Page 61 of Tarnished Embers

“I’m so sorry, Cas,” I whisper, the words barely audible.

“You do not need to apologize,” he tells me, his voice unwavering. “Remember what Ember told you? It’s not your fault. None of it is.” He brings our foreheads together, our lips so close that we share breaths. “And we will make Odette pay in blood and pain for all the sins she’s committed against us and ours.”

I let the wave of pure rage at the sound of her name flow over me like a soothing balm. It burns away some of the self-loathing I feel, lending me strength and focusing my mind. He’s right, the person who needs to pay the most is waiting outside, and I will dole out the punishment with my bare hands if I have to.

Then I will spend the rest of my life making it up to the people in this room. The people who mean more to me than anything else in this life. That is my vow, my pledge.

You will not go unavenged.

CHAPTERTWENTY-NINE

“WHAT WAS I MADE FOR?” BY BILLIE EILISH

EMBER

Beep. Beep. Beep…

The sound infiltrates the dark and drags me away from the blissful nothingness into a world full of aches. My eyelids flutter, but I’m unable to open them fully because they’re just so bloody heavy right now. Though there’s a pressure on my hand that has my fingers twitching.

“Little Sis?” a familiar voice whispers, the note of desperation mixed with relief making my chest feel tight. “Kit, I think she’s waking up.”

Kit…Oct…the twins.

It takes a tremendous effort to force my dry eyes open, but it’s worth it when I’m met with clear blue orbs, the colour of a tropical sea.

“Oct?” The word hurts, and my tongue licks my dry lips before the rim of a plastic cup is pressed against them a moment later. I look away from Oct to drown in stormy blue eyes as Kit holds the cup to my lips.

“Drink, Pretty Thing,” he orders in barely a breath, and I don’t miss the way his hand trembles as he urges me to drink the water.

Cool liquid fills my throat, and before I realise, it’s all gone, my mouth feeling less like a desert.

“Better?” Oct questions as Kit pulls the empty cup away, and I nod.

“Where am I?” I ask, lifting my hand to brush some hair away from my face. I still as the white bandage comes into view, covering me from elbow to wrist, the beeping sound getting faster as my heart thrashes inside my chest.

Tearing my gaze away, I peek up into Oct’s beautiful eyes, but they’re not the happy, carefree light colour that I know. Instead, they’re full of anguish, of terror, and…guilt.

Memories slam into me with the force of a truck and the sound of a keening animal overtakes the beeping. Hands holding me down, a blow to my head... Pain, so much pain that I’m drowning.

“We’re here, baby. You’re safe,” Kit assures me, the bed dipping in the front and back as they sandwich me between them. A summer meadow mixes with lime and mimosa as they engulf me in their arms, and it helps to calm my racing pulse a little.

I scream when the door flies open and a strange man strides in. My entire body goes hot, then ice-cold, tremors making my abused body ache as I bury my face into Oct’s chest.

“Get the fuck out!” Oct roars as I shudder in his arms. “She’s fucking terrified of you!”

“I need to check if she’s okay,” the man says, his voice loud over my whimpers, but I ignore him, gripping the front of Oct’s shirt in my clenched fists tighter as I hyperventilate.

“If you cared, you'd stop denying what happened to her. Now fuck off and send a woman in here,” Kit sneers, his arm around me from behind as he aligns our bodies so close that not a breath of air lies between us.

My body relaxes slightly, knowing that the twins will keep me safe, that they are not like those other men who hurt me.

“Shhh, Little Sis, we’ve got you,” Oct murmurs, placing a kiss to the top of my trembling head. “He’s gone now, baby.”

As my body relaxes further, the aches from before turn sharp, agony along both forearms and between my legs, my head and around my throat. Hazy memories try to push through again now that the threat has left the room, but I shove them down deep, not ready to face them just yet.

“Ember, sweetheart, the nurse is here. Can she check your vitals?” Kit asks, shifting like he’ll move.

A cry leaves my lips, and then he’s back pressed against me in an instant, his arms wrapping around me once more before his hands smooth down my side.

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