Aiden
Ember closes the waiting room door. A thud echoes around the empty space, now clear of any students.
My hands shake. Panic invades every cell in my body, and the urge to flee becomes overwhelming. How did today turn into such a horrific mess?
Ember keeps her distance, staying by the door. “Aiden…” She slowly steps toward me. “Are you okay?”
I nod, choking on my words, since I’m not sure how to respond.
She takes a deep breath, eyeing me skeptically. “There’s a lot we need to talk about, but I know you’re having a hard time right now. I’d like to help ground you, like you did for me after the press conference. Would it be okay if I hugged you? Or do you not want to be touched?”
Her kindness overwhelms me, and all I can do is lift my arms, a welcome signal for her embrace. She runs over and wraps her arms around me. Her warmth engulfs me, and electricity scurries through my arm hairs.
“I forget everything you said to ground me before.” Ember’s voice is muffled against my chest. “But I remember how holding you helped. Let me know what else I can do.”
“This is enough.” I bury my head into her hair, savoring its strawberry scent, even if it’s mixed with a faint hint of iron and sweat. She tightens her hold around my hips. I let myself relax into her, needing the comfort of her body against mine.
“Talk to me,” she whispers. “I’m here for you.”
“I’m… I’m fine,” I say as a knee-jerk reaction. “Things just got—”
“Aiden.” She pulls back, eyeing me sternly. “Don’t lie to me. What happened out there was terrifying. I’m trying hard to understand, but I need you to be honest with me.”
Not knowing where to start, I struggle to make any sound. Everything I want to say tangles inside me, and shame anchors my lips closed.
Ember lays her hand over my heart. “You’ve been a strong pillar for me, letting me lean on you when I was falling.” She cups my face. Her thumbs wipe away my tears. “Now let me be that pillar for you.”
Her words are like a wrecking ball, slamming against the dam holding back my emotions. Tears flow freely from my eyes, and I cave into her, burying my head into her neck. She holds me against her, soothing me like I’m a child. I grab onto her like she’s the only thing keeping me together.
“I don’t know what happened,” I say between sobs, and everything spills from me in a blubbering mess. “I just know I want to keep you safe. I–I don’t want to see someone else fall victim to the ‘curse,’ and… and I don’t want to be kicked out of the Defender program.”
“What’s going on?” She looks up at me. Her emerald eyes glimmer like well-polished stones. “Does any of this have to do with what you said earlier? About Stu?”
“It does,” I say, sniffling loudly. “I hated to warn you like that, but I needed to say something.”
“But, why? What happened?”
My gut turns. I want to protect her. I don’t want to tell her that she can’t trust another person in her life. I don’t want to be the reason she experiences any more pain. But I won’t lie to her. “Dean Warwick is working with villains. I overheard him discussing his involvement with the ‘curse.’”
Ember freezes, but her skin grows warmer. “Wh–what?”
I take a deep breath and start at the beginning. I retell Ember everything, from the moment I left the waiting room and heard the strange popping sound, to how Valentino punished me for being late to the arena by not letting me choose who I wanted to mentor.
Ember lets me talk. As she’s soaking in my story; a subtle anger lines her face, and her temperature rises with every word I say.
Once I finish, Ember stands still, barely breathing. “I–I need to sit down.” She passes me to sit on a black leather couch in the conversation pit. Steam rises from her, like a faint mist, and she drops her head into her hands.
I half expect her to bolt out the door, away from all the horrible things I’ve just told her, but she doesn’t move from the couch. I go to her and kneel in front of her, holding her knee. “Em, honey, now it’s your turn to talk to me.”
She grips the edge of the couch, and the black leather cracks underneath her glowing fingertips. A thousand questions reflect in her stare. “I don’t even know what to say. Or what to think. None of this makes sense.”
“I know.” I swallow loudly. “It’s a lot to take in.”
“Is that why you think Johnny threatened you?” she asks, breathing hard. “Because they’re already eyeing you as a test subject?”
“It’s possible,” I say cautiously, not wanting to worry her any further. “But Warwick isn’t letting them, for whatever reason.”
“Yeah. He thinks I should be sacrificed.” She snorts and wipes her cheek, smearing some of the once-dried blood. “None of this makes sense. Stu helped me so much with the press conference and even promised Eliza he’d keep me safe.”
“Maybe Warwick has a grudge against Eliza for breaking up with him? And he’s using you to get back at her?”
“He would be that petty, wouldn’t he?” Ember wipes away a tear and sniffles. “Valentino really can’t do anything?”
I sigh and shake my head. “Not until we get actual evidence. Right now, it’d be my word against his, and who would listen to a first-year Defender student?”
Ember runs her hand through her thick auburn locks in distress. “How about we go to the press with all of this? They can expose him.”
“Do you think they would?” I answer solemnly. “Or would they use it against you—that you’re connected to someone like that?” A horrible notion drowns my thoughts. “And who’s to say that the corruption stops here at the university? The villains could have someone at the newspaper, controlling the stories, for all we know.”
“You’re right,” Ember answers, sounding tired. “You know… There is someone I could talk to, someone who knows more about Stu and may have an idea about why he’s doing this.”
“Who?”
“Eliza,” Ember says dryly.
“Oh.” I feel slightly stupid that Eliza didn’t occur to me.
The name hangs in the air, a promise of hope but dampened with dread. Could Eliza be hiding even more from Ember about the people in her life?
“It seems like Eliza is tied to a lot of corrupted people, isn’t she?” I mutter.
“It would seem.” Ember closes her eyes. “I’m so tired. I’m tired of the secrets. Of the lies. Of…” Her emerald-colored eyes flash open, staring at me, etched in grief. “Losing the people I love.”
I lightly trace her chin, hoping my touch brings her some comfort. “Em, you’re not going to lose me.”
She glances at the glass dome above us. Clouds marbled with gray loom overhead. “I was so scared when you got injured by Iron Forge. There was so much blood.” A bolt of lightning cracks in the sky, illuminating her tears. “I was terrified I would lose you then, and we weren’t even together yet.”
A gentle patter of rain hits the glass.
“That’s how I know I’m not going anywhere.” A smile teases the corner of my lips. “You’re too stubborn to let me go. You dragged me out of those woods, refusing to let me die.”
She chuckles, though it’s faint. “Even then, I think I loved you. I just didn’t realize it yet.”
“I think I loved you then too,” I add tenderly. We lace our fingers together. “I know all of this is scary, but we’ll somehow make sense out of it. I believe that.” The shadows of rain droplets on her face make it look like she’s crying even more than she is. “I do think you need to talk to Eliza about this. She may hold some of the answers we’re looking for.”
“You’re right.” Ember wipes her face, removing the last trace of blood from her cheeks. “There’s no other option at this point. I’ll call her and see about going home soon.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“I know you will.” Her lips soften as she sighs in remorse. She touches the side of my face. “Should you, though? You have a lot going on, especially with what happened earlier.”
I lean into her touch, trying to take some comfort in her soft skin. “I have to take ownership of what I did. There’s no way around that.” A mixture of worry, grief, and disappointment swirls in my stomach like sludge. “There is a good chance they’ll expel me from the program now. Valentino made it clear that if I showed any signs of failing to control my emotions again, I’d be out.”
“I must admit, you scared me. I’ve never seen you so mad before,” Ember says quietly. “Is that how you were before? When you fought Jomo in class?”
I nod, shame weighing down my shoulders. “Yeah,” my voice cracks. “Something about that guy just gets under my skin.”
“The Aiden I saw earlier isn’t the one I know,” Ember says firmly but with tenderness. “He wouldn’t risk everything he’s worked for over a guy who’s trying to stroke his own ego.”
“You’re right.” Her words are powerful, hitting my core. “He wouldn’t.”
Ember leans her forehead against mine. “I was thinking… Do you remember how Johnny asked me if you had any uncontrollable bits of rage?”
I frown. “Yeah. I do.”
“I know you always take ownership when you lose control, but there may be more to it. Especially knowing the villains have been eyeing you for whatever they’re doing.”
A knot forms in my throat. I remember the uncontrollable rage and how intense it was. How it felt like something else had invaded me that completely wiped out any control I had. Do I already have the serum inside of me?
My anxiety spikes, causing my head to feel fuzzy, and my heart palpitates. I can’t doom myself to a path I may not be on. “We can’t think like that,” I say, my voice shaking. “We don’t know how the serum works, and it seems like they have a limited amount of it. Susan also made it clear that Warwick hadn’t made a choice yet, and he still had some time, no matter how little.”
Ember nods, blinking quickly. “Yeah, you’re right.” Her lips quiver, and she can’t control her crying. “But if… if something happens to you… I don’t know what I’ll do.”
“Shh, honey.” I move next to Ember on the couch and pull her close to me. She sobs into my shoulder. “Remember what I said before? We can’t live in fear of the future.” She nods against me. Her tears soak my white button-up. “That applies even now. And if something does happen to me…” I take a deep breath, calming my gnawing fear. “You’ll have to keep going. If not for yourself, then for me, for Eliza, for Stella, for… everyone who loves you.”
Ember sniffles and winces in pain. “Ow.” She lightly touches her nose.
“See? All this crying is just causing you more pain.” I plant a soft kiss on her forehead. “I’m sorry today has turned out like this. It should be a happy day. You got into the program! That’s a huge step toward your plans.”
“Yeah.” Ember straightens, and air escapes her like a dying balloon. “Now I get to deal with Jomo, too.”
Just hearing his name pricks my irritation. “Don’t worry. I’ll talk to him.”
Ember snaps her head toward me. Her eyes are round with alarm. “No. Don’t. It’ll make things worse. You need to stay away from him as much as possible until we get an understanding of what’s going on.”
“Okay. I won’t,” I say, not wanting to cause her any more distress. She’s right anyway. That wasn’t one of my greatest ideas, especially after what just happened.
She leans her head back against my shoulder, watching the rain hit the glass dome. Lightning bounces between the clouds.
“Do you want to get going?” I lean my head against hers and wrap my arm around her shoulders. “I know you must be exhausted. Some sleep may do us both some good.”
“No.” She shakes her head and burrows her head into my neck, breathing deeply. “I want to stay here for a little longer. Imagine that everything is alright in the world and that I’ll never lose you.”
I place her hand over my heart, hating myself, because I know I may be lying to her when I say, “I’m not going anywhere.”