вlood & peтalѕ [ ĸoтlc - тιana ]

ch. xi

Damn. We just hit 300 reads. You guys are awesome. Thank you all so so so much!

(You're making me feel guilty now...)

That night, Linh dreamed of trees.

She dreamed of a tall, lean tree with jagged black-and-silver leaves, and silvery-blue thorny flowers. They looked sharp and scary, but when her dream self reached out to pluck one, she found them to be surprisingly soft, and not painful to touch at all. As Linh brought the blossom to her nose to take a sniff, the image dissolved into swirls of colour, and she woke up abruptly, covered in sweat. 

Why did that tree seem so eerily familiar?

Then, the realization hit.

After that, she couldn't go back to sleep, instead tossing and turning. Then, she figured she was feeling too bored in bed and padded over to check on Tam.

In the silvery light of the moon, Tam's face had a peaceful quality that she'd never seen him have in real life. He was always either brooding, scowling, or smirking. It gave him a (misleading) look of childlike innocence, and Linh had to forcibly remind herself that this was the same Tam who, as an eleven-year-old, had shouted (at the top of his voice) at the Councillors, telling them that they shouldn't banish her, couldn't banish her. That it was the same Tam who'd thrown his registry pendant crystal at their father hard enough to shatter Choralmere's ornate crystal wall. That it was the same Tam who'd almost gleefully taken Alvar's unconscious, bleeding body to their parents' house in the middle of the night.

She could go on, but decided not to. 

If only he could stay like that forever.  Peacefully happy. He didn't deserve a fate like this. 

Linh's mind flashed back to her mental picture of his Wanderling, slowly constricting her throat. Before she made a sound that could wake him up, she crept over to the floor-to-ceiling window, staring out at the starry sky.

She, with all her heart, wanted him to get the surgery. Maybe it was for selfish reasons, but she needed him. Linh wasn't sure if she could go on without Tam next to her, guiding, helping, reassuring. Being the sweet (but snarky) twin he'd always been, the one who'd face anything if it meant sparing her. Linh knew that she wasn't strong enough to face the world without him at her side. Sure, the whole saving-Atlantis thing had given her a self-confidence boost, but she knew her limits. And so did Tam. 

Was she being selfish, by trying to force him to take the surgery, all so that he could stay with her?

I am truly proud of this chapter. Linh is my favourite female character, and she just seems to have so much depth to write about. Hopefully I did her justice?

(I'll keep hoping.)

My sister just asked me what's so great about Tam and I nearly threw my copy of Nightfall at her.