Chapter 16 "Getting Closer"
EMBER
Thursday morning arrived grey and damp, the kind of weather that made Ember want to stay in bed all day. But she had classes, and more importantly, she had plans to see Adrian again.
They'd been texting constantly since their study session Tuesday funny memes about their Sociology professor, book recommendations, random observations about campus life. It felt easy, natural, like they'd been friends for years instead of weeks.
Ember was getting ready for her Victorian Literature class when her phone buzzed.
Coffee before your 10 AM? I'm already at The Grind and they have those cinnamon rolls you mentioned.
Ember smiled, her exhaustion from another restless night fading slightly. Be there in 10.
She threw on jeans and a sweater, ignoring Maya's knowing look as she grabbed her backpack.
"Adrian again?" Maya asked, sitting up in bed.
"Just coffee before class."
"That's the third time this week you've 'just had coffee' with him." Maya's tone was teasing, but there was something else underneath worry, maybe. "You really like him."
"He's nice," Ember said, feeling her cheeks warm. "And we have a lot in common. Is that a crime?"
"No, it's just" Maya paused. "Just be careful, okay? I know you're excited, but"
"But what?"
Maya looked like she wanted to say something important, but then she just shook her head. "Nothing. Just don't forget about me when you're off being all cute with basketball boy."
"Never," Ember promised, giving her a quick hug before heading out.
The Grind was crowded with students desperately caffeinating before early classes. Ember found Adrian at their usual table by the window, two coffees and a cinnamon roll already waiting.
"You're a lifesaver," Ember said, sliding into the seat across from him. "I didn't have time for breakfast."
"I figured. You mentioned you always sleep through your alarm on Thursdays." Adrian pushed the cinnamon roll toward her. "So I came prepared."
"You remembered that?"
"I remember everything you tell me," Adrian said, then seemed to realize how that sounded. "I mean, not in a creepy way. Just you're interesting. I like listening to you talk."
Ember felt warmth spread through her chest. No one had ever said she was interesting before. Quiet, yes. Shy, definitely. But interesting?
"You're pretty easy to talk to yourself," she said softly.
They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, sipping their coffees. Ember noticed things about Adrian she hadn't before the way he drummed his fingers on the table when he was thinking, the small scar on his chin (basketball injury, probably), how his eyes crinkled when he smiled.
"So," Adrian said, breaking the silence. "Have you thought any more about the party Saturday?"
Ember had been thinking about it. A lot. The idea still made her nervous parties weren't her thing, especially after what happened last time. But with Adrian there...
"I don't know," she admitted. "Parties kind of freak me out. Too many people, too loud."
"What if it wasn't the party?" Adrian leaned forward. "What if we went to the game, and then after, we just got food? Skip the party entirely?"
"You'd skip your own team's party?"
"I'd rather spend time with you than watch my teammates get drunk and make bad decisions." Adrian's expression was sincere. "The party will still be there if we want to stop by later. But no pressure. We can just do dinner. Casual."
Ember's heart did that complicated thing again. "Like a date?"
"Yeah. Like a date." Adrian smiled. "If you want it to be."
"I want it to be," Ember heard herself say.
"Great." Adrian's smile widened. "Then it's a date. Saturday. I'll pick you up at six? Game starts at seven."
"Okay."
They talked for another twenty minutes about nothing and everything. Adrian told her about his grandmother's insistence that he learn to cook ("She says athletes who only eat dining hall food turn into 'nutritional disasters'"). Ember told him about her favorite author no one had ever heard of.
When Ember finally had to leave for class, she felt lighter than she had in days.
ADRIAN
Adrian watched Ember walk away, her strawberry-blonde hair catching what little sunlight made it through the clouds.
He was in trouble.
He'd known the moment his grandmother told him about Ember Winters about who she was, what she carried inside her that he needed to keep his distance emotionally. This was a job. A mission. Get close to the host, gain her trust, bring her to Margaret so they could end the curse.
But Ember wasn't what he'd expected.
She wasn't dangerous or threatening. She was shy and funny and genuinely interested in things he cared about. She looked at him like he was more than just the basketball player everyone else saw.
And when she smiled, really smiled, not that polite half-smile she gave everyone else it did something to his chest that had nothing to do with the mission.
Adrian pulled out his phone and stared at his grandmother's contact.
He should tell her. Tell her that Ember had agreed to Saturday, that he'd have the perfect opportunity to bring her to the estate, that the plan was working.
But his finger hovered over the call button, not pressing it.
What if there's another way?
The thought had been creeping in all week. What if they didn't have to hurt Ember? What if there was a way to separate her from Rosanna's spirit without killing either of them?
His grandmother had been very clear: the host must be sacrificed. It was the only way to destroy the Scarlet Woman completely.
But Margaret hadn't met Ember. Hadn't seen her light up when talking about books, or heard her laugh at his terrible jokes, or noticed the way she always made sure to ask how his day was going.
Adrian pocketed his phone without making the call.
He had until Saturday to figure out what to do.