Page 50 of A Song of Air
She’d known. Of course, she’d known that Malika had a story to tell and that it wasn’t a happy one. She hadn’t known the extent of it. For a second, she felt a bitterness creep through her. Not because Malika had found her sister; Bryson was happy that they’d found one another again.
She was bitter for several reasons. Because Malika had never confided in her. Because now Malika’s attention would be drawn elsewhere. But most of all, because Malika had received a gift from Mana, one that would never be granted to Bryson.
Because her family really was dead.
She’d tasted their blood and smelt their burnt flesh, had felt the weight of their bodies pressing hers down against the charred earth, and there was no power in the world that could ever bring them back.
It made her angry and restless. She didn’t want to listen to them anymore, so she turned and started away, separating herself from the group, ready to flee to the one place that would quiet her racing thoughts.
Before she could, Arlo stopped her with a hand to her shoulder. “Bryson,” he whispered like a quiet command.
She took a breath, knowing that there would be no rest for her mind right then. She allowed him to pull her away from the fray. He took her towards his tent and pushed the flap open for her to go in.
They were alone with the silence and the heated press of his glare.
She sighed. “Arlo...”
“Don’t,” he snapped. She clamped her lips tightly closed. “I can’t possibly think there’s an excuse good enough for you to have allowed them into our fold.”
“Clay saved my life.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“It’s true.”
“How?”
She sucked in a breath. “There were several Kurreen—”
“We both know you could destroy the Kurreen in your sleep.”
The praise shouldn’t have warmed her, that he thought her so capable. But it did. It felt fatherly, proud. Exactly what she needed to hear. But it didn’t take away from the fact that he was here to reprimand her, and it caused anxiety in her chest to spread slowly.
“There were too many,” she lied.
“Oh? Then I’ll send the scouts out to count the bodies...”
“Arlo...”
“You undermined my authority to sate your own curiosity, Bryson.”
“I didn’t!”
“Stop lying. You think me foolish? You think I don’t know that you hold hopes for the Resistance and whatever it is they stand for? You are your parents’ daughter after all.”
Betrayal slammed into her at the words. She was trying. She was trying so hard to become a part of their community. And she was. She deserved to be there as much as anyone else did. She killed the humans, saved those who needed saving. She contributed by letting herself be ridiculed for her scars. The one time her ideals didn’t completely align with Arlo’s and he was questioning her loyalty?
He didn’t need to say those words for them to be true. She could hear them in the tone of his voice.
“You’re questioning my loyalty.”
“I am.” There was no hesitation in his voice, and it hit her like a fucking blow.
“I have been loyal to this group for years, Arlo.” She tried to keep the hurt from her voice, but it bled through regardless.
“Are you sure? When we spoke of the Resistance before, I noticed you hesitated...”
Just because she wasn’t sure what she believed in anymore. Because things were changing in the world. Maybe there was a time when she’d needed to hide out with Arlo and the camp, but the Resistance taking over Dana, being here, wanting her to help save the Fae? It was different.
