Page 14 of Ember Rising

I bend slightly and pick her up, eliciting a little squeal. When I squeeze her ass, she gives me a cautionary look. “I can’t get in the mood when I’m worried about our friends.”

“Friends? Amira’s our friend, but Pax sure as hell isn’t. And Evander and Olin are ILF, so they’re good.”

“Pax is with us.”

“Only for as long as it suits him. I know him better than you do.”

She rests her forehead against mine. “I missed your abject cynicism.”

“I missed your hot pussy.”

She laughs, rolls her eyes, and shimmies out of my hold. My aromium no longer screams at me to fuck her brains out like it used to, because of the stabilizer her blood was used to create. But I still want to. I want to remind her what only I can give her.

“I’ll show you the library,” she says. “They have so many books here.”

“The library?”

“Yep. Without beds. Where everyone is fully clothed. If shit goes bad, we’re not going to be naked and oblivious.”

“I don’t require full nudity,” I quip. “Just slide your pants down a little and I’ll do the rest.”

She picks up two books from the table beside the bed. “What a romantic you are. I’m swooning.”

Before she reaches the door, I smack her ass, making her jump.

“How’s that for romantic?”

When she smiles at me over her shoulder, I get that feeling I’d never experienced before her. It’s a blissful realization that I’d crawl through broken glass on my hands and knees for her. I know now that the fiercest, most violent emotion is actually love, because I’d destroy anyone who tried to hurt her without flinching.

“I never promised you romance,” I remind her. “Just soul-shaking, reality-bending, mind-shattering sex that might make you speak in tongues. And some laughs. Oh, and my actual soul. You get all that with me.”

Her eyes soften as she looks up at me. “That’s all a girl asks for. And you know you own me entirely, my love. Can I show you the library now? I really do love it.”

I thread my fingers through hers and bring her hand to my mouth, kissing the back of it. “Yeah, you can. If I’m there with you, even a library will be sexy.”

I get one more smile before she leads me out of the room.

5

“The seven ILF operatives captured in the Denver raid are dead. Whitman kept the executions quiet because he knows you’ll try to rescue them. Keep your people away from Denver for now. It’s not safe.” - Decoded message from ILF undercover operative Flint to ILF handler Hiro Tanaka

Amira

Whether the ILF calls this imprisonment or not, I’m not allowed to leave or go wherever I want, and that is textbook forced captivity. But this fortress smells like apple pie today, so I’m cutting them some slack.

Sugary, buttery, cozy, homemade apple pie—the way I took baked goods for granted before the virus. I’m salivating as a guard leads me down several brightly lit, plain hallways. She said I’ve been cleared, and I can’t help hoping for at least a taste of apple pie before we set out to find Mae.

We walk into a huge, two-story room with cafeteria-style tables. There are a few people sitting, and others standing, everyone looking like they’re having casual conversations.

When I spot Briar, my shoulders sink with relief.

“You’re scheduled for a briefing at oh-seven-hundred tomorrow,” the guard says. “Someone will come to your room and take you there.”

I nod, willing to agree to anything so I can get over to the other side of the room. Marcus, Briar, and Pax are clustered together by the wall, talking.

It’s all I can do not to run to them. I didn’t realize how much it means to have people around me I can trust at all times until we were kept apart.

Briar sees me coming and smiles, pulling me into a hug.