His anxiety, even fear, is palpable.
“No tricks, Renel.” Mirella rolls her eyes. “All I want is to get back to my brother.”
I find her tone flippant, cold, and not really the tone of someone who wants to find belonging again. For some reason, I feel disappointed, as if our moment on the roof had given me a glimmer of a different person, and I’m realizing that’s not who she is.
She takes his hand, and they disappear.
Tarlia stares at the empty space where they were, her expression mildly troubled. “Do you think they’ll be all right?”
“I suppose so. She promised no tricks, didn’t she?” I don’t know why I don’t mention that I noticed the tension between the step-siblings.
Maybe I don’t want to worry Tarlia. Maybe I’m still holding on to the hope that Mirella is not the monster Renel thinks she is. Maybe it’s because Iknowshe doesn’t want to be that monster.
Tarlia sighs when she sees Mirella reappear a few seconds later. The two hold hands and then disappear.
For a second, I do fear being left behind, alone in a land I don’t know well, where so many enemies roam. Not that they’d target me—I hope.
I think back to when I froze Zorwal and the Witch King. I guess theycouldtarget me, and I touch the opus stone on my neck, the feel comforting, reminding me of my magic.
Mirella appears in front of me and gives me a sweet smile as she extends her hand. For a second, she’s the girl from the roof again, the one who wanted to not belong with me.
I keep my hand back. “Was everything all right? With Renel?”
Her posture stiffens. “He’s grumpy and he hates me, but he’s safe by the riverbank.”
I take a deep breath, aware that my words might make her hate me. “You said you didn’t like the person you were, when you taunted Renel, but you never said you cared about how he felt.”
“He hates me. Always has. What am I going to do?”
“Don’t use your air magic on him.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“Not now, but I mean in the future?—”
“I’m not that silly, pathetic little girl anymore.”
“Then tell him. Tell him you don’t want to hate him and don’t want him to hate you. Say you feel bad for what you did.”
“Doeshefeel bad?”
“That’s his problem. And as far as I’ve heard, he was reacting to you. You said you wanted to belong, didn’t you? You might need to take the first step; you might need to show them you’re no longer the samepatheticgirl. You’re different now.”
She huffs. “Belonging with Renel wasn’t really what I had in mind, Ziven.”
“Right. Because all you care about is the cool fae with the powerful magic.”
“You’re talking like Renel.”
“Is he wrong?”
“He is. I’m being nice to you, and you’re human!”
I keep myself from rolling my eyes, or else I’ll dislocate them. “Right. I’m inferior. Anyway, are you still willing to take me to the riverbank?”
She looks down. “I didn’t mean to say you’re inferior.”
“We need to go. We don’t know if this place is safe.”
