CHAPTER THIRTEEN
I gasped and choked, unable to breathe. The pointed heel drove directly into the most vulnerable part of my neck, bringing burning pain.
My vision narrowed into a black tunnel with a single ray of light.
I had the horrifying realization that despite the comedic nature of this situation, I could seriously die like this, murdered by my own sister.
The pain of my buckling throat threatened to swallow my mind. I could barely speak. “P-please …”
Ysabel very slightly lessened the pressure. Hatred twisting her face, she hissed, “Five seconds.”
“It’s me! Bora!”
Ysabel stared at me. I’d prepared myself for disbelief, but I only got total incomprehension.
I spoke rapidly while I had the chance. “If you’ll only ask Donya—”
“Don’t address Donya by her first name as if you’re friends!” Ysabel stomped on my throat again.
I gurgled. Red spots danced before my eyes. As my neck jerked, I glimpsed Donya lying on top of a blanket on the floor with a bandage around her head.
The instant the foot raised and air returned to me, I screamed, “What did you do to her?”
Kaine and Alzira immediately pointed at each other and said at the same time, “He did it!” and “She did it!”
“You blew up the wall with one of your thousand interminable gifts,” Alzira growled.
Kaine pouted. “You got in my way when I was trying to pull Donya to safety. I saw you elbow her in the forehead.”
“I did not!” Alzira reached for her sword hilt. “How dare you blame me for your errors, you unworthy dog.”
“You want to go at it again?” Kaine rolled on the balls of his feet, his palms starting to glow.
“You’re both responsible,” Ysabel said.
Immediately, the two of them stopped and hung their heads. “Sorry, Ysabel,” they mumbled.
“Why are you two picking a fight instead of healing Donya?” I shouted.
“How dare you cast aspirations on the Holy Maiden’s generosity!
” Alzira cried. “Ysabel promised Donya to never use a day of her own life to heal her, and she wouldn’t take a day of Donya’s life without permission unless the injury was lethal.
She said Donya would wake up shortly. Are you questioning Her Holiness’s healing knowledge? ”
“Oh, that makes sense.” That was just like my older sister, to be unwilling to take even a day of someone else’s life without asking first. Too many people had done that to her already.
It was only recently that she’d obtained the ability to use someone else’s lifespan instead of her own to heal.
“Yzzy, you’re such a good person, even if you did step on me.
Still, you didn’t recognize me, and I know you must be worried, so consider it forgiven. ”
For the first time, I noticed my sister’s disheveled condition. The bags under her eyes left her face hollowed out. She clearly hadn’t combed her hair, which for Ysabel was quite unthinkable. Dirt stained her dress and, to be honest, she didn’t smell like she’d had a bath lately, either.
Tears filled my eyes. “You must have rushed here to save me. Thank you. But you shouldn’t be overstraining yourself if you’re pregnant. Please sit down and rest.”
Ysabel fixed me with a glare that could melt steel. “Now why are you acting like we’re friends, you bitch?”
“Eeeek! I’m sorry!”
Ysabel’s tone filled with malice. “Tell me where my little sister is, or I’ll torture you for the information.”
“Ooo! Let me!” Kaine waved his hand to volunteer. “I’ll rip off her fingernails.”
Alzira sneered. “Why waste time on such games? Let’s skip straight to breaking her fingers.”
“Do you want her to pass out from pain?” Kaine snorted. “Clearly you should let me handle this.”
“I can torture people for Her Holiness every bit as well as you!” Alzira went for her sword again. “I’ll do it slowly so that she feels every bit of Donya’s pain.”
Weren’t you the one who injured Donya to begin with? “Err … ah …” I’d been trying to interject, but they were talking too loudly, and my throat hurt too much to shout.
Ysabel placed a hand on her forehead. “I’m too delicate to watch someone being tortured … so I’ll leave, and you can figure it out between the two of you.”
To my horror, my sister turned and started to walk away.
Desperation forced a scream from my aching throat.
“Wait! Yzzy! I’m your sister, Bora!” My brain groped around for a memory from our childhood to convince her.
I spoke rapidly: “On my fifth birthday, Uncle Urew gave me a porcelain baby doll. You were jealous, so you stole it after I refused to swap toys. After Mom gave my doll back, you buried it in the backyard, but you told everyone that I’d lost the doll.
” This was the perfect story to convince Ysabel, because back then she’d lied that I’d lost the doll and everyone had believed her.
She’d only whispered the malicious truth late at night to me, so only the two of us knew how she’d disposed of my birthday present.
Ysabel stopped. She looked over her shoulder. Her eyes narrowed. “I’m impressed at the level of research you put into this absurd deception. Alas, your source failed you. Bora stole my doll, so I buried it out of spite so neither of us could have it.” She turned and resumed walking away.
My fury overwhelmed my fear. I leapt to my feet. “Ysabel, you fucking liar, that was my doll!”
Ysabel flipped back her hair. “I would never steal a doll from my precious little sister.”
She dared say that to my face? “Oh yes, you would! You used to ‘borrow’ my stuff all the time! Even though you always got better toys than me because you were older. I was perpetually wearing your hand-me-downs. And the one time Uncle Urew got me the better present, of course you had to have it.” Kaine and Alzira gaped at me, but I didn’t even care, my face flushed and panting, too focused on my sister as she spoke over me.
“That’s why you stole my doll, because you were jealous of me.”
“I was too scared of you to steal anything belonging to you. You used to be a huge bully, Yzzy. You would pinch me and pull my hair until Calum dragged you off me.”
Ysabel sniffed. “I’ll have you know that I was a very protective older sister.”
“Protective, yes, I’ll give you that. You were always the no-one-messes-with-my-little-sister-but-me type.
” When I was young, whenever other children had tried to tease me or insult my weight, Ysabel had chased them off with such scathing insults that they didn’t dare come near me again.
“I never realized how much you’d been protecting me until after you …
you left.” Because then, with my protector gone, the bullies had come after me in earnest. “Even if you didn’t let other people mess with me, you did mess with me yourself, Yzzy. ”
“Um, I—” Alzira started to speak, only to close her mouth at the look on my sister’s face. Kaine had already beaten a retreat to the doorway.
Eyes smoldering, Ysabel hissed, “Don’t pretend to be the innocent one. You used to tattle on me to Mom for every last little thing.”
“I told Mom when you got into trouble for your own good.”
My sister snorted. “Still being sanctimonious after all these years? You didn’t care if I said my prayers every night. You just wanted to get me in trouble. After I buried the doll, you went around messing up my chores and then told Mom that I’d slacked off. And she believed you!”
“Pshaw, you had that coming.”
“Now you’re admitting that it wasn’t ‘for my own good,’ you little monster?”
I crossed my arms. “Are you admitting that you stole my doll?”
“It was my doll first!” Ysabel shouted.
“No, it wasn’t!”
“Do you want to ask Uncle Urew?”
My eyes screwed up. “Fine, next time we see him, let’s ask him. Then you’ll see.”
“No, then you’ll see.” Ysabel scowled. She turned to Kaine and Alzira, watching with slack-jawed expressions. “Sorry, it looks like she’s my real sister after all. No torture allowed.”
With a frown, Kaine edged back into the room. “Light of my heart, I’ve only met your sister once, but she definitely didn’t look much like the Blood Duchess. Are you, uh, certain? I know you have your little problem with faces. Can I speak to you alone for a moment?”
Given that my sister was born unable to see people’s faces, and often failed to recognize her own family, his conclusion made sense. Also, his hand was touching his hammer. I inched away.
Ysabel pinched the bridge of her nose. “Kaine, even I can tell this isn’t my sister’s body.
It’s way too tall. But that’s definitely Bora inside of it.
I don’t know how this happened.” She turned to me.
“Do you have a disguise gift like Calum? You told me that you could bounce.” Her tone held a slight note of accusation.
“It’s not a gift. Or rather, not my gift.” I shrugged. “It’s a long story.” My voice broke a little, and I massaged my throat.
Ysabel’s shoulders sagged. “I’m very sorry. I could heal you, but I’m not sure the damage is worth a day of your life. And I don’t have any left of mine. I’m sorry.”
“Hey, what does that mean?” My voice rose with concern.
“The only reason Ysabel can live is because of a regeneration ability. She has none of her own days left to give.” Despite the calmness of Kaine’s explanation, his gaze burned. Every muscle in his body tensed. I had the prickly sensation of facing down a wolf ready to lunge.
Then we were absolutely not going to let my sister heal me—or anyone—with her own life. I met his gaze with an equally fierce one of my own. He looked surprised.
“This silly little injury isn’t worth the price.
I’m feeling better already.” I exaggerated a bit to make her feel better.
Honestly, I felt glad my sister wasn’t spending her life so recklessly any longer.
If Kaine had been behind this change, then I approved of him.
“I’m thirstier than a cow in heat, though. ”
“Here.” Kaine spun his hand twice, first making a cup appear, then filling it with water.
What a useful ability. I chugged the water. “Thank you. Huh, I feel way better.”