She has survived and enduredso muchin this world.Now, when her demons are slain, is when she taps out?
“How is she?” Greyson asks without preamble when I open the door.
“Physically? Fine. Improving.” Her wounds are healing at an excellent pace.
He understands the subtext. “No change otherwise?”
I shake my head. “None whatsoever. It’s like she’s just… gone.”
“Cain wants to see her,” Grey says.
My jaw clenches. “I don’t give a shit. She’s not fit to take guests.”
“AndI’mnot fit to hold him at bay much longer.” A glimmer of worry passes through Greyson’s expression, there and gone so fast it’d be easy to miss for a less-observant person. “I have never seen him like this. He’s captured, tortured, and killed five of Dagon’s men since we returned. He doesn’t even sufficiently question them before tearing them apart,with his hands. It’s bad, Max. He’s going to decide that Ember’s the only source of knowledge very soon, and she’ll be next in his rampage.”
“That’s illogical.”
“He’s notbeinglogical!” He explodes. “It’s obvious that Azalea’s the only person he cares about. She’s his weakness. To a man like Cain, weaknesses are far more dangerous than they are to us.”
I cast my gaze in the direction of the bedroom, my heart quickening beneath my breastbone. Despair has held me tightly in its clutches, but now, it’s replaced with anxiety.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with her,” I admit quietly. “Nothing I say or do reaches her. She barely eats or drinks. She doesn’t sleep—just stares at nothing all the time. I can’t…” I trail off, trying to ignore the burning in my throat and eyes. “I can’t reach her.”
“She’s probably in shock,” Greyson speculates. “She’s wanted two things since the amnesia, right? To protect her sister and to kill the man threatening her. I imagine those were her motivators to stay alive. Now, without them…” he trails off. “What does she have to live for? I didn’t think I had anything to live for after Sam. My purpose in life was protecting him and being on his team. I wanted to drink myself to death. And then, Scarlett changed everything.”
My nostrils flare. “You have Scarlett. Ember hasme.”
Grey gives me a sad look. “Is that enough for her? Humans are social creatures. They need friendship, interaction, fulfilment. Look at Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.”
“We both know only the bottom two are actuallyneedsfor survival. Everything else serves as motivation.”
“Ember is the example of what happens when those needs go unfulfilled for years.”
“So, what do I do?” I ask haplessly. “She won’t speak or move. I—” I shake my head. “I’m lost.”
“Can I bring Scar up here?” he asks. “She likes Ember. She nearly clawed my eyes out when she found out we were handing her over.”
“Ember barelytoleratesScarlett.”
“They’re the only two women in a fortress filled with men who kill for a living. There’s a natural bond between them. Besides…” he trails off with a shrug. “What could it hurt?”
Chapter Forty-Three
Ember
The fog is all consuming, dampening everything around me. Light, sound,reality.Memories trickle through my mind—newmemories of Max, but they don’t quite land with the impact that they should. They feel… distant.
I remember meeting him and offering to help him read, but I can’t find it in myself to care.
I remember falling for him, harboring a crush for years, but no emotion accompanies those images.
I exist, I think, I feel, but I alsodon’t. Not in any way that matters.
I was prepared to die in that car. Iwantedto die in that car, andagain,my choices were robbed from me. I was—am—sick of being jerked around like a puppet with no voice or agency.
I vaguely register a door opening. A familiar swath of red hair catches my eyes—Scarlett’s the only person I know with hair that red, or eyes so green.
The mattress beneath me dips as she takes a seat beside me, but I don’t look at her. I’m aware of her presence, I know Ishouldsnap out of it and engage with her—I just don’t fuckingwantto.
