“I don’t know,” Theo coughed, his voice equally ravaged. He managed to free one of his hands and started stroking Lyra's hair, gently detangling some of the long strands.
Niamh whisked through the sky, leaving the scene of carnage behind them.
Exhaustion outweighing any confusion or other emotions they were experiencing. Theo and Lyra found themself dozing, inexplicably safe in a dragon’s grasp.
Far, far away from Cliodhna.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Lyra jostled awake when her feet hit the wooden deck. Her eyes bolted open, adrenaline coursing through her veins as it took her a second to come to terms with her surroundings. Theo was next to her, a broad arm still around her shoulders, keeping her body close to his. The dragon gently deposited them onto Wyn's ship and vanished back into the skies.
“Keira,” Lyra whispered, scanning the deck for Wyn and her sister. They were on the other side of the boat, Wyn gently helping his sister to her feet. She was shaky, not used to her legs after all this time underwater.
“Keira!” Lyra shouted it this time, practically leaping across the deck in only a few steps. Theo followed, slowly, allowing Wyn to pull him into a tight embrace as the sisters reunited.
Keira and Lyra had often been mistaken for twins growing up. They had the same matching hair, constantly shifting between dark, bluish shades in the sunlight, and bright eyes. The most notable difference between the two was that Keira’s eyes were grey, almost white, giving her an additional ethereal appearance. Her face was waxen and pale, and her ribs more pronounced as Lyra crushed Keira against her.
“Lyra.” Keira was weeping, her feeble fingers trembling as they held onto her sister as hard as she could.
Lyra could feel how little strength was left in Keira, and if she weren't so exhausted, it would have engulfed her rage anew. After several minutes, Lyra was finally able to pull away ever so slightly, her hands cupping Keira's cheeks as she looked her over.
“Are you all right? Oh, gods, I'm sorry it took me so long. I'm so sorry—” Lyra started shaking her head, the immense weight of caretaking on her shoulders.
“No, please,” Keira pushed back, looking equally as distraught as she shook in her sister's embrace. “It was my fault, you told me,” Keira reiterated, closing her eyes as if conjuring up a memory. “You told me repeatedly that there was only trouble waiting for me if I was so insistent on human men…”
Lyra paused for a second as Keira trailed off, the sentence hitting her heart differently than it once had. She cast a glance over her shoulder and saw Wyn and Theo, their backs to the sisters, giving them a semblance of privacy during the emotional reunion.
“No.” Lyra shook her head.
Keira's eyes widened. “No?” She stared at her sister, almost questioning if this was the same person. Lyra had never given her an inch whenever they argued about men and lovers.
“It is Cliodhna's fault this happened and no one else's.” Lyra's voice was measured and surprisingly calm. “It's not fair to say this is on you. She wanted to get to me, and the only way to do that was to go through you. No matter what you were doing, it wouldn't have mattered.”
The words sat heavy in the air between the sisters. Lyra didn't want to admit she had been the cause of her sister's turmoil, but as much as she would have liked to, and it certainly was the fault of Keira's lover.
“The boy,” Lyra asked, her voice softened, “do you… you know?” She tripped over her words, and Keira gave her a small smirk, part of the spark returning in her eyes.
“Yes, go on,” Keira teased, enjoying taking the piss out of her older sister, in a manner almost exclusively reserved for siblings.
“Do you… like him?” Lyra struggled with the words. Like many older siblings, it was jarring to come to terms with the fact her sister might have romantic feelings for someone. She never wanted to think about her sister’s dating life if she could help it. Until now, the only time they ever touched the topic was when Lyra warned Keira off boys entirely.
“Yes, I do.” Keira’s answer was instant, but her expression wasn’t as excited as Lyra thought it should be. Granted, she had just been rescued from captivity from an angry goddess, and it was an emotional whiplash that could be understood.
Lyra waited, saying nothing. She gave Keira space for a few minutes, pulling her back into her arms. It didn’t matter if they were talking, Lyra needed to touch her sister to remember she was real. This was real, and Cliodhna was far behind them now.
“I don’t know what Cliodhna did with them.” Keira whispered, her words sounding muffled against Lyra’s skin.
“What do you mean?” Lyra asked, her brow furrowing. She could tell from Wyn and Theo’s frigid postures they had overheard Keira. Keira pushed away from Lyra, taking a few paces back and releasing a long breath.
“There is something I haven’t been honest about.” Keira was looking down at her feet, unable to hold eye contact with Lyra.
Lyra’s stomach dropped. She didn’t think anything could be worse than Cliodhna, but the way Keira was acting, she had been plucked from the frying pan and was being held over the fire.
“Okay.” Lyra nodded.
There was a sinking feeling in her stomach. Keira never held any secrets from her. This was potentially a naive take, Lyrarealized—what younger sister didn’t keep secrets from her older sister—but she believed it to be true. Keira took a deep breath. Lyra could hear Wyn and Theo turning around, their attempt at privacy forgone in the wake of Keira’s hesitation.
“Cliodhna didn’t capture him, right?” Lyra pushed, wondering if they had left an innocent mortal in the goddess’s grasp. They weren’t responsible for everyone, but Lyra didn’t like to think they’d escaped Cliodhna only to leave someone behind.
