Cinderella: A Fractured Fairytale

Eighty-Two

Chapter 82

Ethan's POV

*****

I was still slightly annoyed at having been interrupted, but I could tell from Eric's expression that it wasn't something trivial he wanted to talk to me about. His eyes reflected worry and unhappy resolve.

Leaving Jovette and Anastasia together, we walked a little ways away. Eric bit his lip, then began to speak. "I know how we can defeat Black."

Startled, I stared at him. "What?"

He shook his head. "It's my fault. Everything. All of this. And I need to fix it. Ethan, you're the only one who can know about this. If the others find out, they'll try to stop me."

Now I was worried. "Find out about what, Eric?"

He turned away, eyes pooling with guilt. "I'm going to do it tonight. Black will be gone, once and for all. But in case... something happens, and I can't finish it... I need you to be there."

Alarm tingled inside me. "Eric, don't say that. We only just made everything right. I can't..." -my voice wavered- "lose my brother again." I caught his eye. "Brothers forever... remember?"

His expression crumpled, and before I knew it, my brother was wrapping his arms around me tightly, closing his eyes the way he had when we were little... when he'd looked up to me and I was the example.

Now he was probably the better of the two of us.

Did he still look up to me?

Brothers forever.

He was still my little brother. I could still protect him, the way I always had.

I held onto Eric, eyes stinging. "I missed you," I told him quietly. "Even if I didn't know it, I missed you."

"I missed you, too," he whispered fiercely. "I missed you so much." His voice wavered. "But now I... I think I'm going to lose you again."

I heard the pain in his voice and held tighter. "Don't say that. Never say that. It's going to be okay. We'll all survive this. And it will be just like it was before. You and me. Unstoppable. Except this time, you have Ana, too."

Eric pulled back. "I hope so, brother," he whispered. "But I need you to be there anyway. Tonight. In the courtyard. And... don't tell Ana, please. If something... happens, I don't want her to follow and see it."

"I won't," I promised, heart twisting inside me. "And I'll be there."

Eric sighed, seeming relieved. "Thank you, Ethan."

Anastasia and Jovette were both staring at us from where they were standing, and I elbowed Eric playfully, trying to get him in a better mood. "I think Ana wants you to go back and finish your romantic walk with her."

He buried the melancholy in his eyes and made an effort to smile. "And I think Jovette's watching you just as closely as Ana is watching me."

I glanced at the girls again, feeling heat rush to my face. "Nah... probably not..." I mumbled.

"Oh, don't you deny it." Eric was grinning for real now. "Do you know what she told me after she ran away from the palace and 'escaped'?"

I winced. "Did she complain about having to eat fish every day? I admit it, I was a stupid grump..."

Eric laughed. "No. She said she missed you."

"She did?" I stared at him, incredulous. "I find that hard to believe."