Elorie shoves me awayfrom her the second we land, sending me sprawling forward. I catch myself before bashing my face, the rich grass pricking at my palms. A quick glance shows us near the end of the property behind the castle and the small lake, the setting sun sending colors dancing over the water.
“You didn’t leave?” I hiss, pushing myself up, incensed. “You two should be long gone by now.”
“You just couldn’t wait to try and take my place,” she scoffs, striding away from me. As opposed to the usual finery she’s typically decked out in, she’s in simple black pants and a dressier, flowing shirt, like she knew full well she was going to have to run. “Or to so much as allow a single day for people to celebrate the return of my son.”
The low growl that emanates from my chest rivals that of the predators we left behind. “I was trying to give you a chance to get him out of there before they tore your heads off.”
She doesn’t acknowledge my words, continuing a few steps forward toward the edge of the woods that border the back of the property, a hole blown through the wrought iron fence. There’s absolutely no fear of giving me her back as she strides through the gap and ahead, but it becomes clear why when I see Cody’s slumped figure reclining against the base of a tree.
His face is red like he has a high fever, his breathing quick and shallow. Even from here, I can make out the way his dark blue irises crackle like a lightning storm is contained within them.
“Fix him.” My eyes snap up to where she’s standing beside him, glaring at me like the very concept of her even speaking to me tastes bitter. “By the time I get him to the next city over, it might be too late, and I-“ she swallows, clearing her throat “-can’t lose him again. Not after everything, not when he’s the only one I have left.”
My stomach flips. She really did drain her power so much that she only got him this far, doesn’t think she can handle the journey to the next kingdom. And rather than try, she wasted fates only know how much energy abducting me instead.
That knowledge alone has my feet moving forward, but the pained look on Cody’s face has me quickening my step, dropping to my knees beside him. Even though he looks so different from the little boy in my memories, my nightmares, as I meet his familiar eyes, it’s like no time has passed at all.
“Ria?” he asks and a sob sticks in my throat.
It’s the nickname I used at the club that the guys first found me in, a way to keep the memory alive. A place immune to the horrors of Faerie and I could pretend that he was right there with me, calling after me as we hid away from the world.
“You came back to me,” I mouth more than voice, tears clouding my vision.
“Enough,” Elorie snaps, bringing us back to reality. “Can you heal him, or are you not even good for that anymore?”
Cody’s lips press into a thin line and the earth beneath us trembles. “You’re always saying such mean things about her.”
Elorie blinks. “What are you talking about?”
Cody tries to push himself up to sit a bit higher, panting, but it’s clear the movement costs him as he grimaces. “Even though I couldn’t open my eyes, I could hear you. All of you. What you and Dads would argue about like I wasn’t there, what they did to punish Ria when you weren’t around-“ briefly, he glances at me and then away “-and the songs she’d play before that rush of energy hit me, just when I thought I’d fall asleep for good.”
“She did this to you,” Elorie seethes, and by the hatred in her icy glare, it’s clear she regrets coming to me for help.
“It was an accident. I pushed her; we were just kids,” Cody replies so easily and I swipe my arm over my face, trying to see straight.
Clearing my throat so I can speak, I take a breath. “Let me see what I can do.”
“If you try anything, I will do more than slaughter you, girl,” Elorie threatens, ignoring the way Cody stiffens. “I will take each of those pets you love and tear them apart in front of you until you’re begging me to kill you.” She kneels down, bringing her face even with mine. “And I will refuse. You will be forced to live with that agony until my final breath, just so you can feel a fraction of the pain you’ve caused me.”
I almost open my mouth to argue that she was the one that murdered my mother after she saved Cody’s life during her pregnancy complications instead of being grateful, that she stole me away as a way to grow her power long before it became a necessity to try and bring her son back. But any woman that spits on that kindness and slaughters people as a thank you when they try to help can’t be reasoned with, and there’s just no point.
She’s chosen to hate me and there isn’t enough energy in the world for me to convince her otherwise.
Placing my trembling palm on his cheek, I close my eyes, leaning forward to rest my forehead against his. I don’t really need to, I just...I want whatever contact and memories that I can soak up while I can. As soon as I heal him, Elorie will whisk him away and I might never see him again. Sure, she might come back after the changeling situation is resolved, ensuring she holds her throne and her kingdom, but that doesn’t mean she’ll bring him back when she does. For all I know she might have a secondary home; it’s not like I’d have been told. I might truly never see either of them again. I won’t miss her in the slightest, but I’ll need to make my peace with the fact that this might be the last time I lay eyes on my brother.
But he’s alive, and that’s enough.
Mentally, I reach out to him, assessing the damage. But there aren’t any physical wounds to heal, no infection to clear up. My eyes fly open and I lurch away from him, severing every form of physical contact as soon as I realize what’s going on. I barely manage to turn my head and scramble a few feet away before my stomach starts heaving.
“What is it?” she demands, not getting any closer. “What’s wrong with him?”
Coughing, I make my way back near them, keeping a good bit of distance away. “He’s overloaded.”
“What does that mean?” she snaps, gritting her teeth and no doubt debating stabbing me just for annoying her.
Whispering, I refuse to look at anything besides the ground. “That it took a massive influx of energy to wake him up, but his body isn’t built to contain that much long term. It’s too much; he needs to burn off some energy and quickly.”
She glances at Cody sharply. “Use your abilities. Now.”
