"I can't run in a long wet dress," Nyssa said, heartbeat pounding in her ears. She ripped the fabric, almost too short, but she didn't care.
"And that's my brother."
Whatever Lex said, Nyssa didn't hear. Her feet were moving of their own accord, her eyes never leaving the tall male coming up through the throng of people. She couldn't feel her own body. Already shaking at the possibility that it was him.
The next thing she knew, her feet were in the sand.
"Dorian!" she shouted without realizing it.
His head popped up in her direction, and she watched as his entire body stiffened.
"Nys?" he called out, his feet apparently moving on their own as hers were.
"Dorian!"
Nyssa ran.
"Nyssa!"
She'd never run so quickly in her life. Tears were already streaming down her face as every inch of her began to break.
But as they reached each other, they both skidded to a halt. They landed just feet apart, crouched, and the same fear stretched on both their faces.
Ash and flames rose on their hands, and they mirrored one another in fighting stances.
"Prove you're my brother—“
"Tell me something we shared—“
Their words came out at the same time, and Nyssa's heart broke.
But Dorian had seen the ashen fingers on her right hand, and he started to relax his stature. "Wait—“
"No," she cut in, wary even of seeing the form in his hands. "Answer the question."
"But your hands—“
"Answer the fucking question," she almost shouted.
A slow grin lit up Dorian's face, lips trembling. "Itisyou," he choked. His hands pressed to his hips, and she could see him fighting tears as he looked up to the sky. "Ugh—fuck—okay, you... you tried to jump out of my window like Drae when we were five," he said fast.
Nyssa wavered on the spot. "Dorian?"
She started forward, but he shook his head and held up a hand. "I know it's you, but I want to hear what you were going to say," he strained, and she could see the playful delight in his eyes.
Every word she spoke stuck in her throat, her voice quivering. "The first time you used your form, you caught your bed on fire, and we had to throw the mattress out the window."
Her tone went high-pitched by the end of the sentence, and by the time their smiles met again, she couldn't hold in her sobs.
Dorian smiled crookedly, a tear stretching down his cheek. "Seems to me we should have let it go up in flames that day."
Her chest caved at his banter, and she choked on her laugh.
"Dorian..."
Dorian's jaw clenched, his chest visibly swelling. "Hey, sis."
They ran.
