Ember (20 page)

Without warning she reached up and swiped him viciously across the head.

“What the…”

“Think, Sebastian…I tried to talk to you about all of this. I’ve tried to be nice about it. I’ve tried to get you to see sense.”

“You
really
need to stop hitting me,” Sebastian cautioned her, rubbing his smarting scalp.

“Are you really that obtuse? Do you think any of us want this? Do you think that turning your big browns on that girl will make it any easier when she has to go to him? Is she worth a war? Are you prepared to kill for her?” Lofi demanded irately. “Do you think she will thank you for it? Do you think she will love you for starting a war?”

He could hear movement from upstairs, as well as from the rear of the house where the kitchen was situated. He guessed both Candra and Brie were awake by now and very likely listening to Lofi’s rant. The truth was that he had turned his feelings off. For so long Sebastian was able to lock everything away so he didn’t have to deal with guilt or loneliness. He’d had Brie and then Lofi, and there were always the others, the human women he kept company with from time to time…not forgetting Ananchel, of course, but this was different.

It was so far removed from any other situation he had ever been in; it was like trying to compare a sparrow to an eagle. Candra was not meant to be with Draven. For the first time in his seemingly endless existence, Sebastian was sure of one thing and was trying to do something right—something that he felt was right down to his very bones—and he was being belted with obstacles at every turn. He didn’t want war, but he couldn’t walk away.

“Why can’t you just admit you want her and that it’s sheer human jealously spurring you on?” Lofi narrowed her eyes accusingly.

Sebastian heard a door upstairs open, and his stomach lurched. Lofi was about to ruin everything. Candra would know last night was nothing but an act to win her over. He approached Lofi and stood over her, bending his knees so he was eye-level.

“Because I’m not human.” Sebastian paused and sucked a breath in through his clenched teeth. “You need to stay out of this,” he growled.

Lofi boldly pursed her lips, refusing to back down. “I can’t. This involves all of us. You knew it would come to this. We all did. Now it has; there is nothing we can do. Have you even stopped to consider she may want him, that she may want to be with them?”

Rage made his stomach clench, and his limbs stiffened. He felt his heart pound through the artery in his neck. He didn’t want to consider the possibility she may want Draven, because it wasn’t possible. It couldn’t be. He heard footsteps pad across the floor above them and pause at the top of the stairs.

Sebastian froze; thinking fast normally wasn’t a problem. If he could only go back in time a few years or even a few months, he would know exactly the right words to placate Lofi. Right now he couldn’t think of anything other than a promise to stay away from Candra, and that wasn’t going to happen.

“Where are you going?” Lofi called after Sebastian as he stormed past her and out the door.

“To find a way to make Draven change his mind,” he responded in a snarled whisper, not caring if Lofi heard or not.

The only thing Candra got to hear clearly was the slamming of the door. When she peeked down the stairs, she saw Lofi shuffling out the door in a hurry.

Candra dressed quickly, doing her very best to stay in the moment and not revert to dissecting what happened the night before with Draven or Sebastian, thinking there really was no point. These evolving feelings she was harboring toward Sebastian were futile. She wouldn’t and couldn’t allow the Watchers to believe the covenant was broken, but neither could she understand why Draven would want her.

She made her way to the kitchen, following the scent of cooling oatmeal. The kitchen, like the other rooms in the house, only contained what was necessary. There were no gadgets or utensils lying around that would never be used. There were no impulse-and-later-regretted buys. Just simple, pale wood cabinets, a black marble worktop, a small herb garden box in the window for color, chrome appliances, and a range where Brie stood dishing up a bowl of sweetened oatmeal. The round table was set for two, and Candra noticed a white letter envelope sitting across the setting she presumed was for Brie. She sat down and sipped from the glass of juice in front of her.

“I don’t suppose you know what that was about, do you?” Candra asked quietly as she fiddled with a napkin, rolling it through her fingers.

Brie turned with two bowls in hand and sat at the other seat.

“Hmm.” Candra sighed as the sweet aroma of cinnamon, brown sugar, and raisins hit. Her stomach let out a low gurgle, reminding her of how little she had eaten the day before. As far as she was concerned, the ultimate comfort foods were oatmeal and chicken noodle soup, though not at the same time—hot in winter and room temperature in summer. Her reaction always made Brie smile; today was no different.

“I thought you could use the sugar after yesterday.” Brie smirked, ignoring her question.

Candra picked up her spoon and dug into her sticky breakfast. “I’m guessing they were fighting over me,” she pushed, unwilling to just let it go.

Brie didn’t answer, instead taking a mouthful of food and looking ahead, completely avoiding the question.

Candra dropped her spoon by the side of the bowl sharply. “Okay, that is it. You can’t keep ignoring this or pretending it’s not happening. I just want you to talk me,” she pleaded. “I have some pretty big stuff going on, and I need you. I need your help and your guidance, and instead of giving it to me, you are just disappearing into a shell.”

Very calmly, Brie laid her spoon down, took a sip of juice, and dabbed at her lips. Then she interlaced her fingers on the table in front of her, keeping her expression carefully guarded. All the while Candra stared at her, dumbfounded. It was like looking at someone she didn’t even know. She wanted to shake Brie and could feel her frustration ready to explode. Her heart began to race, and she clenched the napkin tighter in her hands, ready to throw it down and storm out. Until suddenly Brie let out a long weary sigh, and her shoulders drooped.

“You’re right,” she agreed in a small voice, catching Candra a little off guard. “You are absolutely right. I’ve been hiding, hoping I can make this easier on myself when I should have been thinking of you.”

“It’s okay,” Candra reassured her, reaching out to lay her hand over Brie’s. At the same time she mentally kicked herself because it wasn’t okay; it was as far from okay as anything could possibly get. But her response was a reflex.

Brie patted Candra’s hand with her own softly and offered a weak smile. “No, Candra. You’re right. It’s not okay. I haven’t been here for you, and it stops today. You tell me what you want to know or what you need me to do, and I’ll do it.”

Candra felt a small twist in her stomach. This was not the strong confident Brie she knew. But at least she was nearer to it.

Candra leaned forward, placing her elbows on the table and raking her fingers through her hair. “I’m confused,” she admitted. “I don’t understand why my father would do this, why you would. Draven told me I was hidden to protect me from Sebastian. Is that true? You left him. You left Gabe too. I would have to be oblivious not to pick up the vibes between you two.” She looked up to Brie hopefully, waiting for an answer.

Brie smiled a little and reached forward to pull Candra’s hand from her hair, and handed her the spoon sitting by her bowl. “I’m so sorry, Candra. But you know the truth is I hoped we would never have to tell you any of this. It was all so simple. Your father loved your mother. They had a sweet brief affair, and you were the result. Payne didn’t tell me everything. He promised he would when the time was right, said he was protecting me in case it went wrong. The only thing I knew was that you had to be protected…at all costs.”

Candra felt a sharp sting at the back of her eyes. This wasn’t going to get her any nearer to answers at all, but she could see Brie was telling the truth. Brie didn’t know any more.

“You trusted him enough to give up everything, when you didn’t know the reason?”

Brie nodded.

“Sebastian, in the hospital, you thought he would kill me?”

She grimaced, as if Candra had slapped her, and her eyebrows pulled down into a scowl. Her hands trembled almost indiscernibly, and she pulled them below the table quickly, but not so quickly Candra didn’t see.

“I didn’t know what he would do. We’ve all done terrible things in the name of mankind.”

Candra recoiled at the abrupt flashback in her head: Brie standing triumphantly over the dead baby, and she had to remind herself it wasn’t just a baby; it was a monster. She swallowed thickly and reached into her pocket, finding the small stone and running her thumb over the smooth surface to remind herself they were just as capable of great kindness and healing, as well as the brutality she had witnessed and heard about.

“But he didn’t hurt me, the opposite…he’s done nothing but try to protect me. You had to have known he wouldn’t hurt me.”

Brie shook her head sadly. “Because you want to believe it, you think that it must be true. The truth is that you don’t know what he is capable of given the right set of circumstances. I doubt he knows what he is capable of.”

Candra stood abruptly, and her chair scrapped across the floor as it pushed back. Hadn’t she been convinced Sebastian was dangerous? She was scared that first day, but now…Candra couldn’t imagine the possibility Sebastian would ever have hurt her. He said so last night. He said he couldn’t hurt her, and she believed him.

“You’re defending him now?” Brie raised a suspicious eyebrow.

“No,” Candra shot back defiantly and slumped back into her seat, trying to give the appearance of remaining calm. “I…we…” She stumbled over her words, feeling the blush rise in her cheeks. “We are friends now, that’s all.”

The raised eyebrow was still there, taunting Candra as she absentmindedly fingered the open fold of the envelope. Brie’s eyes tightened, and her head tilted. Even in her peripheral vision, Candra could see Brie observing her.

“Hey.” Lofi appeared at the doorway to the kitchen with a bright smile in place.

“What were you arguing with Sebastian about?” Candra asked her immediately. “Was it about me?”

“Honestly, Candra, what makes you think it was about you?” She beamed innocently.

Candra stood and brought her half-eaten bowl to the sink, turning her back on them. “Please, Lofi, are we going to keep pretending? I know.”

“You know what?”

“I know everything!” Candra turned sharply, frowning and curling her fingertips into the ridge of the sink at her back.

Lofi laughed brightly and stepped to the side of the table to pick up an apple and began to toss it hand to hand. “I seriously doubt it. No one knows
everything.”

“This is just ridiculous,” Candra said, throwing her arms up into the air. She forced out a breath through pursed lips in an effort to calm herself. Above all she needed to remain calm. She refused to give anyone the opportunity to accuse her of being too overwrought to understand what was going on around her. Her back teeth clenched so tightly her jaw ached, but she remained in control. “I healed Sebastian last night. I healed him with my father’s stone. Shouldn’t that mean something to you people? Sebastian seemed to think it did.”

Both their faces paled significantly at her revelation, and she caught Brie placing her hand over the envelope, attempting to inconspicuously slide it off the table.

“What’s that?”

“It’s nothing,” Brie said nonchalantly, waving Candra away.

“More secrets.” It was pointless, useless, beyond stupid. While Candra accepted they thought they were protecting her, the only thing they were accomplishing was pushing her away. Regardless of how calmly and maturely she presented herself, none of it made a difference. She made to storm out of the room, but Lofi caught her arm tightly. For such a little thing, she had a cast iron grip, and it was locked around Candra’s arm.

“What?” Candra forced out through gritted teeth, feeling the nerves vibrate inside her body. She needed to get out into the fresh air where she could breathe without tightness in her chest.

“The other Nephilim couldn’t heal, Candra. So how can you? It’s not a secret, just something we weren’t expecting and have no answer for.” Lofi turned so she wasn’t looking at Candra. Candra only saw Lofi’s profile, the slight dusky rose blush that spread over her cheeks and the glimmer of gold that caught in her eyes. “Show her, Brie,” she instructed solidly, leaving no room for argument.