Page 95 of The Wicked Lies of Habren Faire
(LOVERS’ MEETING)
We drag our exhausted bodies into the light, covering our eyes against the too bright sun, stepping from the tunnel and straight into the sea. Waves lap at our shins, our skirts weighed down by the water. Ceridwen drags me toward the dry pebbles ahead as if getting wet is the worst thing that could happen to us today. I let her. I’m so tired, so relieved, I’m boneless. I’d let my sister drag me anywhere.
“Habren!” Neirin jumps up from his perch on the steps.
He rushes down the beach, Delyth at his heels. The hills and cliffs behind them are green and gray once more. The small house is old stone, unmarred by coal. I can’t imagine what we look like.Horrifyingmay be the word, based on the terror on both their faces.
Before I can speak, there’s a great groan behind us. The dark tendrils of gas creeping through the ground recede slowly, then all at once, disappearing back into Y Lle Tywyll. The very rock yawns—stretching, growing—until there’s a finalcrack, and the cave crumbles. Y Lle Tywyll eats itself alive, spewing dust and coal into the sea.
The coal on Ceridwen’s arm crumbles beneath my hand and falls away when I release her. The same happens to my leg. The pain from every other injury remains, though I hardly feel it as I watch the dark vein on Ceridwen’s neck recede until it disappears. She’s so alive, the ice of the last year banished from her eyes.
Neirin lets out a triumphant shout.
I turn toward him as he holds his hand in the air. The infectionhad crept higher in my absence, all the way to his neck, but it crumbles now, falling off him in dust and broken pieces.
“What’s he doing here?” Ceridwen says in my ear.
“He followed me,” I say, near bashful. “Tried to get himself killed.”
Ceridwen tilts her head, looking between the two of us. We stand paces apart, but I can feel the way my body cants toward him.
“What are you cheering for?” I say flatly. “You didn’t do any of the hard work.”
Neirin’s face falters, and his arm drops to his side. He fixes me with a questioning look that I make him hold for a moment longer than either of us needs, before I laugh and let go of Ceridwen’s hand.
I rush toward him and grab his shoulders to yank him down to my height as I rise onto my toes to kiss him. This time, he’s soft as a petal beneath me, and his lips part with a sigh that tastes of relief. Hs hand cradles my face, his thumb stroking over my cheek with a heart-breaking gentleness I never believed anyone would reserve for me.
And then it’s over. I pull away and he’s pink-cheeked.
I take a steadying breath. “I’m sorry about your finger.”
“I’m sorry I misled you and your sister repeatedly, falsely imprisoned you and almost drowned you—Oh, it sounds terrible when I lay it out like that, doesn’t it? I’ll have to forgive the finger, then.” His lips twitch in amusement. “Can I have it back?”
My eyes widen in mild disgust, butIcertainly don’t want it, so I quickly grab the finger and drop it into Neirin’s outstretched hand. He tries to hide a look of triumph when he pockets it.
“What?” I hold myself back slightly, so I can see his face better.
He sighs reluctantly. “I can get it reattached.”
I stare at him open-mouthed, then give him a solid shove. “It was supposed to teach you a lesson!”
“Lesson learned, I swear! I just don’t think I need to be permanently mutilated—”
“Stop it before I take your whole hand.”
He looks past me, his jaw locking. I glance back and quickly understand why.
Ceridwen stands with her arms crossed a few paces away, anger radiating from the roots of her hair to the tips of her shoes. I’ve never seen such a fire in her eyes before—I almost cower before her gaze, and it’s not even trained on me.
“Neirin.” She somehow manages to make his name sound like an insult. “Surprised to see me alive?”
“I had the utmost faith in you,” he says, but doesn’t specify what that faithwasexactly.
Her eyes flick up and down him, her lip curling. “I can’t say I return the sentiment. Step away from my sister, please.”
I’ve never heard a polite request uttered like a threat before. Ceridwen continues to surprise me.
Neirin’s throat bobs, and he glances at me as if I’m supposed to help him. I shake my head and step away. There’s one more apology he must make, and I hope he makes it a good one. Though I want Neirin, I cannot live without my sister, and we all know it.
