Page 94 of Stealing Embers
Is that a tear, or is frosty air making her eyes water?
“I’m . . . I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry? That’s just great. That makes everything better.” She crosses her arms over her chest and her lids flutter, but no moisture leaks from them. “I’m sure that will make all the whispered gossip about how I keep throwing myself at Steel disappear. And I’m sure that will make people just forget about how desperate—” The words catch in her throat until she clears it. “How desperate I’ve looked trying to get his attention.”
My heart aches. Nova isn’t truly angry at me, she’s angry at herself. I don’t know what I can do for her. I can’t reverse time and undo her actions. Regret is an emotion that sits heavily on even the strongest of us.
“No one thinks you’re desperate.”
She purses her lips and shoots me a stare that says she doesn’t believe that. Reassurance isn’t what she needs right now, but what else can I give her?
“What can I do?”
She’s silent for several heartbeats before speaking. The guarded way she looks at me is laced with vulnerability. “You know what you can do for me? You can be honest with yourself. Burying the truth isn’t helping anyone.”
Wait . . . I thought this wasn’t about me.
“I’m not blind.” Genuine hurt is splashed across her face. I hate that I did something to cause that emotion. “I can see there’s something between the two of you.”
“Mutual dislike and distrust?”
“Very funny.” Annoyance slides back over her features, wiping away any vestige of vulnerability.
“I wasn’t trying to be,” I grumble under my breath.
Nova arches a perfectly plucked eyebrow. “You can’t honestly tell me you don’t feel anything for Steel. That there isn’t any part of you that wants to call him your own.”
I open my mouth to answer and the memory of the spectrum world appears. Some part of me does consider Steel “mine.” It’s a part I’m trying to extinguish, but it’s still there.
Shoot, maybe I haven’t been truthful about my feelings. But even if there are twinges of emotion toward Steel, who says I have to act on them? Last time I checked, free will was still a thing.
I suck my bottom lip into my mouth, wracking my brain to figure out a way to explain a situation that I don’t fully comprehend myself.
Nova scoffs, not waiting for me to work out my internal thoughts. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
“It’s not as simple as you’re making—”
The doors behind Nova fly open and Ash spills out. Her eyes are as wild as a frightened filly’s as she takes both of us in. “Have you seen the twins?”
“Greyson and Sterling? Not since second period.” Has something happened to the brothers?
“No, Blaze and Aurora. They’re missing.”
“What do you mean, they’re missing?” Nova demands, instant concern tweaking her features.
“Yeah, what she said,” I add.
“No one has seen them since mid-day. They never showed up to their classes in the afternoon. The teachers thought they were messing around in one of the academy bunkers—apparently they think it’s funny to hide in them—but they’ve all been checked.”
“Well, they have to be somewhere around here, right? They wouldn’t have left the building, would they?”
“Ha.” Nova’s laugh is devoid of any real humor. “You obviously don’t know the youngest Durand twins very well. Those two can find trouble anywhere.”
“It may be nothing, but the eastern wards are down. They may have fallen by accident, but considering that . . .” Ash digs a hand in her hair. “It just doesn’t look good.”
The eastern wards? That’s the direction Deacon, Steel, and I just came from.
“We were just out that way. We didn’t notice anything unusual. Has anyone searched the grounds yet?” Evening has succumbed to full night. Light halos the academy, but beyond the glow, darkness reigns. “Could they have phased? Maybe they’re hiding in the other realm?”