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Tristan swings his head sideways to glance down at me, arching a brow. “You mean Madd hasn’t told you?”
“He’s been just as secretive as the rest of you,” I sigh in annoyance. “The whole cloak and dagger thing is really getting old.”
Tristan abruptly stops walking, grabbing onto my arm and swinging me to face him. “The initiation is all about facing your fears, Sloane,” he says, his grave expression giving me pause. “Think about it. What’s your greatest fear?”
My heart stutters in my chest, my breath stalling in my lungs. Unconsciously, I reach up to trail my fingertips over the scar on my temple.
“See why Madd doesn’t want you to do it?”
Though his revelation is definitely startling, I take a measured breath to compose myself, dropping my hand from my face and shrugging Tristan’s hand off my arm. “Then why is everyone else pushing so hard for it?” I ask with a scowl.
“Not everyone,” he grumbles. “Ares. Because he’s immature, and he’s not thinking past the thrill of it. He’s never been on the other side of an initiation before, so of course he’s jumping at the chance to be without even considering how it’ll affect you.”
Sometimes I forget that Ares is so much younger than us. He’s very much still in his teen troublemaker phase, not so unlike Madd around the time I left.
“With any luck, the security issues will be enough to make everyone just forget about it,” Tristan mumbles.
“No.”
His brows shoot up.
“If you guys all did it, I’m not gonna chicken out,” I say, shoring up my resolve.
Tristan opens his mouth to speak, but I continue on before he can get a word out.
“All of you need to stop trying to protect me. That’s how we got in this whole mess to begin with! Dad thought he was protecting me by sending me to Denver. You thought you were protecting me by blocking my phone. But all of that only hurt me in the end. Can’t you guys see that I don’t need to be protected? I’m not fragile. I’m a big girl, and I can make my own decisions. No matter how well-intentioned it is, you guys need to step back and let me live my life the way I choose to. You need to trust that I know what’s best for myself and respect that.”
While he looks a bit taken aback by my declaration, Tris doesn’t argue with me. He just stares at me for a long moment, his expression shifting to one of resignation as he nods his head.
“You’re right,” he replies. “I’m sorry.”
I press a hand to his chest, looking into his eyes. “I know. And I forgive you.”
His Adam’s apple bobs with a hard swallow. “Thank you.”
The two of us begin walking again, the silence between us decidedly more comfortable now that we’ve come to an understanding and set aside our issues. We end up at the entrance to the dining hall, the smell of pancakes and bacon wafting out and beckoning us inside.
Before we enter, though, Tristan grabs my arm to stop me one last time.
“Just because I agreed to back off doesn’t mean I don’t have your back, Sloane,” he clarifies. “I’m your brother, so I always will, no matter what. I hope you know that.”
Without a second thought, I throw myself toward him, wrapping my arms around him tightly. “I love you,” I breathe, overcome by emotion as his arms fold around me to return the embrace.
“Love you too,” he murmurs.
I hug him for a second longer, then pull back, smiling up at my little brother, glad that we can finally move forward.
“Think you can get Madd to forgive me, too?” he asks, a teasing lilt to his tone.
A giggle slips free from my lips and I shake my head, elbowing him playfully. “Good luck with that one. Nobody holds a grudge quite like Maddox Kessler.”
Tristan’s face scrunches up in a grimace. “What do you see in that guy, anyways?”
I smile dreamily, thinking of all we’ve been through, all we’ve overcome. How from the moment I hit puberty and started looking at Madd as more than a friend, I knew there’d never be a question in my mind as to who I’d choose to spend my life with.
I glance up at Tristan, confidently replying, “Forever.”
33
