Page 63 of Ashes

“Okay, Nova. My turn.” Tanner helps her up, then asks me to remove my shirt.

He’s a tall, good-looking guy. Light brown hair. Thick and floppy. The kind who’d be perfectly at home surfing in California or on the high school soccer team. As I peel off my gray shirt, his smile fades.

Nova lets out a small gasp.

“It’s really not as bad as it looks.” I stare down at my chest. Barely an inch of skin remains unblemished. “They let them settle for a few days, then heal me before the next show.”

Nova closes her eyes, the image too much for her.

“Let them settle?” Tanner pulls a stool from the dressing table and sits in front of me.

“They want the scars.” I swallow hard. “The people who come to the club—they like them.”

Tanner’s examining the bite wound on my shoulder. It’s deeper than the rest. Rolo got carried away; he’s not supposed to draw so much blood so quickly.

Thinking of the others, still in their cages, I shudder.

“I’ll fetch my bag. I’ll be back.” Tanner disappears back downstairs, leaving Nova and I alone for the first time.

She takes his place on the stool. “I’m sorry,” she says, her eyes reading the hundred stories etched on my skin. “I’m so sorry I didn’t come sooner.”

“How did you know?” I ask, sliding my hand into hers.

Nova breathes in slowly. “Do you remember a woman called Sarah?” She takes her phone from her pocket and hands it to me. On the screen, there’s an image of me, Nova, and her parents. Alice and Charles. I trace my thumb over their faces, then swipe to the next. A blond woman holding a toddler, smiling at the camera. “That’s me…” The smile on the young boy’s face makes my stomach constrict. “That’s Sarah.” I look at Nova. “I remember her. She was my nanny. After the fire, when your parents…” I trail off as memories I’ve kept shut away for years start to pummel my brain. “She wrote to me for a long time. Told me she was going to come for me, but she never did. Then—” I screw my eyes shut.

“You disappeared.” Nova touches my elbow. “But she never stopped looking for you. A couple of days ago, she told Luther the truth. She told him you were alive.” She draws herself up straighter and tries to smile. “Tanner was the one who found you. He’s an empath. He can…” She trails off and shakes her head. Smiling again, she adds, “It’s a lot. There’s a lot to explain, and I will. But for now, you just need to know you’re safe here with us. We’ve got you.”

“And Sarah?” Emotion tugs at my chest. I can’t picture her face very well, but I remember her handwriting and the stack of letters I used to keep by my bed.

“She’s not here, but she’s close by.” Nova looks around as Tanner comes back into the room. He’s holding a medical bag, which he opens on the bed.

As he cleans, stitches, and heals my wounds, Nova watches carefully. “You don’t have any scars from the fire,” she whispers.

I know which fire she’s talking about. “Couple on my leg.” I look down at my pants. “The rest weren’t too bad. They fixed them at the hospital before they let me go.”

She’s stroking the birthmark on my wrist. “It really is you,” she says quietly.

“It’s me.” I tweak my thumb under her chin, wincing as Tanner applies pressure to a wound on my back and mutters an incantation to relieve the pain. A yawn builds in my chest. Exhaustion creeps through me.

“You should rest.” Tanner pats my shoulder and stands up. “The pain spells will make you sleepy.”

“We have too much to talk about…” I reach for Nova, but she kisses my forehead and helps me lie back on the bed.

“We have all the time in the world.” She strokes my face. “Rest now. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

32

NOVA

Istay with Sam until he wakes up. The low rumble of the guys’ voices, coming up through the floorboards, is soothing. I wonder what Luther is telling them. How much detail he’s giving about our trip, Madame, and the horror of the stage show.

Part of me expects the voice to come to me again. With Sam here, I’m waiting for it to tell me what happens next.My cheeks flush as I think of Kole and wonder whether we need to do something to bring on another vision. Whether he needs to taste me again, and I need to let him.

“Nova?” Sam stirs, sitting up slowly, holding his side.

“Still here,” I say, folding my arms in front of my stomach because constantly holding his hands feels a bit too full-on.

A smile parts his lips. He has dark brown eyes, pale skin, and thick curly hair. He looks down at his torso and shudders.

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