Page 48 of Tarnished Embers

“I don’t fucking know, okay? But I will figure something out,” Prince implores, his hands coming up to brush through his hair. He’s usually so in charge, the unofficial leader of us, that it takes me aback to see him so unsure.

“Figure out what?” a soft voice asks, and my eyes widen, my stomach dropping like I’ve just taken a leap off a cliff and I’m unsure if the water below is deep enough to cushion my fall.

Ember steps from behind me, and she looks pale as she glances between both of us.

“Who has you by the balls, Kit? Is it Odette? What do you need to get out of?” Her questions land like bullets, telling me she heard everything, and my jaw works but no sound comes out. Prince just sits there, shoulders rounded, looking defeated.

“What’s going on?” Oct asks, his smile dropping as he saunters towards us. “Little Sis, are you okay?”

He rushes to her when she doesn’t answer right away, wrapping his arms around her, but unlike usual, she doesn’t sink into his embrace, and his brows dip low.

“Prince and Kit were talking about someone having them by the balls, about trying to get out of something, and they won’t tell me what it is,” she says, and I can see the slight tremble in her hands, the hurt in her beautiful blue eyes cleaving my soul in two.

Oct turns his wide gaze to us, his tanned skin ashen as he realises what she must have overheard. She looks to him, seeing that he’s clearly in on it, and steps out of his embrace.

“Sugar—” Prince starts, but at that moment, Odette is suddenly sweeping onto the patio, Cas following behind her.

“Ah, Ember, honey, there you are,” she says, and then pauses, looking at each of us. I’m sure I’m not the only one of my brothers who sees a glint of mischief in her eyes. “Why are you all looking so glum?”

“What have you done to them, Odette?” Ember asks, her tone sharp and her blue eyes flashing. She may not understand what we were talking about, but she has a good idea of who the root cause of it is. Clever, beautiful stepsister.

“Nothing they didn’t agree to long ago,” Odette blithely states, waving her hand. “Young men always enjoy sowing their wild oats, the pleasures of the flesh are hard to resist, apparently. I just gave them a way to make that benefit us.”

I’m watching Ember, seeing the exact moment that comprehension dawns, and my heart beats so fucking fast inside my chest that it leaves me dizzy. I lock my knees, refusing to buckle or even sway while Odette, our tormentor, is here.

“The party…” Her mouth falls open, her fingers touching her parted lips. Then she lowers her hand, taking a step closer to Odette. Her lip curls, her pale face scrunching like she’s just tasted something revolting. “You force them to have sex with women for money?”

Odette titters, and the sound grates against my ears, adding to the way my stomach churns. “Oh, honey. They didn’t need any forcing. They were happy to take part. Well, until you came along, but they understand what will happen if they don’t comply this time.”

Ember’s entire body freezes, and I wish she didn’t have to hear this. Didn’t have to learn about the horrors of our world.

“What will happen if they don’t do it?” Her voice is like the rustle of dry leaves, and I step towards her, the need to be close to her overwhelming. Odette takes a step closer, staring right into Ember’s eyes, a vicious smile on her lips.

“People will pay a lot of money for an unwilling pussy.” Ember’s knees give out, and I’m close enough to catch her before she hits the ground, holding her to me and trying to give her my strength to face this ugly truth.

“Y–you’re a m–monster,” she whispers, letting me pull her close as her eyes fill with tears and her whole body shakes.

“Perhaps, but unlike you, sheltered little princess that you are, I know what it’s like to go without, and I swore to myself a long time ago that I would never be in that position again. So wake up, stepdaughter. You were always a prize to be won. So keep them in line and you will remain their prize, no one else’s.”

Then she turns on her designer heels, striding through the French doors that lead back into the house without a backward glance.

Silence descends on us, and a quick glance around at my brothers knows they are just as lost as I am about what to say next. Ember finally knows about everything, and although there’s the relief that the person you love knows your deepest, darkest secret, there’s also mind-numbing terror.

What if she hates us? What if she decides that we’re not worth it, that we’re too damaged to love?

* * *

“<3” BY MEMYSELF&VI

EMBER

It’s like a gale-force wind rushes past my ears, and although I can feel myself in Kit’s arms, it’s also like everything is softened and we’re all underwater.

“C–can you help me sit down?” I ask him, and he blinks, nodding and helping guide me to the wicker chair that he was sitting in moments ago before my world came tumbling down and I got a glimpse into the nastiness of our world.

“Sugar—” I cut Prince off with a raised palm.

“How many parties have you done?” I ask, regretting the question as soon as it leaves my lips. Will that make a difference? To know how many times they sold themselves? My gaze flits from one to another of them, searching their pale, drawn faces, though I’m not sure what I’m looking for.

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