After Guardian Mergen dismissed us, Erebus led me back the way I'd come. His back was rigid and on his third stride, his boots tripped on the hardened canvas. He caught himself, walking on as if nothing had happened.
While I trailed a few steps behind him, my brow furrowed and Erebus's words echoed through my head again.
'Have we met?'
Such an innocuous question, yet it upended me like a whirlwind.
My eyes traced Erebus's denims, taking in the creases worn pale and the rust-red undertones. I suppressed a snort. The stains were from a sticky type of mud that laced some Routes; once the substance touched your uniform, it wasn't coming out. Not completely. This looked like an ongoing issue — the bottom cuffs of his pants were flaking bits of red with each step.
The Erebus I'd met a few days ago — the one I would meet in a week — had worn fresh-issued gear, with the fabric still stiff and the scent of the dye stinging the nose. My brain hurt as it tried to reconcile the disconnect. 'The best option is to pick Erebus's brains — Mergen knew something, obviously, and she's been training Erebus.' I took a couple of hurried strides to close the distance between us and opened my mouth.
Every scrap of air was driven from my lungs as if I had been kicked in the solar plexus. I fell to my knees, choking and gasping, and fought to draw air back into my body. It didn't work; it was like my body had forgotten how to breathe. My vision narrowed, and I couldn't feel my hands as they clenched into fists against the rasp-rough canvas. Lungs burning, I focused inward, trying to drop into my quartz, but I couldn't. It felt like I'd run into a cliff, jagged and rough, inexplicably placed between me and my crystal. I pounded against it, throwing everything that was me against the blockade.
It held strong, immune to my fast-dwindling strength.
Warm fingers brushed my freezing arm, then clamped down. A spark raced from the grip up my arm, through my breastbone, and into my quartz. With a gasp, cool air streamed into my agonized lungs, and I sobbed in relief before drawing in another breath.
After a few moments, I realized my gasps weren't the only wheezes in the otherwise-calm hallway. Erebus crouched next to me, grey-faced and equally out of breath. His expression was blank, but something burned in his eyes, almost drowning the dark shadows beneath them. Once his panting slowed, he rose to stand, his feet placed at shoulder's width and his knees flexed.
"Bones! A Guardian puts a seal on your tongue and you're not even out of earshot before you're trying to talk about it? What are they teaching you? The fastest ways to die?"
I flushed, unable to meet his eyes, and rocked back to rest my fists on my thighs instead of the canvas floor. 'That was a sealing? It was so fast! No help, and she didn't even have to touch my quartz!'
"I didn't think—"
"Clearly." Erebus shook his head.
"Hey!" I surged to my feet. Dizziness left me flailing my arms until they collided with something firm. "A seal won't kill anyone! It's a KO, not a lethal twist." I clung, blinking through the sparkles that danced across my vision, and hung off the… 'Arm?'
When my full weight came to bear on Erebus's arm, his braced stance collapsed like wet noodles. We tumbled back to the floor, landing in a pile with me on the bottom and Erebus's pointed elbow jabbing into my back.
"Oww!"
"Get off." I shoved at the arm I still held, which did nothing to budge the one on my back.
"I'm trying." Erebus pushed back with a knee that caught my cheek, then he yanked on his arm. "Let go!"
"That was interesting. Do all Butterflies know blood magic?"
We both jerked around.
Kit crouched, head cocked to the side, a mere wingspan away. Her pupils nearly swallowed the green of her eyes and reflected the lantern light eerily. Then she blinked, and the pupils contracted to narrow slits.
A shiver racked Erebus's arm, and his face had gone chalky.
"You're not supposed to be here," he said. His throat bobbed as he swallowed.
"I'm not supposed to be here," Kit agreed with a smile. "When Lila is here." The smile widened, but still didn't hint at any teeth. "Are you supposed to do it that way?"
"Do what?" Erebus shoved off me, but only far enough to sit on the floor. He scrubbed at his face.
"The blood magic." She shrugged. "The energy transfer. Whatever you wish to call it."
It felt like I was an hour's flight behind her, and I scrambled to catch up.
'Energy transfer.' She was talking about the spark I'd felt when the seal almost knocked me out. 'Erebus gave me a boost. Any Guardian could.' I frowned. 'But he shouldn't have — that's why he can't stand up now.' I pulled myself up to sit on the rough canvas and searched Erebus's face.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Erebus's eyes narrowed. "Weren't you supposed to be watching him?" He jerked a thumb at me.
"Hmm. Wasn't I?" Kit traced a finger back and forth, pointing at the air between Erebus and me. "Look, there's still a thread. What happens if you get too far apart? Are there any side effects?"
"Wait," I said, holding up a hand. "You… what? Saw Erebus boost me? And now there's something connecting us?"
"Yes." Kit's eyes, still narrowed to slits, focused on Erebus. "You didn't ask permission. Healer doesn't, either. Is that a people thing?"
'A people thing?' My stomach pitched uneasily. 'What does she mean?'
"Kit," Erebus said through gritted teeth. "You're a 'people', too. And could you please go away before your brother decides I'm scaring you and rips my balls off?"
Startled, a burst of laughter escaped before I could stop it. 'Her brother's going to what?'
"Don't be silly," Kit said, and her smile finally grew wide enough to show her teeth, including incisors that came to brutal points. "He'll just try to kill you. But don't worry — I won't let him."
I echoed the smile and bit my lip to contain a chuckle. 'Just like a kitten.'
"Ha! What are you going to do to stop Jack Frost?"
"Jack Frost?" I asked, as my head began spinning. "Jack of the First Frost? That Bast—"
"Do not. Call. Him. That." Kit's eyes trained on me. The pupils, glowing with a crimson spark deep within, had swallowed the spring-like green. The smile was gone as if it had never been, but the razor-edged teeth were on full display.
"Nope," I said, holding my hands up in surrender. "The thought never crossed my mind. I just… ah… hadn't realized Jack Frost had a sister."
"He does," Kit said, and the glow dimmed. Her lips — thankfully — also covered her teeth once more, and I sighed, daring to relax ever so slightly.
Erebus, the jerk, huffed a small laugh. This drew Kit's attention back to him.
"I'll ask him not to."
"What?" Erebus asked. His forehead creased, probably in the same confusion that thrummed through mine.
"When Jack tries to kill you? I'll ask him not to."
"Don't do me any favors." Erebus shook his head and leaned back on his elbows to glare at Kit.
She watched him, head tilted as if inspecting a puzzle, and I shivered at the rising tension.
"You don't smell like hate, but you don't want me around." She leaned forward. "This is about Lila. And Silver."
"Hey!" Erebus bristled. "That has nothing to do with you. Keep your claws out."
"Silver?" I asked, lost again.
"You're just protecting your sister." Kit diverted her focus to me. "Silver of the Last Frost. She's—"
"None of your business! Either of you!" Erebus lurched forward as if to physically stop her, then reeled, clutching his head. "Bones and feathers!"
"Look," I said, piecing things together on the fly. 'Lila's got some hangup with this Silver — who might be related to Jack? And Erebus…' "Kit said it — you're trying to protect your sister. And Kit's staying away from her. Which is what you wanted, right? We can sort out this Silver later."
"Silver's gone." Erebus's glare was hot enough to make me flinch, but for all the timidity Kit had displayed at times, she didn't hesitate.
"Is she, though?" She sighed in response to our confused looks and stood. "You're both clearly too tired to think straight. Come on — we'll visit the kitchen for a quick bite, then you need to rest."
Blinking at the quick jump in topic, I shoved to my feet and made sure I wasn't going to overbalance again.
Erebus flopped onto his back with a groan and lay a forearm over his eyes.
"Just leave me here."
"What? Are you afraid we'll run into Jack?" Kit shook her head. "I haven't seen him since he left to meet his parole officer. And I told you — when he tries to kill you, I'll ask him not to." She beamed at me. "You, too."
"Uh… Kit?" I laughed uneasily. "You mean if Jack tries to kill Erebus, right? And why would he want to kill me?"
A smirk crossed Erebus's face in a flash — there and gone — making me wonder if he knew what Kit's response would be.
"Hmm?" She smiled again. "Oh, sure. If. And don't worry — I'm sure he'll find a reason."
I pinched the bridge of my nose — it didn't halt the building headache — then nudged Erebus's side. When he looked up, I extended my hand.
"Peace? Whatever's going on — it'll be easier to deal with if you're not fighting me, too."
Erebus sighed, letting his eyes fall shut for a moment. When he opened them, the shadows of his sister's pain weren't lighter, but the hopeless exhaustion had faded.
"Yeah, maybe." He stretched out his hand and took mine. "But you're still an idiot, challenging a seal like that."
"Shut up!" I laughed as I yanked him to his feet and steadied him. "I'm not the one who boosted a Flit when I couldn't see straight!"
"Healer says y'all are weird and get your asses to the kitchen before I come down and kick them." Kit scrunched her nose. "You don't think Healer condones animal abuse, do you?"
"Only against Butterflies," I said, fighting to keep my face straight. Then I glanced at Erebus's smirk and we both lost it. Laughter echoed off the canvas and Kit watched us as if we were loons.