Zora turns to me, crossing her arms defensively. “Which begs the question… what are you doing here? I told you I didn’t want anything to do with you.”
“Technically,” I drawl with a sheepish look. “I asked if I could come to see you, but you never answered me.”
“That would have been a no,” she snaps.
“I took it as a maybe,” I reply.
“Who are they?” she asks, her gaze moving over to my crew near the door. All big, imposing men, but she’s not cowed in the slightest.
“My friends.” I decide on the simple explanation because I sense time is of the essence. I can explain my posse in more depth if she comes with me. “They journeyed here with me for protection.”
“Not much protection in a world filled with hundreds of thousands of Dark Fae and demons,” she sneers.
My instinct is to defend Carrick, Maddox, and Boral and their prowess, but I hold my tongue. “I was hoping this would be but a short visit, and we’d leave before we drew trouble upon ourselves.”
“Why exactly are you here?” Zora asks, cutting her gaze to Amell. He’s shifted his body to stare out her window.
“I want you to come to the Earth realm with me.” It’s a simple request, but it feels like my happiness is riding on it.
“There’s nothing for me there,” Zora replies, her eyes still focused on Amell as if she wants him to be part of this conversation.
“I’m there for you.” She jolts slightly before her attention shifts back to me. “I’m your twin. I love you.”
“You don’t know me,” she retorts.
I want to insist I do know her because she’s my identical twin and we’re bonded. But the truth is that she grew up in horrendous conditions. My life was charmed compared to hers. I don’t know her at all other than what I’ve learned—that she’s stubborn, mistrustful, and grumpy.
“I want to learn about you, Zora. I want to be your sister and your friend. I want to take you out of the Underworld and show you a much more beautiful way to live. I guess my question would be, why wouldn’t you want to give it a try?”
That seems to touch something as her expression saddens a bit, but then she nods toward Amell. “He’s going to bring me to the Earth realm when Kymaris lowers the veil.”
“I’m going to stop Kymaris from doing that,” I assert with confidence. But then I ask Amell my own question, taking a few steps his way so he has to acknowledge me. “But let’s say I fail—do you know what Kymaris is going to do to the humans in the Earth realm? Awful, horrible, evil things. You’d let Zora be subjected to that?”
“I’d protect her,” he insists.
“Will Kymaris let you protect her?” I counter, and I learn all I need to know when Amell’s gaze falls away and he doesn’t answer me.
He can’t.
Because he knows he has no sway with Kymaris if she gains control and subjugates humankind.
I turn back to Zora, walking resolutely to her until she backs into the table again to get away from me. My hands shoot out, taking hers, and I squeeze. “Look… we have eighteen days before the new moon when Kymaris will attempt to shred the veil. Give me that time. Come to my world and get to know me. Let me show you sunshine, autumn flowers, and the way the rain smells on spruce trees. Let me buy you the best cup of coffee you’ll ever have, and we’ll dine on fresh seafood. Come with me, Zora, and let me show you the life you could have.”
And then I stop talking—aloud anyway. I continue conversing with Zora in my head. Focusing on that dark space she had me in, I try to project my words to her mentally, which is how we communicated the last two times.
Zora… you might be able to help me stop Kymaris. If she succeeds, humans will be tortured and killed while the world turns extremely ugly. Our combined powers might be enough.
She stares at me blankly, and I’m not sure if she heard me, but then her voice rings inside my head. Amell says it’s impossible to stop her. She has everything she needs.
She has what she needs, I reply. But she doesn’t know I have powers. She doesn’t know my twin has powers. Does Amell know?
Her expression never deviates from bland disinterest in me. He knows I have powers, but not you.
I smile. Thank you for not telling him my secret.
That tells me that while Zora may have an attachment to Amell and she trusts him somewhat, she doesn’t trust him completely.
“If you’re done having a private conversation,” Amell says dryly, and Zora and I jerk apart. “I suggest Zora make her decision. Your group should not be in the Underworld.”
“Do you care if she comes with us?” I ask Amell.
He doesn’t answer me, but instead moves across the small room to Zora. I take a few steps back to give them space. I’m stunned by the show of affection when he puts his hands to her cheeks and bends to peer into her eyes. “I think you should go with them.”
Zora’s eyes flare wide. I’m so shocked by this that my heart nearly leaps out of my chest. “You do?” she asks incredulously.
“You should experience something beautiful while you can. The one thing your sister is right about is that when Kymaris takes over the Earth realm, it’s not going to be much different than your life here. Maybe even worse.”
Twisting slightly to study me, Zora considers her possibilities. Her gaze goes back to Amell, whose hands fall away from her face as if he doesn’t want to cause undue influence on her. She looks around her tiny drab house of mud.
When her attention goes back to Amell, she asks, “Will I see you again?”
“I’ll find you,” he promises. “Until then, you stay out of Kymaris’ way.”
Amell pivots and moves toward her door. Without looking back, he says, “Get packed.”
He’s silent as he leaves her home, and Carrick, Maddox, and Boral follow him out. She stares at the closed door for a moment before turning to me, looking equally scared and determined.
“Do you need help packing?” I ask.
She shakes her head.
“I’ll wait outside with the others.” I get the feeling she might want some alone time in her house to say goodbye to this life. There’s no way she’s coming back.
Outside, I find Amell with his back turned to Carrick, Maddox, and Boral, who quietly watch the foot traffic at the intersecting street.
I move to Amell, clearing my throat to get his attention. He turns to face me, his expression guarded.
“Will you tell Kymaris we were here?” I ask bluntly. “I know you warned Zora to stay away from her, but that doesn’t mean you won’t tell her about me being here. About us being sisters.”
Amell’s features harden, his voice goes low. “If you were returning without Zora, I’d tell Kymaris in a heartbeat. Actually, I probably would just kill you to save my queen the trouble.”
I swallow hard because there’s no levity in his tone.
He glances at Zora’s house, and then back to me. “As it stands, Zora is going with you and I won’t risk her life.”
I frown because he’s a conundrum that I bet I couldn’t figure out in a million years. “How can you serve Kymaris with such devotion and still care for Zora?”