Tristen steps in front of me, blocking my view. He tries to open the door, but Selene grabs his hand. My forearms flex with a need to switch places with my brother. She touches him so easily, like his skin isn’t fire that burns her.
“Tristen, I’ve been thinking,” Selene states, head held high, eyes ignoring me, “when you go to the library tonight, start in the map section.”
“Map?” he asks. “I thought we needed a book.”
“Caldara is a location. The curse is irrelevant, I think.” She bites her inner cheek.
“You think?” Tristen raises a shoulder. “If I break out in nasty oozing hives, you'd better run, because I will hunt you down.”
Selene’s eyes bounce from the door to Tristen. “I do hope you can control your replies when you’re in the king’s presence. He’d have your tongue for speaking back to me,” she warns him.
“There is a long list of people who wish to play with my tongue, Queen Selene.” He steps back and bows mockingly. “Oh, my mistake.” He bows again, more formal this time.
Selene glances at me with concern. “Children have better manners.”
“He's trying to make you smile.”
Her lips form a line. “Why?”
I glance at my brother. The truth is, he’s triggered by tense, quiet atmospheres. After we lost our parents, each of us was tossed on a horse, forced to ride for hours with our new guardian until we reached the training orphanage we’d call home. The wind was so strong it stole voices.
We rode, letting nature carve us into shells. My eyes were raw from the wind, but I kept them fixed on my brother’s hands. I was so worried he'd let go of the reins and fall off.
We didn’t have accelerated healing then. We were no better than humans until we came into our magic. The cold caused his hands to shudder; his knuckles looked as delicate as thin white eggshells. Then, the shaking stopped; his hands turned to iron, numb and unmoving.
Each time I get on a horse and hold the reins, I recall his little hands.
Now, when the mood becomes too much, Tristen makes people laugh, scream, or shout, anything but silent thinking.
“Because when you’re stressed, it makes my brother react.” Tristen’s voice is all sharp edges now.
Selene turns her head and stares at her bed. “I think better in silence,” she mutters as she clasps her hands behind her back. That’s her form of apology.
“Oh, my lovely queen, it would be a travesty to deny you my voice, especially when you have been caged for so long. I’m trying to redefine how entertaining vampires can be.”
“I make my own definitions,” Selene responds. “Trust me, you do not wish to hear what I think of you.”
“Oh, but I do.” Tristen playfully tries to link his elbow with hers.
He’s testing me again. Touching and flirting with Selene, so when it happens in front of an audience, I will not react.
She slips her arm free but doesn’t scold him. There is a new light in her eyes. Tristen has a unique ability to make anyone feel at ease. Sometimes, I wonder if it’s untrained magic that he never focused on.
She rests her hand on the doorknob, looks at me, and asks, “Ready?”
In other words, do I have my emotions under control?
“I’m ready to do a lot of things, my queen,” I hiss under my breath, shoving my gulp down. How can she be so strong, fighting against the pull?
“Let’s go train and get some fresh air,” Tristen suggests, but his eyes push into me like hands shaking sense into me.
“Wait,” I step forward. “Why are you so sure we need a map?”
“It’s a location,” Selene firmly states, avoiding my eyes.
I slide between her and Tristen. “I’ve been honest with you, Selene. I’ve told you everything. My life is in your hands. My brother’s life is in your hands.”
“I know.”
