I had a brother?
“Where is he?” I somehow managed to ask.
“In your old world,” Henriette replied. “Your father tortured you both with his magic, trying to force your own magic to come out. Your brother managed to get his magic and attacked your father. He then fell into a coma and your dad sent him away. He checked up on his location until he wasn’t able to return to your world anymore, so we know he’s likely still alive.”
“What happened to him?” I asked, my tone lacking emotion.
“Your father believed he was too broken by that point, so he didn’t want to deal with him anymore, and since you broke down completely, he left you both and altered your mother’s memories and yours before leaving you,” Trise explained.
Grovar and Mia shared a look, before Grovar said, “We strongly believe you need your twin before you can heal. We wouldn’t advise you to leaveour world until your core had time to heal fully, but now we fear youcan’theal without him by your side.”
“So, we need to find him as soon as possible?” Nolen asked. He seemed so calm on the outside, but his feelings were anything but. He felt scared, worried, hurt, angry, and most of all, he felt sad. I hated that I was the reason his life turned into this mess, and maybe I was selfish for staying by his side, but if I left him, I was sure it would end me.
“Yes,” Henriette replied firmly. “We will inform the others of our findings tomorrow and we plan on you two leaving our world in a weeks’ time to search for him.”
“Do you plan on telling the others about this?” I asked, feeling out of sorts. I was both happy and sad over the news, and more than okay with not having the memory of my brother. It would only have hurt me more until we’d found him. I just hoped knowing about him wouldn’t bring the memories of him back before I knew he was alive and well.
The rulers shared one of their looks. “We believe it’s best to keep it between us for the time being. They already have so much information they’ll get and we don’t want you to feel overwhelmed either,” Trise replied. “We have to protect Aiden, too, and everyone knowing about him will only put more pressure on him when he returns with you.”
“A-Aiden?” I stammered. His name wasAiden. I had a brother, atwinbrother, and his name was Aiden. Why did knowing his name suddenly make it more real? Madehimreal?
Trise’s smile turned sympathetic and somehow kinder. “Yes, your brother’s name is Aiden.”
Even the soft grass under me couldn’t help ground me. Nolen was escorting the rulers out of our home while I sat here, feeling numb, and not just numb, but powerless and weak, too. I had a brother out there, a family member that needed me as much as I needed him, and according to the rulers, Ireallyneeded him. They even believed I wouldn’t heal fully without him. Which was a scary thought.
All my nightmares were about my childhood, and now I understood more than ever why they kept haunting me, why I felt so broken. Iwasbroken, but now I knew it went deeper than my magical core. My heart had been broken, and my twin held the pieces.
Nolen joined me on the grass silently. I loved that he knew how I felt and that I didn’t have to explain it to him, he simplyknew. If I had to say how I felt aloud, I would break down. I was barely keeping it together as it was.
“We leave in a week,” he said, his tone low as if speaking too loudly might set me off. “The rulers told me they want to be there should youhave a reaction to the portal, but they hope nothing happens so we can find Aiden.”
I almost broke then. “What will happen if, and when, we do find him?” I dared ask.
“We bring him back here so you can both heal,” he replied, as if it truly were that simple.
“I don’t think you understand what I mean,” I said, trying to voice my worries. “I don’t think I can be apart from him once we find him.”
“I know that.” He looked confused.
“Are you okay with that?” I asked, needing clarification.
If possible, he looked even more confused. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Not many people would want to share their house with family members, but I need him here with us.”
His confused expression turned into an understanding smile. “I want him here, too, darling. Remember he’s family. I want him to be happy just as much as you do. Yes, some days I might want some alone time with you, but I don’t mind him living with us. To be honest, it feels weird thinking of him living somewhere else. He belongs with us, which is saying something, considering I’ve never met him.” His expression turned into a cute confused frown, like he was trying to work out his emotions and couldn’t.
I let out a giggle. “You look like Remi did when I tried to help him with math.”
That made him smile. “I love hearing you happy.”
“I promise you, as soon as Aiden is with us, I’ll be forever happy.”
“I like the sound of that.”
I woke up feeling torn. I wanted to find Aiden now, but I also knew I had to heal a bit more. I was terrified of leaving this world and not knowing what would happen when we entered the portal, but my need to find Aiden had me discarding my fears. I needed him back in my life. All my life he’d been missing, and now I was set on getting him back where he belonged.Right next to me.
“Good morning,” Nolen’s raspy morning voice was a soothing reminder that I wasn’t alone anymore. Even with Aiden missing from my life, I still had my mate.
