Chapter 44 : : : : : Can Ember be Saved?

*Alec*

The shrieks of women greeted me as I thundered to a stop in Moon Haven. Ember’s body shuddered again, but she kept breathing. The sound of her fading heartbeat and soft breathing was the only thing that had kept me going the entire journey. So long as she was breathing, so long as she was alive, there was time–there was hope. I panted, sucking in breath after breath as my heart thudded in my ears and the women scattered from the gardens, darting into their homes with fright. I knew from what my mother told me about Moon Haven that barging in like this was likely to cause more problems between the Maidens and Whitelark, but I didn’t care.

“Rash,” a cool voice said from further into the village. “Just like your mother.”

My stomach churned as I saw the woman who was speaking. She was beautiful, and I heard my men gasp as they realized the same thing I did: in another life, she could have been my mother. We had the same nose and cheeks. Her piercing purple gaze stared at me w