by Talia Jager
My fingers were tingly as I the energy went out of them and into her. My eyes popped open and I watched as her wound started leaking black ooze. And then right before me, the wound began healing.
Once Kallan’s hands were off mine, I took my hands away. “How long will this take?” I watched her ears to see if they’d grow pointed.
“One or two days. Her body has to change,” Azura said, surprising me from behind.
“Oh.” I sat back.
“I’m so sorry, Rylie. I know how much you love her.”
“It’s all my fault, Mamaí.”
She pulled me to her and stroked my hair. “No, it’s not.”
Tears spilled down my cheeks again. After a few minutes, I wiped my face and stood. “Where shall we put her?”
“In the guest room,” Kallan said.
Azura added, “She’ll sleep until the transformation is complete. I will help you watch over her.”
Lena nodded. “Me too. Just in case anything comes up.”
“Would it be okay if I stay?” Drake asked.
“Of course,” I murmured.
“Good thing we have the extra rooms,” Kallan tried to joke.
I forced a smile. What was I supposed to do while my best friend forgot every memory we had made together?
After Sierra was settled in, Kallan led me to the swing on the deck and sat me down. “I’ll be right back.” He left and returned with a drink. “Relax. It’s going to be a while.”
I took a sip of the delicious faery drink. “I just keep replaying the attack in my head. Why did she jump in front of me?”
“She loves you, Ry. Wouldn’t you have done the same for her?”
“Yes.”
“She’ll be okay.”
“Physically.”
“Even if she doesn’t remember anything, she’ll be okay. We’ll figure it out.”
I snuggled with my husband. “We were supposed to be having our honeymoon.”
“I’ll make it up to you.”
“I feel horrible even thinking of that.” I stifled a sob. “What am I going to do without her? I mean…even when I decided not to live in the human world anymore, we would have stayed best friends.”
“I know.”
“I don’t want to lose her.”
“Will you stop loving her if she wakes up without her memory?”
“No.”
“Will you hate her if she doesn’t remember you?”
“No.”
“How will you feel?”
“Sad, but I’ll always love her.”
“Then hold on to that.”
I understood what he was saying. I had to hold on to our friendship, our love, and no matter what happened, we’d be okay.
“Let’s talk about something else,” he suggested.
“Like what?”
“The house, Satine being gone, babies.”
“Babies? What about babies?”
“Do you want some?”
I laughed. “Shouldn’t we have discussed this before now?”
“Well, do you?”
“Yes, but not yet. In a few years?”
“Sure. I just wanted to hear you say it.”
My mind drifted back to Sierra. “Now what do we talk about? Because I’m thinking about her again and I need it to stop.” I thought about her parents. “What about her human life? Her parents? School?”
“Let’s take one step at a time. No need to stress over things that we have no control over. Once we see how she is, we’ll know what needs to be done.” He kissed my head. “What happened with Satine?”
“I found her, trapped her, and shoved a poisonous flower down her throat.”
“Are you okay with that?”
“Yes,” I answered firmly. “I don’t like killing, but she didn’t leave me a choice.”
“I would have done the same.”
“Do I still need someone to protect me?” I asked.
“I’ll always have someone protecting you,” Kallan answered. “Why?”
“Drake needs to be with Sierra. Be her protector now.”
“I’ll get someone else.”
After one of Azura’s amazing dinners, I checked on Sierra. Her physical appearance hadn’t changed, but she looked calm and peaceful. Drake was sitting in a chair by her bed. “Let me know if anything changes.”
“I will.”
I lay in Kallan’s loving arms while he stroked my hair all night. I couldn’t sleep. I thought of everything Sierra and I did together since we became friends. Everything! School. Double dates. Shopping. Late-night talks and most recently her being my maid of honor. She’d forget all of that.
The next day was long. The waiting was miserable. Violet and Nessa stopped by with food. “We really liked her,” Nessa said. “I hope everything turns out okay.”
Tiern showed up too. Kallan met him in the yard and shook his hand. Together they walked over to me. “Tiern is going to take over as your protector.”
“Mo Bhanríon.” Tiern bowed. “I’ll protect you with my life.”
“Thank you, Tiern.”
At sunset, I sat on the deck with my legs dangling into the lake water. Kallan sat down beside me. “How are you doing?”
I sighed and shrugged. “I’m trying to hold on to hope. Maybe the spell is wrong? Maybe she won’t forget…”
He cupped my face in his hands and gently pressed his lips to mine. “I’m here for you,” he told me. “And whatever happens, we’ll deal with it together.” His lips met mine again. I found myself wishing he’d take me to our room and make love to me no matter who was here or what was going on.
Azura called, “Rylie!”
I pulled away from Kallan and looked back at the house. She was waving for us to come inside. We hurried to where she stood. “What?”
“The time is almost here.”
“Let me go check on her first,” Kallan said. He disappeared for a minute and then came back out. He smiled and said, “The transformation is complete, but she’s not awake yet.”
I walked into the room and stared at my best friend. Her ears were pointed like mine, her skin flawless, and she was lying on her side so her wings had room. They were a gorgeous purple and blue mixture and I knew she’d love them.
When will she wake?
I don’t know. I’ve never done this before.
About an hour after I was called into the room, Sierra moaned. This was it. She was waking up. We’d know for sure in a matter of minutes whether or not she knew who we were. I kept repeating in my head that it didn’t matter. I’d just help her and love her and hopefully we’d be best friends again. But I was scared. Even if I loved her, and held on, would she feel the same?
Still on her side, Sierra moaned again, and then her green eyes fluttered open and traveled around the room, stopping at each of us before moving on. She didn’t seem scared, but not happy either. I wished she’d say something. The silence was killing me. I couldn’t get over how beautiful she looked. I guessed this was how my mom saw me. I had transformed into something different, but the same.
“Welcome back,” Azura said from the doorway.
Sierra pushed up into a sitting position and her wings flapped behind her. I smiled because it was an awesome sight to see. Drake stepped out of the corner and their eyes met. Both their wings fluttered and I bit my lip in anticipation. Maybe she didn’t lose her memory after all. Maybe she was stronger than that.
When I couldn’t wait any longer, I asked, “Do you know who any of us are?”
Sierra scanned the room again and then she frowned and answered, “No.”
The End
Acknowledgements:
; Thank you to my husband, who puts up with me pounding on the keyboard night and day, none of this would be possible without him.
Thank you to my children, who keep me on my toes asking questions about characters.
Thank you to Montana Stockwell who became a muse to me during this book, for providing inspiration and invaluable feedback, and for being a friend.
Thank you to my beta readers for helping me to make this book the best it can be: Christina H., Gloria J., Latasha O., Tori F., and Winona B.
My thanks to the Between Worlds series cover artist, Eden Crane, for making such a beautiful cover, to Christine LePorte for editing, and to Streetlight Graphics for formatting.
Author Bio:
When Talia isn’t hiding in the bathroom from her six children munching on a chocolate bar, she enjoys hiking the red rocks in Utah or sitting on the beach with a Kindle in her hands and her toes in the ocean.
Talia has written a number of books for young adults, including Damaged: Natalie’s Story, Teagan’s Story: Her Battle With Epilepsy, If I Die Young, Secret Bloodline, Lost and Found, and The Gifted Teens Series. She also co-wrote The Between Worlds Series and Mesmerized.
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