Fletcher cannot get comfortable in the chair and wriggles around, aware that Talia is glaring at him. He wants to lock eyes with Ellis; he wants to let her know that it’s him in this room with her, not Thea, that she will be safe, that as soon as the ceremony is over, he will rescue her.
He shuffles his chair over, so he can see her, causing Ember to glare at him. “Thea what’s wrong?”
He smiles sweetly. “Nothing, just want an enjoyable view.”
Ember rolls her eyes but smiles at him. “This is history in the making girls. Adam wanted to give the authority back to his friends for so long and he never got the chance to do it. We’ll do it today. Vann, this is for you.” She blows him a kiss and Fletcher almost laughs when he sees the expression on Ellis’s face. She doesn’t look impressed.
He feels a little calmer. Not ready to process what Thea said to him outside, not ready to face the thought his father might have betrayed his mother and lied to them all for the years afterwards. But he is ready to save Ellis, and he’s more than happy to see the other supernatural creatures get back their autonomy. It’s what his father would have wanted. And he was a good man, in that respect, even if the other thing is true.
Could it be true? He glances at Talia and wonders, could she really be his half sister? He looks at the back of Ember’s head – her stylish hair, her fashionable clothes. Did his dad really cheat on his mum with her sister? He’s not much older than the twins. There’s only a year between him and the twins, so he would have only been a few months old when his dad betrayed his mother.
He shakes his head. He cannot think about it now. He needs to focus on what’s happening in the room. He needs to make sure he steps in at the right time. He can only hope that Thea has pulled Elodie out of her funk so that the two of them are dealing with everybody else in the house – including Gregory.
He knows it’s true; he knows Ember has betrayed them, regardless of who the twin’s father is, but he cannot wrap his head around it, not really. His aunt has always lived with them, she’s always been as close to him as his mother. Has she really been plotting against them this whole time?
Taking a deep breath, he tunes back into the room, to the magic being performed and to Ellis.
He doesn’t understand where the feelings he is feeling for her have come from, or why they are so strong after such a brief period of time, but he loves her. He really loves her. And he has to play this properly; he cannot risk her life because he’s wondering or worrying about his father and what he may or may not have done.
He smiles at Ellis, his heart full for her, feeling sorry for her and wanting to rescue her straight away, but wanting to give his mum and Thea time to get rid of everybody else.
That way there will only be Talia, Ember and Vann to deal with. Lincoln looks sick as a pig to even be in the room, and he knows he won’t join in the fight.
Patience. Let Ember get through the spell, and then he will act.
Ellis
Ember is sitting pretty opposite me, eyes closed, muttering something, her hands held out in front of her, palms up. The twins are watching her closely, and Vann is almost drooling – whether he’s excited about her or his freedom, I’m not sure.
He’s a handsome chap, for sure, but he’s not a good guy, so when I look at him now I don’t see the good-looking face, the hot body, the sexy wings... okay so I see them a little bit, but I see past them.
Maturity.
I see the lies, the betrayal, the cheating, the disloyalty. He’s perfect for Ember.
Talia looks happier than Thea, but then I suppose she should be. By luck or fate or whatever you want to call it, she’s the oldest of the two girls, so she’ll be head witch once I’m dead.
Then I look at Thea. They’re horrible girls and usually when I look at them, all perfect and smug, I shudder; they make my skin crawl. Thea doesn’t have that effect on me today, which is weird, but then maybe she’s not as happy at the outcome of all this as her sister. She must be reeling – they both must – that Adam is their dad, if it’s true. And then that Ember has been planning this all along, since they made me head witch, since she found out that my accidental investment wasn’t an accident at all but planned all along by Zeta.
I still can’t get over that. She was a clever old witch, really. Figuring out that loophole, luring me in... I shudder thinking about holding Layland disguised as Macaroon in my arms again.
Thea clears her throat, and when I shoot a glance at her, she smiles. Softly. Tenderly. Creepily. Why is she looking at me like that?
I look at Talia to see if she’s noticed. Maybe this is another of their weird ways to be horrible to me, or make fun of me, or make me feel so very, very unwelcome in their little world.
Talia hasn’t taken her eyes off her mum, but Thea is gazing at me. Like really intently.
I concentrate instead on Ember. I’m actually happy that this spell is being done, that the supernatural creatures will have power over themselves again. You don’t need a species war to know what’s right and what’s wrong. They should have their power, and of course we know why they couldn’t, until now.
Splendid job, Ellis!
And what nobody else in this room knows is that the true sign of success for Ember’s spell won’t be
