memory of that experience continues to send shivers through my hands as bright light escapes from my body without any understanding of its source. My powers of electricity had appeared before thus far yet this ability demonstrated their strongest manifestation. That real.

"I don't know," I admitted. "It just... happens."

"That's not a good enough answer."

I met his gaze, sharp now. "It's all I have."

He didn't look away. If anything, he looked deeper, like he could peel the truth from me with just his eyes.

"You could've let me die."

I shrugged. "I didn't."

"Why?"

Because something in you felt like home. Because when you screamed, it shook something inside me I didn't know existed. The dreams continue when I awake because they never cease in my thoughts.

Once more I repeated my vague answer while speaking at an intentionally reduced volume.

He stood suddenly, pacing. "You're not from around here. That magic you used... Spirit magic is forbidden in all five kingdoms."

I bristled. "So what are you going to do? Turn me in?"

He stopped. "Would you believe me if I said no?"

"No."

He gave a small, humorless smile. "Smart girl."

There was a moment-just a breath-where we were close, the tension between us stretched taut. He knelt down again across the fire and leaned forward slightly.

"You're dangerous," he murmured. "But not in the way I expected."

That hit something inside me, something that felt like both a warning and a spark.

"And you're hiding something," I countered. "You're too clean, too trained. You move like a soldier."

"Maybe I was."

"Or maybe you still are."

Across the fire, between us, we gazed at each other until the flames started questioning our true identities.

Eventually, he spoke again. "Where are you going?"

I hesitated. "North. The Temple of Whispers."

He stiffened. "That's High Priestess Solara's domain."

"I know. I need answers."

"Or a death sentence."

"Maybe both."

His breath released abruptly while he lowered his body into relaxation with an expression that seemed alternately frightened or dissatisfied. "Then I'm coming with you."

I blinked. "What?"

"I owe you my life. You will require someone skilled with swords if your condition proves true.

"And you're just offering this?"

He gave a sharp smile. "Let's call it... curiosity."

I knew I shouldn't trust him. Everything about him was sharp edges and secrets. A component of my inner being desired his nearness despite my lack of understanding about magic.

I replied while wrapping my cloak more tightly against my body.

"But no more questions."

He nodded once. "No more lies."

We both knew that was a lie in itself.