Page 20 of Drawn in Blood
“I suppose you won’t be needing that meeting tonight,” Thea said with an awkward chuckle, but no one else laughed.
“Well,” Eira breathed, “I think takeaway is in order tonight. Are you hungry, Thea?”
“Starved.” She nodded.
Otto bobbed his head as he took a shaky breath. “I’ll run to Florin’s,” was all he said before walking to the closet and slipping out the door. Eira smiled at Ember and squeezed her hand.
“Go start packing,” she whispered to Ember. “We’ll eat when your da… when Otto gets back.”
Before Ember could turn around, Fen was racing out of the room and up the steps. After a few moments, she heard his door slam closed, and Ember’s heart sank.
Eira sighed as she took a breath. “He’ll be okay, love.”
The faraway look in her eyes told Ember she wasn’t only talking about Fen.
Ember took a shaky breath and gave her a half smile. “I’ll go talk to him.”
She steadied herself against the railing of the stairs as she climbed, counting down from ten to try and slow her breathing. She was excited, thrilled to be going home with her mother, but something deep in her chest ached for the life she had built that she was now leaving behind. She knocked gently on the door as she gripped the pendant swinging around her neck.
“It’s open,” Fen said quietly from the other side, his voice sounding small and hoarse. The door creaked open, and Ember stepped in, shutting it quietly behind her. Fen was sitting crosslegged on his bed, twiddling his thumbs, eyes red and puffy as he sniffed and rubbed his arm across his cheek.
“So, I guess this is it.” He sniffed as he pulled his sleeves down over his hands. “You’re leaving.”
Ember sat on the bed beside Fen and grabbed his hand. “Hey,” she whispered, “I’m not moving off the island. We’ll still see each other every day.”
“But you won’t be down the hall anymore.” He sniffed as moisture built on his lower lash. “You won’t sit across from me at the breakfast table or fly in the orchards with me before supper.” He took a shaky breath and shook his head. “Everything is about to change.”
Ember squeezed his hand tightly. “This won’t change anything other than our sleeping arrangement.” She smiled.
“You promise?” He looked up at her expectantly. The grief in his eyes was palpable. Ember was getting her family back; she was gaining something incredible that she had only ever dreamed of…
But Fen was losing his sister, and her heart ached.
“I swear it,” she whispered, as she held tight to his hand.
Fen let out a sigh as he ran his fingers through his messy hair. “I don’t like change.”
Ember shrugged as she dropped his hand and leaned back on her elbows. “Then, we don’t let anything change.”
The family spenttheir evening together around the fire in the living room eating curry chips and reminiscing on the last year. Maeve held tightly to Ember’s arm as she snuggled into hershoulder. Ember relaxed into the couch as she laughed along with Fen’s retelling of their final Rukr game last season, which ended with Killian in the mud and Fen somehow upside down on his board.
“Ember!” Maeve squeaked, as she bounced on her knees, “this weekend, can we ride in the orchard?”
Ember’s heart sank as she looked at the girls’ expectant smile. That summer, after receiving her own AirWave, she had been helping Maeve learn to ride. She would hover a foot off the ground, gripping Ember’s hands as she squealed. The board didn’t move fast, and she didn’t go very high, but it was thrilling for the little one, nonetheless, and Ember had come to love spending time with her in the sinking summer sun.
“Maevie,” Ember breathed, “I’m leaving Friday. I’m sorry.”
The little girl furrowed her brow as she crossed her legs on the couch. “When will you be back?”
Ember sucked in a breath and turned to Eira and Otto, each bearing expressions that she couldn’t quite place.
“Maevie, love,” Eira said quietly, “Ember is moving home.”
Maeve’s bottom lip trembled. “But this is Ember’s home,” she whispered.
Ember closed her eyes as she bit her bottom lip. Tears threatened to spill over as she took slow, steady breaths.
“Mo Chroí,” Otto said gently, as he knelt beside the teary-eyed girl, “Ember is going to live with her mum now. She’s going back to her home with her family.”
