I attempt to sit up again, my elbows holding my weight.
I wrinkle my nose as a putrid, rotting smell of feces mixed with iron confuses my senses. The cloying undertones of the smell seep down, as bile rises in my throat, settling like oil against my tongue. My mouth waters and my stomach churns until I forcibly gag.
I slowly turn my head to the left, twigs pushing against my skull as I strain my neck. My gaze climbs the broken branches and trunks around us. Chunks of flesh and muscle cling to the leaves, bodily liquids slicking to every surface.
Drake clears his throat, trying to force back a gag, too, but my sister doesn’t seem to care. She doesn’t even look at him.
I focus back on her, forcing apathy into my expression as I notice her observing me. “You died,” she admits, her words temporarily freezing my mind.
I gasp, a bad idea, as the death rot clings to my throat, and I taste the particles of Edwardo’s insides.
Do not think about it.
I breathe out a steady breath, not wanting to freak my sister out, whose eyes are already rounder than normal, a madness circling her irises.
“Dead,” I repeat, then close my eyes. Maybe this is a nightmare. I hope it is. But I’m never so lucky.
The dream with Essentria floats back. She acted as if we had met before, then said I chose Death’s magic over hers when I did not. I had no choice.
Memories flit through my mind, each thought scattered as I try to hold on to a shred of anything that may reveal the truth.
I turn to Ari, wheezing. “You brought me back,” I state, assessing her paling face as she hovers over me. She’s drained, yet somehow kneeling. If she can do it, despite being exhausted of her powers and having somehow killed Edwardo, then so can I.
Ouch.
My bones crack in a way that should be concerning as I force myself up.
I tilt my head, straining my neck until I hear a pop, and an ache dissipates from my shoulders. I hunch forward, my next breath accompanied by a stab of pain in my ribs.
I sit upright, my hands pressed against my stomach as I breathe again. Once. Then twice. It is easier this time, but my heart continues struggling with each pump. I listen quietly as it thumps in my ears, and every few beats, it palpitates.
“You shouldn’t have brought me back,” I splutter as I stare at her golden hair, the ends coated with drying blood.
“Why not?” she asks, her lips mostly drained of color. “You would have done the same for me.”
“We both know I’m not capable of anything more than killing you.”
“But you would have, if you could,” she argues.
Inhaling deeply, I suppress the wince when my ribs grind with pain and shuffle myself to face her straight on. “That’s different. I’m your older sister. It’s my job, but this could have…” I trail off as her pupils narrow as she slips closer to the ground. “Ari?”
“I’m fine,” she lies, barely holding herself up. She huffs, puffing out her cheeks. “I’m not as fragile as you think. So, stop treating me like I may break.”
Drake shoots me a suspicious glance, and I nod.
He curls his arm around Ari, who shrugs him away. But then, she quickly falls onto the ground, groaning as she turns from her side onto her back, her eyes closing against the night sky.
Her lashes flutter as she tries to reopen her eyes, then lets out a mumble before finally falling asleep.
After a couple of light snores, Drake whispers, “We need to talk.”
My stomach knots. “Yes.” I glance at his arms, the tattoos fading. He must have used his magic when I was blind or passed out. “First, let’s find shelter. Before another one of them finds us while we’re weak.”
He nods, pushing an arm under Ari’s back, then one under her knees. Before lifting her, he sighs. “I’m glad she saved you. Seeing you like that… it was hard.”
I force a watery smile because I have no idea what to say in response. I was entirely useless at fending off the attack. Incompetence haunts me as I struggle to my feet, using the tree to steady myself.
Drake grunts as he scoops Ari up in his arms.
“How did she do that?” I whisper. “It’s like she… over-healed him.”
He shakes his head, his lips twisting as he looks at Edwardo’s mangled corpse.
Bones protrude from the hole in his stomach, their jagged edges covered in a thick, sticky layer of blood. A swarm of flies circles him, their buzzing growing louder, and the putrid smell of death stifles the air, making the harsh reality of death impossible to ignore.
“I think that’s exactly what she did,” he agrees, his voice barely a whisper. “It happened so fast. She healed me because you were already dead, but she didn’t seem upset over it. Then, when she brought you back to life, I realized why.” His eyes meet mine. “Ari knew she could revive you.”
I knew something was off when I woke up, as if she was in complete denial of what surrounded us.
My sister will never forgive herself.
“Right,” I breathe, knowing I will need to reveal the truth of my sister’s secret—how she possesses Essentria’s ethereal magic; how she is the mirror version of me. Sisters. One light, one dark. Two sides of the same coin.
Although that may have changed after today. I didn’t even know healing magic could be used offensively until now.
“We will talk,” he promises, then grunts as he treads over the uneven, branch-covered ground, carefully navigating the thickets of vines. He groans, holding my sleeping sister, his bulging muscles straining the fabric of his shirt, poking out from under his red robes.
After ten minutes of trekking through the forest in silence, each step is lighter than ever before. My calves would normally burn, the aches lasting for days. But now it is easier—as if being touched by Ari’s creation magic has changed something in me.
