Page 29 of Ember and Ash

“Ember.”

I jerk to a sitting position and twist around to find Micah on a knee beside the couch, and he has clearly showered and changed, now wearing a black T-shirt and jeans. “What time is it?”

“Six in the morning.”

“Morning?” I blink away grogginess. “I didn’t hear you come in last night.”

“I didn’t until just now. I thought you’d use my bed.”

And he was in another, I think, and I hate that this bothers me. I don’t know this man. He’s not mine. “I wasn’t going to take your bed. I was waiting on you.”

His lips quirk. “I didn’t know you were waiting on me for bed.”

I hold up a hand. “Not to be in your bed with you. To talk to you.”

“Right. Talk. That’s what most people do in bed.”

“I wasn’t trying to—”

He laughs, low and soft. “I know. I’m just—”

“Being an asshole?”

“An asshole whose clothes you’re wearing.” There’s a hint of intimacy in his tone. “Which you were welcome to, by the way. I told you I was going to give you space to deal with everything I told you. I slept in the training facility. Alone.”

“I didn’t ask.”

“I wanted you to know.” He stands up and offers me his hand.

I throw the blanket away and slide my hand into his before standing. “I don’t want to run you out of your own home.”

“I can promise you, Ember, I wanted to be here.” He catches my chin in his fingers. “I’ve had months to get to know you. You haven’t had that luxury in reverse.”

“And what do you think you know about me, Micah?”

“You’re brave. Determined. Intelligent. And so damn beautiful you could break me just by letting me look at you.”

My cheeks heat with the rasp of his words along my nerve endings. “I don’t—”

“I do to whatever you’re about to say.”

“You didn’t answer me last night. Why do you feel familiar? Why do I to you?”

“I’m working on that answer, Ember, not avoiding it.” His hands settle on my waist. “Today is all about teaching you about your new life.” He motions to a pile of clothes at the end of the couch. “A few of the ladies in the garrison put together a care package for you. There are some clothes and a bag filled with things they assure me you will want and need. Get dressed, and we’ll eat. When our bellies are full, we’ll get to work.”

“That was very kind of them.”

“Don’t let the cold greeting when we arrived fool you. We’re royalty. You’re royalty.”

“Royalty?”

“Yes. The elite. We are the ones that save the world when it needs saving.”

I draw in a hard-earned breath and confess. “A fortune teller declared me the end of the world.”

There’s a beat, in which he’s as unreadable as a tarot would be if someone placed it in front of me, and then, “That’s your choice, Ember. Remember that.”

“What does that mean?”