“Fine. Fine. I had hoped it wouldn’t come to this.” He stands and paces back and forth.
A loud whistle rings through the trees and catches Fenix’s attention. He stops and turns to me. “Are you finished?” He smiles.
“Yes. Thank you.” It might be as easy as breathing to fall into an argument with my brother, but that won’t help me. My resolve not to train and not have more answers to the questions I have is already festering inside my gut.
What if that’s the wrong decision? What if the Ushercanhelp me? If he can help me master my magic, maybe I could stop causing Ten pain when we touch.
“We’re done here. Come on.” He starts off towards the main camp.
“Where are we going? I told you I wanted to talk. Just us.”
“We can still talk. But there’s something I want to show you first.”
That sinking feeling rises from my toes and settles in my stomach, churning the food I’ve just gobbled down. It’s been too easy. He’s hiding something. This is a trap. I just don’t know what the trap is.
Until we walk back to the main camp and to the Usher’s tented area.
“I think you might reconsider your last answer.” Fenix moves out of the way to enable me to see the seating area.
Ten and Crimson sit, blindfolded and bound, the Usher sitting opposite them. And Kalan, watching me like a hawk.
“Now, this is the one I expected to come for you. Turns out Micah was right.”
fifteen
. . .
Ever
“Ten!”I say his name inside my head, and I force it to reach him.
His head snaps up and looks towards my direction despite the blindfold.“You’re here?”The words are strangled and full of the longing I’ve felt. But they are distant, like he’s speaking to me from a long way away, like when he was in Estereah.
He’s here. And the connection between us is still intact, too. As though my body and my magic realise this at the same time, a rush of power surges through me, catching my breath.
Ten stands, but he staggers with his hands tied and the blindfold obstructing his vision. And he walks right towards Fenix.
“Don’t touch him,” I warn Fenix, keeping my eyes on what my brother might do. He clearly knows who Ten is and that puts him at risk. A huge fucking risk.
Flashes of what he did to Calix scream back to me, and I’m filled with bone-chilling terror.
“What’s wrong?”Ten’s voice is muffled again.
“I’m fine. Oh, thank the stars. Just, you can’t let on that we can do this. Or that you’re worried about me.”My mind starts to spiral at what Fenix could do to Ten. And what is Crimson doing here?
“Not gonna happen, Ever. I’ve crossed the fucking ocean to make sure you’re safe. Now I’ve found you, I’m not letting you go.”
My eyes are glued to Ten, but Kalan stands and puts himself between him and Fenix.
“Fenix. Long time. Mind if we let these guys free? They don’t need the blindfold or the binds.”
“Sure. Let them go.” Fenix waves his hand towards Ten and Crimson.
I rush towards them, as does Kalan.
“Ever—”
Kalan tries to speak to me, but I snap back at him. “Not now. I don’t want to speak to you yet,” I spit. The anger burns my throat as I say the words, the open wound of my hurt still raw from the conversation with Fenix earlier. I haven’t worked out what I want to say to Kalan, but he’s not my priority right now. Ten is. And apparently, we need to make sure Crimson is, too.
