Page 94 of Fuse

Getting trapped in said bitch’s energy web and then winding up in her mad scientist electricity chamber, tortured to pain I never knew a human could survive? Check, check, and check.

But knowing my sacrifice, in the end, ended up with Faline in the grave and my man sane and safe?

My hand makes a long squeak on the glass as I skid it back down to my level. Then curl it into my lap…and drench it with my tears.

“Fool.” My rasping rage grows with every scalding tear, every racking sob. “You’re a fucking fool, and now you’ve made damn sure to carve the point in stone!”

My words only seem to recall more of his. All the times he kissed me, held me, reassured me…

I only want you, baby.

I only need you, my sweet Bunny.

You’re my life, my beautiful Velvet.

You’re my more, my Emmalina.

And every time, I hadn’t truly believed him. Hadn’t really known…

That I really was.

But as the truth slams me now, I’m racked with emptiness, drained by remorse, sapped by despair. I have no damn idea how Lydia and Foley got me to move again, let alone stand and walk—if that’s what this aching shuffle is. How can I take another step? Or even think about breathing inside this place without him? Every thread of my soul is unraveled. Every light in my world has been snuffed.

Wait.

I jolt my head a little higher.

The lights.

Is it just me? Or…

“Why aren’t the lights on?” I spin in a tight circle, picking up on even more in the air. More accurately, on even less. The touchable silence throughout the house isn’t solely due to Reece’s absence, as I’d first thought when we arrived minutes-that-felt-like-years ago. This is a sizable difference. A noticeable stillness. I dart a questioning glance at ’Dia. “Why isn’t anything on?”

Before she can answer, Alex seems to appear out of the air that still feels like Cream of Wheat. Though I know that’s not the case, it’s still a fight to restrain my shock at suddenly seeing him there—and soon, my anger at his walking-on-eggshells mien. Being treated like a breakable collectible is what made me flee the china shop of Orange County to begin with.

But wouldn’t I be doing the same if I were any of them? Even I’m not sure whether I’m Teflon or Wedgewood right now. Though my heart and soul are more fissured than the San Andreas Fault, I’m shocked at how physically wired I am. Just the memory of what happened on that table in the mansion, for even a few hours, has me gasping for breath from the battle to erase it. The burning. The destruction. The pressure. The pain…

But the hyperventilation doesn’t exhaust me. There’s just more air where that came from, along with heat that sharpens me and pressure that pushes me. Elevates every single one of my physical senses…

Wow. I mean…seriously…wow.

As Alex shifts forward, I can hear the scrape of dust beneath his shoes. As he looks up, I can practically count the pores in his skin. As he speaks, even in a strained grate, it’s like someone’s turned the foyer into an amplification chamber.

“Hey. Welcome home.” He jabs his hands into his front pockets, and I hear the scrape of his fingertips against the change inside one of them. There’s only lint in the other one. I know it because I hear that too. “Sorry that the Welcome Wagon had to be so gloomy.” I also discern every note of regret he’s masking with the light tone. “We worked so fast to rewire everything for the zap to Reece, we somehow took the backup generator offline too. We’re working as fast as we can to untangle everyth—”

“Whoa.” I mean it as a dictate, not an exclamation. “Hold on.” Then snap my hands to my waist, recognizing every confrontational vibe I’m giving off but can’t seem—or want—to temper. “The zap to Reece? Why? You had to rewire everything of what?”

Whoa, the silent sequel version. Fidgeting is a fascinating look for Alex, who usually covers discomfort by diving into his theatrical side. But right now, he looks struck by Reece-level lightning as I wait for an answer.

Which I get from the new arrival to the foyer instead. “The solar panels,” Fershan explains. “We concluded that diverting power directly off them, we could inject Reece with an effect similar to atmospheric ionization…”

“Only directly in his blood.” Alex has finally forgotten to be awestruck—a good thing, because I’m so fascinated by what they’ve just said, I feel a huge smile forming as Fershan takes over again.

“Thereby disrupting any radio signals that would be trying to get through to certain electrical viruses.” As he finishes, the guy practically lights up the house with the resplendence of his grin. Still, I can feel him holding back on his pride and joy, deferring more tiptoeing diplomacy to me, which only makes me spin into the same frustrating mix of ire and compassion.

With a determined breath, I take a conscious stab at the latter. Even try to inch up my lips a little before saying, “Wow. Team Bolt sure leveled up, didn’t they?”

They snort and then chuckle together.