Maybe it was even worse. Those curses had both eventually been broken.
“Bri!” Innes called, storming over the crest of the hill.
Perfect. Briony reached for the next closest book—All Our Laments—and pretended to be engrossed in a random chapter.
“What are you doing all the way out here?” Innes asked, slightly out of breath as she reached her side.
“You followed me,” Briony grumbled.
“I’m worried about you! You won’t talk to me. You won’t even look at me. And now you’re out here stalking the Landmarks—”
“You know why I’m here.” Briony was ashamed of how her voice sounded—high-pitched and whiny, like a child denied a toy. “You knew how much I wanted to be champion. But they didn’t even hold the last trial. They just … gave it to you.”
“Of course I know why you’re upset.” Innes’s tone was gentle. “But coming out here to sulk around some rocks isn’t going to make you feel better.”
“I’m not sulking.”
“Well you’ve always described my books as torture before, so I couldn’t think why else you would’ve stolen them,” Innes teased as she pulled A Tradition of Tragedy out of its puddle.
Briony didn’t answer, unwilling to admit why she’d sought Innes’s books out.
“Look, I never thought things would go like this,” Innes said, her tone suddenly serious. “I know you didn’t, either.”
Briony still said nothing.
“But if we don’t talk about it now … well, we might never get the chance to. And…” Innes’s voice cracked. “I don’t care what the rest of the Thorburns say. You’re the only family who matters to me.”
That got Briony’s attention. The other Thorburn children had parents to look out for them, but the two of them had grown up being shuffled from aunt to cousin like a pity project.
Briony had thought becoming champion would ensure that she truly belonged in her family’s story. But Innes was right. Among all the Thorburns, she’d only ever belonged with her sister.
“I’m sorry I’ve been shitty,” she said, feeling horribly guilty. “I just … I have no idea how to handle this.”
“Neither do I,” Innes admitted. “But for one more day, we can still handle it together.”
She reached out and squeezed Briony’s hand. Briony squeezed back, overcome. Even if what had happened to Briony wasn’t fair, she would never become champion. It was time she accepted that, for Innes’s sake.
“So,” Briony started, flashing her most supportive smile, even if it physically hurt. “While we’re out here, do you want to talk about strategy?”
“Let me guess. You think I should claim our family’s Landmark,” Innes said, looking at the Tower.
“In the first tournament, the Thorburn champion bided her time wisely from within the Tower, using the Mirror to spy on her enemies,” Briony said, reciting the family story. “It’s classic and smart. It’s what…” She swallowed. “It’s what I would do.”
“It’s also a little cliché. In my research, it’s the same strategy almost every Thorburn chooses, and it’s not like we always—or even usually—win. It’s like we’re stuck in a pattern.”
“Well,” Briony said, trying her best not to sound as irritated as she felt, “what will you do?”
“Statistically, the Crown is the best of the Relics. If I could … Maybe…” Her voice trailed off, and Briony realized tears had begun to pool in her dark brown eyes.
“Innes, are you—”
“Of course I’m not okay!” The words tumbled out of her in a sudden rush; Briony had never heard her sister talk like this, never seen her so emotional. Not even when their grandpa had died and they’d cried together at the funeral, glaring at the Macaslans across the graveyard. “I never wanted to be chosen. I collected all those books to try and find a way to save you, but I never found anything. And now I’m going to be part of this tournament. Bri … I don’t want to kill anyone. And I definitely don’t want to die.”
The last words were uttered in a harsh, choked whisper. Innes immediately clapped her hands over her mouth.
But Briony understood now.
She was hurting. But Innes was terrified.
“You really don’t want this?” she asked hoarsely.