“I’m alright,” I said, the half-truth making my words feel empty.
Lyla’s touch and the way her words still slithered around in my skull like worms made me feel sticky and in need of a bath.
“Dahlia, you’re trembling. What happened in that square?”
I didn’t want to speak of it, but I owed it to Vidar not to keep secrets. Not when it could get everyone killed or worse. But how to explain was beyond me.
“I’m not quite sure myself, Vidar.”
“The men are concerned about the woman in the hold. It’s beyond me why you captured her and didn’t kill her. I need to know we’re on the same page.”
“She’s my sister,” I said. “My blood.”
“Her mother was Reyna?”
I nodded. “We shared a womb, according to her, but this is the first I’ve known of her.”
“Do you believe it?”
“No.” I shifted my weight, rubbing my forehead with the tips of my fingers to relieve an oncoming headache. “I don’t know.” Glancing at the entrance to the hold made my skin cold. I stared at the dark passage leading below, my spine going rigid at the thought of Lyla sitting down there in the dark. “I need to speak with her, but I need a silentium first.”
“You? Why would you need one?”
“The reason I couldn’t regain my legs was because of her. She used her voice on me.”
“Sirens can do that to each other?”
“No. We can’t. Which is why I need to talk to her.”
He hissed, resting his hands on his hips and pacing. I could feel the stress pulling on the space between us until it was almost palpable.
“We’re meant to believe you have a twin sister who can control other sirens and she’s only just appeared?”
“I don’t understand it either, but I want to.”
“No, I’m not letting you talk to her alone. Not after what happened.”
I opened my mouth to argue and decided against it, sighing before anything came out. He surrendered to the idea of me going into Dornwich without him. So, I would surrender to his request not to speak with Lyla alone.
My mouth stretched into a subtle smile. “The promise we made to protect each other. Seems it’s limiting our ability to do things the way we’re used to.”
“The way we’re used to? As in diving headfirst into danger, careless whether we live or die?”
“Yes.”
He stepped in, cupping my face between his large, calloused hands. “What is it we’re doing if not diving into danger? Now we’re just doing it together.”
“It’s a lot to keep track of. Lyla knew exactly what to say and what to do to make me feel helpless.”
“Lyla. So that’s her name.”
“She knew me. And that’s… an uncomfortable feeling. Especially if she’s as close to Akareth as she claims. Or whatever she thinks is Akareth.”
“Fuck,” Vidar sighed. “A day. Give us today to sail. We’ll take her to shore where we can watch her.” He reached into one of the leather pouches hanging on his belt and pulled out a string with a bronze pendant hanging on the end. “You can use Gus’s silentium. It’s yours now,” he added, lifting the necklace over my head. “But you’re not talking to her alone, do you hear me? You’re not to be anywhere with her alone.” When I didn’t reply, he hooked his knuckle under my chin, forcing me to look at him. “Say you understand.”
“I understand.”
I glanced down at the little, hollow ornament. I never thought I’d be wearing one to protect myself from one of my own. Then again, Lyla wasn’t truly like me. She was something else. Something more vicious. Something… terrible.
