Page 42 of The Sirin Sisterhood (The Sons of Echidna #2)

Lucy

Lai returned after dark that night, not bothering to acknowledge the others as he flopped into his nest.

Kleindidn’tsay anything, not even looking up from the fireplace, watching the flames dance over the crackling logs.

Lucy, on the other hand, had had enough. The days passed, andEleanor’sdeadline drew closer while Lai was just enjoying himself.

They had no plan, no help, and were relying on a reluctant‘maybe.’Itwasn’tenough.

“Are you really just going to sleep?”She asked, resentment thick in her voice. It was his home and his family they were trying to save, and all he had been doing was gossiping with that witch.

“Do you want me to stay up and keep watch?”He opened one eye, glancing lazily around the cabin.“Looks pretty safe to me.”

Oh, thatdidn’thelp. Lucy felt the anger warm her cheeks.

“No, I want you to focus onwhat’simportant. Wecan’tjust sit and wait for their dumb trials to end. What if they say no after? We have no Plan B.”

“I don’t need a Plan B.”

“No? Shemight if you keep hanging out with her,”Lucy scowled.

Lai laughed, sitting up on his bed, his eyes meeting hers.“You are not jealous, are you?”

No. No, shewasn’t. Why would she care if he spent his nights laughing with Freya, loud enough for the whole village to hear? So what if they were whispering anytime she was around? So what if it had been her and Lai just days before, and now it all felt wrong?

Fine. She was jealous. He was her friend, and yes, she was going to leave him behind at the hospital, and yes,she’dbetrayed his trust in doing so, but it was only because she cared.He’ddone the same to her whenhe’dwarned Eleanore about her plans.

Was there something else getting between them? Was it her newfound position as the head of the family? Was it her powers?

Lucy thought back to the conversation they had in the shop. Was the sudden change in the power balance affecting the friendship that badly?

It had been different when they were still back at the manor.

Lucy was part of his world there. Shewasn’tabove him, making decisions for him.

Sincethey’dleft there,shehad made the choice to tell Aris aboutLai’splans, and she made the choice to leave him behind.

She’drefused to listen to his concerns about Xim, too.

They were foolish, but rather than work out his worries,she’dshut him down.

Lucy understood the coldness in his eyes as she met them. Itwasn’tthat she had taken over the family, or about her powers, or anything like that.She wasjustbeing a shitty friend.

“Don’tbe ridiculous,”she finally answered, feeling entirely ridiculous herself. Shedidn’twant to be in charge. Shedidn’twant to make the hard choices. She just wanted to be his friend again.

Hewasn’tmeeting her halfway, though. He was waiting for her to drop to his level, but shecouldn’t. Not with so much still lingering between them, unspoken.

“Just go back to sleep.”

“Is that an order?”

Oh, she was going to throttle him. It would feel so good to escalate, too, to scream and shout. But she knew better. In the end, fighting would sour what little they had left.

She loved that stubborn fool, and she knew he loved her too. Otherwise, hewouldn’tbe glaring. Laididn’twaste emotion if hedidn’tcare.

She shook her head, and he huffed, curling back up to sleep.