“Oh, hey there. I’m looking for Silas Solstice? I think his phone might have been stolen or maybe he acquired a certain head injury that left him unstable.”
And here we go.
“Can you just let me know if it’s doable?” I locked the door to the club and started walking to my car, pulling up the map that showed Ember’s location.
“Doable? Yes. But do you really want me to ‘hack anything needed’ so you have a full-time feed to her? That’s a bit much, don’t you think?”
He’s not wrong, but I needed to be able to see her. “Is it a yes or a no, Knox?”
The line went silent for a few seconds.“Are you on drugs?”
I was already irritated from this conversation, but if anyone could help me, it was him. “Knox.”
“Do you plan on killing her?”
“KNOX!”
“Okay! Okay. I was just making sure! This will be a little bit tougher than your last request, so I might need an extra day. Do me a favor and don’t go too crazy, okay?”
I was twenty-two minutes away from her location, but I could probably make it in eighteen. “Yeah, got it,” I answered, as my foot pushed harder against the gas pedal.
He hung up once I agreed, leaving me with the silent map on my screen. Within seventeen minutes, I found myself parked in a small lot listening to the engine tick as it cooled. Flexing my fingers over the wheel, I pushed the button to uncover my sunroof and surveyed the area around me. Everything here seemed common, including the high school that Ember was inside of. Considering the time of year and her photography contract, I put together that this was something to do with graduation.
In an effort to relax, I looked up to the open sky. Watching the clouds hover, I laughed once, sharp and humorless.Iwas supposed to be the storm, the one who controlled things— and yet here I was, a shadow circling its fire.
A slight movement in the corner of my eye grabbed my attention, turning just as a group of people in robes walked out from behind the building. They stood there for a few moments until a woman stepped out from around them. Moving quickly, she positioned them one by one, just like she had with the members from my club.
“Okay, on three!” she shouted, voice bright. “One, two, THREE!”
The line of graduates threw their caps into the air as tassels flickered in the sunlight.
Click-click-click.
Moving around, she captured them from different angles all while pushing her wild hair from her face. Grabbing another lens from the pack on her back, her fingers moved automatically as she changed settings and shifted between different rays of light. Just as she finished and capped the lens, a man walked up behind her.
I was getting real sick of seeing that happen.
He moved close, greeting her with a wide smile. The motion was smooth, like they had an established connection. My body stiffened at the contact.How dare he touch her skin.I felt my hand tighten on the steering wheel as the leather creaked, and I imagined snapping his fingers off one by one.
I guess we're starting another count, Ember. Apparently the first nine weren’t enough for you.
The thought of making her repent was enough to calm me as I watched them. I knew that while he was talking to her, she was thinking about me and what I did to her last night. With each passing second, he became more animated with her. Ember's reaction stayed the same though, only nodding her head in response to what he’d said. Her body was stiff, and it was clear she was just trying to be polite. There was distance in her eyes, and her body closed off as she angled herself awayfrom him, searching for a way to end the conversation.
My fingers twitched in response, knowing that was the opposite of how she was for me.
That’s my girl.
Watching her, I realized how much her energy could expand. She had the ability to easily influence those around her, to feed into their emotions. Earlier, she helped the students be comfortable and encouraged them to relax. They fed off that positivity and listened. Even now, I knew this guy could feel it, the way she had shut down.
My eyes narrowed as she laughed once out of courtesy, hugging him again before excusing herself to head across the street. He watched her the whole way, just until she entered a coffee shop. Then he ushered the students back to where they’d come from.
I didn’t like the feeling of not seeing Ember, and as the moments passed, I told myself to stay put. I knew I needed to stay in the car.I knew that.So, I made sure to apologize to myself as I opened the car door and walked into the street. As I crossed over the sidewalk, I realized it didn’t matter anyway because shedidn’t know my face.
Within a few seconds, I'm filed in line a couple people behind her. I quickly realized that I was not only close enough to see she was on the phone but also lucky enough to hear the conversation.
“No,” she said firmly. “I don’t want to go out, regardless of what type of bar it is.” There was a slight pause, before her voiceturned brighter, teasing. “Because I’m tired, okay? And I can take care of those thingsmyself.”
I almost smiled at the conversation. With that tone, I could only imagine what “things” she was talking about, probably the very things I took care of for her last night.
