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Her words sent cold waves of dread spiking through my veins.
“I don’t want to hear anything you have to say to me,” I hissed. “Let me go. You don’t know me, and I can’t help you with your cause, no matter what you think.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Elix.”
“Stop saying my name,” I barked, my throat running dry again. As if she could read my mind, Lysandra reached for the glass of water again and tried to feed it to me, but I stubbornly jerked my head back.
“You will need to stop fighting with me,” she sighed. “You and me, we’re not so different, you know.” I laughed, but Lysandra cut me off. “We’re both orphans, both alone.”
“Spare me your internet psychobabble. I’m nothing like you,” I yelled, furious that she was trying to win me over with these cheap tactics. “Stop wasting your breath and leave me alone. If you’re going to keep me here, fine, but I don’t need to listen to your bullshit while I’m trapped.”
Pity filled her russet eyes, and Lysandra reached up to flick a stray strand of dark hair away from my face, her rosebud mouth puckering. “Oh, Elix, can’t you sense it? Even a little bit?” she sighed.
My heart stopped, and I tried to look away, but the rushing in my ears forced me to keep my eyes on her lips, lest I miss any of the words leaving her lips. “What are you babbling about?” I mumbled.
She bit on her lower lip and dipped her chin, exhaling. “I think you do see it, but you don’t want to admit it,” she murmured. “You do, don’t you?”
“Just go away!” I roared, suddenly terrified. “Screw off, you weirdo. I don’t believe anything you have to say.”
Lysandra nodded and stood, her smile returning. “Youdoknow,” she sighed happily as fear gripped my heart.
Stop talking! Don’t say anything else!I wanted to scream, but the plea stuck to the roof of my mouth like honey.
“Haven’t you always wanted a sister, Elix? Aren’t they so much more appealing than a brutish brother who doesn’t respect your wishes or desires? Males can never understand our needs. They will never understand the trials and tribulations we endure, no matter how much they pretend they do.”
Blood drained out of my cheeks, rushing fully into my toes as I gawked at her.
“What do you know about Saint?”
She giggled again, and the sound made my skin crawl.
“I told you; I’ve had my eye on you for a long while now.”
Is she out of her mind?
“You’re not my sister!” I whimpered, but I did see it clearly as the duvet covering my trembling form. Her shiny, dark hair, precisely the same shade as mine, the tone of her peaches-and-cream complexion.
“Oh, yes,” she replied, unfazed by my denial. “And you know it’s the truth. We’re sisters…”
Dizziness overwhelmed me even before she could finish what I already knew was coming next. “And Agnan is the one who fathered us both.”
Chapter 4
Jace
“Where is she?” I demanded of Cirilla. The enchantress picked up the few items of random clothing from the room, saying nothing as Saint wandered around, his jaw twitching. He was about ready to explode, his shoulders tensed, back bent. The enchantress didn’t respond, and Saint fired out questions of his own.
“Why did she come here, of all places?” he growled. “What’s in Copehaven? We don’t know anyone here!”
I didn’t answer him, but I had my suspicions that she’d come to the border of Ironhelm with the intention of crossing over. Had she?
I shook that idea loose. Her belongings were still clearly in place, the stench of dark magic lingering in its acridness over the room and sucking the air from the unvented space.
“Cirilla!” I yelled, snapping her out of whatever it was she was doing.
“She was taken,” the enchantress agreed warily. “This feels like the Order of Souls, but that seems unlikely, since Zen andMirielle, the King and Queen of Silverhold, have eliminated them and enacted the Anti-Order.”
The next words died on my lips as I gaped at her. “What?” I sputtered when I found my voice. “How?”
