The Hidden Crystal

Chapter 31

Char's head and heart were a mess.

Hurt by Iris' rejection, worried something was wrong, angry at himself for not being able to get the truth out of her—and then he couldn't even find Jonah to demand answers. He'd ended up flying home in defeat, and even now, exhausted though his body was from two long back-to-back flights, his mind wouldn't stop churning through it all, over and over again.

What had he missed?

A hot bath and a good night's sleep. That was what he needed. Then in the morning, maybe he could make sense of it all.

But when he stormed into their cave, his green eyes dark as a thundercloud, every muscle of his body taught, there was Rath. Waiting for him.

And Char didn't want to talk.

"What's up?"

Char didn't answer. He walked past his brother without a glance. When he heard footsteps following him, he spun on his heel, his green eyes flashing a warning. "Leave me alone."

Rath met his eyes and held them in a steady gaze. "What happened with Iris?"

Char flinched and turned away. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Char—"

He felt Rath's hand on his shoulder and grabbed it, shoving his brother off hard enough to make him stumble and almost lose his footing. "I said, leave me alone!"

Rath caught himself at the last second. He righted himself and set his jaw. "Not when you're like this. Tell me what happened."

Char groaned in exasperation and headed into the bathroom. Rath followed him, leaning against the open doorway as Char started the bathwater.

"Char."

"She told me not to come back."

Rath's eyes widened. "Why?"

"She doesn't want me around anymore."

"And that didn't strike you as odd?"

"She flinched whenever I tried to touch her, like there was something wrong with me."

"So, something's happened to her."

"What happened is that she's made up her mind to hate me."

"I don't believe it."

"If you had been there—" Char's voice broke. He clenched his jaw, determined not to cry. Iris wasn't worth it. Not after that.

"You said something felt wrong last time. What if she's trying to push you away to protect you from something?" Rath pressed him. "What if she's in trouble and she needs your help?"

"Get out."

Rath sighed. "Fine. If you won't even fight for her, I guess she deserves better than you, anyway."

Char stared down at the water filling the stone bathtub, watching the steam rising from the surface. His gut told him Rath was right, but what was he supposed to do when she wouldn't tell him what was going on?

And what if there was nothing going on?

What if he was hoping for a reason, but she really had told him the truth?

He didn't know what to think anymore.

She'd been happy to see him the first time he came to visit her. He knew that much. But she'd flinched away from his initial touch with some flimsy excuse about his hand being cold. Then she'd tried to explain away her tense, twitchy behavior by saying she'd been thinking about Father John before he arrived, and then there was something about her magic lessons being more grueling than she expected.