And the sight knocked the breath from my lungs.
Before me was my sister.
My twin.
My better half.
Aviva.
Thefemalematched my features exactly. We had the same white hair, the same dual-colored wings, and the same pale skin.
And yet her eyes, the blue ones I had known all my lifethatmirrored my own, had changed. Now, one was green—the only physical mark our mother seemed to have left on either of us. I had convinced myselfmaybe ithad been a trick back at Wittuck Woods—butit seemed itwasn’t. Avivatruly heldthe only Southern distinction our motherhadleft to us.
Besides our zirilium, that was.
Despite that physical difference, when I looked into her eyes, I could still seeher. The hope and love in her gazehadn’tchanged.
Sighing a shaky breath of relief that I might just have a chanceat gettingmy sister back, I took a step towards her.
Immediately, the two figures to the left and right of her, both whohad cloak hoods obscuring their features, took astep infront of my sister. It was a protective move, and one I was shocked to see.
Who were these strangers to try to keep my twin fromme?
Who wereSouthernersto protect my sister?
Who were they to defy aking?
Yet before I could respond to their disrespect, Aviva finally spoke.
“Stand down.”
The two hooded figures returned to her sides silently, their loyalty unwavering.
Deciding tosolely focus on my twin, I held my hands out in front of me and softly spoke her name.
“Aviva.”
Her gaze flickered to myhands, butsnagged there before they flickered back up to my face.
Itwasn’t until that moment that I realized what I likely looked like right then.
“Don’t worry, the blood isn’t mine,” I reassured her, takinganother step forward, my hands still outstretched. Suddenly, the prisoner’s blood coating my skin made me feel suffocated. Dirty, even.
My twin looked toward the tall, broad figure to her right, and he looked towards her a second later.She dipped her chin in what I could only imagine was a sort of signal between the two of them. In response, yet without a word, he vanished into shadow andspeared offdown one of the long corridors into the dungeons.
Now, with just my sister and me—along with her second lackey—I could finally convince her to comehome.
“Aviva, I—”
“What’s going on, Dimitri?”sheasked, cutting me off before I could make my case before her.
Before I could even greether, orlet her know just how much I had missed her.
“What are you—”
“Ourcorvids? The ones you had killed? Dimitri, we even sent Teagan, our ambassador, to try to talk to you. You have soldiers stationed along the border to keep us out.SoI’llask again—whatis going on?”shesaid, her voicemore sternthanI’deverheard itbefore.
“Are you…” I stumbled over my words. “Aviva, areyouupset withme?”
