Page 189 of Between Despair and Hope

“I don’t care,” my sister said, grinning ear to ear. Her birthday had been a few weeks after mine, and it was the first one we hadn’t spent together since before her mother died when we were ten.

“Well, anyway, this crotchety toad of a woman was mad because she’d bought a book and the second half of it was bound with missing pages or something, and the clerk went to replace it but there weren’t any more—oh, none of this matters.” I fluttered my hand in dismissal. “She was quite evil to them both, so I came out and told her to choke on a tit, and it was a whole ordeal. Then Elora came in with her guard, and she had the woman escorted out.”

She stifled her laughter to ask, “And she didn’t speak to you?”

“No!” I wiped my hand down my face, pacing. I hadn’t bothered making a full illusion, only a sofa in front of a fire, so I couldn’t quite see, but I didn’t feel like using my divinity. “Reminy asked where Thyra was—that’s her normal guard,” I added, forgetful about which details I’d told my sister before. “And then she made herself scarce, hiding away in the back room.”

“Well, did you go speak to her?”

“Why would I? She didn’t even look at me.”

“Was she wearing the bracelet?”

“I don’t know; she was wearing a cloak.”

“Sure, but didn’t you feel if yours was warm or not? You had it enchanted, right?”

“I wasn’t wearing mine.”

“What?” she exclaimed.

“It’s been too warm to wear. It got irritating.”

“Cy! She’s been wearing it? Have you appeared to her since that first one?”

“No,” I mumbled, bracing myself for my sister’s indignation. She stood, black nightgown rippling around her.

“That was a month ago! And she’s been wearing it ever since? No wonder she wouldn’t even look at you, you imbecile!”

“I just—I wanted to make sure she really forgives me,” I confessed. “Not just because I told her a sad story about a sad prince who lived a sad, lonely life. I figured she’d come to me when she really forgave me, not just…out of pity.”

“Cy,” she breathed, shoulders dropping, fight leaving her frame. “When did you take your bracelet off?”

“A few days ago.”

“Cyran Speelglen Umbroth—”

“Goddess, save me, do not call me—”

“She wore that gods forsaken bracelet for nearly a month, maybe more! Who knows? Not you, since you took it off!” Ismene shouted, crossing the distance and grabbing me by both arms. “She would have taken it off by now if it was just out of pity. She probably thinks, well, I don’t know. But I’d have done the same thing if I’d been inviting someone into my dreams every night for amonth, and he never showed up.”

“I did show up.”

“You just said you—”

“I’ve been helping with her nightmares, but I haven’t exactly let her see me.”

My sister’s jaw dropped, and the light of the fire behind her flared as she stepped back.

“You love her.”

“Well, maybe.” I started. “I don’t—”

“Oh, dear brother. She is going toruinyou.” She gave me a soft smile as she tilted her head.

“She already has.”

Chapter 49

---