"You're making me seem like some helpless child!" she hissed at him. "I do not need you to constantly look after me."
"That is not what this is," he argued.
"So, what is it?"
"I just don't like us being separated, is all."
"Do you not trust me?" she asked again, a firmness in her voice that she rarely carried.
Dorian's hands threaded behind his head as he turned in a circle. "What I don't trust is the rest of this world,” he admitted. “I don't trust Nadir. I don't trust his people to give you a chance when they're just as likely to blame you for Draven's death. And you know what? Yes, you're right. I'm not entirely sure I trust you not to throw yourself into something that will get you killed while you're trying to prove yourself."
"Do you not trust Lex either?"
"Doyou?"
The question staggered between them. Nyssa shifted her feet and stared at the ground as she contemplated her answer.
"I trust her to fulfill her duty to our sister," she finally answered. "As much as I hate the notion that she is simply following orders, I cannot help but trust that she will look after me. Confronting her about whether I am simply a duty or if she actually trusts me is an argument for another day."
"And what happens when she finds out you can't use your powers? Do you think she'll trust you to do anything on your own after that?"
She hated how right his questions were, but she didn't understand where any of it was coming from.
"Make your point, brother," she sneered. "Why do you not want me on my own? What makes you think your being with me is—“
"Because at least with me, I can help you work through every stupidly brave idea that goes through that beautiful mind of yours."
"So now my ideas are stupid."
The huff of air that left him made the hair on her arms rise.
"That is not what I said."
"What is the real problem here?" Nyssa asked. "Why can you not simply take what is a good plan, what is essentiallyDraven'splan, and go with it? What is so hard about this? We'll be separated for a while. You should have known it would come to this."
"Draven's plan didn't include you going off on your own and playing hero."
"What is the problem, Dorian?" Nyssa nearly shouted.
"The problem is I do not want to lose you!"
His fingertips turned black, but he squashed it quickly. Nyssa's heart skipped at the final truth of it. He was visibly shaking as the energy tensed between them, and a lump rose in her throat.
"You're not going to lose me," she affirmed. "It is you and me, remember? Always us. Together or separated, we are connected, and youknowit."
"I know... But I cannot lose you too, sis,” he whispered, voice cracking. “I can’t… I just… Ican’t.”
The tear that streaked down his cheek nearly sent her crashing into the floor. But she forced her legs to move in front of him, and she wiped it from his face.
"Letting me go is not the same as us having to walk away from them," she told him. "You did everything you were supposed to. Everything that she would let you. Everything thathewould let you," she added.
Even with the words coming from her lips, she wasn't sure she believed them. That knot of her own guilt ate at her insides. But she would hold this facade for him and for every time he had comforted her back from her darkness.
"We have to do this," she affirmed. "For them. This is what they wanted."
Dorian’s jaw visibly constricted before he exhaled heavily once more. She could see him surrendering to her statement, see the annoyance in his features and the clench of his hands at his sides as he stared at the ground. And then, finally, his eyes rolled up to meet hers.
"I hate you sometimes."
