The Secret World of Briar Rose(46)
Elly took in the ocean with wide eyes, as if she did not know whether to be amazed or afraid. As an infant, her cries in Corin’s ears had screamed fear. Now the girl trekked through sand and lingered near the water with the uneasiness of a distant memory. Her gaze locked on the swelling sea, and in her eyes, Corin could see Elly was trying to make sense of where that fear came from, and why it lingered.
Clumps of seaweed washed ashore. Elly plucked the kelp, staring at the plant stuck to her fingers like it were a foreign object. Waves rippled gently to her feet and made her jump. She eyed the waves more tentatively, taking a few steps backward, as if they would snatch her if she got too close. Her body seemed to have remembered being taken by wild waters even if her mind had forgotten.
Briar placed a hand on Elly’s shoulder like a protective raft. “Do you want to swim?”
Elly stared at the ocean, brows pinched together. “I don’t know how.”
“That’s okay. You can learn.”
Corin opened her mouth to protest, but to her surprise, Elly took Briar’s hand and allowed herself to be guided to the water. Her arms wrapped around Briar’s neck as they explored further. The princess lifted Elly into her arms, as if the child weighed nothing, and dipped Elly low enough to practice floating.
“Don’t go too far,” Corin warned. She watched them like a hawk, ready to dive into the currents if Elly so much as let out a gasp. But her sister’s initial signs of fear soon melted into ease. Elly’s face relaxed even when Briar let go, as if the princess were sending off a floating water lantern, the very same light that Corin had spent years burying for protection. It was better to snuff out a flame before others could see and claim it for their own. For the first time, Corin saw how bright this flame could last uninhibited.
Elly floated naturally on her back, her limbs wading through waves. Water droplets trailed from the slick spikes of her hair to the creases of her eyes, and she dipped her head backward, basking in the sun’s warmth. The girl was a dark streak across deep blues before white lilies began to bloom in the water. The ocean transformed into clouds, a swelling mirror of the widening sky. Clouds ruffled at the edges, grazing Elly’s cheeks, wrapping her limbs in puffs of silver and milk.
Corin watched in awe as her sister floated in the ocean made of skies. Not because of the acres of blues and infinite colors, but because the child looked like a speck of paint in a canvas she belonged in, like these paints were made for her alone. She would not be disturbed by the eyes of leering men and skulking shadows that took small girls. She would not be snatched by unhappy fathers or saved by hopeless daughters. Instead she existed, fully, as herself: sun on bare skin, salt on wet hair. A girl who would never be harmed.
Corin was so spellbound by the sight, she didn’t realize Briar had transformed in the water as well. The shrubs of her dress melted into translucent blue, and her gown floated like pulsing jellyfish, lacy ribbons trailing her limbs as she dove below. Coral wrapped around her head like a crown as she emerged from the surface. She wiped her face with both hands, leaving behind star-shaped pearls on wet cheeks, as she swallowed the salted air.
She looked beautiful, and Corin immediately cursed herself for thinking that.
“Come in,” Briar said, waving to them. “The water’s perfect.”
“Splash me and I’ll kill you,” Malicine said.
Briar laughed. “You’ve cursed me for less.”
She continued swimming with Elly, while Malicine cast a black cloud over their head for shade. Beside them, a tiny tree sprouted from the sand, where Talon perched to also avoid the sun.
Corin tried not to pay attention to the rosy glow on Briar’s bare skin and instead shifted her focus to the cliffside in the distance. She needed to remember what she came here for. Her mind fixed on a new life after claiming her treasure. She’d find a sprawling home in the borders of Gyldan, where she could be away from the noise and memories, the mistakes and loss. She didn’t want to deal with people ever again. Corin had seen the consequences of rebels like Harlow who risked their lives for the greater good, and it was never worth it.
Malicine’s voice broke her reverie. “You two had an argument, didn’t you?”
The muscles in Corin’s jaw jumped. She instantly thought of Elly before realizing Malicine had meant Briar Rose.
“I figured something happened,” they said. “You’re extra prickly around her.”
She hated that Malicine forced her to pay attention to Briar again. Cylinders of light moved across the sea and radiated across the girl’s skin like glitter. Corin’s mouth tightened into a grimace.
“I know I should be grateful that she’s giving me the treasure. But she irritates me.”
“Of course. She’s a spoiled princess who’s never worked a day in her life.”
“Then how are you friends?”
“That’s a long story.” Malicine tossed their hand, as if the memory was too distant to bother grasping. “I suppose the short answer is that we both wanted an escape, and we found that with each other. She has her reasons for hiding in an imaginary world. I have mine.”
Corin repeated Malicine’s words from their solitary ice castle. “You don’t like people?”
“I loathe them. Pathetic little parasites clawing at each other for scraps of power and praise. They dress their wars in different flags, but it will always be the same hunger underneath. I don’t regret leaving your world behind. They certainly never paid me any kindness.”