“So, she’ll be known as our stepsister now?” The hesitation in Kaye’s voice made me wonder if he was ready to accept her in that role. I couldn’t blame him-he’d suffered the most.
“Yeah, why?” I asked, swallowing hard.
“No particular reason,” he replied, though his tone was a bit stiff, as if there was something more he wanted to say. But I am sure he would never open up to me. Maybe he will speak his mind to Norman, we all do.
“Once she signs up and gets accepted, her name will be added to our family records through her mother’s name,” I reminded him.
“Oh! But that’ll only be valid as long as Dad keeps her mother around. If he leaves her-” Kaye’s words made me sigh. My brothers still held onto the hope that one day Dad would leave Helanie’s mother.
Once Helanie is enrolled at the academy using my card, she’ll forever be known as our stepsister, at least until Dad decides to kick her mother out but that won’t affect her admission. And if he formally accepts her mother in a ceremony and marks her, then Helanie will be recognized as our stepsister not just at the academy but everywhere.
“Anyway, let’s just see what happens,” I said, wanting to steer the conversation away from her mother. The two were different people, after all. Helanie seemed genuine and also a little lost. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something seemed wrong about her past.
After we hung up, I headed home, walking down the open corridor as fresh wind blew from both sides. At the end of the corridor, I reached the outside room.
“Emmet-” A distant call made me turn to see Ursula watching me from across the corridor.
“Hm? Do you need something?” I looked away, keeping my hands in my pockets. I didn’t want to be openly dismissive, but I wasn’t fond of her. The only reason I was even responding was because of her daughter. Helanie had earned my respect with her stubborn determination to join the academy.
“I heard there was…an incident in the shelter,” she said, keeping her expression neutral, though I could tell she was trying to study my face from a distance.
“Yeah, there was. But it’s been taken care of,” I replied, noticing fog forming along the corridor as the temperature dropped. The full moon had left me feeling drained.
“I heard it was about a candidate-a rogue one,” she continued, rubbing her hands together anxiously. Her energy was so intense that I could sense it despite the corridor and the cold wind between us.
“Yes,” I replied curtly, keeping my responses brief. I knew what she wanted to know; I just didn’t understand why. She had cast Helanie aside-so why ask about her now?
“A warrior told me…it was a wolfless girl named Helanie-” she shrugged, trying to seem casual, but her presence here contradicted her indifference.
“Aha. Anything else?” I sighed, noticing the slight shock in her expression and the way her hands stilled.
“They…they said the girl is fine now. Is it-” she paused, so I answered her question for her.
“Yes and yes! It’s your daughter, and she’s participating in the tests now. Anything else?” She finally shook her head, apparently finished asking whatever it was she came here to learn.
I could tell she was anxious, but why not ask about her daughter directly?
I turned and entered my small room outside the mansion, my sanctuary. This corridor and this room held memories of all I had faced and overcome.
As soon as I dropped my coat onto the couch, I grabbed a bottle of wine from the mini fridge and took a long drink. I lay face-down on my bed, and that’s when it happened again.
The same cold breeze drifted through, and with it, the bittersweet feeling that happiness was slipping away.
“Look at those stars, Emmet.” I could hardly believe my eyes. She stood before me, a faint smile lighting her face.
“I’ve come from the stars,” she murmured, her voice so soothing I could listen to it forever without growing tired.
“But I’m scared,” I confessed, watching her perfectly dark brows furrow with concern. The way she looked at me meant everything.
“What scares you, Emmet?” she asked in her gentle, comforting voice. It felt like ages had passed since I last heard it.
“What if you go back to the stars?” I didn’t want to imagine her leaving again.
Ever since she’d entered my life, I’d felt whole.
“Then you’ll find a way to bring me back, won’t you, Emmet?” She stretched her hand toward me, and I grabbed it instantly.
I’d never let her go.
Or so I thought. But then my deepest fear-my fear-came to life.
“Noooo!” I shouted as I watched her body thrown into the well.
“Nooooo!” I screamed and screamed, but it was useless.
This can’t be real. This isn’t how it happened. It has to be a dream. I need to wake up.
“Please, noooo!” I cried out, and that’s when a hand gripped my shoulder, shaking me until I found comfort in a strong pair of arms.
“Brother! Wake up, it’s only a nightmare.”
I opened my eyes to see Norman sitting beside me on the cold floor.
“She-” I gasped, struggling for air, “she fell into the well.”
My heart was pounding wildly. I could still feel drops of sweat trickling down my temples.
“No one fell into the well, Emmet. It was just a nightmare,” Norman’s embrace felt grounding and safe.
“How do you always know when I’m in pain?” I didn’t even realize when I’d gotten out of bed and started wandering through the hallway. I tended to do this whenever I was too drunk. But right now, I just wanted to know how Norman always managed to be there when his brothers needed him.
“I just know, Emmet.” He placed one hand over my heart and the other over his own, a broken smile on his lips.
Helanie:
“I don’t think I can do this. I am not comfortable here,” I murmured, sliding his hand away, feeling awkward about how he was touching me in class. We have kept our relationship a secret. I thought we did but sometimes the way everyone whispered when watching us made me wonder if he had told his friends about us.
“Helanie! Don’t be like that. Nobody’s going to say anything to us,” he insisted, his hand slipping up my skirt again. Every time he touched me, I felt as if everyone’s eyes were darting in my direction. Even when no one was looking, I just felt exposed.
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