“Cruz?” I crooked a finger, calling him toward us.
At first, he didn’t even react to his name, but then he blinked out of his daze and strolled toward us in that slow, measured way of his.
“Can you say something to Giya, so she can come to terms with the fact that you’re not a figment of her imagination?”
He squatted, then extended his hand toward her. “Hi, Giya. I’m not a figment of your imagination. And it’s really nice to meet you.”
She stared between his proffered hand and his open face.
“I think she’s in a little too much shock to shake hands,” I told him.
She slammed her eyes back to mine, then back to his. “Why do you look like you’re . . . like you’re—like us?”
Sighing, he said, “I’m guessing magic.”
Her eyes widened, which I honestly thought was impossible considering their current width. “Nima is going to—oh, Great Gejaiwe, she’s going to . . .” She couldn’t seem to find the words to finish her sentence. “And my uncle. Oh, Skies . . .”
Cruz’s green eyes glided over her face, smiling even though it looked painful for him to do so. Was it talk of Lily, or the fact that, in spite of having inherited her father’s more chiseled features, darker hair, and honeyed skin tone, her eyes and bow-shaped lips were the same as her mother’s?
“How many cells ago did your brother die?” he asked.
Her eyebrows writhed as though she were about to break down again. “Two.”
I tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “You went through an entire world on your own?”
Her bloated lids closed, and she shuddered. “Oh, Amara.” When her lids swept back up, her eyes gleamed silver. “It was so horrible. Plus, I thought . . . I thought Sook was gone. Forever. And I didn’t think I’d ever find you, and—” She bawled again, so I hugged her to me, nestling her head under my chin.
“You should take her to the waterfall. Get her cleaned up, and then bring her to the caves. The . . .” Cruz went silent as though to spare my cousin the news of the furred monsters that were about to descend upon us. “They don’t fit inside the individual caves.”
I nodded, then stood and helped her up, but her balance teetered, and although thin, she weighed more than my tired arms could carry. Remo, who was standing close, lunged toward us and caught her arm before she could tumble.
Thank you,I mouthed.
When she realized whose hands were on her, she spooked and bounced away, stumbling right into Cruz.
“Easy there, Giya,” Cruz said gently.
“How come Remo’s here, too?” My usually soft-spoken cousin wasn’t speaking all that softly. “Did he force you inside his grandfather’s prison?”
A small smile tipped my mouth. “Believe it or not, thatbagwafollowed me in.”
“Again with thebagwa,” Remo chided, even though his expression was amused.
“Do you even know what it means?” Giya snapped.
“Your brother called me a jackass in Gottwa enough times for me to look it up.”
I grinned. “Oh, he’s called you a lot worse.”
A corner of his mouth hooked up. “I don’t doubt it.”
Giya’s head ping-ponged between us, so absorbed by our easy banter she seemed to have forgotten she was being held up by a ghost. “Are you two”—her nose scrunched up—“friends now?”
Remo draped his arm around my shoulders and tucked me into his side. “Trifecta finally came to her senses and realized what a catch I am.”
I rolled my eyes but wove my hand through the one dangling over my shoulder.
Giya’s gaze fastened on our locked fingers. There had been times where I’d been happy in the Scourge, but having my cousin here, knowing my other one was on his way, and holding Remo’s hand, I felt borderline giddy.
