Chapter 21
November 13, 2104
The edge of the knife slipped from Ember's hand where she held it against the wheel of the sharpener, blood spilling from the slice on her thumb.
"Harking mother of--" Profanity spilled from Ember's mouth as she leapt up from where she had been kneeling, sucking her bleeding thumb.
"Dragon balls," she finished.
Normally she would have thrown the knife at something, preferably the leader, Thane, and go into a rage before stomping off in a huff. But nothing could turn her good mood sour today.
She was relieved.
The wonder that had shone in Hugo's eyes replayed in her mind, the usual mischievous grin replaced with something real -- something more raw, more vulnerable.
Something human.
The thought crossed Ember's mind so fleetingly she almost didn't notice it, almost didn't pause as she went to examine her sliced finger. But then she thought back and that notion consumed her.
Why had she thought that? What was she thinking? Human! Of course Hugo was human. That was why she liked him so much, wasn't it? Or maybe it was just because he completed her, two fires burning together in a raging inferno.
Ember shoved her sudden thoughts back down into the hellhole that they came from. She was too happy to be questioning Hugo right now, too happy to remember Eliza's last cold words to her.
Unfreezing from her uncharacteristic moment of stillness, Ember flipped the half-sharpened knife in her hands and slid it back into her belt before examining the clean cut on the pink skin of her thumb. Then she heard a voice from behind her.
"Ember!"
Heart speeding up a pace, Ember turned, scanning the bustling working grounds of the gang's headquarters around her. Hugo was striding toward her. His face lit eerily by a torch as he passed by, the smile from before gone.
Ember frowned.
Something was different about Hugo, the energy that had seemed to grip his entire being from the dragon ride was gone, replaced with something colder, fiercer.
"What's wrong with you?" Ember asked as he reached her. "Ya grump."
Something flickered in Hugo's dark eyes. Then a smile spread across his face.
"Sure, I'm the grump," he smirked, snaking a hand around her waist and making her skin shiver, aching for his lips on hers.
Hugo placed a kiss on her cheek, before Ember batted him away, sucking on her cut finger again.
"Seriously though," Ember said, "Where did you go?"
After Hugo had ridden Rage, the dragon had quickly flown off, and she and Hugo had shared a kiss that had chased all the cold from her bones before he ran off, saying he had to go before Thane missed him, leaving her alone in the snowy forest. The fire the kiss had ignited in Ember's stomach still hadn't faded as she wrapped her own arms around Hugo's solid waist.
"Just doing something for Thane," Hugo said, pushing a piece of Ember's short hair from her eyes. "I'm too crussing distracted, though."
"You're not the only one," Ember purred under her breath as she rested her head on his shoulder. His body felt so startlingly real against hers.
Hugo laughed, the sound reverberating against Ember's chest.
"I am pretty harking handsome," he said, and Ember could hear the grin in his voice. "But I meant the dragon. I can't stop thinking about it."
Ember huffed, rolling her eyes. "And you didn't believe me, you dragon scarf."
Hugo drew her away from him, gazing deep into her eyes with an intensity that made a lump of unease form in Ember's stomach.
"It was odd," he continued, his hand traveling to Ember's neck. "When I touched the scales I felt something. Something hot and aggressive, like a fire, was raging right under its skin."
Ember stared at Hugo. She knew exactly what he was talking about, the warmth emanating from Rage, but not just a warmth -- a fury, a strength. Touching a dragon felt like you could take over the world.
Ember smirked, "Dragon hugger," she teased.
"Shut up," Hugo grinned back, then he leaned forward and kissed her. For a moment Ember let herself dissolve into him before kissing Hugo back hungrily.
Ember was so distracted in making out with Hugo that she didn't notice the figure approaching.
"Get a room," a rough voice griped.
Ember pulled back from Hugo, her lips wet, to find the brooding figure of Pierce moving the knife grind.
Ember scowled at him, but Pierce didn't give her a second glance, which made her all the more outraged.
"Hark off," Ember snarled. She wasn't dealing with any of this crusser's dragon scarf. Eliza might trust him, but Ember definitely did not.
With the grace of someone who had done this task hundreds of times in his life, Pierce took a curved dagger out of his belt and began to pump the knife grinder.
"Hey," Hugo said, leaning in and nipping her on the neck, sending her nerves in spirals. "Let's go outside."
Hugo's hand snaked around her waist as he lead her toward the door, cold air and the smell of a fire reaching her nose.
"I have an idea," Hugo announced as soon as they were outside in the snow-speckled landscape. "How about you show me that dragon of your sister's?"
His words made Ember's heart flutter suddenly in panic. She looked around. The gang members standing guard at the entrance of the mall were huddled near the bonfire with their backs turned. One of them, a tall blonde girl with a terrifying scar, was singing.
Ember turned back to Hugo, her body tensing against the cold that was already seeping into her bones.
She thought of Eliza. She would be furious, Ember knew that. If just telling Hugo about the dragons had made her sister stop talking to her, then showing Hugo Echo would probably make Eliza disown her or something. Ember didn't want that -- Eliza drove her crazy but she was the only family she had left.
Then she remembered how Eliza wouldn't help her convince Hugo about the dragons. Anger flared in Ember's chest. Hark her sister and her so controlling ways. If she didn't trust Ember's judgement, then fine. Ember would trust her own.
"Come on," Ember said, walking away from the mall entrance with her jaw set. She shoved thoughts of her sister's heartbroken face out of her mind with every step toward the back of the mall, her good mood quickly disappearing.
When they reached their destination Ember slid into a huge gap in the wall that looked like a dragon had crashed into the building. Inside, the less-liked gang members had their hideout -- the shunned, the different, and the imprisoned, just like Ember and Eliza.
Ember looked around for Eliza, scanning age-worn faces, thin-cheeked children, and grey-eyed men. But Eliza was nowhere to be found. She gestured to Hugo who was a few steps behind her.
Quickly Ember headed to the tent-like structure that had been erected in the center of what had been the mall's food court, where worn posters of fat burgers and brightly colored drinks were peeling from the walls.
Ember stopped in front of a pathetic little tent that consisted of a banner she had found under some rubble and a few racks that held mildew eaten clothes. It was possibly the worst tent Ember had ever seen, but with Thane making she and Eliza go out scavenging and Ember not wanting to deal with Eliza's surly shell, neither of them had time to come here except to keep each other warm through the bone-chilling nights and to make sure Echo was doing okay.
Ember reached to pull aside the thick felt blanket that covered the entrance, the fabric dappled with patterns of suns and moons, but as Ember's hand touched the fabric another hand from inside began to pull the blanket back.
Panicked Ember shoved Hugo to the side, mouthing, "Eliza." He took the hint and disappeared around the tent next to them.
Eliza's eyes widened when she saw her. "Ember!"
Ember grinned back. "Hey."
Her sister's eyes narrowed, "What are you doing here?"
"It's my tent too, isn't it?" Ember asked, making sure to be as hostile as possible. She still hadn't forgiven Eliza and she wanted it to show.
"Yes," Eliza said, eyes still narrowed. "But--"
"Oh, calm yourself, Eliza," Ember snorted. "I'm here to patch my pants."
Ember didn't wait to see if Eliza looked at the gaping slash in her already patched and repatched black pants. She barged into the tent. She actually did need to fix her pants, but the rip was at least two days old and the least of her worries in the grand scheme of things. But Eliza didn't know that and she didn't need to.
The inside of the tent was just as pathetic as the outside. Moldy blankets lay in a messy pile in the corner where she slept, and a neatly made bed on the other side where Eliza slept, and beside that there was nothing -- no knick-knacks from scavenging, no stacks of canned food and bandages. Sure, they lived there, but it wasn't home.
Ember's eyes zeroed in on the backpack near Eliza's bed. She went over, peering inside. For a moment she was afraid Eliza had hid the dragon somewhere else, but then she saw her, curled in a ball at the bottom of the bag, her sapphire scales shimmering faintly in the dim light of the tent. Her small body rose and fell with the rhythm of her breathing.
There was a rustle and Ember turned around to see Hugo pushing past the blanket that was covering the door.
"Come here," she whispered, patting Eliza's flat bed as she sat beside the backpack.
With the grace of a wildcat Hugo moved toward her, the light coming through rips in the banner flickering over the strong lines of his body and his luminous skin. Ember couldn't help but hold her breath as he sat down.
"Here," Ember said, gesturing to the backpack. In one movement she and Hugo leaned forward, Ember's eyes fixed on Hugo's face as she watched his eyes widen in wonder.
Gently, Ember took Hugo's hand and placed it on Echo's blue-scaled flank.
At his touch Echo's eyes opened, her pupils instantly growing wide with fear. A lump of panic welled up in Ember's throat. She had never seen Echo go wild, but if she did, Ember knew she wouldn't be able to stop the dragon. Echo listened only to Eliza.
"It's okay," Ember said quickly, petting the dragon's tiny head. "He's a friend."
Echo didn't move, she just stared at Hugo with her dilated pupils.
"Isn't she harking amazing?" Ember asked, nudging Hugo who stroked Echo's side.
"Yes," Hugo answered without looking at her. "She is amazing,"
Ember looked away, back to Echo.
She didn't see smile that rose to Hugo's lips.
She didn't see the hungry look in his eyes, the gaze of a snake about to pounce.