Sister Seeker

by Shelby Hailstone Law

  “It looks like everyone is accounted for,” Theresa said, the relief obvious in her tone. I had seen her embrace Santo and practically use him to stay upright as soon as she saw him in the tunnels, but she seemed to be holding herself together better now. At least outwardly.

  “Do you have a backup location?” Elaine asked. “We can help you get there.”

  Theresa looked around at the group of newly-minted refugees. “We have a few places, yes,” she said slowly.

  “You know,” I broke in, “you could always bring them to the Rendezvous.”

  Both Elaine and Theresa frowned at that, shaking their heads in unison. “We can’t do that,” Theresa said.

  “The Rendezvous isn’t made for refugees,” Elaine said. “It’s constantly moving—”

  “The Rendezvous is literally made of refugees,” I argued. “You let Aaron and Izzy stay.”

  “Those were special circumstances,” Elaine said. “They didn’t have anywhere else to go, and besides that, they’re strategically important to you and to making sure you don’t get captured!”

  “Well, why aren’t Tara and Theresa’s family members considered strategically important?” I asked, my arms crossed and one eyebrow raised. “You know they can fight; you’ve seen how they take on goblins. And how are you ever going to get the support of the magical world if you’re only focused on your own group?” I gestured to Elaine with one hand. “You’re vying to be the queen of everyone, not just the Rendezvous. I think you can afford to spare some resources taking care of your future subjects.”

  Elaine blinked at me for a long, slow moment before she smiled lightly and stepped forward to pull me into a hug. “You are a wonderful cousin,” she said.

  “Just trying to help,” I said. “And you know I’m right.”

  “Thus the hug,” Elaine teased.

  I shrugged, blushing and feeling far too self-conscious, before I turned to Theresa. “I know you don’t want to get involved, but at this point, I’m sorry, I think you are. And maybe the safest place for you and your sister is with the people fighting against my father. There’s safety in numbers, you know.”

  “Not everyone in my family wants to fight,” Theresa said with a frown. “And Tara. . . .” She trailed off and looked toward her sister, who still had a few little kids around her.

  “I know,” I said. “Believe me; I know. My father’s been threatening my family too. But I still trust the Rendezvous with Aaron and Izzy, even if they’ve managed to get themselves in more trouble than I’d care to admit.”

  Theresa gave me a sad sort of smile. “I’ve been trying to avoid trouble altogether.”

  “I know,” I said again. “But I think trouble’s caught up to all of us. Might as well fight back, right?” When Theresa paused, I tried another line of reasoning. “And I think Tony would appreciate it if you were closer.”

  Theresa narrowed her eyes at that—which was not the reaction I’d been going for, obviously. “Did he put you up to this?”

  “What? No!” I promised quickly, one hand over my heart as I raised the other one to show my sincerity.

  “Michelle is nosy,” Elaine said. Her tone was teasing, but I could hear the honest affection behind it—though that might have been left over from the earlier hug.

  “I’m not. . . .” I trailed off when Elaine gave me such a dry look that I knew I couldn’t argue my case. “I’m trying to help, that’s all.” I turned back to Theresa. “Every time you two look at each other, it’s obvious how much you care. And if the only thing keeping you apart is that you want to hide and he doesn’t—”

  “It’s more than that,” Theresa said, though her tone was gentler now and far less accusatory.

  “Yeah, I get it,” I said. “I do. It’s hard to reconcile when you choose different paths.” I paused and bit my lip. “But if I could save Christopher from my father, I would. So I can’t help but think if family means as much to you as it does to me, it’s worth at least talking to Tony and weighing out the option, right?”

  “We’ve talked. Several times.”

  I held out my hands, palms upturned. “Hey, I’m not a marriage counselor. I’m just going by what I can see. And if you two hated each other, I think I’d have caught on by now.” When Theresa smirked at that, I gave her a hesitant smile. “But if it makes you feel any better, I’m not trying to take Tony’s side. I was legitimately going to ask Elaine to order Tony to take a leave of absence so he didn’t have the excuse of ‘duty’ to keep him with the Rendezvous and away from you.”

  Elaine laughed at that. “Not a bad plan.”

  “Thanks.” I didn’t look Elaine’s way but kept my gaze on Theresa, who finally let out a light laugh and shook her head.

  “Alright,” she said at last. “But I’m not staying for Tony. I think I’d like to see the Rendezvous that listens to you. That Rendezvous might be worth joining.”

  “Oh, I’m not—no, that’s not—” I held up both hands quickly. “I just stand by Elaine.”

  “And give very good advice,” Elaine said.

  I shrugged, feeling my face flush hotter than ever. “Right. Well. Let’s get everyone out of here and meet up with the rest of our team, shall we?” I asked, gesturing vaguely in the general direction of where we’d left Andrew and Izzy behind to stand guard over Wendy.

  Elaine smiled and rushed over to thread her arm through mine to lead the way. “You really don’t know what to do with a compliment, do you?”

  “I know how to take a compliment I’ve earned,” I said carefully. “I don’t like people assuming I’m something special because of a prophecy that says I’ll beat my father. I feel like it gives me a free pass to get praise every time I do something even marginally good.”

  Elaine nodded slowly and then yanked my arm so that I was facing her. She pulled me into a tight hug. “Would it make you feel any better if I promised we all really do think the world of you?” she asked. “I know you were mad at me before for treating you like some kind of pawn, and that’s perfectly right, but you’re family, Michelle. I mean that.” She smiled. “And like you said, family isn’t just about the family you’re born into. I mean you’re my family—the kind I choose to call mine.”

  I have to admit that I was shocked, not only by the kind words but by the fact that Elaine had obviously been listening to me. So, surprised into a pleased sort of smile, I nodded along. “You’re part of my family too,” I told her. “You and Andrew and Aaron and Izzy. All of you.”

  Elaine smiled at that and gave me one more hug before she turned again so we could resume our trek. But as we walked, I saw her glance over her shoulder, and she dropped her voice to a whisper only I could hear: “Wouldn’t it be nice if Andrew was part of the family you were born into too?” Her eyes were sparkling with mischief.

  I was so taken aback by the question that I nearly stopped in my tracks, if not for her arm through mine pulling me forward as I got my mental feet back underneath me. “What?”

  Elaine’s smile widened. “You heard what I said.”

  I shook my head in disbelief. I didn’t know where to start to respond to her. On the one hand, I was thrilled that she had gotten so far past her blinders that she considered Andrew a good match and was willing to say as much out loud, but on the other hand, “Isn’t that a little fast?”

  “We have been dating the whole time you’ve been in your own head, Michelle. Just because you don’t remember the last couple of months doesn’t mean they didn’t happen,” Elaine teased.

  “I know,” I said, “and I know you both love each other—”

  “Weren’t you the one dying of impatience trying to get us to admit our feelings for each other?” Elaine asked. “I seem to recall very specifically how annoyed you were that we weren’t together. Along with many conversations with you trying to fix that.”

  “Well, yes, but. . . .” I took a deep breath and held it. “But I also don’t want you to wreck your chances at the throne by rushing i
nto something that the others still haven’t gotten used to. I thought that was the whole reason you weren’t dating before.”

  “I decided to take your advice and follow my heart,” Elaine said. “And we’ve been together much longer than the past months. The only thing that changed was the fact that we openly declared our feelings—and the fact that I can kiss him now.”

  “Okay, fair,” I said. “But I thought you were trying to let the Rendezvous get used to the idea?”

  “I know, and I’m still going to give them time,” Elaine said. “But I’m talking to you—as my cousin—telling you I think I want to ask him to be my prince.” She gave me an expectant look. “What do you think?”

  Now that I knew she wasn’t trying to rush into anything and hurt both of them in the fallout, I was definitely on board. “I think I’d like to be invited to the wedding.”

  “Of course you will be,” Elaine said, looking somehow both excited and relieved at the same time.

  “But between you and me?” I said, giving her a more serious look than before. “The Rendezvous isn’t ready. They don’t trust him. They don’t trust the Family. And this new tracking spell is going to make it harder to convince them.”

  “Why do you think I brought it up?” Elaine asked, one eyebrow raised. “I know he wants to run away as soon as we’re out of the forest because he thinks he needs to protect us, and I need your help convincing him not to throw everything away.”

  “He has a point, though,” I said, and I couldn’t believe I was saying it when I had spent so much time trying to break Andrew out of that very argument. “You need to fix that spell before he can go back to base, or he’ll lead his Family right to our hiding spot.”

  “We can fix it.”

  “I know,” I said. I bit my lip, surprised that I was the one advocating for more caution when I’d spent so long trying to push my friends toward happiness. “But I have to ask: you’re not planning on asking him to marry you as a ploy to get him to stay, are you?”

  Elaine paused. “That’s part of it,” she admitted.

  “That’s not a good enough reason, Elaine,” I said. “Tell me you want to marry him because you’re madly in love, and I’ll help you find someplace safe to get married and have a honeymoon where you won’t be bothered by my father or the Rendezvous. But don’t use marriage like a trap.”

  “I wasn’t—”

  “You were.” I shook my head. “I get it. I want him to stay, too. But be careful how you ask him and why you ask him. I know you’re used to marriages of politics in your family, but if you’re really going to follow your heart, you have to treat it like a love story, not a game of chess.”

  “I do love him,” Elaine clarified.

  “If I didn’t believe that, I wouldn’t be helping you,” I promised. “But let’s talk about this when all is said and done. Maybe we can get Ivan involved. If anyone knows how to deal with an evil tracking spell, it’s him.”

  Elaine paused and bit her lip, and I could see the indecision dancing in her eyes. Not that I blamed her. She and Ivan had practically been betrothed, and I knew he was considered by most of the Rendezvous to be a great choice to lead the magical realm beside her. After all, he wasn’t a mercenary, and he was from one of the powerful families who used to have kingdoms of their own. Basically, he was everything Andrew wasn’t—at least in the eyes of the Rendezvous. I knew from my own experiences with Andrew and Ivan that they were both sweethearts in their own ways, but most people in the Rendezvous hadn’t taken the time to actually get to know Andrew and therefore assumed Ivan had the monopoly on the market for sweet soon-to-be princes.

  All that being said, I was pretty sure Elaine and Ivan hadn’t really talked since she had chosen Andrew in Iceland. Ivan had been a perfect gentleman and left without making a scene, but I had the feeling she still felt bad that he’d been there at the moment she decided to do the less sensible thing and fall for the guy that could cost her loyalty in the Rendezvous.

  “Elaine—”

  “No, you’re right,” Elaine said, cutting me off before I could say anything else. “I’m getting carried away. I need to think straight.” She closed her eyes and let her shoulders drop along with her tone. “I don’t want to lose him. And now that everyone’s safe, I know that’s what will happen if I don’t do something.”

  She wasn’t exactly wrong, so I was struggling to come up with something to say to soothe her obvious panic. “Elaine,” I said at last, slowly, “I’ll talk to Ivan, alright? Andrew can’t say ‘no’ to you, and we both know it. Just convince him to stick around until Ivan can figure out what to do.” I gestured over my shoulder at the refugees behind us. “Tony can work with Tara and Theresa to get everyone else settled. We’ll fix this, alright? One step at a time.”

  Elaine nodded. “Right,” she said, then settled her shoulders. “Thanks.”

  “That’s what families are supposed to do,” I said with a small smile before I reached out to take her hand. “Come on; let’s go find your sweetheart.”

  Chapter 17: Call Up Your Ex

  Ihave to admit: I was relieved to see that Andrew and Izzy were still standing on either side of Wendy when we caught up to them. With everything that had gone wrong since Wendy showed up, I was basically expecting to come back and find that Wendy had killed both of them or taken them hostage or something else similarly horrible.

  Not that I didn’t have any faith in my friends, mind you. But how could I keep from worrying when I knew how well-trained Wendy was? I knew she was even capable of throwing away any kind of love she might have had for her baby brother to turn him into a target. So I was adapting a kind of “hope for the best and plan for the absolute worst thing you can think of” philosophy when it came to Family members.

  This time around, it didn’t come to “the absolute worst.” But I’d been mentally prepared.

  “You’re in one piece,” I called out, which got a smile out of both of my waiting friends. “Small miracles.”

  Izzy waved me over, shaking her head as she laughed. “I totally told Wendy that if she tried to hit me, I’d make sure I grabbed a handful of her hair when I went down so I’d take the years off her life and not mine when I healed.”

  “Did it work?” I asked.

  “As a threat?” Izzy shrugged. “Not really. But it did prompt an entirely new wave of ‘Andy, what a new low you’ve sunk to cavorting with goblins,’ so that was fun.”

  I rolled my eyes at that. “I’m sorry you had to listen to that.”

  “I didn’t. I punched her in the mouth.”

  I couldn’t help it; I laughed out loud. And I really wasn’t sorry about it, either. “Of course you did,” I said, still grinning at my friend.

  “Hey, I have a very low tolerance for stupid, I’ll have you know.”

  “Clearly,” I laughed.

  “What about you?” Izzy asked. “Did you get everyone out?”

  I nodded. “Tony’s taking care of things and sticking close to Theresa. I’m going to stick with Elaine and Andrew for a while longer until we get this latest nonsense sorted out.”

  “What about this one?” Izzy asked, indicating Wendy with her chin.

  “I don’t know. I’m not the general here, no matter what you call me,” I said, making sure to say that last part louder and faster to drown out any attempt to say anything that ridiculous again.

  “We’ll keep her with us,” Andrew said, cutting into our conversation—with Elaine at his side holding his hand solidly enough that I think he was getting a very loud, very physical message that she didn’t want him going anywhere. “At least until we know what our next move is. I definitely don’t want to send her off with a bunch of refugees.”

  “And definitely not a group that includes the last Future Seeker,” I added.

  “Fair point,” Andrew agreed. He turned to look at Wendy, who was simply glaring at all of us, once again showing off her family resemblance to Andrew. Seriously, it was striking.
“We’ll have a hard time keeping her contained.”

  “We know how,” Elaine pointed out, though I could see the flicker of a frown at the corner of her expression.

  I thought I knew why, too. Elaine had been a captive through most of her childhood, and she’d been spending every day since then trying to recover from the aftermath of that captivity and to stave off being recaptured and traumatized all over again. I hadn’t seen her take any captives besides my father—and I was beginning to think she simply couldn’t bring herself to do it, no matter who they were.

  We didn’t have much in the way of options, though. This was one of those bitter realities of war that we’d have to swallow—until we won the war, at any rate.

  “Want me to stick around?” Izzy offered. “I’m not opposed to being the one to hit her because you’re too caught up in your drama to do it.”

  “That’s probably not a bad idea,” I said, though I caught Andrew’s deep frown out of the corner of my gaze. He’d have to get over it; we weren’t going to play softball with his family when they spent half their time trying to kill or torture us.

  “Then I’ll call Ivan,” Elaine said.

  Andrew blinked her way. “What? Why?”

  “Because he’s a tracking expert,” I said. It had been my idea to call him in, so I might as well bear the consequences of that decision and deal with a protective and slightly jealous Andrew.

  I knew he didn’t have any reason to be jealous, especially considering the conversation I’d just had with Elaine, but Andrew didn’t know how serious she was about him. He probably thought we were calling in a replacement now that he’d been compromised. And considering Elaine had picked him when Ivan was right there to see it, I could totally understand his concern that she would turn around and do the same to him. He didn’t know that she was considering throwing out all the careful measures they’d taken to keep the Rendezvous from thinking she was a puppet to convince him to stay.

  She was head over heels in love with him, and I’d known that since the day I met them.