Lex met Nyssa's eyes, and Nyssa felt her jaw tremble as she said, "You ruffled his hair like she used to."
Lex visibly bit back tears, and she cursed the sky. Nyssa crawled to his side and wrapped her arms around him from behind.
Dorian fell against her, tears streaming from his face, and he sank into her arms, knees curling and hands wrapping. Nyssa fought her own tears, unsure of what was happening, and she met Lex's gaze.
"Can you tell our Commander we have a guest?" she managed, trying to keep herself together.
Lex nodded. She pointed towards the house, eyes narrowing as though asking her if she wanted help to get him there, but Nyssa shook her head. As Lex left them, Nyssa reached to her brother's face and pulled him to look at her.
"Come on," she whispered. "Nadir has a kettle, and surprisingly I know how to use it to make tea." She hoped it would make him smile, and he gripped her a little tighter.
"That I would like to see."
The familiar banter made her heart ache.
Dorian watched his sister as she heated water in the kettle with a touch of her hand. Eyes narrowing at the familiar ash on her fingers just as he had on his. But he didn't ask about it at first. He noted how tiny she was. The protrusion of her collarbones. The cut on her face. The broken forearm wrapped in a sling.
But she moved as though none of it bothered her, and he found himself envious of the easy way she seemed to be feeling despite the apparent tortures she'd gone through.
She poured the water into a cup, the tea leaves in a mesh trinket he'd never seen before. She dipped it in the water, and he took the cup with a sideways stare at her.
"How long have you had fire?" he chose to ask.
She pushed herself onto the countertop opposite him, sitting on a stool. "It doesn't surprise you," she noted.
"I saw you," he told her. "I saw your eyes."
"I saw you too." She shifted her weight on the counter, curling her feet beneath her. "I've hardly mastered more than heating one hand. It's just so new. Honestly, terrifying. I keep thinking if I let it move to more than my fingertips, I fall beneath the weight of it and get trapped in that void again. Leave the creature in control of my body. I'm not sure how you mastered yours so quickly."
"Maybe it comes different for me since it's normal for sons of Arbina. With yours, I imagine it is not instinct."
"Maybe,” she considered.
Dorian stared at his drink, softly swirling the mesh trinket as the tea steeped. Seeing her again didn't feel real.
"Are you going to be contemplative all evening, or are you going to spill what's on your mind?" she asked.
Dorian smiled up at her. "I'm not sure where to start."
"How about the beginning?" she suggested. "When we separated at the Forest."
He swirled his tea again, and then he took a long sip.
His story came from his lips as though he were writing it. Nyssa interrupted him when he brought up meeting Reverie, asking him about her and wondering what kind of Dreamer could put him on his back, not just with sex.
She paused him again with questions about Dahrkenhill and the Blackhands. He told her about the trials, what happened between them with both Corbin and Reverie, to which Nyssa had paused him once more.
"Wait—“ she cut in. "Do you like both of them?"
Dorian gawked at her. "I tell you I nearly died combating great beasts, including the Ghost of Fire, and your questions are about my love life?"
"I have plenty of questions about your battles, but we can circle back to them once Nadir is in the room," she said quickly, shifting on her seat as she eagerly leaned closer to him. "It's just you and I. So yes, my questions are about your love life. Now tell me, do you like both of them?"
Dorian almost smiled, but the thought of Reverie and Corbin made heat rise up from his chest to his neck. He ran his hands through his hair, now avoiding her eyes and playing it off—poorly. He'd come no closer to figuring out how he felt for the pair, especially after everything that had happened at the Bryn.
Nyssa gasped. "Fucking Architects—you do!"
Dorian threw his napkin at her. "Shut up," he grunted.
