Page 80 of Tarnished Embers

I take Prince’s offered hand, letting him help to pull me from the vehicle. The gravel crunches beneath my boots, sweat instantly pooling at the base of my spine as I look up at the house, the place of my nightmare. Though maybe after tonight, the place of salvation? Or more nightmares, the jury is out on that one.

“Let’s go, Cinders,” Cas says from my other side, taking my free hand in his, and Prince keeps ahold of my other as we make our way into the quiet property.

A shudder runs through me as we cross the threshold, a shaking exhale leaving my chest as we make our way deeper into the house, towards the kitchen at the back. My eyes widen, a gasp lodging in my throat when the distinct sound of flesh hitting flesh reaches us.

“Rapist piece of shit!” Oct yells, and we rush through the door to find him standing over one of four men, all tied to chairs, all bleeding. Oct’s hands are clenched, his knuckles split and his whole body racked with tremors. I watch, frozen to the spot as he draws his fist back and punches the man in the face so hard that his chair topples backwards and he falls to the ground, moaning as his head smacks against the tiles.

“You got the party started without us,” Prince drawls, and there’s an air of violence in his tone, a darkness that I’m not sure I’ve heard before. I feel numb, taking it all in as if it’s some kind of warped dream.

“Apologies, brother,” Kit answers back, stepping away from one of the other men, who slumps and looks to be bleeding from multiple slashes across his naked torso. I swallow bile when I realise that all the men tied down are naked, my gaze flitting over them but not pausing for too long before moving away. “Are you doing okay, Pretty Thing?”

Blinking, I realise with a start that Kit is now in front of me, reaching out with bloody palms to cup my face. I take a sharp breath when his hands make contact, the skin slick with the blood of my tormentors. He pauses, looking deep into my eyes, concern and worry clear by the tightness of his jaw and his own lowered brows. He goes to pull away, but I release Cas and Prince’s hands, placing mine above Kit’s, holding them to my cheeks.

“I’m better now seeing you and Oct,” I whisper, unable to make my voice any louder. I lick my lips, trying to will my racing heart to slow down. The blasted organ won’t listen though, pumping a mile a minute, but I just focus on Kit, on the way he holds me and blocks my view of the men who hurt me so badly.

“I love you, Ember,” he murmurs, dipping his head and giving me a sweet kiss. I can feel the tension in him, his muscles coiled and ready to keep doling out punishment on my behalf.

“I love you, Kit,” I reply when he pulls away, finally letting his hands drop. His eyes dart over my cheeks, and I flush when I see them getting darker with heat.

“You look good covered in our enemies’ blood, Little Sis,” Oct rasps, barging Kit out of the way to grab me by my throat and pull me to his lips. I hear the others curse, but I don’t care because I’m drowning in Oct, clinging to him as he devastates me with his lips and tongue. He embraces the chaos that’s running through his veins, the violence clearly turning him on as he presses his hardness against my stomach.

“Try to wait before you fuck her, Oct,” a new voice teases in a deep baritone, and I pull back sharply to look at the stranger. He’s stacked, built like a brick shithouse, muscles on muscles that his vest does nothing to hide. Tattoos cover one arm, peeking out of his neckline. His dark blond hair is cut short to his head, a little longer on the top, and his jaw is reminiscent of a Disney prince.

The dark look in his green eyes is more Grimm fairy tales than Disney though, and he seems to be older than the rest of us by a few years. “Nice to finally meet you, Ember. Iris talks highly of you. I’m Hunter.”

His voice is deep, so deep it makes me think of an abyss that you could fall down in and never return.

“H–hello, Hunter,” I stammer, Oct moving to the side so I can see the two others in the room. They must be the twins, identical with their dirty blond hair tied in man buns to their sparkling brown eyes and stubbled chins.

“That’s Roman and Rowan,” Hunter introduces, but in all honesty, they look the fucking same, so I’ve no idea which is which.

“Thanks for being a friend to Iris,” the one on the left says, his lips quirking up in a cheeky grin that has my lips twitching. “And for giving her some new ideas to try in the bedroom.”

“I’ll be sure to text her later with a couple more,” I sass, which has all seven men looking at me. Hunter and the twins with wide eyes and my guys with knowing smirks.

“Now we know your names, you little shits,” a broken, rasping voice sneers from behind the Shadowmen, and I flinch, a sudden flashback of that same voice telling me he was going to fill up my filthy mouth making me stagger slightly.

Strong arms wrap around me from behind, and it takes everything in me not to thrash and scream. I take a deep inhale, drawing in the scent of summer meadows as I remind myself I’m not back in that attic, then willing my muscles to loosen and the tension to leave my body.

“Give her some space, Oct,” Prince orders firmly, and shaking my head, it’s like my vision returns, finding my guys surrounding me, the Shadowmen a few paces away. Oct releases me and tears spring to my eyes as my jaw tightens. I didn’t think the monsters still had me in their clutches. I thought that I was more over what happened than maybe I am, my nightmares lessening until I’ve only experienced the odd one.

“I’m sorry,” I mumble, looking down, the first hot tear tracking down my cheek.

“You have nothing, fucking nothing to be sorry about, you hear?” Cas grits out. “Look at me, Cinders, please.”

I glance up, finding him standing close but not touching me, and the gap between us hurts. Releasing a breath, I step towards him, snuggling into his chest and just breathing him in. Toffee apples fill my nose, calming me and letting me know that I’m here, not back in that attic, and the monsters who hurt me are about to experience a world of pain.

Cas’s arms come around me, tentatively at first, then pulling me closer until there’s not a breath of space between us. We hold each other for a few moments, then taking a deep inhale, I pull away.

“Will you come with me?” I ask, my gaze darting behind him to where the four beaten-up men await.

“Always,” he answers without hesitation, taking hold of my hand and waiting. I take another steadying breath, then slowly step towards the man who spoke. From our research, it’s Lord Blackthorn and I can’t stop the slight tremble that starts up at the sight of him, even powerless as he is.

“Well, hello there, petal,” he coos, and bile stings my mouth at the memory of him calling me that before. His blue eyes are bloodshot, one almost swollen shut, and his lip cut and bleeding. There are marks across his torso, but I pull my eyes up before I get to between his legs, knowing that will most likely set off another panic attack.

“You don’t fucking speak to her, scum,” Cas snarls, baring his teeth like he’s about to rip out Lord Blackthorn’s throat with them.

“It’s okay, Cas,” I say, placing my free hand on his chest and looking up at him. His heart pounds against my palm, and I use its steady rhythm to draw strength from. “I just wanted to clear up a little misunderstanding.”

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