Ember (22 page)

He sighed deeply, still smiling and looking down at his wriggling toes. “You’re right…”

Her brow creased; for some insane reason she didn’t expect him to agree with her. He was the one offering, requesting…demanding her presence, she justified. He bit the side of his lip on the inside and looked up at her through those thick eyelashes of his and smirked, making her stomach instantly somersault.

“I could have women, if I wanted that, but why would I? Emotionless physical relationships are not for me. You are an enigma, Candra.” Draven paused and rubbed the back of his neck. “You are quite the most intriguing creature it has ever been my experience to encounter. I consider you a challenge.”

Candra stood and began to clear the table, unsure if she should be offended or pleased by Draven’s assessment of her. And what was that about emotionless physical relationships? Why not come out cleanly and say that is where he was insinuating Sebastian’s interests lay?

“A challenge? Just something to be broken in, is that what I am? Not exactly words to sweep a girl off her feet.”

Candra didn’t see him move or feel him come from behind her until she felt his hot breath on her cheek. His face was at her shoulder, and his hard chest pressed to her back. His thumb slowly grazed across her hip, and his voice was as smooth as melting ice next to her ear.

“No, Candra. You are a beautiful flower…the
most
beautiful flower, and you need the correct care and attention to blossom to your full potential. I want to help you discover what we can achieve together. I have been waiting for you for a thousand lifetimes. You have no concept of how much I need you to want me.”

His breath tickled against her heated skin, smelling of brandy, fresh bread, and garlic.

“That’s better,” Candra told him through a shaky breath, questioning whether he knew the effect he had on her insides, making them swirl and melt. She hated that Draven wasn’t going to be so easy to dismiss.

Lofi pulled up at the curb the very moment Candra walked from the building. The concierge nodded graciously, a custom she had yet to get used to. She nodded back awkwardly and rushed to the waiting car.

“You could have told me, Lofi.” She sighed grumpily, while trying her best to get her seatbelt locked before Lofi took off.

She was still trying as Lofi left smoke trails on the road.

“Now, which bit of information are we talking about? You know I could have told you a lot of things, but I was under gag orders from so many people that I lost track.”

“Ananchel and Sebastian.”

“I told you about them,” she answered quickly, weaving around several cars and leaving Candra bouncing in her seat. Lofi’s hair was back to being tinged with pink.

“You didn’t tell me they were an item.”

She rolled her eyes and chuckled lightly. “I would hardly have called them an item…but yes, at one time there was an agreement between them.”

“Ew.” Candra crossed her arms over her chest and turned to look out the window at the streets whizzing by.

“The thing with Ananchel was, she really didn’t know when to let go.” Lofi sighed. “Believe me, even when they were together, it wasn’t a pretty sight when he eventually managed to tear himself away.”

“I still say it’s ew.”

She laughed again. “I hope you aren’t jealous?”

Candra’s head whipped around to look at Lofi, but thankfully, given the speed they were traveling, she was watching the road. Candra looked away again, pulling her hair down over her cheeks that were beginning to exhibit a distinct rosy glow.

“Anyway,” Lofi went on, “what difference does it make? As soon as the ball is over, Sebastian will be out of your life. We’re leaving Acheron.”

“You’re leaving?” Candra squeaked in an embarrassing high voice.

“Sebastian and I are. Gabe is staying with Brie, until…well, he wants to be with her as long as he can.”

Candra stared ahead, pressing her hand to her chest—it suddenly felt constricted and hot, and her throat felt as if it was closing in.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lofi’s gaze flicker to her. “Really, Candra, do you even know what Draven’s plans are for you two? And did you think Sebastian would stick around to watch?”

Candra nodded sadly, reminded again that this was happening. It was really happening. This was no fairy tale princess ball; there was no happily ever after waiting for her when the clock struck twelve. This was real life, where time was infinite and there were no happy endings or absolutes. There would be too many people left to imagine the what-ifs.

Ivy was waiting on the steps outside the townhouse when they got home, currently sporting wavy red hair with thick chunks of auburn and chocolate worked through. It suited her. For the first time in a long time, Ivy looked like Ivy. She looked like Candra’s friend and not the girl who was trying to be a reflection of what people perceived her to be.

It suddenly flashed through Candra’s mind suddenly how similar their situations were—not that Ivy was being pressured to commit herself to the leader of a group of angels in order to prevent Armageddon, but just that they were both trying so hard to be what they were expected to be. It wasn’t because it would make them happy; it was simply because they couldn’t figure out another way to make sense of what was going on in their lives.

As Candra got out of the car, a sudden feeling of dread descended upon her. Ivy walked toward her, smiling brightly as always, except for the distrustful glance in Lofi’s direction. Candra was wondering if Draven expected her to leave Ivy behind too. Everyone seemed to think any relationships from her past would be severed. She was losing the only mother she’d ever known; she was losing several tentative friendships. Would she be expected to walk away from school, her friend…to leave everything? A pain twisted in the pit of her stomach. She already knew the answer—Draven expected her to start fresh, and there was no way that could happen here. It suddenly dawned on Candra that he could be planning to move her anywhere. She was too caught up in wondering why he wanted her to ask herself what he was going to do with her once he had her.

“Hey you.” Ivy grinned as Candra got closer.

“Hi,” she mumbled in return.

Ivy’s expression suddenly shifted to serious, her eyes darting between Lofi and Candra, and then Lofi leaned into Candra so Ivy couldn’t hear.

“The keeping-this-to-yourself thing?”

Candra tightened her eyes curiously.

“Screw it,” Lofi finished.

Candra frowned. Where could she even begin to explain to her friend what had been going on? How could she ever believe any of this?

“You need your friend now, Candra,” Lofi whispered. “She’s the only one you stand a chance of hanging onto in all this mess.” She smiled sadly and trotted up the steps, glancing quickly to them over her shoulder before going through the door.

Candra turned her face upward speculatively to the rooftops of the surrounding houses, seeing the guards still perched and watching her with a mixture of trepidation and curiosity. It was like they were waiting, just as Draven had said. As if they expected her to explode at any moment. With a heavy sigh, she sank down onto one of the porch steps.

Ivy sat down beside her, glancing up at the rooftops, bemused because she could see nothing. “I think it’s time for you to talk about what’s going on.”

Candra let her head fall forward into her hands and laughed humorlessly.

“Candra?” Ivy asked worriedly.

Candra turned her head, resting it on her forearms across her knees. “Do you remember the story of Cassandra?”

Ivy’s mouth tightened, and she looked away briefly. Candra could see the cogs of her brain were working, trying to recall the story.

“The one cursed to see the future,” Candra prompted.

“Oh, yeah.” Ivy beamed, finally remembering. “She was given the gift of foresight by Apollo. She was a harbinger or something—”

“Or something. It was a curse,” Candra cut her off. “He wanted her, but she didn’t return his feelings, so she was cursed to know things, to see things…but no one would ever believe her. That’s how I feel right now.”

Ivy stared at Candra blankly, not understanding. Not that Candra expected her to.

“I’ve seen things, and I know what the future could become, unless I stop it…but no one can help me, even if I could get them to believe me.”

“What’s going on?” Ivy asked, irritated and scratching her head.

Candra groaned, shielding her eyes again.

“The thing about being given warnings about the future is you’ll never know if it’s self-fulfilling, like whether it happens
because
you know,” Ivy said.

Candra peeked up at her. “But that’s destiny, right? I mean…everything is so absolute.”

Ivy quirked an eyebrow. “I don’t know what’s going on with you, but the one thing I do know is that nothing is absolute. We have a choice. It’s the joy of being human…free will.”

Candra grunted and sank her face back into her arms.

Gabe walked out just then. He ruffled Candra’s hair, walking past. “Hello, Candra. How was your lunch date?”

She looked up to him, squinting. Looking at Gabe was like looking at one of those soft-toned light bulbs—just enough not to blind but enough to make it difficult not to look away. She couldn’t hold any of what was happening against him, as much as she wanted to blame someone.

“It was fine. How was yours?” Candra smirked and watched him scratch his neck awkwardly.

He and Brie were spending a lot of time together lately, and Candra was only a little conflicted about it. Gabe was a pretty straight up guy from what Candra knew of him, which was little. He played the part of big brother to Sebastian and Lofi. Sebastian obviously trusted him a great deal and valued his opinion. Clearly Gabe hadn’t expected Sebastian to argue with him when Gabe had wanted to tell her about the Watchers. Candra had concluded, based on that, Sebastian usually took his views into consideration.

It was Gabe that had picked up the slack and kept the Tenebras in line while Sebastian searched for Brie. He seemed shy in some ways and a little reserved, but with an intensity behind his eyes that warned he wasn’t one to mess with. Since the day Candra met him, he had never once tried to influence her decisions. His main goal appeared to be supporting Brie in any way he could. On one hand, Candra wanted Brie to have someone when she was gone. On the other, he was an angel, and no good could come of that. He would never age; their time together would be over in a blink of an eye…unless he fell. Angel relationships were a treacherous course to chart.

“Hmm, yeah,” was all he said, but his grin spoke volumes, clearly a success. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Bye.” Candra smiled sweetly, wriggling her fingers at him.

“What is it with you and the hotties these days?” Ivy asked, fanning her face. “This place is hottie central; maybe we should start having sleepovers again.”

Candra chuckled, nudging Ivy with her shoulder. “I think my room is overcrowded enough as it is with Sebastian sprawled all over it every night.” The words were out before she caught herself, and she scowled at her blunder when she heard Ivy’s shocked gasp.

It was too much to wish Ivy would miss Candra’s slip up.

“What? You’re sleeping with him?” Ivy demanded aghast. “Beautiful, creepy stalker guy?”