My jaw clenches as my stomach drops, leaving me a little breathless as wind rushes past me. I’m falling again. But only for a second before I crash back to the ground. Solid ground.
He’s here. Nearby. He’s the only one who could do that.
“Welcome to Nehandun, Ever,” Fenix calls to me.
“So much for trust.”
“Oh, we’ve a long way to go before that fully exists between us,sis.”
Another yank on my binds has me stepping forward, and I begin to walk.
“You let me see the way you escaped out of The Court, but not my arrival here? Are you scared?” I taunt. “Anticipate I’ll escape?”
“If you don’t stop talking, I’ll be forced to make you stop.”
“What is it, Fenix? Thought we’d be having fun by now?” As I push the last syllable from my mouth, my tongue seizes, locking up, just like before.
At least I know I’m getting to him. And as long as I can keep driving the hate between us, that’s fine with me. He isn’t my brother with the same eyes as mine looking back at me—the one who holds the answers to buried questions I’m not ready to ask. He’s the monster who killed my friend and is keeping me from the people I love.
My stumbles and trips grow more frequent the farther we walk as my legs and coordination tire. Nausea rolls through me as I can’t keep track of which way we’re heading. Fenix lessened the hold on my tongue a while back, but not before I thought I was going to choke or suffocate under my hood.
Now, I just get a yank when I falter, making it harder to recover. They knock me down again and again. That’s fine. If they want to do that, let them.
My thirst spiked hours after we left the ship. At least it feels like that.
We’ve travelled through inclines and rocky terrain. I’ve been cool and hot, but still we trudge. The ground turns softer, and it sounds like debris and foliage lie beneath my feet, reminding me of the forest. It doesn’t smell the same as I’m stuck breathing the same stale air inside my sack, but could it be…
Light blinds me as my blindfold is lifted, and I squeeze my eyes shut in defence until I can blink and adjust them.
And then I’m falling sideways, shoved against my shoulder until I’m in the dirt. The familiar smell of earth and wood and pine invades, and I’m right back to the vision in Fenix’s head.
Blinking, I clear my eyes and the milky light flickers through the deepest of green trees around us. I stay there, watching the shapes of the grey sky dance between the trees above. It’s mesmerising.
“Our guest is here, I see.” I twist my head to follow the sound of the shrill voice.
The man approaches from the shadows, but even in the dim light, I recognise him as the man Fenix was talking with in the vision I saw in his mind.
I right myself and sit up on the mossy ground as he approaches. Robes cover his body, and shroud part of his face. Where the Maker looked like a witch, complete with gaping holes where her eyes once were and a staff, this man looks ancient—like every good thing has been sucked away, leaving nothing but a cruel carcass. His thin lips reveal stained teeth, chipped and broken as he smiles at me, sending my skin crawling in shivers.
“Sister. This is the Usher.” Fenix speaks from behind me, trapping me between them both.
eleven
. . .
Ever
“Will you help your sister from the ground, Fen? I hardly see that as the rightful place for family.”
To my surprise, Fenix does as he’s bidden, gripping my shoulders and hoisting me to my feet. There’s still no obvious outcome to our touch, but it was brief.
“There. Better.” That voice. The pitch makes every muscle in my body want to rebel and shelter my ears from it. “You’ve had somewhat of a journey. Come. We must get you settled, for there is a lot to discuss.” He leans forward, but I counter, stepping back, and end up against the hard wall that is Fenix, blocking my retreat.
The Usher only reaches for the rope still leashing my hands together and unties me. His gnarled fingers remind me of the Maker’s. In fact, it’s like the Maker all over again, and I’m re-visiting the last few months from the beginning: Lyle taking me away to a strange new world with people I don’t know, only this time, it’s my supposedbrother.
No matter what I think about anything else, it’s becoming hard for me to deny that Fenix is my biological brother. He knows Kalan, and we share matching talismans that are from our parents. I’ve had less to believe in before.
“Come.” The Usher leads, and I turn to check with Fenix, who nods his head. Selina and the other men from the ship keep a wide berth as we journey through the trees until we’re in a wide opening within the thick forest. The trees shield the space, which undulates with hollows and small rises. Canvas tents and other makeshift camps litter the area. Fires spark and send smoke into the leaves, and the burning of wood conjures memories of warm, glowing embers in the fireplace at home, and the never-ending fire in the food hall at the training residence.
