Page 35 of Stealing Embers

Angelica, a tall woman who appears to be in her mid-twenties, grins and waves me off.

“Happens every time I’m introduced,” she says. “My mom wasn’t very creative.”

“Hi.” I wave at Angelica and Seth with a small smile of my own.

“Angelica will be catching you up on our history, and Seth is going to be your combat instructor.”

“Combat?”

“Think of it as the Neph equivalent to PE.”

Remembering the organized way these people fought, I highly doubt it’s going to resemble any gym class I’ve ever been in, but I bob my head politely anyway.

“All right.” Sable gestures for me to walk with her. “Let’s get you settled,” she continues after I fall into step beside her. “Regular classes start back up this afternoon, but you’ll have your first class tomorrow. Get some rest today; you’ll need your strength.”

I don’t like the sound of that, but follow her anyway. For better or worse, I’ve chosen my fate. Only time will tell if I’ve chosen poorly or not.

Chapter Ten

“Oh my gosh, I’m so glad you’re okay!”

Ash slams into me seconds after I walk into the dorm room. The air punches from my lungs from her exuberant greeting.

“Can’t . . . breathe,” I choke out.

Her arms drop as she steps back. Her cheeks darken to an umber glow.

“Whoops, sorry about that. I was just so worried!” Her eyes sweep me from head to toe. “Why are you so disgusting?”

I choke on nothing and it turns into a crazed-sounding laugh.

“Geez, I’m sorry again. I just mean . . . you’re really dirty.”

When I step farther into the room, I’m careful not to brush up against anything. She’s not wrong. I’m covered in a fine layer of dirt, among other things.

Is that a cobweb clinging to my calf? Yuck.

“Yeah, that’ll happen when you’re crawling around in a gopher tunnel.”

Ash tilts her head. Her curls fall over her left shoulder. “Come again?”

“Steel forced me into some hole in the side of the mountain, and we had to wait in a poor excuse for a cave until it was safe to come out. It seriously stank.”

Actually, Steel smelled rather good.

Traitorous thoughts. I tell myself to shut up.

Ash winces. “That’s awful. That hideout is only meant for a single person.”

“Pfft. I can understand why.”

I won’t be surprised if my legs are riddled with bruises under my jeans.

“Here, use the bathroom to get cleaned up. You can change into some of my clothes.” She steps back to assess me. “I think we’re probably about the same size. Hard to tell with all that extra fabric. Did you ask to be put in men’s clothes?”

Maybe . . . but she doesn’t need to know that.

Buzzing around the room, she opens and closes drawers in a whirlwind as she grabs everything I’ll need to shed my nasty attire. She herds me into a bathroom on the far side of the room.

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