Page 64 of Drawn in Blood
“And my uncle?” he asked almost sarcastically.
“Black.” She whispered in reply, and Ember felt her blood run cold.
“You will bring her to him immediately,” Malcom replied. “No more excuses.”
“Of course,” Collum nodded. “I just need a few more days.”
Theo shifted his weight from one foot to another and leaned too hard on one of the loose bricks in the walls. The scrape, however brief, ricocheted between the buildings and through the alley, like thunder echoing through a cavern. Ember, Killian, and Odette winced simultaneously, and Theo gave them a confused look until it dawned on him.
“Loud?”he signed, guilt almost audible in the way his fingers trembled.
“A little,”Ember replied, trying not to make him feel any worse than he seemed to.
“Who’s there?” Malcom asked, peering through the darkness in their direction.
Ember’s heart thumped in her throat as she grabbed Theo’s hand and felt Killian’s hand wrap around her other.
“We need to gonow,”he whispered and tugged her down the back of the alley, Odette following close behind.
Killian slowed down as they reached the busy street once again, but Ember could still feel her stomach coiling into tight knots. Killian was right—whatever Collum was up to, it couldn’t be anything good, not if Malcom Ellingboe was involved.
“Becareful,” Odette said quietly, and then disappeared down the street. Theo’s face brightened to a smile again as they made their way toward the terminal. Ember could feel the familiar tug in her sternum that stretched toward Killian and Fen, even though Fen wasn’t there. She was beginning to find her rhythm in this new life, a comfort she wasn’t sure would ever replace her time at the Kitts’. She didn’t need to tangle herself in yet another mystery that could upend everything. She didn’t need to put these people that she loved so deeply in danger again.
Right?
Chapter 18
Together
“You mean to tell me,” Fen quipped, as he tossed his bag next to the pillow on the ground, “you went to getice creamtogether—my favorite dessert—and then stumbled upon a possible mole in the Guard?Andwith Odette?Withoutme?” He crossed his arms tightly over his chest, sitting on his pillow and pouting like a toddler. As if on cue, Odette waltzed over to the trio, sitting down beside Ember. Fen’s cheeks burned scarlet as he huffed.
“That’s your takeaway from this whole story?” Killian replied. “Not my crazy uncle and the possible mole in the Guard, but the ice cream?”
“Honestly, Fenrir, it was for Theo,” Ember replied, as she rolled her eyes. “It’s not like we went on a secret date without telling you.” Ember closed her eyes tightly, realizing what she had just said.
Killian let out a slight snicker behind her, and she wished the floor would swallow her up.
“It would be lovely if you could come next time.” Odette said with a small smile.
Fen cut his eyes, looking back and forth between Killian and Ember before averting his eyes back to the front. “Idon’t appreciate all this time you’re spending without me,” he mumbled.
“You could come more often if Mummy would let you leave the house,” Killian laughed, as he sat on the other side of Ember, leaning back against the pillow on his elbow.
“She wants someone to have eyes on Maeve at all times,” Fen replied, as he rolled his eyes. “Honestly, she acts like someone’s just going to pluck her out of her bedroom in the middle of the day. And what am I supposed to do about it?” He shoved his glasses up the bridge of his nose, the tip of his nose turning bright red, the way it always did when he was getting angry. “Am I supposed to just go after a rogue Vala?” he continued, nostrils flaring. “With what? A blasting curse? I can’t even properly hit a wall during Galdr, so how am I supposed to hit a person?”
His breathing was growing heavier, and Ember quickly grabbed his hand and steadied her own breathing. It was something they had started doing over the summer—when one of them got worked up, or anxious or just couldn’t seem to settle, the other would grab their hand and not let go until their breathing matched exactly. It wasn’t something Ember had intended to start doing, but it happened, nonetheless. They were connected in a soul-defining kind of way—the way only siblings could be.
Fen locked eyes with her, his breathing beginning to steady, and she could just barely see the shine of tears pricking the corner of his eyes. He wasn’t angry at Maeve or frustrated with Eira and Otto.
He was scared.
“So, what are we going to do about it?” Killian asked.
“About what?” Odette replied as she began digging in her bag.
“Collum and my uncle and the way no one feels safe enough to leave their homes anymore.” Killian replied with a sigh.
“And what,” Ember asked, “do you propose a group of sixteen-year-olds issupposedto do about it?”
