Sadness coiled in my chest.
It was then that I realized how much I missed my older sister.
And it surprised me how much I still needed her.
I needed the one who would get angry with me. The one with a throat full of knives like me. The one with a backbone, a mouth, and a savage mind like me. The one who would burn the house down for locking me away.
Why hadn’t she come to check on me?
“Does Ivy know?” I asked Fable.
“No, Ivy’s ... we just need to give her some more time.” Fable sat back, crossed her legs, and lifted her cup to her lips. “Now tell me, did you and Cyrus do the dirty yet?” She wiggled her brows.
“Seriously?”
“What?”she shrugged. “I want to know who’s bigger. And who’s better. And before you look at me all judgey, it’s not for any other reason than one hundred percent curiosity.”
“Oh my god, Fable.”
“Oh, come on. You can tell me.” She sighed, eyes distant and face somber as though a vision had crossed her mind.
It was no secret that Fable had a severe crush that haunted her for years. She would never talk about it or confess who this man was, but the proof hid behind the light in her eyes when she thought no one was looking. It was in every silent sigh and between her every word when she thought no one could hear. I always wondered who it was.
She slid her attention back to me and quirked her lips.
When she saw my expression, she made a circular motion with her finger. “What’s that look for? What are you doing with your face?”
“Oh, this?” I pointed to my face. “This is my about-to-vomit face. You’re twisted, Fable. Nice segue on thelet’s-redirect-difficult-conversations-with-sex.Very charming of you.”
Her smile widened. “You like that, huh?”
“I can’t take you seriously in that hideous hoodie. Plus, you’re drunk.”
She looked into her cup and shrugged, still processing my question and her answer all at once. “As a matter of fact, I think I am. And it’s not even afternoon. What does Pallis put into this stuff?”
I didn’t answer. I was still trapped inside thoughts of Stone combined with, thanks to my lovely sister, having to have sex with Cyrus.
“If you haven’t yet, it will happen eventually,” she sang, reading my mind.
I shook my head, not wanting to hear it.
Fable continued, “There are worse men in Weeping Hollow. Look on the bright side. It could have been Maverick or even Jacob, if the Shadows didn’t kill him, and you know I’m right. After what he said to you in the chambers last month? Let me just say, maybe he got what was coming to him.”
“Careful, Fable. You’re starting to sound like Ivy.”
Weeks before the Shadows killed Jacob, he’d made a perverted pass at me when the two of us were alone. It wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle. But I should have told her to forget about Jacob, that I wanted to be engaged to Kane.ThatI want to kill him for what he did, bring Mom back, and spend the rest of my life either alone or dead because after I chase these demons away, the only thing I’ll have to look forward to is peace. And I was perfectly okay with it all.Wasn’t I?
But I was going to marry Cyrus, not Kane. Not even Jacob.
Not ever Stone.
“Come my wedding night, I’ll be having sex with my best friend—the same man who took my sister’s virginity. The only man Ivy’s ever loved,” I finally said aloud, and the lazy spark in Fable’s eyes dulled. “Oh, you know. The Sullivan sisters. Cursed in love.” I smiled. “It’s okay. It’s funny if you really think about it.”
Fable’s eyes cast downward. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“It won’t be just one time either. Because I’ll be married to Cyrus.” A broken sigh left me. “In two months, I’ll be married to the man my sister is in love with.” As the words fell out of my mouth, the image of Ivy heart-stricken in the chamber stood in my mind, and it was suddenly hard to breathe. My palm dropped onto the bistro table, and cider spilled over the mug’s rim. “If I could make this go away, I would do it in a heartbeat.”
Fable pushed her chair back and knelt at my side.
