From the Ashes (The Elder Blood Chronicles, #3)(174)

“You don’t need to speak them, Val. I can see it written on your face so clearly now that I’m looking for it that I find myself wondering how I never noticed it before.” Jala leaned closer and pressed her lips gently to his, but he didn’t return it as he had before. Pulling back she studied his face. His expression was a mixture of desire and trepidation. Raising an eyebrow, Jala waited for him to speak.

“Usually at this point of the dream, I either wake up or it takes a turn for nightmares and I end up on trial for rape again,” Valor said, leaning back and rubbing his face.

Nodding slowly, Jala slid a hand down his shoulder, tracing the muscles of his arm and pinched him hard. Flinching, he stared at her with a dumbfounded expression. “You aren’t dreaming,” Jala informed him with a smile. Slowly, she pushed him flat onto the bed and rolled to the side, resting her head on his shoulder. “We don’t have to do anything but sleep tonight. I’m content simply being close to you,” Jala assured him closing her eyes.

“To hell with that,” Valor whispered as he rolled onto his side, his lips finding hers once more. Jala rose to meet him, her eyes closing as his hand slid to the small of her back, pulling her closer. Her hands tugged at his shirt until she could slide them beneath to press against his bare skin. Pulling back, he shrugged out of the tunic and tossed it behind him to the floor before leaning down to kiss her again.

Her fingers traced across the hard muscles of his back and down his side to rest on the scar on his stomach. “I love you,” Jala repeated, her voice a hoarse whisper as his lips moved to her neck. Closing her eyes once more, Jala pulled at the laces on his pants as his hands moved across her body. Her breath was coming in short rasps as all thoughts faded and she could feel his urgency rising to match her own. For now, nothing mattered to either of them beyond each other. All the stress and frustration of the world beyond was forgotten.





Pale sunlight washed across her from the cloudless sky. Turning slowly, Jala searched for War. The land around her was familiar and she could feel her emotions rising as her eyes scanned the rolling hills of Merro. Below her she could see the small town that Neph had built. The paint was still bright on the walls of the newly-built houses. “You only show me ruins, Grandfather. Are you telling me that my home is gone again? That it fell in my absence?” Jala called as she tried to force herself back to calm. She knew if she panicked, the dream would fade.

“I didn’t choose this setting. He did,” War’s voice was gentle beside her and she turned to face him. He hadn’t been there a moment before and neither had the small boy playing in the grass before him.

“Legacy,” Jala gasped as her eyes locked on her son. It was him she was certain of it, but he seemed so big. When she had sent him into hiding with Sovann he had just begun to walk and now he looked near Devony’s age. His tanned body was wiry and she could see so much of Finn in him as he chopped at the grass before him with a stick.

Legacy turned and smiled up at his mother, his violet eyes flashing with delight. “Momma!” His childish voice rose to nearly a squeal as he dropped the stick and sprinted toward her. “Grandpa said you would be here tonight. I told him to make it Merro that we played in because you always talk about going home,” Legacy informed her, the words bubbling from him in a happy stream.

Jala felt her throat tighten and she smiled down at her son. “You play with Grandpa often?” she asked, her gaze flicking to War then back to her son.

“Every night,” Legacy answered, his smile wide. “Usually we go to boring places, though, and he makes me remember things about them. Not tonight, though. Tonight, he says we do nothing but play.” His tone had been a bit petulant at first but rose to happiness once more as he wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his head against her hip. “I miss you, Momma. When are we going home?” Legacy asked softly.

Jala pressed her hand gently against the back of his head and ran her fingers lightly through his dark red hair. “Soon, Love. I have to fight just a bit longer. I can’t leave the world the way it stands or we will never be safe,” she whispered, her eyes rising to War once more, the questions evident on her face.

“I visit him nightly, Jala. I don’t want Lutheron to have power from this one,” War said softly, his expression softening to a smile as he gazed down at Legacy. “He is an exceptional child. So clever and so much like you in spirit. He is stubborn and has his mother’s firm views on what is wrong in this world.”

“Grandpa was showing me all of the cities that are gone now, Momma. He said that if you don’t finish what you are doing Merro could join them,” Legacy’s voice faltered a bit and he pulled back to gaze up at her as if hoping she would tell him otherwise.

“He is right, Legacy,” Jala said gently, wishing she could deny the truth. “Our world is so broken that if someone doesn’t fix, it we will never know peace.”

“You are going to fix it all? Won’t that take a really long time?” Legacy asked, his eyes widening and a note of sadness filling his voice.

“I’m not going to fix it all, Legacy. I’m going to start the process and show the others how it’s done. All it takes is building a road. Once the foundation is laid, others will follow our path,” Jala assured him as she slowly sat in the grass to stare up at her son. “You are so big,” she whispered, not truly able to believe her magic had changed her child so much in her short absence.