Tarnished Embers: A Dark Stepbrother Fairytale Retelling (Dark Retellings)

We spend the next few days holding Ember, trying to get her to eat and drink, but it’s like she’s not there, and I know my brothers are as worried as I am to see how blank her blue eyes are, how she appears to just be going through the motions of living.

We’re sitting in the living room, Prince and I on either side of her, Oct at her feet, and Kit off making something for her in the kitchen when the door opens with a slam. We all flinch, and Odette strides in, her usual pantsuit pressed to perfection, make-up on point, and sky-high heels sinking into the carpet.

“The lawyer will be here in a minute to talk over the will,” she announces, looking at Ember between us.

“W–will?” Ember asks, her voice quiet and a little scratchy from disuse. Her face crinkles, and she looks far too fucking pale for my liking. I tuck her closer into me, my arm around her shoulders, and a warmth unfurls within me when she nestles into my side without question. Odette’s nose wrinkles as she looks at us, but I couldn’t give a fuck. Ember is ours and she can’t take her away from us.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“Yes, your father’s will,” Odette states, but her condescending tone has my hackles rising, a growl trapped in the back of my throat. Fuck, I hate not being able to tell her to fuck off, but everything is so up in the air right now that we dare not piss her off in case it backfires on us or Ember.

“Oh, okay,” Ember replies, still in that quiet voice. My nostrils flare, I hate how small she sounds, like she’s missing a vital part of herself.

“We’ll be there,” Prince announces, and Odette’s gaze snaps to him. It’s hard to read her expression, which may be on account of all the botox or because she is a master fucking manipulator.

“Fine. We’ll be in the study.” She turns on her heel and strides out, all of us breathing out a breath as she takes some of the tension with her. Prince kneels in front of Ember, taking her hand in his and ducking his head to catch her eyes.

“We’ll be beside you, Sugar, if that’s what you want?”

“Yes, please.” She blinks down at him, her words like a plea.

“Always, Cinders. No please required,” I tell her, kissing the top of her head and inhaling her incredible scent. It makes me think that anything is possible, as long as she’s there, which I know sounds fucking stupid, but there it is.

We hear the doorbell a moment later, then the indistinct murmur of Reginald and another male voice. Their footsteps echo toward the study, and Ember straightens, pulling out of my grip so she can stand. I miss her warmth immediately, my hand twitching with the need to pull her back to me.

I get up too, Prince and Oct following. Then Kit walks in, sees us all standing there, and sets the snacks he brought in aside. “What’s up?” he asks softly, his gaze darting over us, his brows furrowed.

“We’re going to the study to hear Richard’s Will,” I tell him, my eyes trained on Ember as she flinches. He nods, and I hold out my hand to her, waiting as she takes a deep, shaking inhale. Finally, she takes my hand, hers slightly shaking.

“It’ll be okay, Sugar,” Prince reassures her, and I watch as her shoulders rise and fall with her slow inhale and long exhale.

Then we walk out of the room, down to the study, and can hear Odette’s flirtatious laughter along with a deep male baritone. Ember stiffens when Odette giggles again, and I wince, knowing what she’s thinking. How can she laugh so soon after losing her husband? It’s the same thing I thought after my dad died. Odette never seems to take that long to grieve before moving on to her next conquest. I shake the dark thoughts from my head, focusing on Ember beside me.

“We’re here with you, right beside you,” I whisper, stepping forward and pushing the door open further, Ember’s hand clasped in mine.

They both glance up as we step in, the man’s cheeks flushing like he’s been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Given how close Odette is sitting to him, that’s not far off.

“Ember, honey,” Odette gushes, getting up and rushing to Ember, who freezes when Odette wraps her arms around her in an embrace. I keep hold of Ember’s hand, rubbing her knuckles with the pad of my thumb in reassurance. “Mr Wilcox, this is Ember, Robert’s daughter, and these are my stepsons.”

The man, Mr Wilcox, stands before tugging his tailored suit jacket down and striding over to us as Odette finally releases Ember. I don’t miss the flash of a gold wedding band on his ring finger. Fucking dick, flirting while his wife is probably at home.

“Miss Everly, I’m so sorry for your loss. Your father was a great man,” he says, and to give him some credit, he looks sincere, taking Ember’s free hand in both of his in a comforting gesture.

“T–thank you,” she mumbles, blinking rapidly, and I want to punch his posh asshole face for making her sad again.

“Shall we?” he asks, letting go of her hand and walking over to sit behind the desk. I feel Ember bristle, and I must admit, it’s forward of him to take her father’s chair, but I ignore my ire and lead her to the chair next to Odette, the others coming to form a wall around her. “Now, let’s begin.”

EMBER

I sit there, stunned as the solicitor’s words ring in my ear.

Destitute.

That’s what he told us, that my father had debts we didn’t know about, that his business interests and investments had failed, and that all we had left was the house, which we couldn’t afford to keep up now that he’s gone. Apparently, even his life insurance didn’t pay out enough.

“Cinders?” Cas’s soft voice interrupts the maelstrom swirling inside me, and I look at him, away from my father’s signet ring in my palm, the only thing that he left me, blinking as if coming awake from a deep sleep.

“What are we going to do, Cas?” Tears fill my eyes, and I’m so fucking sick of crying, but I just feel so lost and unsure.

“It’ll be fine, Sugar,” Prince says from my other side, and I twist to see him crouching down, his face level with mine. “We’ll make sure nothing bad happens to you, okay?”

I slowly nod, but I just can’t see how he’s going to keep that promise. He and his brothers are as unprepared for the real world as I am. I suppose we could all get jobs somehow, move into a smaller place maybe, but somehow, I don’t think Odette would agree, and the idea of living with her in a place where I could run into her at any moment leaves me feeling uneasy.

My chest tightens at the thought of having to give up Goldsmiths. Getting my art degree has been the only thing to keep me going these past few years. I’m not sure who I am without it.

“Well.” Odette’s sharp tone makes me flinch, and I glance away from Prince to see that she’s standing in the doorway, having seen the solicitor out. “Looks like not only have I been made a widow again, but I’ve been saddled with another child to look after and no money to do it with.” My entire body goes ice-cold at her harsh words, at how I’ve gone from being loved to a burden.

“Odette!” Prince growls, springing up and striding towards her, his body bristling with anger. Odette rubs her face, all the tight anger draining from her and leaving her sagging against the doorframe.

“I–I’m sorry, Ember, honey. I didn’t mean it to sound like that. I just don’t know what we’re going to do. We’ll have to let go of all the staff, perhaps even move, and we’d only just got settled. I hardly know a soul here either, so have no one to turn to.”

“I can help around the house,” I offer quietly, and she looks at me, relief making her eyes shine.

“Oh, would you? It’ll be a lot to take on, but economies have to be made, and until I can work out if we can stay here or not, that would be such a help, Ember, honey.” She comes towards me, pulling me up out of my chair and into a hug. My arms are slow to wrap around her, the ring digging into my clenched fist, her earlier words still stinging like a paper cut, but eventually, I hug her back. “I’m sure I’ll think of something.”

The guys all freeze at that, a wary look passing between them behind her back, and my brows dip as I try to work out what it means. Before I can ask though, Odette pulls away, cupping my cheek in her palm, forcing my attention to her. Her hand is icy, and unlike when one of my stepbrothers does it, I don’t feel comforted by the touch.

“Why don’t you all go back to watching your film? I’ve some calls to make, and then I’ll have to let the staff know of their termination. It’ll be best if I do that without an audience.” She gives me a small smile, then releases me to walk around the desk and sit in my father’s chair.

Not his anymore.