Eternal Starling (Emblem of Eternity Trilogy) (23 page)

My dad stopped his motorcycle and took his helmet off. “I lost you guys.”

“Emil crashed, but he’s okay,” I explained.

My dad studied Emil with a wary expression. “You sure you’re all right?”

Emil nodded. “Yeah, I came up over the dune too fast.”

“It happens to everyone. Do you still want to ride, or would you rather go back to camp?”

“No, I want to ride,” he smiled, but I could see the hesitation in his eyes as he looked toward the four-wheeler.

“I’m going to take him in the dune buggy,” I told my dad and gave Alex a pointed look. Emil’s expression said thank you. “Alex can ride the four-wheeler.” I was still unhappy with Alex and would rather ride with Emil anyway. Alex’s face turned hard at my suggestion, but no one else seemed to notice.

“Okay,” my dad agreed. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yep,” I answered.

I left Emil and Alex standing at the crest of the sand. I jogged back to the dune buggy, started it, and drove over to the waiting men. Emil got in the passenger seat as I shoved a helmet harder than I needed to into Alex’s stomach. He snorted like I was wasting my time trying to hurt him. He looked at Emil as he said, “I’ll be following you.

The rest of the ride went by quickly. We drove to Chokecherry and watched Alex and my dad race up the mountain. I stayed below to be with Emil and make sure he was okay. When we were ready to go, Emil rode back to camp with me in the dune buggy while Alex followed us.

We were both wearing our headphones. After awhile, Emil said, “It’s peaceful here, Evie. I understand why you like it so much.”

I glanced at him. “It’s always been one of my favorite places. I get a lot of clarity here.”

“I’m really sorry about crashing the four-wheeler,” he apologized for the tenth time.

I waved a hand in the air. “Don’t worry about it. You have no idea how many people have crashed it—only they end up doing a lot more damage to the four-wheeler and themselves. I’m glad you weren’t hurt. I didn’t believe Alex when he said you’d be okay.”

I knew Alex didn’t want me to tell Emil about all the things he’d said at the lake, but it was obvious Emil and Alex both knew some of the same information. Having Emil confirm Alex’s story would help me figure out how much of it was true. Alex wouldn’t be happy, but I decided to take a chance. “Do you want to tell me what vowmarks are?”

Emil pursed his lips. “You caught that yesterday, huh?”

“It was kind of hard to miss.”

Emil sighed, exasperated. “What has Alex told you?”

“A lot of crap that sounded like it came from a fantasy novel. Since the two of you seem to be reading from the same book, I’d like to know your perspective.”

Emil considered the situation and made a decision. “I assume you know about the Amaranthine Society,” he said. I nodded, surprised he was being so forthcoming when I’d had to drag the information out of Alex. “So, I’m sure Alex told you about the Daevos Resistance as well?” I nodded again. “Did he tell you anything about the history of the Daevos and Amaranthine?”

“A little,” I said. “He told me the Amaranthine Society keeps people—especially Trackers—safe from the Daevos. He said the Amaranthine are good and the Daevos are bad.”

Emil sighed and scrubbed his hand over his chin. “It’s more complicated than that. Do you remember the Goddesses and soul mate legend I told you about?”

I nodded.

“That wasn’t just a legend, Evie. It’s part of the Amaranthine and Daevos history.” My mouth dropped as Emil kept talking. “Soon after the Goddesses started sending souls into the world, they realized some souls had a natural inclination toward evil. Once souls found their soul mates though, those tendencies were balanced. The Goddesses decided they needed a group that could help people find their soul mates, as well as act as the enforcers of the Goddesses when evil souls needed to be dealt with. So, they organized the Amaranthine Society. Amaranthine members work on many levels. Some, like Alex, are Protectors and keep Trackers safe. Others are part of the army that takes the souls the Goddesses have deemed too evil to continue living. Then there are others who work with Trackers to help people find their soul mates and try to influence souls who have evil tendencies.

“For centuries, the Amaranthine helped the Goddesses and things were peaceful. Until the soul mate of the Goddess Callista decided he didn’t want to be with her anymore and left her alone, half of a soul. She was crushed. Finding your soul mate doesn’t make everything perfect. The relationship still takes work. Callista’s soul mate decided it was easier to leave than put more effort into their bond. After some time, her sadness turned to fury and she became bitter about love. Callista decided no one should have the chance to be with their soul mate. She left the Goddesses and started the Daevos Resistance—her own personal army. Their purpose was to find soul mates—preferably using a Tracker—and take one of the couple’s souls. Without their mate, the remaining soul would become unbalanced and the Daevos could recruit them to the Resistance and enlarge Callista’s army. She believes that with a large enough army taking souls, she’ll be able to obliterate love and destroy the Amaranthine.

“Part of the reason the Amaranthine are so strong is because they get their powers from the combined strength of the Goddesses. Alone, Callista has limited power to offer her army. She can only gift Daevos members with two things: the power to take souls, and limited immortality—because their soul can still be taken by the Amaranthine.”

“Why would someone choose to be part of the Daevos? The Amaranthine seems like it has a lot more perks.”

Emil lifted his shoulders. “Every person who joins has their own reasons. Some have a tendency toward evil, and some become that way because the Daevos have taken their soul mate. Others just care more about chaos than happiness. Some join because they don’t believe in love, and some . . . have other motives. Each case is different.”

I took a moment to wonder what Emil’s motives had been. “How are souls taken?” I asked.

“Throughout all of a soul’s existence, even though they don’t remember, the memories, thoughts, and actions of their previous lives are still with them, helping them form the person they are in their current life. When a person dies a mortal death, the soul is judged on its past. Once a soul has learned enough, it can move on to the afterlife. When a soul is killed, its thoughts, actions, and memories are taken. Without its past, a soul has nothing to learn from, nothing to guide it, nothing to anchor it. A body is merely a shell for the soul. Once a soul is dead, its body dies with the soul’s lost past.” He turned away, staring out over the sand like he was lost in thought. After a minute, he shifted his gaze back to me. “As part of the Amaranthine Society, Protectors are gifted with the ability to shield their minds, making them impossible for the Daevos to kill. The Daevos don’t have that capability.”

I thought about what Emil said as we drove up and down dunes, following my dad back to camp. Everything Emil was telling me confirmed what Alex had already said. I took a deep breath as the realization sunk in; Alex hadn’t lied to me. I still had so many questions, though. “What about the vowmark Alex mentioned? What is that?”

Emil unconsciously rubbed his left hand over the bump on the bicep of his right arm—the same place I’d touched in the botanical gardens when he’d suddenly stopped kissing me. “The Goddesses believe souls should be able to choose their path. So when Callista created the Daevos Resistance, the Goddesses allowed it to remain in existence—as long as the Amaranthine were there to help combat them. To do that, the Amaranthine would need to know who the Daevos members were.

“In order for a Daevos member to get the powers Callista offers, the member has to take the Resistance vows. The Goddesses put a spell on the vows so anyone who takes them is immediately marked with a red web scar on their bicep called a vowmark. The mark gets larger with each soul the Daevos member takes, and wraps around the member’s right arm. The mark is the only way Protectors can truly tell who a Daevos member is. The size of the mark lets the Amaranthine know how dangerous the person might be. My mark isn’t as big as Alex assumes it should be, and it’s usually covered by the shirts I wear—so that’s why Alex can’t see it.”

If Emil was telling the truth—and it seemed like he was since he was confirming the things Alex had told me about the Amaranthine and Daevos—could I trust him? The mission of the Daevos was horrible, and Emil had admitted he was a part of them. But why would he have told me so much about the Resistance if he wanted to hurt me? I needed to know what role Emil played within the Daevos, and I needed to figure out why I didn’t feel as scared around him as I probably should. “When I first met you, Alex warned me that you were dangerous. He still thinks that.” I waited, expecting Emil to say something, but when he didn’t, I continued, “So are you?”

Emil pulled his lips into a thin line. “I know Alex probably told you some shocking things about the Daevos—about me,” Emil said, “but I want you to know, I’m not like that. I’ve done things I’m not proud of, but they’ve been done out of necessity.”

“So you aren’t part of the Resistance anymore?” I asked.

Emil drew in a breath. “That’s . . . complicated. I’m still a member, but I’m not like the rest of the Daevos.”

Ugh. I’d heard that before. “Between you and Alex, I feel like I’m constantly trying to figure out a riddle. I don’t understand why you would remain in the Resistance if you’ve changed and aren’t like the other members anymore.”

Emil grimaced. “There are reasons I’ve done what I have, Evie. And there are reasons I can’t leave.”

Wrangling a rhinoceros would be easier than getting information from either Alex or Emil. Why couldn’t they be completely honest with me? “When will you be able to tell me what those reasons are?” I asked.

Emil ran his hand through his hair. “I’m not sure.”

“Patience is not one of my strong points,” I said.

“It will be worth it, I promise.” Emil reached out his hand and put it on my leg. Right after he touched me, I heard an engine grow louder behind us. Alex pulled up to the side of the dune buggy shooting a steely scowl at Emil. Emil sneered and Alex dropped back, but not far.

Emil grinned. “It’s driving him crazy, you know.”

“What is?” I asked, oblivious to what Emil was talking about.

“Me being here with you.”

I laughed. “Yeah, he’s worried about you dragging me off in the sand to take my soul or something. He’s just doing his job.”

Emil looked at me doubtfully. “His job isn’t his only motivation.”

I glanced over my shoulder at Alex. “It’s pretty clear his only incentive is to keep me alive. Though I don’t even know why he’s doing that; being a Protector must get really tedious.”

Emil opened his mouth to say something, but shut it, probably deciding not to get into an argument with me and put any more strain on our relationship.

“Thanks for telling me about the Daevos,” I said. “I understand you’re still a part of the Resistance, but for some reason I don’t feel like you’re here to hurt me. Am I wrong about that?”

Emil answered immediately. “No, you aren’t wrong. I will never hurt you.” His voice was strong and his eyes sincere.

I thought about what he said for a few minutes, and turned to him. “I don’t understand why you haven’t left the Resistance yet, but against my better judgment, I’m going to trust that you’ll tell me when you can.”

Emil gave me an appreciative gaze. “You have no idea how much your trust means to me. I won’t let you down,” he promised.

As we drove back to camp, I thought about all the things Emil had told me. Emil didn’t know what Alex had said to me. There was no way his explanation and Alex’s would be so similar if it wasn’t true. In a rush of clarity, I felt like I could move past the point of suspicion and deal with the reality of what had seemed to be an impossible truth. I was relieved to have so many secrets out in the open. Now I wouldn’t have to spend so much time obsessing about what was really going on with the men in my life.

The conversation had also made me view Emil differently. I was still wary of the things he couldn’t tell me, but there were things Alex was keeping from me too. The Daevos Resistance might be evil, but I truly didn’t feel threatened by Emil. It didn’t mean I was going to let my guard down, but I wasn’t as worried about Emil now as I had been when Alex warned me he was dangerous last week. Despite everything I’d learned about Emil, and even knowing there were things I wasn’t aware of yet, I still felt a bond with him that I couldn’t explain. It was becoming apparent that I really did still care for Emil. I hoped my feelings weren’t affecting my common sense.