Page 89 of Ember and Ash

“That’s right,” he says, a smile curving his lips. “And we have wheat, but it’s a bit nuttier as well, which in my opinion makes for a hell of a waffle.”

I dig into the deliciousness, and Micah beams with his pleasure over my reaction to the meal. While we enjoy the meal, he shares stories of the “motherland,” as Silas calls it, where there are winding rivers of crystal blue and fields of flowers in colors ten times more vibrant than any human would ever imagine.

We’re just finishing up our meal when I bring up the night before, but not the part where we were all over each other. “I really enjoyed meeting your people.”

“They’re your people, too,” he corrects, “and not because of me. I felt them lean into you.”

“That means a lot to me. I’m not going to let any of you down.”

“No one thinks you will.”

“Did you tell them what Gabriella said?”

“No. And she won’t, either.”

There’s a twist in my belly. “Because it will upset them?”

“No need to have anyone obsess over what we don’t understand. Better to focus on what we can affect, which is you learning to control your powers so we can head to the Amherst River.”

“And the Diviner who wants something from you.”

“I told you, I’ll handle her.” He stands up, and I follow him to my feet. The table disappears. “Time to play with fire.” A cauldron filled with water appears between us.

He wants me to create fire while my nerves are fire. “I’m afraid to do this by the water. I don’t want to hurt anything living in there.”

“That’s why we build a protective shield.” Magic lances the air, and what feels like energy begins to form all around us until we’re encased in magic. “Now the world out there is safe.”

“What happens if I create a fire and we catch flames?”

“The magic field protects us and encases us, too.”

“Make it larger. Give me room.”

He holds up his hands on either side of him, and our space expands, but not enough. “More,” I say, and he obliges.

When I have a broad berth to work with, I sit down in front of the cauldron and start chanting the spell.

The Sacred Book of Nephilim

Where there is fire, there is both life and death.

Chapter forty-one

Nothing happens.

After two hours of sitting across from Micah with the cauldron between us, there’s no fire to be found, and I’m exhausted and discouraged. I can apparently boil an ocean but not a pot of water. “It requires more control to hyperfocus on one little cauldron,” Micah assures me.

I reject that idea with a deep dive of my brows. “That makes no sense to me. It was the ocean. I made the ocean boil. Or maybe I wasn’t the reason the water boiled. Maybe fire isn’t my asset at all.”

Micah helps me to my feet and brushes off my doubts. “I told you, Ember, you have fire in your eyes. You have fire in you.”

“Then why can’t I produce it now?”

“You were probably feeding off the energy field created by the blood horizon last night. Fire’s a rare skill, and it takes time to master. And you must start by believing.”

He’s right about my self-doubt, and I need a confidence boost. “Can we go fight monsters in the forest now?”

The energy field disappears, the cauldron with it. “We’re going to start in the lighthouse, working on your combat skills for a few days.”