Chapter 32 "For Ember"
ADRIAN
Adrian spent the night in a pew near the back of the church, unable to sleep, unable to stop thinking about Ember.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her. The black eyes. The cruel smile. The way she'd looked at him like he was nothing.
He'd done that to her. He'd turned her into that.
The church was silent except for the occasional creak of old wood and the distant sound of Father David's footsteps as he made his rounds. Adrian had been told to stay away from Ember's room. His presence agitated her or agitated Rosanna, more accurately. Made the possession fight harder.
So Adrian sat in his pew, wrapped in a blanket someone had given him, and tried to figure out how to fix something that felt unfixable.
"You're up early."
Adrian looked up to find Kelly standing in the aisle, looking like he hadn't slept in days. Which he probably hadn't.
"Couldn't sleep," Adrian said.
"Yeah, me neither." Kelly sat down in the pew in front of Adrian, turning to face him. "I need to talk to you. About Ember. About a way we might be able to save her."
Adrian sat up straighter, hope flickering in his chest. "What kind of way?"
Kelly explained the ritual. The cold water. The suspended animation. The journey back to 1906. The time limit. All of it.
Adrian listened, his mind racing, trying to process what sounded like something out of a science fiction novel.
"Time travel," he said when Kelly finished. "You're talking about actual time travel."
"Not physically. Your body stays here. But your consciousness, your spirit that goes back. To 1906. To when the curse was first created."
"And if we change what happened then"
"The curse might never exist. Rosanna might never be cursed. And Ember might be freed."
Adrian rubbed his face, feeling the rough stubble that had grown over the past two weeks. His head was still bandaged, still aching. He probably looked like hell.
"Why are you telling me this?" he asked. "After what I did, why would you trust me with this information?"
Kelly's expression hardened. "I don't trust you. At all. You betrayed Ember in the worst possible way. You handed her over to people who wanted to kill her."
"I know"
"I'm not finished." Kelly's voice was cold. "You don't get to apologize your way out of this. You don't get to be forgiven. What you did was unforgivable."
Adrian's throat tightened, but he nodded. Because Kelly was right.
"But," Kelly continued, "Ember loves you. God knows why, but she does. And that love creates a connection. A link between you two that's stronger than anything else. We need that connection to make this ritual work."
"You need me to go back with her."
"Yes. You're an Ashcroft. You're connected to the curse through your bloodline. And Ember's connected to you through" Kelly's jaw tightened. "Through whatever feelings she has for you. Together, you might be able to change what happened in 1906."
"And if we can't? If we fail?"
"Then we all die trying. Because the alternative is watching Ember disappear completely, and I'm not doing that. I won't give up on her."
Adrian heard the undercurrent in Kelly's voice. The pain underneath the anger. And he understood, suddenly, what should have been obvious all along.
Kelly was in love with Ember.
And Adrian had gotten in the way of that. Had taken something Kelly had wanted, without even realizing it was there to be taken.
"You love her," Adrian said quietly.
Kelly's expression didn't change. "That's not relevant."
"It is, though. You love her, and I ruined everything. For her. For you. For everyone."
"Yes. You did." Kelly stood. "But right now, the only thing that matters is saving her. So I'm asking will you do this? Will you go back to 1906 with Ember and try to fix what your family broke?"
Adrian didn't hesitate. "Yes. Whatever it takes. I'll do it."
"Good. Because we're running out of time." Kelly started walking toward the door, then paused. "One more thing. The people who go back they don't remember their present lives while they're in the past. Their minds only know them as whoever they are in that time period. So you won't remember Ember. You won't remember any of this. You'll just be whoever you're supposed to be in 1906."
"Then how"
"Your heart remembers. Your soul remembers. The connections you have in the present will guide you in the past. At least, that's what the texts say. It's never actually been tested." Kelly opened the door. "Get some rest. We're going to need everyone at full strength. Tomorrow night, we attempt the ritual."
After Kelly left, Adrian sat in the quiet church, processing everything.
Time travel. 1906. Changing history.
It sounded impossible.
But impossible was better than hopeless. And right now, impossible was all they had.