“Pippy bunny.”
The heartache in the way she said that nickname made Kira’s throat tighten.
She forgot her anger.
More accurately, she set it aside.
This moment; their reunion.It was important.
The past was a closed book.But the future?It had yet to be written.
They decided what came next.Not the Tsavitee or the Osiri.Not even the Tuann.Only them.
Kira and Elise.
“Sunshine,” Kira murmured with the same ache in her voice.
Elise was in her arms the next moment.Tears wet Kira’s shirt as her friend’s shoulders heaved.
Kira’s own eyes pricked with tears as she stared out at the waves.Just holding Elise.
“I’ve imagined this moment a thousand times,” Elise whispered into Kira’s shoulder.“Every time they inflicted pain in hopes of breaking me.Every night I slept, praying this was a simple nightmare that would vanish when I woke.”
Kira smoothed the hair away from Elise’s tear stained face.“I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner.”
Elise’s clogged laugh contained a surprising amount of levity as she drew back.“Please—you did what I couldn’t.You got them out.”
“Not soon enough.”Kira regretted that.“I didn’t believe you when you told me about them.”
If not for Elena’s intervention, she still might not.
“I gave you plenty of reason not to,” Elise admitted with an edge of self-deprecation.
Kira forced a smile but the expression fell flat, disappearing before it had fully formed.“I love you, Sunshine.You fill a hole in me that no one else does.”
This next part was hard.
“But I don’t think I’ll ever trust you again.”
Kira could have waited for this conversation.It probably would have been kinder.
But Elise needed to know.And Kira needed to be the one to tell her.
“Why would you?”Elise asked, sounding amused.
Kira’s gaze jumped to hers.
Elise’s expression was soft and relaxed as she gave Kira a bitter smile.“I’m quite aware of most of what I’ve done.Some things are still a little hazy and out of order.But I knew what I was risking when I made those decisions.”
Her gaze wandered to the window in the cliffside that overlooked the platform and ocean.It blended almost perfectly with the rest of the rock face unless you knew it was there.From this angle you couldn’t see if it was occupied, but Kira was betting the eldest was still there—watching.
“I can’t even be in the same room as some of them without causing extreme anxiety and fear.”Bitterness crept into Elise’s voice.“So, I understand how you can want something so dearly and yet be powerless to change it.”
Kira didn’t try to evade as Elise reached for her hand, gripping it tightly.
“It’s okay, little ember.I know what I sacrificed.”Elise playfully flicked one of Kira’s curls with her other hand.“Just like I know what I’ll do to reclaim everything I lost.”
There was a resolve in her face as she glanced back at the window.
