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Our eyes met, and in them, I saw a mix of concern, curiosity, and something else.
Doubt.
“Emilia,” I began, rising to my feet, but she turned and vanished into the thicket.
Sylra’s gaze was thoughtful. “You cannot hide the truth from her, Mayn. Trust, once broken, is not easily mended.”
I nodded, feeling the weight of her words. “I know. I just… I wanted to protect her.”
She touched my cheek, her touch cold but comforting. “And in doing so, you must also protect yourself.”
With a heavy heart, I left the waterfalls behind, determined to find Emilia and share the truth, no matter how painful.
The mysteries of my own transformation were unfolding, but hiding them would only cause further rifts between us.
It was time for honesty, even if it meant confronting the storm that was undoubtedly brewing ahead.
* * *
I caught up to her, unsure how much of the conversation she had overheard.
More than enough, it seemed.
“Emilia, will you wait?” I said, grasping her arm.
“Wait for you to lie to me more?” she snapped, wrenching her arm free.
“I didn’t lie to you. I just—”
She curled her face into an expression of disgust. “You just omitted certain truths?”
It wasn’t the way I would have chosen to describe it, but it was accurate. “You weren’t going to survive. Not without sharing your affliction with me.”
“That wasn’t your decision to make!” she growled, her eyes burning pits of anger. “You should have told me! We should have made the decision together!”
I took a deep breath. “Yes,” I said. “Yes, you’re right. You’re right.”
This appeared to calm her… a little.
I decided to push my luck and placed my hands on her shoulders. “I saw an opportunity to prolong your life. I feared you wouldn’t have accepted it otherwise.”
She curled up her face once more — both angry and cute at the same time.
She opened her mouth to snap at me again, but I beat her to it: “I will tell you next time. If a decision needs to be made by the both of us, I’ll tell you. Okay?”
All the anger melted from her and her shoulders slumped.
She fell into me and I wrapped my arms around her.
I kissed her on the top of the head. “I had to protect you. I know you might not like it, but I would do it again in a heartbeat — after telling you first, of course.”
She sighed and we rocked back and forth gently in each other’s arms.
Then she pulled back. “Is there anything else you need to tell me? Any other surprises?”
She meant it as an offhand comment… but unfortunately, there was something else I had to tell her.
“What?” she said. “What is it now?”
