Chapter 19
Reid
Icross my arms, avoiding both Emmrich’s gaze and touching anything in this dank alley next to The Duck he’s dragged me into. “I’m listening. Five minutes, hurry it up.”
He’s the last person I want to be talking to right now. A fire burns in my chest, full of rage. Nothing but rage.
That’s not true. I’m not angry. Except I am. I spent weeks flirting with him, and it finally seemed like we’d take the next step, but he couldn’t bother waiting for me. He knew I needed to help Caeo, but left anyway. Just dropped me and went off with Alexis instead.
It’s not like I don’t want him to have a good excuse. To apologize. To shove me against the wall and show me what I missed. But this is the worst possible time.
Which maybe makes it the best time. Ellie doesn’t even remember the last twenty minutes, so I could forget about them, too. After all, the entire reason my relationship with Emmrich plummeted into nothingness was because of her and Caeo’s stupid memory problems.
Heat flares within me as my eyes meet Emmrich’s—such a peculiar shade, like honey. Strands of his sandy-blond hair frame his face, the rest of it tied in a knot behind his head. I shove aside the urge to rake my fingers through it and discover how long his hair really is.
He folds his arms, matching me. “I waited. Didn’t seem like you were coming back.”
“But I did.”
I distinctly remember it. Running through town, catching my breath outside so I didn’t appear overeager, approaching the bar… and he was gone.
“Really? When?” His lips curl slightly as he leans against the wall, waiting for my response.
“Seventh bell. I heard it on the way.”
Emmrich throws his hand to the side. “You expected me to wait three fucking bells?”
“It wasn’t three bells!” It wasn’t. No way.
“Yes, it was. You left right before the fourth nighttime bell. I waited. Alexis showed up around fifth bell. We waited. At midnight, we decided you weren’t coming, so we went on without you.”
“Without me? So you were planning on fucking us both.”
“Yes,” he sighs. “Was that not obvious?”
A blaze of indignation scorches my ribs. “What if I didn’t want to share?”
“Then you got your wish.”
“That’s not what I—Look, I meant to come back. I did. But Caeo… Something was wrong, and I had to help.” My anger diminishes as I peel away from the wall, and I hope I don’t look as pathetic as I sound. “I came back as soon as I could.”
“So you could fuck me.”
I blink, my brain confirming what he just said.
“Um… yes? I mean, yes.”
My face burns, filling me with a sudden, desperate urge to crawl into a hole. Emmrich’s eyes mercifully flick away, looking past my shoulder. I follow his gaze to his friend and Ellie waiting across the street.
Emmrich slams me against the wall further into the alley.
On instinct, I throw flames up between us. They extinguish almost instantly, but he still jumps back. A sly smile curls on his face.
“I’m gonna pretend that didn’t just happen.”
Then his tongue slips between my lips, conquering my mouth before I even realize I’ve been invaded. Lighting me up as he traces and teases, claiming me over and over again.
I finally break free. “Is this actually happening?”
“Just kiss me.”
Yes, sir.
I grab his shirt, pulling him closer as his tongue sweeps through my mouth.
I catch his lower lip with my teeth, and he lets out a groan that makes it impossible to ignore how hard I am.
He tears open my collar, ripping the buttons, sucking and biting at my neck while his hands travel down my chest.
My mind can’t keep up. “What are you doing?”
He lets out a short laugh and bites my ear, sending a sizzle down my spine, just as his fingers tug at my belt.
“No, stop. Stop.” If my brain had hands, it would’ve smacked me.
Emmrich pauses, his features warping in confusion. “What?”
I pull his hands off me and force myself away, fumbling to redo my remaining buttons. “Call me a romantic, but I’d rather not get fucked in an alley with my friend right around the corner.”
His expression’s unreadable. Catching his breath? Disappointment, maybe? I peek back at the main road to check on Ellie.
She’s gone.
So is Emmrich’s friend.
“Wait, where’d they go?” I turn back to Emmrich.
And… he’s running down the alley and not looking back.
Where’s he going?
Puzzle pieces snap together. I left Ellie with his friend. They’re gone. Emmrich’s running.
Arandur’s cock-sucking maw.
I bolt after him.
Emmrich leaps over the fence at the end of the alley with impressive grace, hopping off the side wall before grabbing the top and effortlessly pulling himself over.
I definitely can’t do that.
But summoning wind is easy—I’ve done it a thousand times in the last two months.
The gust lifts me over the wall with a bounding leap.
Landing lightly on the ground, I sprint toward the intersection, giving myself a boost with a blast of air.
Even with tension gnawing at my stomach, it’s exhilarating to finally experience the fruits of my endless practice.
By the dusk light and paper lanterns lining the road, I spot Emmrich. Down the road to my right, sprinting past a mom dragging her screaming children behind her. I shift the wind and launch myself toward him.
Catching him from behind, I wrap my arms around his midsection and fly forward. He arcs back with my momentum, letting out a strangled yelp.
I rip a wall of earth up from beneath the cobblestones, then swing my legs around, planting them against it.
I push off, slamming back into Emmrich. He collapses beneath me, the force of the impact leaving him gasping for air.
Incanted roots erupt from the dusty road as I grapple his arms down by his sides, wrapping around his wrists.
“Where are you going?” I straddle him, my legs pressing firmly against his pelvis. “I thought this was what you wanted.”
“Get these things off me!” His face contorts as he squirms against the roots, trying to shake me off.
It isn’t the busiest street, but a small, murmuring crowd’s forming.
The Wardens of Fortune will probably show up soon, as I just very publicly broke several laws about incanting outside of the Academy.
As the king’s militia, they backed the Order during the war, but mostly keep the peace.
Just regular people, though there’s usually an incanter assigned to them for moments like this.
I lean close to Emmrich’s ear. “I’m gonna let you up, then you’re gonna tell me why you ran and where Ellie is.”
“How should I know?” The mischievous spark in his eyes is gone.
I scowl at him, and he matches my glare with one sharp enough to make my racing heart stumble.
Focus.
Ellie’s just as good at incanting as I am. There’s no way his friend could’ve taken her against her will, especially without me noticing, no matter how distracted I was. For all I know, they just went to The Duck to give us privacy.
But why did Emmrich run?
It must have been his job to distract me. Maybe his friend knocked Ellie out before she could react? He wouldn’t have been able to get far, so Emmrich running in the opposite direction would’ve given him more time to flee. But why would they want to kidnap Ellie? Because of her father?
Caeo’s missing, too.
Well, he isn’t home, at least. That’s hardly missing. But I haven’t seen him in almost a week, when he met us for lunch after making me late for class.
“You know, and you’re gonna tell me.” I seize Emmrich’s arm as my roots release him. “Or I’ll fuck you up in ways you can’t imagine.” I hoist him to his feet and bind him with thick, thorny vines, ensnaring his entire torso in seconds.
“You’ll find I have quite the imagination.”
His smile’s back. Dammit. I shove him down the street.
The sun hasn’t even set, and this night can’t get any worse.
* * *
I slowly open the door to my mom’s house, peeking inside while keeping a tight grip on Emmrich’s arm, lest the bastard try to run off again. It was the best place I could think to bring him since my mom’s usually out this time of night.
Sure enough, the place is empty—except for George, her latest benefactor, snoring loudly in his chair. If not for his nasal thundering, I wouldn’t have seen him. He’s just as plain and gray as everything else.
I shove Emmrich inside, forcing him into a smaller room off the main one. Mine.
Candles burst to life as we enter. I don’t even have to look; it’s instinct at this point.
It’s almost completely bare in here, just battered old furniture shoved into a clamshell of a space.
There’s nowhere to sit other than the bed, so I push Emmrich toward it before leaning against the wall, facing him.
I’m barely holding on. Life was bad enough having to wrangle Caeo and Ellie’s relationship, and now this?
I should just mind my own business and let all their problems float away.
But Caeo’s the only real family I’ve got.
We met when he stole the only girlfriend I ever had—sure, I was five—but she disappeared and he stuck around.
Despite all the headaches he’s brought me, he’s always been there—the only person I can count on.
I can’t ignore this.
“Time to talk. Where’s Ellie and your friend?”
Sitting on the bed, Emmrich leans his back against the wall, as if it’s comfortable. It’s not—the bed’s too deep. There were pillows for that very reason, but I’d taken them with me to the dorms, along with everything else I cared about. I hadn’t planned on ever coming back here.
“Why should I tell you anything?”
“Because I can do this.” With a thought, the vines constrict, creaking as they dig into his ribs.
Emmrich stiffens, but keeps his face casual except for a slight twitch in his lips. “If you kill me, you’ll learn nothing, and you don’t have it in you to torture me.”
I raise my hand as flames form around it. “You think so?”
“I know so.”
Dammit. He’s right. As much as I enjoy incanting, I’d always hoped I’d make it through life in the Order without ever seeing an actual battle.