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Beams of apricot and rose-colored light highlighted the purple hills surrounding the border of Ellaria in a spectacular array of color. It was the most lovely sunset I had ever seen.
And in spite of the day, being so accepted into this family, spending time with people like me in a world suited for us… there was a traitorous part of my heart that felt selfish for wanting more.
I scanned the valley below from the Enchanted Forest, past the violet covered hills, and my chest tightened. I hadn’t realized I was holding my breath, until Aster nudged me.
“You all right, Lina?” she asked, and I nodded.
It was a lie.
Here I was, surrounded by everything I had ever wanted or dreamt of, and all I could think about was how much I wished Edrich was here to see it, too.
40
Edrich
Istood against the wall behind Lina’s door, so that no one could see me if she opened it. It was the perfect vantage point to study her luxurious room. The intricately carved furniture had been designed with her size in mind.
Piles of fabric were strewn carelessly across the short, plush couch, like she had tried on one outfit after another. There was an ornate vanity cluttered with cosmetics and jewels sparkling in the moonlight coming through her window.
It was a happy sort of mess, and the longer she was gone, the more time I had to convince myself there was no point in me being here. I had seen her, not only safe, butlaughing, with others like her, just like she had always wanted.
So why haven’t I left yet?
I told myself it was because she may have been putting on a show, that I couldn’t go until she told me herself that she was okay.But even I don’t believe it.
When her door finally opened, I felt an unexpected bundle of nerves in the pit of my stomach. She had left me in that valley, and she probably didn’t want to see me now. I had just enough time to regret my decision to stay before she walked in and pulled the door shut behind her.
Her back was to me, and I knew I should call out and let her know I was here, but she looked so sad, like she had deflated the moment she was alone. Her magnificent wings were drooping behind her, her bare hands a pale blue-gray, as they pulled her tiara from her head and tossed it on the sofa with more force than I would have expected.
Did something happen?
When her fingers moved to the buttons on the back of her dress, I finally made myself move, creating just enough noise to alert her.
“Lina,” I said softly, trying not to startle her.
She whipped around, her skin already shining such a brilliant silver, it was hard to look at her.
“Edrich?” Her lips parted in surprise. Emotions flitted through her eyes, confusion and surprise and something that might have been relief. Not anger, though. “How?”
It took me a moment to answer her, because even in the wan light of the moon, she was… perfect. With huge eyes and a pert, upturned nose, she was every bit as gorgeous as she had ever been—but so much more real now that she was right in front of me, the same size.Well, almost,I mentally amended. She was still about half a head shorter than I was.
“Mushroom gas,” I finally croaked out.
She nodded slowly.
“Pixie dust,” she mumbled, more to herself than me, the shock still evident in her eyes.
She strode almost subconsciously toward me, her hand outstretched. I didn’t move—I couldn’t, not when she was running her fingers gently along my hairline, then the side of my face, like she was still trying to convince herself this wasn’t a hallucination.
I knew the feeling, but I didn't trust myself to reach out and touch her. As it was, I could barely breathe. I knew, then.This is why I haven’t been able to make myself leave.
Because I had spent the better part of a decade wondering what it might be like if Lina and I were the same size, and maybe it was selfish of me, but I had to see her this way—at least once.
She pulled her hand back once she realized what she was doing, pressing her fingertips gently to her mouth instead.
“I can’t believe you’re here. And little, like me.” She seemed to be trying to collect herself, her skin flashing too many colors for me to keep up with, until she settled into something neutral. “Whyareyou here?”
She may as well have doused me with a bucket of cold water, the matter-of-fact way she asked. I blinked a couple of times, not sure why I was surprised. She had made her feelings clear enough when she floated away without a word in the valley.
