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

SEVERAL WEEKS LATER…

Fuck me, it’s felt like a long time since I could properly wrap my arms around Ember without the feeling of eyes watching us. Not that it stopped us from being affectionate with her, but we couldn’t worship her the way we’d wanted, the way she deserved.

Davis pulls the car to a stop outside the old building that is Serene Haven, and my heart pounds inside my chest. She’s coming home, and boy, do we have a surprise for her.

Prince’s leg bounces up and down as we wait for Davis to park, and I interlace our fingers. He turns to me, giving me a small smile that sets my soul alight. Although we’ve sought comfort in hugs and hand holding, we haven’t touched each other sexually since Ember was committed. It just didn’t feel right anymore, not without her in the middle.

Prince was released after hours of questioning, the police satisfied that what happened to Odette was an unfortunate accident and nothing more. We didn’t tell them how relieved we all felt that she was dead, like a weight was lifted from our shoulders and we could finally breathe easy.

We’ve kept a close eye on Prince, she was his mother after all and he was instrumental in her death, but he seems at peace, and we’ve all been seeing a therapist who has been helping us to get over all the shit during our time with Odette.Nôvel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.

There’s definitely a feeling of lightness that surrounds us now, and we laugh more than we ever have before.

I’m jolted from my thoughts as the car comes to a stop, and then Cas is opening the door and we’re all rushing out, laughing as we push and shove each other out of the way.

“You boys are terrible,” a laughing voice teases, and my head snaps up, my breath catching in my chest at the sight of Ember standing on the steps, her bags by her side, with Julia, ours and Ember’s therapist, beside her.

“Little Sis!” I yell, rushing over and leaping up the stairs before drawing her into my arms and spinning her around. Her giggles are like music to my fucking ears, something in my very soul mending at having her finally coming home.

“Oct! You just saw me yesterday!” she exclaims, but there’s joy in her tone as I lower her down and plant my lips on hers. She melts into me then, her arms wrapping around my neck as I pull her closer, losing myself in her softness.

She’s fucking everything, so full of light that she shares freely, and I bask in her glow.

“Quit hogging her, bro,” Kit grumbles from behind Ember, and she pulls away, her smile so wide that my tingling lips immediately copy her.

“Sharing is caring, bro,” I tease back, and he tugs her from my arms with a growl, wasting no time in diving in for a kiss of his own. Fuck me, it’s hot, full of possessive fire and a love so fierce that it would set the world alight.

He stops the kiss as abruptly as he started it, and Ember’s shoulders heaves with her rapid breaths.

“Hey, Pretty Thing,” he rasps out, his voice all husky, and I grin when a shiver cascades down her body.

“Hi,” she breathes back, her face still tilted up to his.

“Stand aside and let me give our girl a proper welcome,” Cas jokes, pulling her from Kit’s grasp and tugging her into his own.

He teases her lips, peppering them with kisses until she makes the most delicious mewling sound, then with a smirk, he closes the small distance and kisses her properly. My cock thickens in my jeans, knowing how fucking good his lips feel, how amazing hers feel too, and wishing I was in that sandwich.

Plenty of time for that later. We have some christening to do after all.

Cas ends their embrace with more teasing kisses, and by the time he finally pulls away, she’s breathless, her cheeks flushed. “Ready to come home, Cinders?” he asks in a husky tone, and I know that he’s probably sporting a semi of his own.

“Almost,” she whispers back, stepping away from him and turning to face Prince. “Hello, Prince.”

“Hello, Sugar,” he replies, his face breaking into a sexy as fuck smile, which only grows as she goes to him, wrapping her arms around him and placing her lips against his.

After he was released from the cops, he came straight here, visiting her for hours, and when he returned home, he was like a new man. Like all the worry and burden had been lifted.

His hands come up to cup either side of her face, his mouth slanted over hers as he practically inhales her in, and she clings to him like he’s the thing that’s keeping her here. I don’t care who tethers her to this world, because as long as she never leaves it, I’m happy.

“I’ll be seeing you all for your regular fortnightly sessions, Oct,” Julia tells me, coming up next to me and watching Ember and Prince with a smile. “She’s ready, and with all of you around I’ve no doubt she’ll have her hands full.” She chuckles and I give her a wide-eyed, innocent look.

“I suppose we are quite a handful, Julia,” I tease, and she scoffs, turning to face me before patting me on the cheek.

“Rogue.”

She’s been helping us deal with all the trauma and finding ways to manage our feelings over everything that happened as well as coping mechanisms. She’s also completely supportive of our unconventional relationship.

I help Davis load Ember’s belongings into the car, Prince finally releasing her so she can say goodbye to Julia, then we’re all piling back in and driving away, our girl in between Kit and I as we won the game of rock, paper scissors when we were trying to decide who got to sit with her.

We’re all sitting in companionable silence when Ember suddenly straightens up, peering around me to look out of the window.

“This isn’t the way home,” she states, her forehead wrinkled as she takes in the countryside that now surrounds us.

“It is now,” Prince says from behind us, and she turns in her seat, her eyes narrowed.

“What do you mean by that?” There’s a smile playing around her luscious lips, so I think our surprise will hopefully be a welcome one.

“Patience, Sugar,” he replies with a devilish grin, and I can’t help the smirk that tugs my lips upwards.

She huffs out a breath but turns back around and continues to stare out of the window, her eyes taking in the surrounding scenery.

Butterflies fill my stomach with excited flutters the closer we get, and soon we’re pulling into the short drive, the old farmhouse lying before us. Her mouth parts as she takes in the stone and flint that make up the front wall, the many large-paned windows, and the lavender bushes that sit underneath the ground-floor windows.

“Where are we?” she breathes out as we pull to a stop, and no one answers as the door is opened and I step out, holding out my hand for her.

“This, Little Sis,” I say, drawing her in front of me and wrapping her up in my arms from behind. “Is our new home.”

“This is ours?” Her voice is soft, her gaze looking at the building with wide-eyed wonder.

“Eight bedrooms, built in the seventeenth century, and full of cozy fireplaces, beams, and lots of nooks and crannies,” I tell her, placing a kiss on her neck.

“Plus there’s quite a bit of land, a swimming pool and gym, and an art studio out back,” Kit adds from beside us, taking her hand in his and pressing a kiss to the back of it.

“It’s a place just for us, Cinders, and we thought you seemed to really love the peace of Serene Haven, so this is our very own slice of heaven.” Cas’s tone is gentle as he watches her face from next to Kit, Prince coming up on our other side.

“What do you think?” Prince asks, and we wait, no one daring to breathe.

“I love it,” she says, glancing around. Then her brows lower. “But, how did we get it? How could we afford it?”

Prince’s intake of breath is audible, and a fissure of worry shoots through me too.

“Well, when Odette died, the power of attorney she had over you and your finances transferred to her next of kin.” He pauses, and I hold her as he comes to stand in front of us, Kit releasing her hand so he can take them both in his. “I thought that going back there would be hard for you, and we all needed a fresh start, so I used some of your inheritance to buy this place. We still have the other if you’d rather go back there. I just thought…”

I’ve not seen Prince so unsure before, and we all agreed that this was for the best, to start anew and not drag her back to the place of all our nightmares. I wish I could see her face, see her reaction to the fact we kind of just railroaded her and took her control, even if it was done with the best of intentions. Shit.

“Can I see the inside?” she asks, and I watch as Prince’s face lights up with a smile, his shoulders relaxing as my heart gives a hard thud inside my chest.

“Abso-fucking-lutely!” I cry out, then stepping to the side, I lift her into my arms bridal style. She squeaks, giggling as she wraps her arms around my neck.

“Oct!” she admonishes with a laugh, but I just chuckle as Prince strides forward, unlocking the large oak door and opening it wide for us.

“It’s traditional to carry you over the threshold,” I tell her, twisting so we can get through the door. Carefully, I set her down and take her hand. “Let’s show you our new home.”