“You’re up early,” she grumbled.
“Is Delilah in there?I need to speak with her.”
Briar said, “She’s downstairs in the kitchen making croissants for breakfast with Santiago.Why?”
Kieran frowned.Damn.I can’t ask her about this in front of Santiago.He’ll laugh at me, then tell Ariel, and neither of them will ever let it go.
“Just…um…” Kieran’s eyes unconsciously wandered over his shoulder, then immediately snapped back to his twin, cheeks warming.“I wanted to ask her some, um, questions about…things.And stuff.”
Briar’s gaze went to Sebastian’s door for a moment, and Kieran watched as realization dawned on her face.
“Kieran,” she said, biting back a laugh.She put a hand to her chest in mock surprise.“You little harlot.”
Kieran shushed her.“Not so loud!”
Briar did little to cover her smirk.She stepped back and opened the door wider.“Come in.Delilah’s busy, and I wanna know everything.”
Kieran hesitated for a moment.Did he want to come clean about this to his sister?She might make fun of him for it, but he had to admit, it was better than keeping it to himself.He sighed and stepped over the threshold.While he didn’t consider his twin to be a paragon of romantic knowledge, she was, at least, in a happy relationship.So maybe that counted for something.
“Fine, but lower your voice,” Kieran said as he shut the door behind him.“I don’t need Sebastian knowing I talked to you about this.”
Briar scoffed.“Fine, fine.I’ll do my best.Now sit.”
Kieran nodded, then crossed the room to take a seat at the small table in the corner, identical to the one he had in his.Briar and Delilah’s room was the largest of the crew cabins up here, with a four-poster bed and a big window behind it looking out at the sky.The room was a bit messy, with clothes stacked on a few of the chairs, but not dirty.Briar and Delilah were both cleaner than Kieran.He was, admittedly, a bit of a slob sometimes.He blamed it on the fact that he had had maids his entire childhood.
He sighed as he put his elbows on the table and hung his head.Briar took the spot across from him, steepling her fingers as if they were about to discuss a business deal.
“Let me guess.You told him you like him?”
“Not exactly.It wasn’t so much talking as it was…kissing.”
“Really?”Briar tilted her head, her brow furrowed.“I need some context.What happened?”
Kieran worried at his lip with his teeth for a moment before sighing and launching into what had happened last night afterDelilah and Briar had gone to bed.The whole time, Briar did little to hide the emotional journey her face was going on.Her smile turned wicked, and a few half laughs escaped her, especially when Kieran mentioned the truthful-question bit.
“I must admit,” she said when Kieran had finished his story, “he sounds very smooth.”
“He is!That’s part of the problem.It all felt so easy.It shouldn’t feel easy, right?Not when I dragged everyone to join my Calling for the express purpose of trying to get Ash back.”
“Technically, we’re here to get a panacea,” Briar corrected.“What you use it for isn’t our business.”
Kieran considered it.She was right.While he’d been sure he was going to use it on Ash when they’d left Gellingham, that certainty had wavered—especially in the last few days.
“I mean, let’s be honest,” Briar continued.“Ash has been stringing you along for weeks now.Maybe months.He’s just biding his time so he can muster up the courage to end it,” she said, not even attempting to soften the blow.When Kieran winced, Briar asked, “What?You really think he’s gonna change his mind?He’s been done for a long time, Kieran.He’s just too nice—or cowardly, maybe—to break your heart by making it official.Why waste your time on a guy like that when you can do better?”
“B-but—”
“No, no buts.There’s no reason to defend him.”It was odd to hear it said so matter-of-factly.Briar went on: “Plus, you’re on a break.You’re allowed to have some harmless fun.It doesn’t have to be a whole new relationship.”
Kieran blinked as he studied his twin’s face.She was serious.And really, why wouldn’t she be?There was something to what she was saying that Kieran hadn’t considered.
“I…guess I didn’t think of it like that,” he admitted.
“Of course you didn’t.Because you’re a hopeless romantic whose only knowledge of relationships comes from fairy tales.Runs in the family, it seems.”Briar stood up, gesturing for Kieran to do the same.“Listen.I think I have something that can help you, but you can’t tell anyone I gave it to you.”
Kieran’s eyes widened.What in the world…?
Still, he stood, following his sister across the room.He had to step around the dress Delilah had been wearing last night, discarded in a heap on the floor.
