Fire on Fire: A Koralie Story

Chapter Nine: Oralie

"Why should we trust you?" Oralie said, careful to keep her voice neutral. The last thing she wanted was to antagonize someone who could be useful.

"Why should I want you to trust me?" She sniffed the flower delicately.

Elwin nudged her.

Nisha sighed. "I want guarantees of my safety and freedom from arbitrary punishments. In exchange, I'll answer any questions about the Neverseen and my affiliation with them."

"Deal." Oralie paused, trying to hide the anticipation in her voice. "Tell us everything."

"Everything like what?" Nisha studied the flower in her hand like she hadn't seen anything quite so disgusting. And then she grinned, and Oralie wasn't sure she liked the gleam in her eyes. She reached out with the flower and tickled Elwin's nose.

He yelped, batting it away. "Nisha! Cut it out, you know I'm —"

"How do you and Elwin know each other?" Kenric asked, and Nisha froze instantly.

Elwin sneezed. Wisps of light flashed around his head and faded before they drifted to the ground like a dying firework. He snatched the flower out of Nisha's hand.

Nisha ignored him, the look in her eyes as cold and dark as stormy waters. And Oralie had thought fire could burn. "I agreed to being questioned about the Neverseen. Not Elwin."

Elwin took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Nisha, it's okay."

"It's not okay." She turned on him, eyes flashing in the bright lights of the chandelier. "After everything you've done for them, they don't get to —"

"Nisha," he said softly, squeezing her hand.

"It rains light particles when you sneeze," Kenric said, because obviously that was the important thing here.

Elwin winced. "Oh." He laughed a little, itching the back of his head. "That. Yeah. Have you seen Juline when she's angry? Entire blizzards —"

"It rains light particles," Kenric said slowly, something dawning in his eyes, "when you sneeze."

"Please don't make fun of me," Elwin said in a small voice.

But Kenric only stared at him, pieces of a map fitting together in his mind.

And Oralie was pretty sure she could guess why. Chocolate makes everything better.

Kenric's eyes narrowed, glancing between Elwin and Nisha. "You're —"

"Siblings," Oralie breathed. The word felt foreign on her tongue.

Elwin looked at her with wide eyes, looking startlingly young again, the way he'd looked when he'd found her in Wanderling Woods. Something in his gaze flickered, like he'd been thrust into a world he didn't recognize.

They had few similarities, but in that moment, Oralie could see them all. Thick, messy brown hair. Bright eyes of different colors, but the same long lashes. The way they held things, anything, like it was the most delicate thing they'd ever been trusted with. The way one corner of their lips lifted when they smiled, equally mischievous, equally genuine.

They both had a flame in their words, in their actions, in their eyes. But Elwin's comforted while Nisha's burned.

Nisha cast a withering glare at Oralie and Kenric, but Elwin was the one who spoke first. "Half-siblings."

Half-siblings?

"Why did you join the Neverseen?" Oralie asked, though she could probably guess why. Because in this society, half-siblings pretty much directly translated to scandal. Gossip that people would cling to, families that people would shun. An imperfect match? A child out of wedlock?