Chapter 24 A Sister’s Love
TWENTY-FOUR
A SISTER’S LOVE
Avian was right: it doesn’t matter if I’m blessed by Goddess Moon or not. I am who I am.
What matters so deeply in my mind, though, is why they would all lie.
Nyra knew. She knew my mother lied, and she helped feed that lie.
The memories of my life, all those times mother brushed through my long hair and fussed over the locks until they were perfection and all those times Nyra compared her own flawless beauty to mine, it wasn’t real.
Why? Why do it? What were they protecting?
The soft smile she passes Vanitee’s way while they quietly eat the morning’s breakfast stings a little to see. I suddenly feel like an outsider looking in on it all. No matter how out of place I feel in this twisted kingdom, I know my sister.
And we’ll always be there for one another.
She’ll tell me what I need to know. I just . . . I just have to save her from the viper’s nest first . . .
The three hellhounds whom I trust are all gathered around their queen as she discusses tonight’s full moon festivities. That’s an entirely different problem all on its own.
One I can’t manage to think too long on at the current time.
Instead, I take a shallow breath and make my way across the polished floors of the dining hall. A scattering of whispers follows me every step of the way.
Good. It’s always good to have a hobby, and if gossip is theirs, at least they’ve picked a subject of interest.
The hell fuckers.
My chin lifts higher, and when I finally come to my sister’s table at the back of the room, I don’t ask her to talk in private. I take the empty seat at her side.
The heavy wooden chair scrapes inelegantly as I make myself good and comfortable.
It’s best to be comfortable when in Hell. Make friends with all the demons.
Like the beautiful hell fae glaring at me currently.
“Morning, Vanitee,” I say with a big smile.
There’s that fake fucking smile I worked so hard to perfect.
It’s back, motherfuckers. And so am I.
Vanitee’s gaze remains dark and dead, but she does sneak a glance at Nyra. Probably to see how she should react to me.
Kindly. And carefully, if you’re smart.
Nyra hesitates, but she does press the smallest of tense smiles against her full lips. Last night and the time we’ve spent here in general, has strained our relationship—just like that strained pleasantry in her features when she looks at me now.
“You’re not mad . . .” she says—more of a statement than a question.
I was never mad. I was, and still am, confused.
I’m so fucking confused, I don’t think I’ll ever find all the answers I’m missing in my life. But little by little, I’ll find a way to be okay with it all.
“I was never mad. You have every right to be, though. I’m sorry for how much I’ve . . .” ruined her life . . . “For everything. I’m so sorry, Nyra.”
The false happiness in her eyes, it dims out entirely. She pauses, and no words pass between us. The tension tightens so hard, I feel like it’s going to snap and shatter me in the process.
Until she leans in and wraps her slender arms around me.
Her head rests against my shoulder, and there’s a short passing of a second where the feeling of childhood is all around us.
The embrace of trust and family is there in warm and calming waves, wrapping around our hearts until it’s all I feel, and all I want.
Until she pulls back.
Her hand lingers on the back of mine, and there’s a serene look on her pretty face.
The pounding of emotions fills my chest, and we gaze at one another with too many years pressing between us to ever get back that comfort of innocent childhood long gone. But we have each other still.
We always will.
"Why did she lie?" I whisper, and I can’t control the waver in my tone.
The sweet kindness in her features falls instantly, and she looks back at Vanitee so fast that I feel her own uneasiness.
“Not now, Cers,” she hisses before shoving a large, crimson helping of devil’s eggs into her mouth. I blink at her while Vanitee watches us closely.
My stomach falls as realization slams into me.
My mother’s lie . . . it’s bigger than I thought.
It means more than I could ever imagine.
And I’m stuck imagining until I can catch a moment alone with the one person who I trust more than anyone in all the realms.