That’s when I feel it.
A twitch. Her finger moves beneath my grasp.
I swear it does.
I stop speaking, stop moving, wait.
Nothing.
Nothing.
My imagination or a random muscle spasm. Nothing more. I can’t hope for more.
So I go back to telling my story, hoping for the day when a twitch is real and turns into more—
She twitches again and I know this one is real because right after it her mouth opens and she yawns—really yawns!—lifts an arm above her head and stretches—
And I’m staring, just staring, tingling all over, my mouth gaping open, but sort of turning into a smile, but sort of not, because I could wake up anytime and it could all be a dream, but then she’s opening her eyes, pushing the sleep—the long, long sleep—out of them with a little fist, the way she always has and—
—looking at me, really looking at me, with adoring eyes that I’ve missed so much, missed more than I even realized until I see them right now, at just this perfect, perfect moment.
“Dazz?” she says, and it’s the same voice that spoke to me when the king had her, when he was stabbing her, trying to take my whole life away from me for no reason other than he could. But she’s not in his grasp anymore, won’t ever be in his grasp again, and I drop to my knees and I hug her, feeling an explosion of warmth and love running along and through every part of me, concentrating in my chest, right where my heart is beating furiously for my sister. My sister who’s alive.
Alive for good.
~~~
I’ve been arguing with Jolie for near on an icin’ hour now.
After all the tears and the hugs and the mourning for Wes and the big family reunion with my mother, Jolie demanded I tell her everything. So I told her the whole story, and I told her the parts about Skye—leaving out certain details, of course—three times over, because she wanted to hear them again and again, and I’d do pretty much anything for her right now.
That’s when the arguments began.
“You have to go with them,” Jolie insists again, trying to sit up.
And, of course, that’s the one thing I won’t do for her right now.
I gently guide her head back onto her pillow. “I’m not leaving you,” I say, refusing to back down. “Either of you,” I add, looking at my mother, who’s standing—actually standing—her hands on her hips.
“I’m fine now, Dazz, I swear it,” my mother says.
I roll my eyes. “I’ve heard that before,” I say, “but without Wilde here to work her magic, will you really be fine?”
She nods but even she doesn’t have much belief behind it. Whatever influence Wilde has on her ability to stay clean, it’s stronger than I think either of us fully understands.
There’s a knock on the door and I know it’s time. Time for Skye to say goodbye. Time for everyone to say goodbye.
But it’s not. Not quite yet. Only Wilde stands at the door when I open it.
Her timing is so uncanny I’m beginning to think she really does have magic inside her.
“I’ve made a decision,” she says.
“I have too,” I say, inviting her in with a sweep of my arm.
My mother greets her with a fierce hug. “How are you feeling?” Wilde asks.
“Better than ever,” Mother says. “I’ve got my daughter back.” She motions to the bed, where Jolie’s sitting up, even though I’ve told her time and time again that she needs to rest a bit longer.
“Are you…are you from fire country?” Jolie asks, eyes wider and whiter than snow-covered boulders.
“I am,” Wilde says, approaching my sister with graceful steps. She takes Jolie’s hands in hers. “It’s a true pleasure to finally meet you.”
Jolie stares at her, as if mesmerized, taking in every part of her, from her long black hair to her brown skin. “You look strange,” Jolie says and I suck in a sharp breath.
“Jolie!” I say, feeling embarrassment flush my skin.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it,” Jolie says, not sounding that sorry. “I mean you’re beautiful, but not like my mother is beautiful. Different.”
“It’s okay,” Wilde says. “You’re beautiful, too, in a way that’s different too. A very good way.”
At that, Jolie smiles, and I’m happy she’s getting on with one of my new friends, but it doesn’t change what has to happen today. “You said you came to a decision?” I say.
Still holding my sister’s hands, Wilde says, “Yes. I’ve decided to stay.”
“What?” I blurt out. “Stay where?”
“Here. With your family. With your mother, for a little while.”
Her words float across the room, but they’re strange and I get the sense that they’ll drift all the way into the fire and burn to ash if I don’t grab ahold of them. “But the others, they need you,” I say.
“No,” she says. “They need you.”
Jolie claps her little hands. “See, I told you, Dazz.”
“Nay, I can’t,” I say. “I can’t.”
“Yes, you can,” Wilde persists. “You needn’t worry about a thing while you’re gone. We’ll stay here for a while, until your sister recovers, and then they’ll travel with me to fire country. My people need me now more than ever, and I fear I’ve been gone too long already.”
“To fire country?” I say.
Wilde nods. “If they’re willing.”
“Oh, Mother, can we?” Jolie says, practically squirming with excitement.
“Mother,” I say sharply.
She looks at me, at Jolie, at Wilde, and then says, “We can and we will.”
~~~
It’s almost time to go and I still can’t believe I’m going. I still don’t know if I should. But iced if I can argue with Jolie, she’s got a stubborn streak a mountain high and wider than fire country.
Jolie’s met everyone, and although she still seems somewhat in awe of my friends from fire country, she seems perfectly at ease with them too.
First she thanked Feve about a million times for saving her life, which was sort of funny to watch because he didn’t seem that comfortable with all the praise. Eventually he left to wait for us outside.
Then, when she saw Siena and Circ holding hands, she thought it best to investigate their relationship, asking every question she could think of about how it started, how long they’ve known each other, and everything in between. Her curiosity made me laugh because it wasn’t that different than my own, when we were in the dungeons.
When she got tired of that, she latched onto Skye and now appears intent on talking her ear off.
“What’s it like to live on sand? I don’t really know what sand is, but it sounds nice. Saaand. It’s even fun to say the word. How hot is it where you come from? Hotter than summer here? Is my brother a good kisser? I bet he is. Will I like fire country?” Jolie continues to let loose a random assortment of questions, answering half of them herself, as Skye scratches her head. Even she’s baffled by what to make of my sister.
“Uhh…” she says, probably wondering which question to answer first.
“I think that’s enough for one day, Joles. I’m sure Wilde’ll be happy to answer your many questions over time, while we’re gone,” I say, sitting on her bed next to Skye.
“You’ll be back soon, right Dazz?” Her nose crinkles up earnestly.
“I’ll do my best,” I say. “But you’ll be safe with Wilde and with Mother.” I can’t believe I’m saying it and actually meaning it, but it’s true. Mother’s better than she’s been in a long time and I have a feeling this time it might stick.
Jolie’s nose uncrinkles and her eyebrows lift, her eyes widen. “Dazz, you find her, you find that girl, and all the rest too,” she says, hugging me tight.
I hold her close, feel her warm little body, so real, so alive, her heart pumping. The world is right again. So right. “I will,” I whisper into her hair. “We all will.”