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"No, Annabella! She'll kill you too!"
I tried to grab my sister's arm, but she evaded me and pounded down the stairs. She made it all the way to our mother's body. Annabella crouched down and started to touch her but thought better of it. Then her head snapped up, and she raised her hands, forming her own ball of Ice.
Once more, I saw a pair of burning hands. Annabella wasn't as strong as our mother had been. She never had a chance. My big sister tried to defend herself, tried to form a shield of solid Ice, but the searing flames roared through her magic like it wasn't even there, slammed into her chest, and ignited her white gown. For a moment, she looked like a candle, pretty, light, blond. And then she was gone. As dead and charred as my mother.
I swallowed my screams and turned away from the horrific sight. Bria. I had to get Bria. We had to get out of the house. We had to hide-hide or die. . .
"Gin! Gin! Wake up!"
I gasped in a breath and sat straight up in bed, like I was Frankenstein's monster that had just been electrified back to life. It took me a moment to realize that someone was holding me. My eyes slowly focused on Bria, who was standing over me, her hands on my shoulders like she'd been trying to shake me awake. I shuddered out an exhalation and came the rest of the way back to myself.
"I'm okay now," I rasped, wiping the cold sweat from my forehead. "Really. You can let go now. "
She did as I asked, and I flopped down onto the bed, every part of me weak, limp, shaking, and exhausted. Bria didn't say anything, but I could feel her eyes on me in the darkness.
"So," I murmured. "How loud was I screaming this time?"
"Loud enough to wake me," Bria replied. "I thought that maybe someone had broken into the house. That maybe some of the bounty hunters had tracked us here. "
"No, it was just me and my psychosis. I'm sorry that I woke you. Usually, there's no one around to hear me scream. "
She was silent for a moment. "What-what were you dreaming about?"
I shrugged. "The usual. The night that our mother and Annabella died. I always see different parts of it, different bits and pieces. "
"What did you see tonight?"
I grimaced, even though she couldn't see it in the darkness. "Oh, tonight was a real doozy. I dreamed about watching them die, about seeing them both disappear into balls of flames as Mab's elemental Fire washed over them. "
"Oh. "
Bria didn't ask me to elaborate on what I'd seen, and I didn't offer to tell her. It was one thing to know that your family had been murdered, to live your whole life with that pain, with that pulsing, hollow ache in your chest. It was another to hear the play-by-play, color commentary from someone who'd been there. From your big sister, who hadn't been able to do a damn thing to save the rest of your family.
I rolled over, turning away from her. Moonlight slipped in through the lace curtains, slicing everything with its silver cracks. That's how I felt right now-cold and cracked and hollow and empty.
"I'm sorry that I woke you, Bria. You can go back to bed now. I'll be fine. I usually never have more than one of those dreams a night," I said. "So go. Try to get some rest. "
I waited for her to turn around, close the door behind her, and leave. I waited for the sound of her footsteps to fade away. I waited for the ache of her absence and alienation to fill me once more.
Instead of leaving, Bria lifted up the covers and crawled into bed with me. She hesitated, then scooted over next to me, until we were spooned together. It was something that we used to do when we were little girls. One of us would have a bad dream and would go get into bed with the other. Somehow, the two of us-together-were always able to go back to sleep, with no more bad dreams or nightmares.
It was something that I hadn't thought about in years, but now I remembered all those nights, and I knew that Bria did too. My baby sister moved closer still to me, her arm slipping up and over my waist, hugging me to her just the faintest bit.
"It's okay, Gin," Bria whispered against my damp hair. "I'm here now. We're together now. Somehow, we'll find a way to take down Mab-together. I promise you that. "
Tears spilled down my cheeks at her soft, simple words, but I made no move to brush them away. I didn't want her to know that I was crying. I didn't want her to see me like this. Weak, emotional, unbalanced, uncertain. I was the big sister here. Genevieve Snow, Gin Blanco, the Spider. I should be taking care of her, not the other way around.
But all that didn't keep me from reaching down, covering her hand with my own, and giving it a gentle squeeze. Bria snuggled a little closer to me and let out a soft sigh of understanding-and maybe contentment too.
Curled together, we lay there in bed until sleep claimed us once more.
Chapter 14
Bria slept in late the next morning. Not surprising. Being magically healed by Jo-Jo had left her feeling drained, as her mind tried to catch up to the fact that her body was suddenly well again, despite the beating she'd taken from the dwarven bounty hunter last night.
I'd been injured and healed as well, so I felt a little sluggish myself. But I didn't have the luxury of staying in bed, since I still had appearances to keep up and a barbecue restaurant to run. I woke Bria up long enough to get her to promise me that she'd stay put in the house today, then left to go to work.
The day passed by like any other at the Pork Pit. Sophia and I served up hot, steaming barbecue beef and pork sandwiches, along with thick, juicy cheeseburgers, sweet-and-sour coleslaw, baked beans, and more. All the while, a vat of Fletcher's secret barbecue sauce simmered on the back of the stove, flavoring the air with its spicy cumin kick.
