Page 78 of Stealing Embers

I glide away from the wall and head toward my room.

I took damaging his package off the table, but throat punches are still fair game.

I throw one final word of advice over my shoulder before slipping around the corner. Steel’s still getting his breathing under control.

“Stop getting in my face. You’ll only get hurt. Like you said, I’m dangerous.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

“What. A. Jerk!”

The door slams behind me with enough force to rattle Ash’s angel figurines on our bookshelf. She jack-knifes up in bed, fully clothed, but she’d obviously been asleep.

“What? Who? Yeah, huge jerk. Wait. Huh?” Rubbing sleep out of her eyes, she blinks up at me in confusion.

Plopping down on my bed in a huff, I brush my fingers back and forth over the soft cotton comforter. It’s probably a million thread count. One thing this academy isn’t lacking is money. Maybe the supple material will soothe the jagged edges of my sour attitude.

“I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have stormed in here like that. You should go back to sleep.” The words come out sharp and biting, a far cry from the sincere apology I’m going for.

“What, no!” Swinging her legs over the bed, Ash faces me with an expectant look. “What happened after I left?”

“Not much.”

I swat at my pillow in an effort to vent my lingering frustration, before flopping back on the bed. I tick off the events on my fingers.

“Sable explained metamorphosis and the Council of the Elders. Steel tried to put the fear of God in me. Sable is going to update Deacon on events and get back with me in the morning. Oh,” I wave an agitated hand in the air, “and Steel ordered me to stop being friends with his brothers and to never have contact with Blaze and Aurora again.”

Ash gapes at me. “No, he didn’t.”

“Oh, yes he did. The stunt he pulled earlier this evening was bad enough, but this is a new low.”

My heart pinches. Steel tried to snuff out the glimmer of hope that I could make some real friends. My instincts were right—I shouldn’t have gotten attached to anyone. I’ve let my guard down in the last few weeks. Shouldn’t I know better by now?

Shame on me.

“What exactly did he say? Maybe you misunderstood him?” Ash scooches forward until she’s sitting on the edge of her mattress. “Wait, what did he pull earlier?”

Oh, shoot.

“Oh, that was nothing.” Ash’s eyes miss nothing as I sit up and slide toward my headboard until my back is pressed up against it. Squirming, I fluff the pillow before settling in.

Gosh, can I act more guilty?

It’s not like kissing is a crime, but reminding myself of that doesn’t erase the vestige of deceit from my conscience.

Ash’s scrutiny weighs heavy on me.

“In a nutshell, Steel said that since the Forsaken had it out for me, I was dangerous. He thinks associating with me will get one of his family members hurt.”

It’s a preposterous concern. I shove out a harsh chortle.

But seeds of doubt begin to burrow like termites in my mind. They eat through the flimsy barrier I constructed to protect myself, take root in the deepest depths of my subconscious and make me question the situation.

What if he’s right?

I wrap my arms around myself. What may appear to be a posture of defiance is really one of self-comfort. Having lived a life deprived of physical consolation from others, my crossed arms deliver my version of a hug.

My overworked mind throbs, firing pulses of denial in regular intervals. But what if Iamputting his loved ones in harm’s way?

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