“Why was she here?” My voice comes out husky.
Emotion oddly similar to concern flashes across his face before he looks back to the clearing. “I don’t know.”
I study the last area that my sister existed in her physical form before the element reclaimed her body. “And you said the Guardians didn’t get here in time. Why weren’t they with her?”
“She came alone.”
My eyes go wide. Nova was the rule follower. That was one of the issues we had. She wouldn’t even push back enough to find a moment to spend with me on my visits.
He hesitates, eyeing me. “I was hoping to figure out why she was here. That’s actually why I’m out here. Any ideas?”
A humorless laugh leaves my throat. “If anyone would know, it would be your family. I barely knew her.” My frustration builds. What in the worlds, in this elemental land, at this portal, could be important enough to have Nova stepping out of the rules.
Cillian begins to walk the clearing, as if looking for clues on the forest floor. “Barely knew her…” he mumbles under his breath, shaking his head, “but you’re just alike.”
The comparison shouldn’t hurt. It shouldn’t tear at my heart the way it does.
“Of course. We looked alike, so we were basically the same person, right?” I roll my eyes in disgust, not trying to hide it from him. “So glad you can see so much depth in people beyond their looks.”
The irony of it leaves my chest in a bitter laugh.
He’s the one Fae who I ever felt saw me as someone other than Nova’s sister. And now he’s telling me I am no different than her.
He’s wrong. Nova would never run. The thought of my twin leaving this life that she gave everything for, would be insane. It would be selfish. And anyway, she always wanted this, did everything to be who they wanted her to be.
So, why else would Nova be out here? A dozen reasons race through my mind, most ruled out immediately. These aren’t her elemental lands, and I doubt she got here by accident. Did she meet someone? Did someone bring her out here?
My brow furrows as the facts continue to bring me back to two things: Nova would never run, and she was attacked.
“You know what I meant, Lil—” Cillian cuts himself off, clearly irritated at my warning look. “Fine, no nicknames. But obviously you’redifferent.” He takes a step closer, running bothhands through his already messy hair. “I just meant that you’re apparently both stupid enough to come out into Terraniaalone.”
As if calling mestupidis better?
He closes his eyes, fingers still threaded through his brown locks, and pulls at the roots. The shirt stretching across his chest in response and I swallow at the tight fabric.
“Nothing can happen to you.” His lids open, ocean-blue eyes locking on mine with a new intensity. Goddess, he is gorgeous.
My heart rate kicks up. Does he finally realize I’m trying to leave? “Right, because all of you need me. I was disposable before, but now I matter.”
He lets out a frustrated growl. “You weren’t fucking disposable.”
“Could have fooled me,” I mumble, putting space between us as I seek out any signs of my twin. I still come up with nothing. I can’t tell that anyone was here before this moment, much less that there was a full attack and murder.
A loud crash fills the space behind us. Before I can turn to see what happened, Cillian is between me and the noise. From where I’m positioned behind him, I can see the straining muscles and rapid pulse in his neck.
I peek over his shoulder, looking for the enemy that he’s poised to defend against. A small dryrd is flying up over the trees. A trail of scorched leaves floats down behind it to a heap of newly incinerated limbs on the ground. His little black body and the iridescent blue lining his wings shimmer in the sun as he flees his destruction.
An unexpected giggle bubbles out of me at the harmlessness of our attacker. Cillian looks back over his shoulder at me as his coiled body slowly releases. I quickly cover my mouth and stifle another laugh at his serious expression. He watches me for a second before his serious features are broken by a ghost of a smile.
He clears his throat as he steps away, the serious look back. “We should get back. This area isn’t safe.”
“Clearly. See you at the castle tomorrow.” My shoulders are hunched as I continue to look for any signs of anyone else here recently.
I know if I don’t use the portal now, then it will be much harder once they move me into the castle. But I can’t leave without figuring out why Nova was here. We may not have been close, but she was still my twin. My other half. If she was running, something devastating must have happened. And she didn’t feel like she could reach out to me. Or if someone lured her out here, then I need to figure out who. We may have failed each other for years, but I won’t let her down now.
“I’ll take you back. I want to make sure you make it safely.” His footsteps follow behind me.
“I don’t need you to ensure my safety. Thanks, though,” I respond, dismissing him as I trek through the brush.
