Page 254 of Fangs
“You know, gettin’ yourself kidnapped by a cult is a pretty fuckin’ dramatic way to try and get out of training,” she remarked as we walked back down the hill.
A startled laugh escaped my lips. “Well, it worked, didn’t it?”
“Not on your life. You’re startin’ as soon as you don’t look like a strong gust of wind might blow you over.”
I snorted, trying to push down the fear that I wouldn’t shake this weakness—that this was something else.Without him, your powers will corrupt.Was that just more bullshit, or was it actually true? If it was true, was it talking about Menace, or was it the fake God of Death? My life was complicated enough without fucking prophecies breathing down my neck.
We were a couple houses away when we saw Kai and Sable burst out of Nemo’s home into the drizzle. My stomach dropped, and I felt Raven tense, but Kai spotted me and shouted at Sable. They both started storming toward us, the relief in their faces changing to anger.
“Fuck,” I muttered out loud.
“Where the fuck were you?” Kai demanded as he reached us.
“I—”
“I asked her to come to the cemetery with me,” Raven interrupted. “I didn’t realize she was a prisoner.”
Kai’s sharp glare snapped to Raven. I glanced between them, uncertain if I should step in.
“You didn’t think to leave a note?” Kai gritted out.
“Next time, I’ll submit a written request so you can shove it up your?—”
“Sorry!” I blurted out. “I’m sorry!”
Kai’s angry face almost matched his hair, and the smirk on Raven’s face didn’t help.
“Kai,” Sable put a hand on his arm, but he frowned at me. “You scared us, Ember. No one knew where you were, and we couldn’t find you.”
Real guilt stabbed through me. “Sorry,” I mumbled.
“Let’s go inside,” Sable sighed.
“I gotta head to the garage,” Raven said, meeting my gaze, still smirking unapologetically. “See you later, Boney.”
Nemo glanced up when Kai, Sable, and I came in, and the deep furrows in his face relaxed at the sight of me. I attempted to give him an apologetic smile, and he gave me a warm one in return. My boots left little puddles of muddy water on Nemo’s stairs.
“You were at the cemetery?” Sable asked as we walked down the hallway.
I nodded, hoping they wouldn’t press. I felt physically and emotionally exhausted. Thankfully, they were quiet. Sable got to work changing the bandage while Kai glared at me with his arms crossed. Sable was finishing up when the door opened, and Wolf walked in.
“I got somethin’ for you,” he said, grinning.
He walked up to the bed, and then, from behind his back, he pulled out a dandelion.
I stared at the small yellow flower, my heartbeat slowing as it thudded in my ears. I could see Trey’s sunshine smile and warm brown eyes. What had he written in that letter? To look for him in the dandelions? That I would find him wherever there was life?
I looked at the flower, but all I saw was a painful reminder of everything I’d lost.
The tidal wave of pain crashed into me, sent me tumbling underwater, and then I was sobbing.
I was vaguely aware of Wolf sitting beside me on the bed and asking me questions in a concerned voice. I sat cross-legged on the bed, hunched over with both hands covering my face. I couldn’t answer them. I could only sob. The bed shifted, and a warm arm wrapped around me.
“I’m here, Emmy,” my brother murmured. “I got you.”
I curled into him, clinging to his jacket, and cried into his chest. It was a long time before I finally cried myself out, my body-shaking sobs slowing to hiccupy gasps. Wolf held me tightly, his cheek resting on top of my head. Eventually, I realized that Sable was sitting on my other side, and Kai was in the chair.
“You want to talk about it?” Wolf asked, his voice gentle.
