Horse Stone (Book 1 of Ilyrian Series)

Chapter 82

Dani parked the car near Vanar's pasture and stayed silent. She turned to look at me, but my gaze wasn't on her but on the stallion that had his ears pricked towards the vehicle as if he knew that I was in there. "Well?" she asked, growing serious.

"Well, what?" I asked and kept looking at my horse. I kept stroking Tigra, who had stayed in my lap during the drive over here, and she purred happily.

"When were you going to tell us that you know about Ilyrian?" she asked.

I stopped petting my cat, and my heart stopped before it pounded harder in my chest. I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat before I started to pet my cat again, playing it off. "What do you mean?" I asked, my voice shaking. "You already know about the academy, so why should I tell you that I knew about it?"

Dani scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Don't give me that bullshit, Hadley," she scolded as if she was a mother talking to her child. "I know that you know about Ilyrian and him." She gestured to the stallion that was waiting for us with ears perked in our direction.

"How?" I asked, deciding not to continue to play these games when it was obvious to her that I knew. I tore my gaze off of my horse before I looked at her with wide eyes filled with fear. "How do you know that I know about Ilyrian and Shadow?" I asked.

My sister shrugged. "Magic mainly," she replied. She cleared her throat and studied me, her blue eyes shining bright and filled with emotions that I couldn't decipher. "Does Papa know?"

I couldn't look at her for long, so I looked at my hands and my cat instead. I shook my head and cleared my throat. "No," I said, my voice shaking, and I couldn't get it above a whisper. "Papa doesn't know that I know."

"Why not?" Dani asked and cocked her head while she studied me. "Don't you want him to know?"

I didn't respond and shrugged, staring at my shaking hands. I could feel her gaze on me, trying to find the answers that I held, but I didn't let her see anything behind the mask that I wore.

Dani sighed sadly and reached across the threshold, and grabbed my hand. Her touch was warm and comforting, but I couldn't help but flinch away from her touch, even though I didn't pull my hand out of hers.

"Ummmm, sorry, sorry," I said and closed my eyes while I grimaced. I took a deep, shuddering breath and cleared my throat while I shifted in my seat, praying that she wasn't mad at me. "I didn't mean to flinch."

Dani chuckled and squeezed my hand. Her chuckle was soft and sad, and I could tell that she wasn't upset that I pulled away from her, even though I could tell that she was a bit hurt. "It's ok," she soothed and rubbed the back of my hand. "I know that you didn't mean it."

I licked my lips and stayed silent. I had no idea what to do now, so I kept silent and still while I stared at my cat. Slowly, I calmed down and took a deep, shuddering breath while I cleared my throat. "So... can I go see my horse?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

The car was slowly starting to become stuffy, and I couldn't help but struggle to breathe. My whole body was tense, and all I wanted to do was escape and run away from this as fast as I could.

I didn't want to answer the questions that I knew she wanted to ask.

Dani scowled and studied me. "Will you answer my questions if I ask them?" she asked, and her voice had a little warning in it, and I couldn't help but flinch. She didn't say a word but squeezed my hand in apology. "That is the only way I will let go of your hand so that you can see your horse."

I took a deep, shuddering breath but nodded. I knew that I should open up to my family about what had happened to me, but I couldn't; I couldn't do that no matter how many times I wanted to.

They will never accept you if you tell them what I have done to you... his harsh words whirled through my brain like they had done so many times I wanted to open up to my family or to someone. They will think you are weak and worthless like you are.

Dani was about to let go of my hand but stopped when I squeezed her hand. She turned to look at me, her mouth open and brows furrowed in confusion. "W-"

"Can you promise me one thing?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper while I looked at her. I stared at my sister with wide eyes that were filled with fear, and I couldn't breathe.

My heart pounded hard in my chest while I looked at her, and it took all of my self-control not to shake like a leaf in front of her, hoping for the best but mentally preparing for the worst.

Worry filled her eyes while she studied me before she slowly nodded. "Anything," she said and furrowed her brows. The worry turned into concern, and she studied me, trying to pick up what I was hiding. "What is it?"

I licked my lips and looked down before I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat. "Can you promise me that you won't think of me as weak?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper while I looked at her through my eye lashes. "Can you promise me that you will still accept me for me?"

My sister's gaze grew softer, and she gave me a sad smile. Slowly, she nodded. "Of course," she promised softly. "I promise that I will never think of you as weak and will accept you for you no matter what you tell me. I give you my word."