Chapter 3 #3
"I guess maybe... a science supply place? Or one of those medieval recreation stores?" He shrugged. "But honestly, why would you want pure iron? The alloy stuff works way better."
By the third store—a smaller shop that claimed to specialize in vintage and specialty metals—even Allegra was getting suspicious.
"Okay, what's really going on?" She cornered Briar between the garden fixtures and outdoor lighting displays. A wind chime made of copper pipes sang softly above their heads. "You're being super weird, even for you."
"Just... looking for something specific."
"For a project."
"Yes."
"That requires pure iron with no additives."
Briar studied a display of iron plant hangers, avoiding her sister's sharp gaze.
"Are you secretly a blacksmith? Is this a weird hobby thing? Oh my god, are you LARPing?" Allegra's eyes went wide with delight. "That's it, isn't it? You're totally LARPing! Do you have a character? Is it medieval times? Can I see your costume?"
"I'm not LARPing."
"Because if you are, that's actually kind of cool. Way cooler than I thought you were. No offense." She bounced again. "Can I come? I could be your squire or something!"
"Ally—"
"Or are you into that Viking stuff? Wait, is this why you needed pure iron? For historically accurate weapons?" Her excitement was building. "Oh my god, do you have a Viking name? Please tell me you have a Viking name."
"I don't have a Viking name."
"You're no fun." But Allegra was grinning. "Fine, keep your weird iron secrets. But you owe me."
"I owe you?"
"Shopping assistance fee." She linked her arm through Briar's. "Payable in ice cream. Immediately."
The mark pulsed warm on Briar's wrist. She only had two days left. She should go home, keep researching, keep looking for answers that didn't exist. But Allegra was tugging her toward the exit, chattering about flavors and toppings, and Briar found herself following without protest.
"Can we go to the place with the waffle cones? The one near the beach?"
"That's forty minutes away."
"So?" Allegra looked up at her with those eyes that had always been able to destroy Briar's resolve. "I've been unconscious for a week. I deserve fancy ice cream."
They drove toward the coast with the windows down, Allegra finally getting her playlist privileges. She sang along to pop songs Briar didn't recognize, dancing in her seat, occasionally reaching over to poke Briar's shoulder.
"You're not singing."
"I'm driving," Briar said, not wanting to admit she didn’t know the words.
"You can do both. You used to."
"That was before I knew how terrible my voice was."
"Your voice isn't terrible." Allegra said, her voice thoughtful. "It's just... unique."
"Thanks."
"Uniquely terrible."
"Brat."
Allegra laughed, bright and free, and Briar white-knuckled the steering wheel to keep from crying.
The ice cream shop was exactly as Briar remembered it—tiny, crowded, with barely enough room to stand in line. The walls were covered in photos of happy customers and hand-drawn signs advertising flavors.
"Marionberry cheesecake!" Allegra pressed her nose to the glass case. "And look, they have that lavender honey one you like."
"I don't like lavender honey."
"You got it last time."
"That was three years ago, Ally."
"So? You liked it then." She turned to the teenage employee. "She'll have lavender honey in a waffle cone. I want marionberry cheesecake and... can I try the salted caramel?"
They ended up on the beach, shoes off, toes in the sand. The Oregon coast was moody today—gray clouds gathering on the horizon, wind whipping hair into their faces. Allegra didn't care. She raced ahead, ice cream dripping purple down her hand, laughing at the gulls that dove for dropped pieces.
"Bri, look!" She'd found the tide pools in the black rocks, the ones they'd explored years ago. "Remember when you taught me about the starfish?"
Briar picked her way across the wet stones, careful not to slip. "You were seven. You tried to take one home in your pocket."
"I wanted it to be my friend!" Allegra crouched by a pool, watching tiny crabs scuttle between anemones. "I named it Frederick."
"You named everything Frederick back then."
"It's a good name." She dipped her fingers in the water, then yanked them back. "So cold! How do the crabs stand it?"
"They're built for it."
"Lucky them." Allegra found a dry rock to perch on, patting the space beside her. "Sit. You're making me nervous hovering."
Briar wanted to say no, but she sat anyway. She’d never get this chance again. This close, she could see the faint shadows lingering under Allegra's eyes, the way her cheekbones were still too sharp. She was healing, but not yet whole. It would take time to fully recover from nearly dying.
Time Briar wouldn't see.
"You know what's weird?" Allegra said suddenly. "When I was sick, like really sick, before I went unconscious. I had the strangest dreams."
"Yeah?"
"There was this forest. But not a normal forest. The trees were so tall I couldn't see the tops, and everything was green but also dark. Green shadows, if that makes sense." She picked at a piece of dried seaweed. "And there was a man there. He had antlers, I think. Or maybe branches? It's fuzzy."
Briar's blood chilled. "What did he say?"
"Something about presents and promises. And thorns." Allegra shrugged. "Fever dreams are weird. But the strangest part was he mentioned you."
"Me?"
"Yeah. He said…" She scrunched her face, trying to remember. "He said he would see you soon. I don't know. It's all mixed up with the other weird dreams. The one where our couch turned into a boat."
Three days is a gift, not a suggestion.
"Dreams are just your brain processing things," Briar managed. "Nothing more."
"I know." Allegra finished her ice cream, licking her fingers clean. "Still. It felt real. The forest especially. I could smell it, the pine trees and dirt and something else."
They sat in silence, watching the waves crash against the rocks. The beach was emptier now, most tourists driven away by the threatening clouds that had started blooming overhead. Soon it would rain, because this was Oregon and rain was as certain as breathing.
"We should do this more," Allegra said. "When I was sick, I kept thinking about all the stuff we never do anymore. Remember when we used to come here every summer? Build sandcastles and look for shells and you'd make up stories about sea creatures."
"You got older. Busier."
"No." Allegra turned to face her. "You got busier. You're always working or tired or taking care of Mom and me. You forgot you're allowed to have fun too."
"Ally…"
"I mean it. When's the last time you did something just for you? Not for work or us or bills or whatever. Just for fun."
Briar tried to remember and came up empty.
"See?" Allegra bumped their shoulders together. "Promise we'll do more stuff. Just us. We could make it a regular thing. Sister beach days."
The words cut deep but Briar forced herself to smile. "That sounds nice."
"Promise?" Allegra held out her pinky, the way she had when she was little. When promises were sacred and breaking them was the worst thing imaginable.
Briar linked their fingers, the lie burning worse than any mark. "Promise."
"Cool." Allegra jumped up, energy restored. "Race you to that piece of driftwood!"
She took off running, ponytail streaming behind her. Briar followed slower, memorizing every detail—the sound of her sister's laughter mixing with ocean waves, the gray-green light that turned everything soft and dreamlike, the way Allegra still ran with her arms spread wide for balance.
The rain started as soon as they reached the car, fat drops that became a downpour within minutes. Allegra shrieked with laughter, dancing in the parking lot as she got soaked.
"Come on!" Briar called. "You just got out of the hospital!"
"It's just water!" But she climbed in, shaking her hair and spraying droplets everywhere. "See? Sister beach day. Already an adventure."
They drove home through the storm, Allegra dozing against the window. The mark on Briar's wrist pulsed steadily, a countdown she couldn't stop.
Less than two days left.
And no amount of pure iron in the world could change that.