The Secret World of Briar Rose(79)
“You don’t know how to paint? I don’t believe that.”
“No. I don’t know how to do any of this.”
Corin gestured to their surroundings, the waves washing over rocks, the sunlight filtering through clouds. Beautiful colors, whimsical shapes, a sense of peace that could never be possible in the real world. These had always belonged in paintings, not reality. But Briar placed a hand on Corin’s cheek, and somehow, her touch didn’t feel like a lie. As their skin warmed against each other, Corin realized she was trembling, and that Briar had tried to keep her still.
“You’ve always shielded yourself with anger, but that doesn’t have to be the only way to deal with the pain,” Briar said. “Maybe you can’t forgive yourself out there, but you can here.”
Corin wanted to hope this was true. That all she needed to do was remember she loved Elly, and that would be enough. Perhaps, in this world, she could think of impossible things and make them possible. She closed her eyes as her heart ached with a strange, sweet throbbing. Her fingers wrapped around Briar’s hand and squeezed them, so she could feel the warmth of the Briar’s skin, the pulse in her veins, that truth in her voice.
Waves rippled gently against her feet. A burst of seagulls chimed in the sky at the arrival of a new presence.
Corin opened her eyes to see the water swell. The sea gave birth to familiar life. She ran to the ocean and caught the girl in her arms. The girl wasn’t limp and cold, like the infant Corin once saved in the river, but full and warm. Her face slicked wet like a newborn, her spiky hair peppered by the salt of sea. Water dripped down her long lashes, and Corin’s thumbs rubbed over her cheeks to wipe them away, cupping her small face until the girl finally took a breath. Brown eyes opened, round and full of light from a sun that kissed her skin and brought her to life.
Corin stared at her for a long time, memorizing every detail of her beautiful sister’s dark skin, her pattern of freckles, her crooked tooth. Elly was here, and at the same time, Corin knew she was not.
“I wish you were real,” she whispered. “There were so many things I should have done for you.”
Elly blinked, as if processing Corin’s words and the truth of her existence. Her chin slowly raised as she stared at the sky. A bird’s whistle cracked through the dawn. In the pale blues, there were still glimmers of white dots for her to reach.
“We could try again,” said Elly. “Maybe we can start by watching the stars together.”
Corin raised her head at the constellations. The stars were difficult to spot in the morning light, yet she waited patiently, watching her sister’s fingers trace each one.
CHAPTER 34
ALMOST 100 YEARS AGO
AMELIA WOKE UP to her body tossed to the ground, the strike of skin and bone against a tree trunk. It took her a moment to realize she hadn’t shattered like glass, then another moment to realize who had thrown her to the dirt.
Shadows cut sharp across Ezran’s face in the harsh contrast of moonlight. “Wake up, you useless girl.”
She flinched at the sudden shift in his demeanor. His voice had a tired rasp, and bags hung below his red eyes, as if he had been crying. But it wasn’t shock she felt from Ezran behaving this way. She was surprised he let his mask slip at all.
Amelia scanned the woods frantically, mind already set on running. Yet between every tree was another one, an endless tunnel of foliage that nestled them in hidden corners. A familiar snap of branches jolted a memory of searching for Malicine. She’d found the demon, and they’d explored a new world together. Then Malicine sent her back to reality, and somehow, that felt even worse than hell.
“We’re several miles away from your castle,” Ezran said. “Which means I could kill you this instant and dispose of your body here, and nobody would ever know. Luckily for you, I won’t.”
She would have been eaten alive by wild animals if Ezran hadn’t rescued her. He always played the part well, being her hero, yet never truly showing his cards. Until now. “Why do you want to kill me?”
“Because you ruined everything.”
“Why won’t you kill me, then?”
“Because I made a promise.”
Her heart sank to the pit of her stomach as he retold what she’d missed. She discovered Ezran was from Lilith’s past, left behind when she chose the life of a royal in Gyldan. When Amelia heard that her godmothers had witnessed their affair, her heart split in half. She pictured the couple’s faces shrouded in shadows, brushed lips, whispered messages. A part of Lilith that she never knew. A secret she hadn’t been trusted to keep.
Or maybe Lilith was going to tell her, if Amelia had listened. There had been a night the queen approached her door and asked to talk, only to be met with silence as Amelia chose sleep over confrontation. If she hadn’t run away, perhaps she could have changed things. Maybe then, Lilith wouldn’t be imprisoned by the godmothers.
“We were supposed to run away together,” Ezran said. “But she urged me to go, while she’d stay. I shouldn’t have listened.”
He shook his head, as if it didn’t make sense why Lilith chose to stay behind. Meanwhile, Amelia could picture the queen walking alone, facing her own fate. That was what queens did. She chose to do things, then face the consequences of those things. Amelia couldn’t decide on anything, nor did she have the strength to deal with the repercussions.