Page 15 of Stealing Embers
“You can’t be.” She shakes her head, her waterfall hair rippling slightly with the movement. “Humans can’t jump worlds the way you do. At most, they can see glimpses.”
“If you’ve known about me for years, why reveal yourself now?”
Shifting, Sable brings her leg up to rest on the bed so she can face me. “When you ran away, it triggered a review by one of our investigators. When she looked into your files a bit more deeply, the episodes you’d been having didn’t add up. Humans can only see into the spirit realm—they can’t interact with it. The reports of your injuries were consistent with wounds our own warriors would get.
“Students at this academy, even potential ones, are ultimately my responsibility. Someone reported you sleeping behind Anita’s. You fit the description of the girl we were looking for, so I was sent in to build a rapport with you. Without diving too deeply into things, I can tell you that you are a bit of an enigma to us. You were very careful with what information you shared with me. I imagine you had to learn to be cautious. When I couldn’t find any definitive answers, we decided to pull you in anyway. It wasn’t until you phased that we knew with certainty you were one of us.”
There’s that word again.Phased. What exactly does that mean?
“I’m confused,” I admit.
Her smile doesn’t reach her eyes. “Like I said, I can only imagine what you’re going through. But I want to assure you that you belong here. You belong with us. You’re never going to be alone again.”
Her words, meant to assure, have the opposite effect. My palms grow sticky and my heart rate picks up.
To belong.
To find a place among others.
To not feel so alone, day after day.
Those used to be my deepest desires, but years of hardship and rejection have beaten the longing out of me. The craving is gone.
I’ve worked my whole life to be content alone. That’s all I want anymore—to be left alone. To live my life on my own terms.
I won’t rely on anyone else. People always leave. They always let you down.
The darkness that prowls the spectrum world aren’t the only creatures I avoid. People can cut just as deeply as the shadow beasts’ sharpened claws.
“Am I a prisoner?”
Sable’s perfect brow pinches and her lips pucker. “A prisoner? Of course not. We only want to help.”
“Then why did you kidnap me?”
She looks confused and . . . disappointed? Uncrossing her arms, she leans forward and steeples her hands under her chin.
“We didn’t kidnap you. We’re bringing you into the fold. We brought you to a safe haven.”
“I was fine on my own until you and your muscle showed up. I didn’t ask to besaved.” She flinches when I spit the word “saved” at her. That’s a low blow, but I don’t care. “If I’m not a prisoner, I’d like to go.”
Seconds tick by as Sable and I face off. Finally, she leans back and regards me warily.
“Where would you go? Back to living on the streets?”
I pop my jaw before answering.
“Yeah, if I have to.”
“It’s not safe for you to—”
“Says you. But you’re trying to pull me into a war! There’s nothing safe about that.”
“You’re already part of the conflict, even if you didn’t realize it. We don’t even know how you’ve stayed alive for this long on your own. It was only a matter of time—”
“Like I said, I was doing fine before you and your friends showed up.”
Sable presses her lips together, clearly frustrated that I keep cutting her off. “I know you believe that, but there’s more out there than you realize.” She sucks in a deep breath and lets it out slowly, regarding me the whole time. “How about this—I’ll make you a deal.”