I step closer, not sure whether to pull him into a hug or punch him in the face. He looks terrible. While I was expecting him to look a little worse for wear, but he looks... barely recognizable as my brother. His red hair is limp and dirty, he looks like he hasn’t washed in weeks, and his face is horribly pale. There’s no twinkle in his eye, no joy in his face. It’s like all the parts of him that made himEmberhave been taken away.
The thing that really pulls me up short, though, is the bruises. They’re all along the bare skin on his arms. And when he catches me looking, he pulls down his sleeves and covers them up.
“Ember,” I croak through a tight throat. “What the hell are they doing to you? You need to get out of there. It isn’t safe.”
He shakes his head. “No, Silv. Look, I don’t have long before they’ll wonder where I am, so just hear me out. Please.”
I nod, feeling shaken and wobbly.
“All right then. So, the vamps aren’t trying to make the Archarcans look shitty anymore. They’re now going for a total control and fear vibe. They want to control the city any which way, and they don’t have any scruples.”
None of this sounds like news to me, but he looks so damn hopeful as he relays the information. I just wind up nodding encouragingly.
“Do you know what they’re planning next?”
“Not really. I listen in as much as I can, but it’s difficult.”
That has me really, really wanting to ask follow-up questions. He’s a telepath, so I have no clue how they can stop him from listening, unless they’re able to block him out in the same way we are.
“They’re sowing seeds of fear in the city that they’re hoping will grow. That way, they won’t have to persuade people to come onside because they’ll all be too scared not to.”
“Show her the creepy statue,” Hanna says from behind me.
Ember then leads us along the main street until we reach a bench that has Roscoe stiffening even further. He wraps his arm around my waist, tugging me close like my presence is tethering him to the here and now.
“Hey, I’m here with you. If you need to leave, just say the word,” I tell him.
He gives me a shaky nod that’s so far away from being his usual cocky self. It makes me want to punch Ember in the face again. Or tear the heads off Simpson and the other asshole vamps that nearly got Ro killed.
“I’m all right. Don’t worry about me, sweetheart. Focus on your brother right now.”
I press a kiss to his cheek, my insides growing warm from his selflessness.
We head a little further along, closer to the bench. Which is the point when I seehim.
There’s a guy standing stock still, like he’s frozen in place. When I step even closer, I can barely tell if he’s breathing, and it’s only through my blood magic I can sense that he’s even alive. His face is a rictus mask of anguish. Eyes wide and unblinking, skin bloodless and sallow.
His heart is beating. It’s sluggish, but it’s there. But his blood is barely flowing.
“What is this?” I ask.
“A living statue,” Ember says. “There are a few just like him, all over the city. And there are soon to be more. I thought to begin with, they were easy snacks for the vamps to come back to. But I don’t think that’s what they’re for at all.”
“They’re a bunch of sick fucks,” Zeph says.
Ember nods. “True enough. Look, I just wanted to keep you aware of what was going on. I need to go.”
I step closer to him, putting my hand on his arm. “Don’t go back.”
I’m not suddenly going to forgive him or start trusting him with my thoughts again, but there’s no way I want him going back into the lions’ den.
“I have to, Silv. In the house, I’m useful. I can listen in to what they’re planning and I can warn you all, right? Then this entire thing hasn’t been for nothing.”
“It’s dangerous, Ember.”
“You look like shit,” Hanna adds. “Are you even sleeping or eating?”
He just shakes his head and brushes my hand off his arm. “I won’t change my mind about this. It’s something I have to do.”
