Page 50 of Drawn in Blood
”Sure you can,” he shrugged. “Mum would love it and so would Maeve. There’s plenty of room. You’re family after all.”
”But I’m not,” she snapped. “Ihavea family now—a real family—and I can’t spend all of my time away from them just because you miss me. I’m not your sister anymore, Fenrir.”
Fen’s face fell, and Ember’s heart seemed to crack again, guilt filling all of the spaces. She hadn’t meant to bite his head off, but he needed to understand.
”I’ve missed the last decade with them,” she said, a little more gently this time. “I have to rebuild my relationship with them. I can’t be here as much anymore. I just can’t.”
Fen’s throat bobbed as he nodded. Silence filled the air around them as he averted his eyes, fidgeting with the Brazul he pulled out of his pocket.
“Your mum mentioned Siris earlier,” Ember said, trying desperately to change the subject and avoid another moment of awkward silence. “That’s your brother, right?”
Fen stiffened beside her, just barely, and dropped the ball on the grass. He quickly picked it back up, stuffing it in the leather case and into his pocket. “Older brother,” he mumbled with a nod.
“Where is he?”
“It doesn’t matter,” he said, as he shook his head.
Killian sighed as he took another bite of his apple. “It’s just Ember,” he said, as he rolled his eyes. “You can tell her?—”
“I said it doesn’t matter,” Fen spat, more angrily than Ember was expecting. “Talking doesn’t bring people back. And besides, she’s notfamily,so it doesn’t concern her.”
Ember flinched as if he had physically punched her in the stomach. She deserved that, she supposed. There was ire in his words, but behind the flame, she could see the hurt—the grief. Whether that was for her or his brother, she wasn’t sure.
She sank back against the tree. She knew better than anyone how painful some memories could be, that even talking about them could hurt worse than the original injury—like splitting open a wound and pouring vinegar directly into the vein. She didn’t say anything, just reached over to squeeze his hand. They would find some way to navigate all this pain together.
“So, what was that about with Oryn yesterday?” Fen asked, quickly changing the subject, eyes still glued to the grass in front of him.
“Hell if I know.” Killian shrugged. “Nothing good, I reckon. That whole lot has been actingespeciallyodd here lately.”
“Odd?” Ember asked, as she furrowed her brow.
“Aye,” Killian nodded, “this isn’t the first little meeting I’ve gotten wind of, just the first I’ve been invited to.”
“You don’t think they could have something to do with all of this, could they?” Ember asked, as her eyes widened. The thought that a parent—someone with children of their own—could be the cause of so much grief for other families was almost too hard to believe. But with their connections and the way Veda and Oryn acted even at school, maybe they weren’t too far off.
“Anything’s possible, Starshine,” Killian grimaced. “Maybe I’ll pop by my uncle’s house this weekend and see what this little meeting is all about.” He chewed thoughtfully on his apple.
“Please be careful,” she whispered, as she chewed on her bottom lip.
Killian smirked as he shot her a wink. “I always am.”
“Ugh, gross,” Fen grimaced. “Can you please not do that in front of me?”
Ember laughed, her chest growing lighter as the boys tried to tackle each other, resulting in a tangled mess of limbs flailing about the ground. The invisible tether that connected the three thrummed in her chest, and peace washed over her, a peace she hadn’t fully felt since she left the farm. As soon as she felt it, the feeling was immediately replaced by guilt. It was the strangest sensation—like she was homesick for a place she no longer got to call home. Maeve’s distant laughter filled the air as the smell of soda bread floated from the house, and Ember’s chest tightened as she wrapped her arms around her knees.
This wasn’t home anymore, and it never would be again.
Chapter 15
The Banshee of Ellesmere Island
“Youcannotask for a Pegasus for your birthday, Fenrir,” Ember sighed, as she rolled her eyes, sliding into her seat in Zoomancy. Since the moment she had met the boys at the Echopoint that morning, Fen had been chattering on about a Pegasus he had “bonded” with in Sigurvik that weekend and how it was the only thing he wanted for his birthday now.
“And why not, Em? What’s stopping me?” he replied, crossing his arms tightly over his chest like a petulant toddler.
“Eira would never let you, for one,” she replied, tapping her pen against her nose as she opened her textbook, “and think of how that would make poor Arlo feel. Replacing him with a flying pony? He would be devastated. Not to mention I’m almost certain they aren’t bred as pets.”
“She’s right, mate,” Killian interjected, as he leaned back in his chair. “They’re a working breed only. He’d be bloody miserable stuck in your barn all day.”
