Page 46 of Traithorn

The relief is short-lived when I realize she has quickly disappeared into her apartment again, leaving me staring at an empty balcony. I clench my fists until my nails dig into mypalms, casting a glance at my twin. Vernon looks better now than he has in the past year—healthier now that we’ve found her, no longer as dead on his feet like a zombie, butalive.

The past year has been torture without her. Even worse than the time we spent in prison.

Glancing back at the balcony, I notice it’s still vacant. Digging my nails harder into my palms, I relish in the subtle pain, thoughts racing through the possibilities. Did she go into hiding again, wishing to never see us? Will she come out? Will I get to hold her again?

This can go whichever way.

For minutes where I debate whether to come barging in and force her to face me, she suddenly appears in the doorway, stepping outside into the winter cold with a coat wrapped around her. Her cheeks are stained, her lips chapped. A heartbroken look lingers in her gaze as she takes us in.

Her silence calls upon the panic and overwhelming thoughts inside me, teetering on the edge of oblivion.

“You found me,” she whispers.

As I take her in, smaller than usual and more fragile, hair shorter than before and eyes sunken, there’s a glint of something that hasn’t been there for the past week since we found her. Observing her every day, waiting for the right moment to emerge. Would she run again? We couldn’t take the chance.

She takes a step closer, blinking away the tears I see glistening in her eyes as she hugs herself. I need to refrain from stepping closer, bringing her into my arms. Breathing in her intoxicating scent.Tastingher again.

“We did,” Vernon answers her statement.

There’s a strain in his voice and body language that only reveals he’s fighting his inner compulsion. Isolde looks away, chewing on her lip as if it’s something edible until it startsbleeding.

“Please, look at us,” I whisper.

She doesn’t, only shakes her head. I can’t take this anymore. Her refusal only makes me pounce forward like a lioness hunting its prey, compelling myself to take it easy. When I’m right before her, I lift her chin up with my finger, forcing her to meet my eyes. They flutter as they stare at me, taking in my entire face with a sense of relief that I feel all the way into my own bones.

Fuck. Touching her like this again after losing her, then having her for just a short while, to losing her again, feels as if I’ve descended to the heavens. If a soul like mine can even go to heaven.

“We found you. No matter where you go, or how much time away you need, we. Are. Here. Everything we ever did was for you. I don’t function without you, darling. Ineedyou.”

More tears trickle down her cheeks, ruining her mascara and soaking my thumb. I don’t care. I want her to pour every single emotion into me. If she so drowns me in her tears, I will own up to it and nevereverlet her leave again.

“You belong to us,” Vernon says, stepping closer, mirroring my exact thoughts.

“But I filed a restraining order—”

I cut her off. “We already know that, and fuck it. We’re here, aren’t we? Despite that shit. We will always find you because you are ours.”

Her eyes flutter open, a small smile tugging at her lips that she refuses to let forth. But it’s lingering there nonetheless, and that’s all that matters.

“I guess I knew you would find me…” Looking back into her apartment, her lips form a straight line as she contemplates something. “I never stopped loving you…But I needed to do this for me.” She lets out a deep sigh before continuing. A look ofresignation passes her face, but her shoulders sag in what looks to be relief. “Now that you’re here…it only proves that you won’t ever leave me alone. And after everything, I’m okay with that.”

Anticipation thrums through the atmosphere, both Vernon and I staying silent while hanging on to every word she utters. She’s our lifeline. The only thing keeping our sanity intact while ultimately driving us to insanity.

My heart picks up its pace as she tilts her head to the door, motioning for us to come in.

“I’ll have a fire burning in the fireplace. Come in. Escape the cold. I think it’s finally time we talk. But if I let you in, it will be on my terms this time.”

I nod, swallowing down the urge to reach for her. But this is a step into the future.

More than I could hope for, truthfully.

Chapter 18

DESIDERIUM

Isolde, Three Months Later

I can’t believe I’vemoved back to Vexglade. The one place I thought I’d never revisit, yet here I am. It’s the only place on earth where I’ve truly felt at home. Where I grew up. Where I lost myself, seeing more than someone my age should. I found pieces of who I was meant to be here, hidden between the cracks of the cobblestone, and became stronger by the fragments hidden in the fog clinging to the trees.

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