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Wilder gave Thea’s hand a squeeze before he got to his feet, unable to stand the stillness any longer. ‘Kipp makes a good point… Who decides on everyone’s missions, should anyone here actually be willing?’ he asked.
Adrienne smiled. ‘That’s the beauty of it,’ she replied. ‘You do. All of you.’
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
THEA
Anya took over from Adrienne and informed them that they were to think on the tasks at hand and reconvene to assign missions come the dawn. But as heated chatter broke out around the room, a wave of dizziness washed over Thea. She was glad she was still seated, needing to steady herself against the edge of the table, needing to breathe through her nose as the odd sensation passed. Perhaps she shouldn’t have called upon her power so suddenly earlier. She needed to get used to it again…
Wilder glanced at her, his brows knitted together in concern. He didn’t miss a thing, it seemed. But she gave him a reassuring smile. It wasn’t surprising she was a tad out of sorts, not when she’d had next to no sleep – thanks to him – and her magic was once more flickering in her veins. She hadn’t had a moment to process its return, nor had she had the time to test its strength or her control over it. But even the thought of her power had it crackling within.
With magic on her mind, Thea looked to Wren, but her sister’s attention had fallen elsewhere: to scrutinising Anya from across the table, her lip curled slightly.
She leant close to Thea. ‘Am I honestly meant to believe that we’re all on the same side now?’
Thea sighed, that unsettling dizziness tugging at her again. ‘She showed me, Wren… What she went through before she was taken from us for all these years. I’m sure she’ll show you too —’
‘I don’t want to see anything. She held me hostage a year ago, Thee. You know how many nightmares I’ve had where I see her face? Where I feel her shadows pinning me in place?’
Thea rubbed her temples. While she was thrilled to see her sister, she hadn’t had nearly enough sleep to deal withtwoof them at odds with one another. It was a strange place to be, for Thea was usually the one causing the trouble… The thought trailed off in her head as she realised Wren was staring at her.
‘What?’
‘You didn’t tell me it had returned. Your magic…’ Wren ventured.
Thea huffed a laugh. ‘It’s a very new development.’
‘That was quite a display before.’
‘Someone needed to shut them up,’ Thea replied.
Wren scanned her from head to toe, and then paused, as though she were concentrating on the exact thread of power she sensed between them. ‘It’s stronger, Thea,’ she said. ‘At first I thought it was…’ She jutted her chin towards Anya. ‘But no. It’s you, very distinctlyyou. I can feel you in the air around me, in my magic too…’
To Thea’s despair, Anya chose that moment to approach them. ‘If it isn’t my long-lost sisters.’ Her hands were held out as though she were about to embrace them, but she stopped short. ‘Hello, Elwren.’
‘You certainly haven’t acted like a sister,’ Wren replied, not yielding a step, not stepping forward either.
Sorrow lined Anya’s face. ‘I’m sorry for how we met. It was the only way at the time. I regret it —’
‘Your regrets mean nothing to me.’
Thea winced at her harsh words, reminding her of her own recent failings. She had learned the price of making snap judgements and holding the wrong grudges. She didn't want Wren to make the same mistake.
And then, Thea saw it: fear. Wren had been terrified in those moments of shadow amid the battle of Notos, bound with ropes of darkness, not knowing what horrors were to come.
And Anya – her expression warred between desperation and anger, for she had never asked for the hand fate had dealt her. While Wren and Thea had grown up in the confines of Thezmarr, and had certainly not always been the best of friends, they’d always had each other. They hadbraided each other’s hair and shared their secrets. Anya had grown up in the dark, with monsters for company.
‘Wren,’ Thea heard herself say, placing a gentle hand on her arm.
Wren’s cheeks flushed and her eyes widened in surprise at Thea’s interference.
‘Please,’ Thea said. ‘Give her a chance.’
Anya stilled, and though her expression remained unreadable, Thea guessed she’d taken her by surprise as well.
The Daughter of Darkness softened momentarily as she met Wren’s fiery gaze. ‘Hear me out, please. We can talk somewhere quiet. And then you can keep hating me all you want if you wish.’
Wren sought Thea’s gaze and Thea gave her a nod. As she watched them leave the main room, Anya glanced back, mouthingthank you.
