Twice Born

Chapter 26

Eileen is understandably shocked when we arrive at the shelter dirty and bloodied up, helping a barely conscious Tristan up the porch steps. I think, judging by the way her wide eyes flick back and forth between us, my appearance with Eve surprises her the most.

“Eileen,” I say. “You remember Tristan. And this is Eve . . . my sister.”

Her eyes stop on mine. “Sisters aren’t supposed to look exactly alike.”

Thanks to that old man’s curse, they don’t. “I’ll explain everything once we get Tristan to bed.” I owe her the truth, if we’re going to take up residence in what is now her home.

More than that, I’m thinking back to what she said the last time we saw each other. About considering me a friend. I didn’t realize how much I want to be open with her. I have little understanding of friendship, but honesty is important in one. This much I know.

The rest of the house is asleep, except for Royce, who wordlessly helps Eve escort Tristan upstairs into Daniel’s old room. Tristan falls onto the bed, groaning. He relaxes as he enters a deep sleep. As soon as he begins to snore lightly, Eve heads through another door and onto the balcony. I have a feeling she wants to be alone, so I leave her.

Eileen waits outside the girls’ room. “Will he be all right?” she whispers.

“Yes.” If Eve says she didn’t intend to kill him, then he’ll recover. She’s had enough experience dealing injury without killing a person. That’s the only upside to watching her toy with her prey. They’ve always lived as long as it suits her.

Eileen slips her arm into mine and pulls me away. “Come. We have a lot to catch up on.”

#

The following day, someone shakes me out of deep sleep. I roll over onto my back, moaning softly when the bruises and aches all over me return. I’m surprised to see Eileen standing over me. Light enters the room from the window, bouncing off the wall and casting a golden hue around her. Some of the girls around me are still asleep.

Her expression makes my stomach drop. “What is it?” I ask.

“It’s Tristan. His health has taken a turn for the worse.”

I flip the covers off and follow her to Daniel’s room. Tristan is still asleep, but he looks terrible. His face is pale and clammy, eerily lifeless.

Eve stands beside him. She clenches her hands into fists and unclenches them repeatedly. “This shouldn’t have happened,” she whispers.

I assume she realizes her mistake in injuring him, until she adds, “The injury shouldn’t have resulted in this. He shouldn’t be getting weaker.”

“Maybe you miscalculated,” I say softly. “Hopefully the healer will get here soon.”

She scowls at me. “You’re wrong, Bree. I know my own strength. I know he shouldn’t be like this.”

“Eve, there are things you can never account for. Like an infection.”

Sighing, she runs both hands through her hair. They drop limply at her sides. “I redid his bandages. The wound isn’t infected. Whatever this is, I didn’t do it to him.”

Eileen gives me a questioning look, like I’m supposed to know what Eve’s thinking. But I don’t. She doesn’t sound like she’s in denial. She sounds like she really believes her words.

“He’ll be fine,” I reassure her, hoping that I’m right.

Tristan’s condition worsens as time passes. He wakes at one point, bleary-eyed and panting, and vomits over the side of the bed.