Page 68 of Stealing Embers
“No.I’vegot this.”
Slipping into a defensive position, my blood buzzes with an influx of adrenaline.
“Round two,” I whisper.
Chapter Twenty
“Check the alleys, guys!”
Wait. I know that voice.
A half-second later Sterling careens around the corner. Catching sight of me, he skids to a halt.
“Whoa, Emberly!” His eyes skate up and down my body. “That’s a good look.”
“Um, thanks?”
Steel moves from behind me. “Hey, I’m here too, in case you care.”
“Nope. No one really cares, bro,” Sterling responds, never taking his eyes off me.
“Any sign of them?” Greyson calls from somewhere out of sight.
“Over here,” Sterling bellows, still gawking.
I cross my arms over my chest and shake out my new appendages.
“Are those real?” Sterling’s eyes go perfectly round. “Wicked cool.”
Another person clears the opening of the alleyway and slams on the breaks.
“Emberly?” Greyson gapes at me.
My gosh, has no one ever seen a Nephilim dressed completely in gold armor with metal-tipped wings before?
“Yep, it’s me. I have wings. Look, I can even do tricks.” I flap twice to levitate off the ground before dropping to the asphalt. “No, I don’t know how it happened. No, I don’t know what it means. Yes, I’m a little freaked out. Any questions? No? Great. Let’s accept this and move on.”
Greyson gives his head a hard shake. “Yeah, of course. We can talk about all that later. First off, are you guys okay?” His concerned gaze bounces from Steel to me.
“Oh, yeah.” Sterling moves closer, giving me another once-over. “We will definitely be talking about this later. Think your outfit will manifest in the mortal realm too?”
I tip my head skyward. Sterling could not be a bigger flirt. At least I’m finally getting used to it.
“Back. Off,” Steel warns and steps into his brother’s space.
Sterling’s brows shoot up at the same time as his hands. “Whoa there, bro.”
When Steel’s face doesn’t lose its hardness, Sterling retreats. Only then do Steel’s hackles flatten and the air loses its crackle of tension.
Canting his head to the side, Sterling studies his older sibling. “So, it’s going to be like that, is it?”
“Stop that thought immediately,” Steel bites out. “You’re way off the mark with this one.”
“Am I?” A smile creeps across Sterling’s face. He looks as content as a cat who caught a mouse.
Greyson steps between his siblings. “Sterling, stop antagonizing Steel,” he orders. “And Steel, tone down your vibe, will ya? We need to get your head injury checked out.”
Oh, right!