“Yes,” she hissed, her knees falling open.
So slowly it nearly drove me wild, I pushed one finger inside her. I couldn’t wait to taste her, but I wouldn’t rush. I wantedher begging for my tongue. Her eyelids fluttered, a whimper eking from her lips in slow, sultry tones. The deeper I pushed inside her, the more she lost control beneath my hands.
“More,” she whispered. “Please, Ares?—”
Whatever she was going to say was cut off by a bloodcurdling scream. Both of us startled, uncharacteristically slow to react, as she yanked back from my touch. Her breath heaved as she pulled her t-shirt down, her eyes wide and dazed, as though maybe we’d both hallucinated the scream.
In moments, there was rustling in the hallway. Voices. Ember’s eyes fell closed in obvious frustration, and she shook her head. “Go,” she whispered. “I’ll follow.”
I nodded, grabbing my sweater off the bench at the end of the bed. When I glanced back at her, she was gone.
CHAPTER 20
EMBER
I slidthrough the secret door between the bedrooms and grabbed a robe from off the bench at the end of my bed. My breath hitched, my heart still beating. Had I really just had Ares Necroline’s fingers inside me? I was fucking this whole thing up, wildly. I dreaded what Rhiannon would say when she found out.
Another truly wretched scream broke through the haze of lust I’d stumbled into. It was the girl. I rushed out of my bedroom, finding all the lights on in the hallway. Avaline and Eryx both stood outside the girl’s door with Lara. Ares stood at the doorway to the girl’s room. Rhiannon was inside.
That figured. The child needed someone comforting to talk to and none of us filled the bill. I stayed back, afraid to get too close to Ares right now. He nodded, as though having been asked something, and turned. When he saw me, the only indication that we’d been wrapped up in each other only moments ago was the way his eyes dragged over me as he passed by.
“Brontë’s asking for you,” he said, his voice gruff as he disappeared down the hall.
“It’s all right,” I said to the others. “Go back to bed.”
I didn’t wait to see what they would do next; I just walked into the bedroom. Inside, one of the silver mercury glass lampsnext to the bed was lit. Rhiannon, dressed in a matching set of camel-colored cashmere sweats, sat on the edge of the bed, speaking softly to the teenage girl.
The girl had dark brown hair that was nearly the same color as her skin, and she was pretty, but far, far too thin and badly bruised from where Fairchild’s torturer had hit her. “Hello,” I said, keeping my voice as gentle as I could.
Even old as I was, I still remembered what it meant to be a terrified child. Those who have been one never forget the feeling, and this girl would be no different. I whispered a prayer to Paloma for a miracle. That time might heal this child, rather than exacerbate her wounds. Prayer did fuck all, but it seemed worth a shot.
“What is your name?” I asked as I sat down on the clear lucite desk chair I’d bought for Sera.
“This is Briony,” Rhi explained. “Briony Rathbourne.”
I nodded. “It is nice to meet you, Briony.” Rhiannon stared at me for a long moment, as though there was something I should say or do, but I didn’t know what it was. “I am Ember,” I said, finally.
The girl nodded, then winced as she spoke. Her bottom lip was split open. “You’re Ember Verona. Leader of the Orphium Maere. I know.”
As she spoke, something shifted around her. I realized, with an appropriate amount of wonder, that I saw her aura. Just the shadow of it, as I hadn’t touched my sword in two hundred years. But there was something familiar about it. I glanced at Rhiannon, who nodded.
Ares returned with a glass of water. “For you, Briony,” he said. “Do you remember me?”
The girl took a careful sip of water and nodded, holding it in her lap. She looked like every inch of her body hurt. “Yes. I remember you pulling the spirit from me. Thank you. It wanted to help me, but…” Tears filled her eyes. “My father was a bad man… I know that…”
Rhi touched her arm, her fingers featherlight on the girl’s bruised skin, the movement tender and comforting. “But you didn’t want him to die.”
The girl shook her head. “He was horrible, but he was all I had.”
“It will take time to heal,” Ares said, with the wisdom of someone who had been there. Curiosity about who he’d been before Roman Necroline found him itched at the back of my mind. I knew the stories about what had happened to his parents, but they were just that. Stories.
Ares’ voice was uncharacteristically tender as he said, “It’ll take time to find peace again, but you will. You are safe now.”
Rhiannon nodded. “Yes, we will keep you safe.” She gave me another pointed look as Briony turned her attention to me. She hadn’t even been back a day, and she was already getting judgy about how I operated. I wished to all Saints that she’d been born first, that she could lead the Maere.
She wanted to do this kind of work. I just wanted my family back. To be a part of something bigger than me again.
“Yes,” I agreed. “They’re right. We’ll keep you safe.” Rhi shook her head, as though I’d disappointed her. But that was no surprise. I stood. “I will let you get some rest.”
