Queen of Night

8. Fearful Perspective

    Iyan slapped a palm to her forehead as Asena tried and failed to walk once again. Her sister sat in the middle of the street laughing hysterically. "I think we've learned a valuable lesson here tonight." Asena took Gabriel's offered hand and leaned against him.

    "What's that?" Esen prompted.

    "Humans cannot drink as much as Faeries.."

    "I told you not to even try," Iyan replied, rolling her eyes.

    "Did you?" Asena tilted her head. "I guess I didn't catch it." She lifted a hand to her forehead. "I hope I'll remember this lesson in the morning."

    "Oh you will. You'll spend the entire night hovering over the toilet, wondering why you didn't listen to me." Iyan was not looking forward to sitting up with her, but she knew she would do it. She always did. She had learned that while Asena made a habit of not going out very often, she made it count when she did.

    "So, have you thought up a way to trap Arius yet?" Esen slung an arm over Iyan's shoulders.

    "Not yet."

    "Let me know when you do. I want to help."

    "Is that allowed?" Iyan raised a brow.

    Esen shrugged. "I guess we'll find out."

    They walked on ahead. Iyan glanced back after a moment, realizing Asena and Gabriel had fallen behind. Esen continued to steer her forward.

    "Gabriel will get her home all right."

    Iyan continued to watch them for a moment, then pulled her gaze away. "I don't understand it."

    "What?"

    "We've only been here a week, and yet Asena seems to think she just...belongs. I think she trusts you. She clearly trusts Gabriel. I don't know about Arius, but I suppose probably him too."

    Esen pursed her lips and scrunched up her brow. "Who's to say she doesn't belong here? You too, for that matter. Maybe for once in her life, Asena feels at home. You heard what she said earlier. She feels safe here. It seems to me like that's something neither of you have been able to claim very much."

    "It's not," Iyan sighed. "I don't know just how bad things were for her back in Sparrowhaven. She never really told me. Asena has always been like that. She'll never tell me her troubles because she doesn't want me to worry about them as well as my own."

    "What was it like for you?"

    Iyan swallowed and lowered her gaze to the ground. "You saw what I looked like when I was first brought here. I just...I'm terrified that one of you will get mad and hit me. I know how strong all of you are and I know how weak I am in comparison. You could snap my neck just as easily as if it were a toothpick. I'm scared that someone will hurt Asena too."

    She couldn't stop the words from pouring out, now that she'd begun. "That's always how things worked in Sparrowhaven. Derek would get upset and beat me, then he'd turn on Asena. She was never hit quite as badly as me, because she was worth more, but that doesn't make it any less horrible. I learned when I was very young that if I tried to fight back, he would make our punishments that much worse. I learned to just take it and usually he'd leave Asena alone." Iyan drew in a shuddering breath. "I can't stop being afraid."

    "Well," Esen pulled her arm away, "I don't think you'll ever stop being afraid of that. You dealt with it for so many years; those memories and that fear will always stick with you. You can become less afraid though. It will take time, but you'll learn to trust again. I understand why you don't want to trust us. If I grew up hearing all sorts of horrible stories like the ones you've been told, I wouldn't trust us either."