Silence descended on the room as Antonia’s words echoed repeatedly in Ember’s ears despite her only having said it once. She was speaking figuratively – there was no other explanation.
‘I’m nothing to do with you,’ Ember finally said, looking her directly in the eyes.
‘But you are,’ Antonia said. There was a slight pause. ‘Jonah, give us a few minutes, will you?’ The tone betrayed that it was more a directive than a request.
Ember couldn’t even bear to look at him again, her attention fixed on Antonia instead. She didn’t even check over her shoulder once she heard the door close behind her, Charlie following suit.
It was a risk, but clearly one Antonia was willing to take. Clearly one she was willing to take to try and create some semblance of trust. And one Ember now knew she could afford to take considering the ability that had somehow been bestowed upon her.
‘By a distant bloodline, you are,’ Antonia said, leaning forward to pour them both a hot drink. She glanced sideways to study Ember’s gaze as if calculating every response. She sat upright again. Her frown of confusion could almost be mistaken as genuine. ‘You truly know nothing about this, do you?’
Ember shook her head, refusing to believe anything that fell out of Antonia’s mouth regardless of what it was.
‘You’re a witch, Ember. You must at least know that much.’
‘Non-practising.’
‘Nonetheless, our families span way back – back to a time when a witch and a regular human fell in love, against his coven’s wishes. He bestowed a gift on her: the gift of ultimate protection. They went on to have two children and, sure enough, one had the gift and one did not.’
The gift of precognition. A gift that Ember knew she didn’t possess, practising or not.
‘And so it began,’ Antonia continued. ‘From then on, those with the gift would protect those without it. A pact within an ever-expanding family, with those who carried the gift recompensing those who did not. Your father understood this and he helped us willingly, Ember, as did your brother.’
Her father, yes. She’d got her head around that. But Aidan too? He would never have known any different though. Would have never known any better.
Antonia waited for Ember to absorb all she had been told as she finished pouring them both a drink before placing the cup and saucer in front of Ember with a hand that was as steady as her gaze.
‘My brother was stolen as a child,’ Ember stated.
‘Not stolen, Ember. He was brought home. By your father. By your family.’
She couldn’t respond too quickly. She needed to remember that she was hearing it all for the first time. Unconvinced she was that good an actress, she dropped her gaze, she lowered her head.
‘Of course, we knew nothing of your existence, Ember. I can’t believe you’ve been here in Lowtown all this time. Living that kind of life when you could have been with us.’
Ember stared back at her. ‘There’s nothing wrong with my life.’
‘Compared with what you could have with us? There is little we can’t offer you: just as we offered your father and your brother. It might not be Summerton or Midtown, but we can offer you as close as it gets: freedom, protection, no need to slog in that café every day; the best food, the best clothes, whatever male companionship you desire. We can offer you sanctuary here. You’ll never have to worry again. You are very precious to us and we will treat you as such.’
‘By being kept a prisoner here?’
‘Not a prisoner. Anything but a prisoner. Frank came and went as he chose, with security for his own benefit of course. Aidan was exactly the same.’
‘And what is this best of the best to be built on?’ Ember asked. ‘The misery of other people? People such as those I care about? Profiteering from keeping them in their place? Are you telling me my family was willing advocates of that? That my father was? That my brother was?’
It had been hard enough when Nate had alluded to it, but now she was hearing the evidence direct from the source. Worse, there was nothing contrite behind Antonia’s eyes.
‘If we don’t manage Lowtown, if we don’t stay on top, someone else will. It’s human nature.’
‘Not all human nature,’ Ember counter-argued. ‘Not everybody wants to be in charge. Not everybody wants to control others. Not everyone is willing to go to the lengths I saw that night your brother murdered an elderly man in order to get his own way.’
‘I can assure you, that’s not my brother’s usual practice.’
‘It looked pretty usual to me. And now I find out it has all been nothing but cheating. That you’re using magic to maintain this level of power.’
‘Succeeding always requires a little bit of cheating, Ember. As I said, if we don’t succeed, someone else will. All we’re doing is safeguarding our interests.’
‘Whilst trampling on everyone else’s? And you expect me to help you with that? Help you use magic to monopolise this district to the point of crushing it?’
‘We are looking after this district’s interests as much as our own.’
‘Rather than people being able to stand up for themselves if there was an equal footing in this?’
‘Freedom is not always a blessing.’
‘But it should at least be a choice.’
‘Shall I tell you why you’re here now, Ember? Shall I tell you how we found you? You’re here because your brother is dead. Assassinated three weeks ago by the second biggest cohort in this district: the Voys. They spent two years planning it. Two years getting a girl in here worming her way into your brother’s affections so as to drop his guard enough to be alone with him. And then she murdered him. All of that so they could be in charge.’
Ember did her best to look shocked at her brother’s death, still numb from the grief of hearing of it less than a few hours before; the brother she never knew, but she felt the missing piece regardless.
‘Don’t you worry though,’ Antonia declared with a smile. ‘She suffered for it. She suffered for days for it. Indignities, humiliation, more than any woman could bear. Sufficient that, in the end, she opted to take her own life – just like she’d taken Aidan’s.’
There was no remorse in Antonia’s eyes, only triumph – amusement almost.
‘The brother who never told you about me. If this is such a paradise, why not? If this is such a great set-up, why did he keep me a secret?’
‘I can only believe he never remembered you,’ Antonia said. ‘He never spoke of you.’
Too traumatised by what he’d seen, it was a possibility. But so was him being smart enough, even as a young child, to keep the secret to himself.
‘And my mother? If the set-up is so great here, why was she in hiding? Why was she hiding me and my brother from you? Why did my father have to wrench my brother from her?’
‘Because she knew how committed Frank was to us and she never understood it. They split over her disagreement that any children they would have would live under our protection. For a long time, we thought Frank was incapable of conceiving children. He tried for so long. And then, one day, he stumbled on your mother out with your brother. He would never have known the child was his if she hadn’t run.’
She frowned. ‘Has my brother had children? Do I have a niece or a nephew here?’
‘I wish I could tell you yes.’
Her heart pounded harder as the true extent of their plan unfolded before her. ‘You need to keep the generation going. You need me to keep it going.’
Antonia’s silence did nothing to appease Ember’s disgust at their intention for her.
‘The deal is simple,’ Antonia eventually said. ‘We need you to sustain our way of living; the level of protection that sustains our way of living.’
‘How?’
‘By granting us the same skill that your family has for generations, that’s all. By granting us the ability to foresee the actions of those who would otherwise have already destroyed us. By using what you have inherited for the very purpose for which it was intended.’
‘Whatever it is, I’m certain it was not intended for you to use it to bully, oppress and control. How could you possibly expect me to agree to any of this? I’m assuming you do need my consent or we wouldn’t even be having this discussion.’
Antonia was trying to stay calm, to remain compromising, but Ember could see the tension in her hands, the frustration etched on her face. Frustration that was escalating. ‘I know what my brother did. He behaved badly. Inexcusably. He will make it up to those he has hurt.’
‘He’s going to bring Jasper back from the dead, is he?’
‘No, but he will do whatever else it takes. Work with us and you can turn this into an advantage for your friends. You could do a lot to improve their way of life. We’re always looking for sponsorship opportunities. It could get them out of a lot of difficult situations. And, in time, just like your father used to do, you could assist us in the running of our businesses. If you don’t like the way we operate, you can help with our decision-making. Help us shape how we manage things from here on. Maybe you could do some amazing things for this district if you have better ideas than ours. We would have a vested interest in listening, of course.’
‘Until I reproduce for you and then you can brainwash my child instead. Just like you brainwashed Aidan.’
Antonia reached for her cup and saucer. She took a gentle sip before placing the cup back on the saucer. ‘I understand your reticence,’ she said. ‘Truly I do. This must all be a terrible shock to you. What you need to know though, Ember, is that other than your particular gift, you are quite helpless. You’re not a caster. There are no spells that can leak from your lips or your fingertips. You are actually quite harmless. But the power you can bring about with your co-operation is immense. Think about your friends. Think about Harry. Think of the premises he could get – the support, the resources, and the protection. And think about his daughters: bright, attractive young women. How much longer are they going to survive under this remit compared with what they could have if they had the financial backing to move elsewhere?’
She placed the cup and saucer back on the table.
‘And then there’s Casey,’ Antonia added.
Ember’s stomach flipped at the mention of her name.
Antonia rested her elbow on the arm of the sofa, her gaze direct. ‘You could have so much influence over what happens with Casey. She’s a stunning girl. Young. Fit. Healthy. Fertile, hopefully. I understand that my brother has taken quite the shine to her.’
And there it was: their awareness of her weakness. Ember’s heart thudded faster at Antonia’s clear intent. Worse, at Jonah’s clear intent. An intent they had already discussed.
Antonia’s lips curled into a slight smile that didn’t resonate in her eyes. ‘You might like the thought of your young building the next generation with Casey’s young – our families reunited. Maybe you will go on to choose a different path for us to take when the time comes. Or maybe you’ll come to see why we do what we do and how we do it.’ She paused. ‘Or maybe you’d rather Casey not be involved at all. Maybe you’d like to see her still working with Harry but under better conditions. Maybe for her to be in prime position to help her mother access what she needs. That’s all under your control, Ember. If you’re a part of this family, that’s the kind of power you will have: to change or to safeguard the lives of those you care about. Are you going to tell me that’s wrong? Is it wrong for me to offer you the best possible life you could get in this district? To offer a better life for your friends? To offer you a stake in the business that you so clearly currently disagree with the practices of?’
Ember knew that, under any other circumstances, Antonia was making her an offer she would be unable to refuse. And she knew, above all else, that if she failed in what she needed to do, it would be her friends who paid the price. Antonia didn’t need to say it. Antonia didn’t need to say anything more.
But Antonia continued regardless.
‘Let’s keep it blunt between us girls. I think what I’m offering, what I’m willing to negotiate on, is more than fair.’ She held Ember’s gaze for what felt like minutes. ‘And I think it would be extremely unfair of you to turn my offer down. In fact, I will be offended. Offended enough that you will learn why I’m in charge of this operation and not my brother.’
‘How do I know you would keep to your word on any of what you’ve said?’
‘Why would I not? Ember…’ She leaned closer. ‘I want to work with you, not against you. I know it will take time to build the trust between us. I’m not unreasonable.’
And that was the point Ember had needed to get her to. That was her way in.
‘I want to know exactly what’s involved,’ Ember said. ‘I want to know what it is that I’m supposed to do. If you want us to start working together, I want transparency from the outset.’
Antonia’s eyes narrowed a little as she studied her pensively.
‘If you want to build the trust between us,’ Ember added. ‘Let’s start now.’