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I grimaced and he laughed. “Yeah, my thoughts exactly.”
“Thanks.”
“No problem.” From the curious look in his eyes, he knew all about my fight with my sister.
Demons gossiped worse than old ladies at bingo.
I slowly made my way down the stairs and into the wyvern stable. My sister was standing on the balcony, staring down at the wyverns below. She had that look she sometimes wore when she was attempting to figure out the answer to a difficult puzzle.
Danica flicked me a single glance as I approached. In her eyes, I saw a mixture of relief, sadness, and wariness. My throat tightened. She was expecting me to snarl at her again.
“Hi,” I got out.
“Hi.”
I gestured at the wyverns. “Any luck?”
“No. Whatever Lucifer did has kept them half feral. We’ve tried almost everything, but Samael is convinced we’re only buying them time. This is no life for them.”
I looked down, down, down, where the wyverns were chained, kept from flight. If given their freedom, they’d destroy anything and everything. It was how they were bred. My sister—who most people assumed was tough and unfeeling—was becoming almost desperate to find a way to let them take to the skies once more.
Clearing my throat, I watched the wyverns snarl and snap. “I’ve been thinking of a potential spell. I’m going to talk to Selina about it.”
“Thanks.”
“I think we need to talk,” I said.
Danica glanced at me once more. Then she turned and leaned against the balcony railing.
“I owe you a better apology,” she said. “One without any excuses. Lying to you was inexcusable. And you’re right. You were lied to so many times over the years, and I hate that I—”
“No, listen to me,” I said. “Please.”
Danica clamped her mouth closed.
I took a deep breath. “I was so pissed at you. But I was more pissed at myself. For being someone who needed to be lied to.”
“You’re not.”
I shrugged. “Everyone in my life agreed I would run if I found out. And, honestly? I would have. I was a broken person after the attack on the coven. Losing Brooke… I don’t think I’ll ever fully recover. I was like a wild animal that would have chewed off its own leg to be free of a steel trap. And knowing I was Nathaniel’s mate? Before I got a chance to really understand who he was and just how much he wants me to be happy? How much he loves me? I would have left Durham.”
“You would’ve come back.”
“Maybe. Maybe not.” I took a deep breath. “I met a fae woman in the seelie king’s dungeon. Her name is Hellaphine. She was half starved, filthy, dehydrated. We offered her a way out, and she refused. She told us she had to find her sister, even if it meant she was taken to the lab.”
My eyes burned. “And I knew you’d make the same choice. If I were taken, you’d do whatever it took to get to me.” My voice broke, and I brushed at the tears escaping my eyes.
“Of course I would,” Danica murmured. “And you’d do the same for me.”
“I would. I’d burn the fucking world down. Hearing how scared she was for her sister, it made me remember how short life is. How we all could’ve died not long ago. How you almost did. I’m still pissed at you for lying. But I should’ve taken a breath. Should’ve thought about what I really wanted to say to you, instead of screaming at you.”
“You were pissed. You had a right to be. You have no idea how many times I’ve wished Nathaniel didn’t tell me you were his mate. But I think he was…shell-shocked by it all.”
I nodded. “He never expected me. And I never expectedhim. I’m sorry for the things I said.”
“I’m sorry for lying to you.”
Danica wrapped her arms around me, and I breathed her in. My badass big sister.
