“I’m just going to the library,” Bridget said.
Before she could head to the door, though, a voice froze her in place.
“The Shaman is clearly avoiding you, so I doubt he’ll show up again there, too,” Nylah said. “And you should learn to hide things better.”
Slowly, Bridget turned to face her sister. She thought she’d been asleep, but there she stood, holding Bridget’s notebook of all things Elyria. Maps to the gates, research about the Shaman, lists of things about people and magic she’d written during the nights the fear of not remembering took over her soul. Dread twisting her stomach, Bridget searched Nylah’s accusatory face, trying to find any hint about how much she’d read.
“Why do both of you act like I have no idea about magic and Elyria?” Nylah asked. “This house is small. I can hear you, even when you whisper.”
Archer’s gaze darted between the two sisters. Clearing his throat, he muttered, “I’m craving a coffee…”
Bridget stared daggers at his back as he left. This was the one time he could read the room? Since she’d returned, there was only one subject she’d gone out of her way to avoid with Nylah: Elyria. She was terrified that if her sister saw just how deeply it had changed her, it would changethem. Every time she’d asked about it, Bridget had been able to change the subject. Until now. She couldn’t deny the pleading currently plastered on Nylah’s face.
“If you’re going to look for the gate, I want to go with you,” Nylah said, reaching for her boots.
Bridget swiped them before she could. “Absolutely not.”
The words came out harsh, but she wouldn’t apologize. She didn’t want Nylah anywhere near magic… near the thing that had already carved itself into Bridget’s bones and refused to let go. One sister ruined by it was more than enough.
“Why do you act like I’m not a part of this?” Nylah argued. “Like what happened didn’t affect me, too?”
Because you still sleep through the night.
Because you still believe that magic can be something good and true and real… without demanding something awful in return.
So many reasons lingered on Bridget’s tongue.
“You shouldn’t be a part of it,” Bridget said instead. “Cade should have never told you. You don’t deserve to…”
“To what? To know? I’m glad he told me. Knowing was better than sitting around wondering why you disappeared. Cade promised me you would come back, and even though it was really hard to believe him some days, you did come back. I know bad things happened to you there. I hear you have nightmares every night. I see your hands, even when you try to hide them from me. Just talk to me and stop acting like I’m your stupid kid sister who doesn’t understand.”
The tears spilling from Nylah’s eyes splintered Bridget’s heart. She’d never wanted to be the source of his sister’s pain. How could she think she’d be able to avoid the topic of Elyria with her forever? Nylah had always been able to see right through her, and had always trusted Bridget to be honest. It was their pact. The night before Bridget had aged out of the system, she’d promised Nylah she’d always be there, always be truthful. And now here she was, breaking that promise.
“I don’t think that about you. You’re one of the smartest people I know,” Bridget croaked. “I just want to protect you.”
“Well, I want you totrustme, and tell me the truth… You want to go back, don’t you? That's why you won’t talk about it with me.”
Bridget held back a flinch and shook her head. “No, I don’t.”
“Yes, you do. It’s why you have this.” Nylah sniffled, holding up the binder.
“I want to be withyou,” Bridget corrected, grabbing her sister by the arms. “Listen to me. The second I remembered in Elyria, there wasn’t a moment that went by I didn’t want to come back to you.”
It was the one truth that had never changed.
“I was always going to come back,” Bridget said, needing Nylah to believe as much as she did.
Nylah jumped forward and wrapped her arms tightly around Bridget’s waist. After a long moment, she whispered, “What about Cade? I miss him, too.”
Even though the words were muffled, the sound of Cade’s name thoroughly cracked Bridget’s chest wide open. Would she ever be able to hear his name again without falling apart? “Cade has to stay there,” she choked, barely able to get the words out. It was all her fault. “And his world is… dangerous. Especially for humans. Neither one of us wants you to go there.”
Nylah pulled back and wiped off her tear-streaked face with the sleeve of her jacket. “Like this world isn’t? That convenience store down the street was robbed last week.”
Bridget almost wanted to laugh. Her sister never missed a thing. “You’re too smart for your own good,” she said, ruffling the top of Nylah’s springy, curly hair.
“Seriously, though, let me help,” Nylah pleaded. “Maybe I’ll be able to find something you can’t.”
Bridget couldn’t resist her sister’s request now, not when every part of her body felt like an exposed nerve. “Fine. Let’s go find Archer first, though. Something tells me he’ll be peeved and make us watchSelling Sunsetfor the next week if we leave without him.”
