“What did she tell you?” I asked.
“I— don’t really wish to discuss it,” Arthur said regrettably. “But… she told me that Vara can never come back.”
The wind whistled through the clearing, and I said, “I’m really sorry, Arthur.”
“I had hoped…” He took a heartbroken breath. “Never mind, now. It’s over.”
“Did you learn your true name?” I asked.
“Yes,” Arthur replied. “It wasn’t what I expected.”
Neither was mine. But Arthur didn’t seem like he wanted to talk about it, so I changed the subject. “We should get to learning about this Unseelie city right away.”
“Agreed,” Arthur said as he sprang to his feet. “I’ll head to the library. There’s no time to lose, after all.”
He sure was eager to bury himself back in his books. He hurried ahead of me, and kept his back turned. Amantha hastened to his side. She ducked her head and whispered something to Arthur, who replied lowly, giving a glance back at me.
Okay. I was kind of hurt he was talking to Amantha about whatever he’d seen instead of me,his fucking twin, but whatever. I checked on our bond and found, with an inward recoil, that Arthur had all but severed it off.
Fuck. That hurt. I didn’t get what his problem was. Was he pissed that I’d been right about bringing Vara back? I was only trying to protect him.
Ethan strode at my side as we walked through the trees. My grandparents trailed behind, giving us space. “Your vision must’ve been extraordinary. Tell me all about it.”
It was a good way to distract myself from how my brother was acting, so I retold Ethan everything I could recall from my vision. The estate was drawing near by the time I ended the tale. Ethan shifted back as we entered the house.
“Damawilke. What a beautiful name,” Ethan said in awe.
“Yes, but we must be careful about who we tell,” I said. “If our enemies get their hands on my true name, they’ll be able to use it against me.”
“Of course. We’ll keep it between us for now,” Ethan replied.
We climbed the stairs, and started on our way to our bedroom. As I passed the nursery, something felt… off. I couldn’t place what, but my hand itched to grab the doorknob and enter the room. A strong instinct, like that of a mother wolf, took over my senses and told me something wasn’t right.
“I’m going to check on the twins,” I said. The words left my mouth before I even knew what was happening.
“Why? Let them rest.”
We’d put the twins to bed shortly after dinner, and long before we’d left for the ceremony. It had to be past midnight. They were sleeping right now. It would be a bad idea to disturb them.
Yet some sort of niggling feeling at the center of my gut told me I needed to check on them. It was impossible to ignore. “It’ll just take a second. Come on.”
Perplexed, Ethan followed me into the nursery. Once we entered, the temperature dropped a few degrees. The curtains were drifting in the breeze, as the window was open.
I was certain I hadn’t left it that way. It was springtime, but the nights were still chilly, and the twins could catch a cold. Had someone else come in here after I’d left?
I checked on Kazim first. He was fast asleep. I touched his cheek, and he felt warm and comfortable. Nothing wrong here.
I was starting to think that I was crazy as I looked into Kalina’s crib. She was sleeping, too, and completely undisturbed. Just to double check, I lifted her into my arms and bounced her carefully.
She didn’t wake up. That was my first clue. Kalina was the easiest baby on Earth to disturb, and she woke up bawling every time. Yet her eyes remained closed and she gave soft breaths as I rocked her back and forth.
This was my niece… right? Ithadto be her. Yet something about her was different. She didn’t seem likeourbaby, but something else.
I was losing my mind.
Ethan stiffened as he set eyes on the baby. His nostrils flared, as if he smelled something.
“Emma, drop it,” Ethan said. He hastily strode my way, as if to knock the child out of my arms.
