Dark Tides (Kingdom of Bones #2)

Original Edition: ◇ Chapter 13 ◇ Chosen ◇

JARON

Silver Sea

Mid-Rainrise

Smoke and ashes.

Two things that were always promised at Ember Keep. When Jaron had first arrived there, the smoke and ashes were a constant reminder to him of all he'd lost in Port Hullscar. After the pirate attack, many of the survivors enlisted in the navy, prepared to endure the hellish training at the Ember Keep. Jaron was the smallest and youngest, but he was more determined than anyone else.

He wanted to learn to sail. He wanted to fight. But what he wanted more than anything was to be an emberblood. If he'd been able to wield fire that day, maybe he would've been able to save his little brother and sister, maybe he could save others from the same fate.

Emberbloods were not born with their powers like other magicked-bloods. Stormbloods and frostbloods had been blessed by their gods during ancient times, their power passed down through their familial lines. Witchbloods made a sacrifice to their goddess in exchange for their unique magics. Emberbloods, however, were chosen, their magic earned and bestowed upon them by the fire god, Vulcan, brother to the caged Magnus.

That was the whole purpose of the Ember Keep—to train navy recruits to near death and let their god find those worthy of the flame. Even with nothing left but an empty stomach and a broken body, the strongest of desires could still ring above all else. During Jaron's time at the Ember Keep, he'd only seen one man become an emberblood, and he fought tooth and nail to get there. He'd watched the sacred flame burn longer after the ritual had been completed.

Jaron had arrived in the sunspur season and wasn't allowed to start dueling until the first frost. Being the youngest and the smallest didn't spare him any beatings, nor did it earn him any extra servings of food or any pity. He should have died by the end of frostfall, but his will to live was too strong, his thirst for vengeance coming before all else.

Moon after moon, duel after duel, Vulcan's flame remained unlit. Many had given up the chase, choosing to join rank in the Navy instead, but not Jaron. Faces and names came and left, but he remained. It was nearly a year after he had come to the Ember Keep that the sacred flame ignited once more.

On that day, the Commandants had grown weary of the recruits, pushing them beyond their limits with training drills and duels that left the losers unable to walk away on their own. Jaron was chosen to duel against, Corvin, a recruit elder than him by four years and nearly double his size. Since Corvin's arrival at the Ember Keep a couple moons before, the Commandants had only praised his strength and quickness to learn. In hopes of appeasing Vulcan, perhaps they'd thought to choose an opponent who would be a swift and easy win for Corvin. They'd underestimated Jaron's tenacity.

Jaron knew that Corvin would be the one leading the dance, so when the Commandants signaled the start of their duel, Jaron was sure to be the first one to attack. His blade was dull, but his strikes were quick and relentless. Corvin blocked his attempts again and again, then countered Jaron with a strike of his own, sending him stumbling into a water trough for the horses. Jaron had promised himself he would silence their laughter.

He faced Corvin again, soaking and slipping through the mud. Jaron didn't wait for his opponent's attack and ran forward, striking Corvin in the upper-arm. If they had been real blades, the wound would've been deep, but Corvin only groaned and switched his stance. He attacked then, a flurry of slashes and jabs that Jaron couldn't keep up with.

One strike hit Jaron's temple, dropping him to the ground as stars filled his vision. The whole side of his head hurt and something was wrong with his leg, but he still crawled up onto his knees. Corvin's footsteps neared, then a kick to Jaron's face sent him flying onto his back in the mud. Jaron rolled and curled in on himself as the surrounded men laughed again, unable to see out of his right eye as it closed-up.