Fly or Fall

Chapter Twenty-Two

Hae ran through the palace halls, her heart jackrabbiting against her chest, her breathing heavy, her lungs threatening to collapse. The palace was silent except for the clink clunk sound of her heeled slippers against the marble floor. She stopped in front of her brother's room and knocked frantically. Open up, open up, she yelled inwardly

Kol opened the door with sleep tousled hair, ruffled pajamas and a groggy look on his face. He blinked twice. "Hae," his voice was hoarse and full of sleep. "It's the middle of the night. What are you doing here?"

The young princess took a deep breath. "Andy and Anna are leaving," she said.

He gave her a pained look. "I know," he said solemnly. "Look, I'm going to miss them too but—"

"No, I mean right now," she explained. "I was in the library and I overheard them saying..." She struggled to explain the things she'd heard in the library. The scene didn't seem real yet. The things Layla had said, about her mother and Nyx. She didn't understand most of it but she was certain her mother would never do anything to harm Andy and Anna. Surely, she'd never have them locked up. And as for ordering Layla killed? It was preposterous. Her mother protected people, she didn't kill them. Layla was lying, she was trying to trick the twins. It was the only explanation. "We have to stop them," she pleaded with her brother.

The prince pursed his lips. "I don't know if we should," he said, the words leaving him like he had to push them up his throat. "This isn't their home."

The words stung. Hae frowned and clenched her fists. Her heart had stopped racing but it ached now. "But Layla..." she said. "She's manipulating them. Those things she said about mom, she wants them to think this place isn't safe for them."

"Maybe it's not," he said as if he knew something she didn't.

She pursed her lips. "You can't possibly think that."

"I do. There are things about mom—"

"Things like what?" she demanded. "You think she tried to have Layla killed? Kol," she scoffed, "this is our mother we're talking about. She wouldn't do that."

He frowned and shifted his gaze to the ground. "It doesn't matter, Hae. We can't stop them. They were always going to leave. They have lives to get to on earth."

Hae batted away tears. "I'm not ready to say goodbye," she murmured.

Kol sighed. "Me too."

A minute passed by in silence then Kol said, "Well then," he ran a hand through his hair, "if they really are leaving I'd prefer it if we actually did say goodbye. Awfully rude of them to leave without saying a word." He managed a smile. "Let's go say our farewells."

Hae led her brother back to the library. She'd spent nearly every day since she'd met Andy in this room with him. They'd spent endless hours going through dozens of books. They'd had hushed conversations in tucked away nooks and shared stories of their families while lounging under the skylight and hid their laughing faces behind old history books. They'd talked. Right there. On the desk she and Kol passed now.

Hae could almost see Andy hunched over a book in front of her. She always sat across from him and as he poured over book after book she'd study his face the way she used to study her father's. Andy had dark broad brows, gleaming ebony eyes, an upturn nose and a sharp jawline. She'd watch as he pulled at his bottom lip whenever he got frustrated and tug at the ends of his long curly black hair when he was lost in a passage. His hair was constantly falling over his eyes; she'd asked him once why he didn't just have it cut. He'd simply said, "I like it like this." That was enough.