Page 53 of Tarnished Embers

Prince strides over to him, gripping the back of Cas’s neck hard and pressing their foreheads together. “We’ll fix this, Cas. I fucking swear it.”

“How?” Cas asks, his broken voice painful to hear. “How the fuck will we do that, Prince? She has armed guards watching us, and no doubt Ember, who is all alone and trapped in the fucking attic.”

Cas’s chest heaves and then Prince is bringing him in close as Cas sobs into his chest. Kit and I join them, wrapping our arms around the pair as tears fill my eyes.

Cas is right, there’s no way to fix this and no way to stop tomorrow night from happening. We’re outmanned and outgunned, and we can’t risk Odette selling Ember to fucking sex traffickers.

“We’ll keep her safe, Cas,” Prince assures him, his voice thick. “Even if that means we have to go through tomorrow night, at least she’ll be safe.”

A hot tear burns a path down my cheek and my chest is so tight that I can barely take a breath.We’ll keep her safe, but how will she ever forgive us?

CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE

“ASTRONOMICAL” BY SVRCINA

EMBER

The hours drift by, and my stomach rumbles, my mouth cotton dry, a headache pulsing across my brows. If the lack of food and water doesn’t kill me first, I may just die of boredom.

I’ve tried to keep busy, going through the stuff in here to try to distract my mind, if nothing else. Aside from the furniture, the boxes contained knick-knacks and trinkets, including a rather beautiful glass shoe.

The irony was not lost on me; the fact that I’m stuck in an attic by my evil stepmother just like Cinderella. She didn’t have four princes though, although strictly speaking, I only have one, and she didn’t have to deal with sexual exploitation and the possibility of future rape, but I guess that’s all semantics at this point.

The door opening interrupts my musing, sending my pulse skyrocketing. There’s a shadow standing behind Odette again as she brings a tray in, and I can’t stop myself from cowering back as she gets closer. There’s a silver cover on it, like it’s some fancy meal being served at a high-class restaurant. The bare bulb light glints off it, leaving a stain on my irises as I blink. I was so fucking relieved to find a light switch when it got dark that I shed a few tears.

“I wouldn’t get any smart ideas, honey,” she tells me, striding across the room and setting the tray on a table that I’d found. I even used the white sheet as a tablecloth and placed a small vase of fake flowers on it for the centre. Yeah, I’ve been pretty bored. “I love what you’ve done with the place.”

“Fuck you, Odette,” I seethe through clenched teeth. The only thing stopping me from rushing the cunt is the dark looming presence at her back. She’s the one paying him, even if he sounded unsure about her actions earlier. I can’t guarantee that he’d help me take her out. I can’t see him, but I’m assuming it’s Dan, as I have heard no one else come and take his place.

“Such foul language, stepdaughter. I should wash your mouth out,” she chides, her face showing only a mild amusement, though I guess I can’t expect too much in the way of facial movement considering she probably doesn’t have any space left after all the filler and botox.

“I’d like to see you try, you fucking bitch.” My lip curls as I have to force myself not to launch at her and rip her fucking hair out.

She tuts, shaking her head as she backs towards the door. At least she’s not completely stupid.

“Enjoy your dinner, Ember, honey. The boys miss you.”

Then like a puppet whose strings have all been cut, the anger drains from me as hopelessness washes over me, and I drop to the floor, tears making the edges of the room waver.

“Why?” I ask her, my voice a broken whisper, tears stinging my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall in front of her.

She stops, looking at me with a hard ruthlessness that I’ve not seen on her beautiful face before.

“Because some of us weren’t handed everything on a silver spoon. Some of us have to work to survive and continue to do so no matter the cost.” Her words leave me cold, a shiver pebbling goosebumps all over my skin.

“But the end doesn’t justify the means, Odette. What you’re doing is wrong. What you’ve done is wrong. Why can’t you see that?” I look into her hazel eyes and see…nothing. There’s no anger, no emotion, and it’s that emptiness which tells me more than anything else that I’m fucked. Only the worst monsters feel nothing.

“We all do what we need to, honey. Now, enjoy your food. Prince made it for you especially.”

Then she’s gone, the door locking behind her once more.

My stomach growls as the scent of my dinner wafts towards me, and I slowly get up off the floor and head towards the table. Lifting the lid, a sob falls from my chest when I see that he’s made me chicken noodles, my favourite. I’m reminded of that night when we came back from the gallery, how Oct told me they knew so much about me.

The tears start in earnest as I realise that while I told them I loved them, I know nothing about what they want for their futures, and what their hopes and dreams are. Now I’m stuck in this attic, and it feels like I’ll never be able to ask them.

Taking hold of the cloth napkin that my cutlery rests on, I use it to wipe my eyes, and a small piece of paper floats to the ground. My heart pounds inside my chest as I bend down and reach for it, unfolding the square with trembling fingers.

Sugar,

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