“You think?”
He snorts. “I do, because I did the same thing. That’s why there are no stories about Nexus being burnt to ashes. Can’t let the news spread or it’ll just encourage even more destruction.”
“It was that bad?”
He sighs, running a hand over his face. “Another part of the reason I didn’t sleep. I helped put out three literal fires and people seemed to have collectively lost their minds. The number of brawls I had to stop and the people I knocked out was insane.”
I eye the door like someone’s going to come pounding on it any minute.
Just because the events of last night aren't splashed all over the papers, doesn’t mean I’m safe.
“They’re not going to come after you. Not after Ember threatened them,” Fabian says, reaching over to squeeze my hand.
“How do you mean?”
His eyebrows shoot up as his eyes dart between mine, like he’s determining everything I’m not saying from my facial expression. “He got into the minds of every person in that room last night. Threatened them with revealing their deepest, darkest secrets.” He hums again, running his thumb gently over my knuckles. “Maybe he did the same thing with the media people who were circling.”
“I don’t think so.” I shake my head and take another deep swig of coffee. “The vampswantedeveryone to see, to know what happened. They wanted the entire city to witness the Archarcans looking like useless, cowardly idiots.”
“The vamps might have,” he replies softly. “But that doesn’t mean Ember did too.”
My stomach twists and I fiddle some more with the crusts in front of me. My head and heart are an absolute mess right now. I don’t know what to think.
Fabian slides off the stool and presses a quick kiss to my cheek. The little affectionate gesture seems to be a surprise to both of us. It’s like we’re a couple that has breakfast together every morning before we head off to do our own thing. As though sitting together like this is normal. Routine.
My insides are in dangerously warm and gooey territory and I swear I’m blushing, which is ridiculous considering what he must have overhead from Z’s bedroom last night.
“I’m going to head down and see Ro and Seb and then see the damage to the district in the light of day.” He smiles, but it’s strained and it occurs to me just how little I’ve seen Fabian smile recently. I can’t remember the last time I heard him laugh, either.
My heart hurts for him. There always seem to be so many things weighing him down, so much responsibility.
“Want some company?” I ask.
I don’t know exactly when I decided it, but I’m not going to hide away. Not from the Archarcans, or the Bad Vamps, or from public opinion.
I decided weeks ago that Felix wasn’t going to keep me from living my life. And now he’s dead. I don’t have to worry about my glamor not being effective.
I’ve gotten to be an expert on staying under people's radar, and I’ll take advantage of that today. I don’t want Fabian to have to shoulder his burdens alone. Not when he has me. It’s not like my feelings for him switched off when his memory of me disappeared.
And the look of surprised pleasure on his face is enough to tell me it was the right suggestion to make.
It hits me how lonely he must have been, facing all these major challenges and taking responsibility for so many people.
Today, I’m going to don my glamor and stick by his side. And if anyone wants to come at me, either to arrest me or to trick me into fighting any more unholy creatures, they can have at it.
Last night, my worst nightmare came to life. People who I’d convinced I was dead are likely to be questioning the truth of that right now. Which means if they come for me, I won’t hide away. I’ll fight back. And they might be surprised with what happens when you corner a street rat.
I might just bite.
