Page 76 of To No End

Varro intended to keep me company, apparently, even if I didn’t ask for it. To be fair, he was here first. He positioned himself on the ledge across from me. We sat there in silence for a few minutes. During that time, I noticed that strange hum once more. It felt like small waves of vibration against my skin. I looked to the surface of the water to see if there was evidence of the vibration rippling along the top, but there was none.

I had never felt this strange sensation before. Not until I was delivered to the king and took the Bath of the Four Mothers. I had convinced myself it was the magic awakening in me from a long-dormant slumber.

Given Varro’s actions earlier, I figured I owed him some semblance of thanks. I certainly didn’t want to be indebted to him, but I could show my gratitude.

“I appreciate you stepping forward earlier, for Nori.” I was about as good at showing gratitude as I was apologizing; whether he realized it or not, this was a leap for me.

“I did it for you.”

His words pierced through me. I tried not to let the shock of it appear on my face. I thought he disliked me, the way I disliked him. Why would he do anything for me?

“And because it was the right thing to do. We’re all here instead of someone else, right?” he added.

I exhaled with relief trying to ignore his initial remark and took that as an opportunity to redirect the conversation.

“Who are you here for?” The question felt intrusive, but he’d left the door open for that by even mentioning it at all.

His once calm expression now flickered between sadness and anger.

“My sister.”

He had a sister too.

“Oh, is she younger than you?”

If he was here instead of her, then that meant she, too, was of age.

“We’re the same age,” he answered.

Clarity eluded me for only a moment.

“Wait, are you a twin?” I asked excitedly, as I had never met another twin in my life.

“You could say that.”

His reply was heavy, loaded with more than I could discern. But I was too consumed with the fact that I’d finally met another person who might know what it’s like to have another half from birth.

“I’m a twin as well!” I offered, sounding much more elated about this rare encounter than him.

“I know,” he said, “I’ve overheard your conversations.”

I cocked my head at his admission. Had he been eavesdropping on me, particularly, or had he been spying on all of us?

“Too bad you got stuck with the lesser beauty of the two Corliss twins,” he joked. I tried to imagine what a female Varro looked like. I bet she had long white curls and the same warm golden skin and rosy pink lips.

“I should say the same,” I said, thinking of Versa and all her soft, delicate features.

“I very much doubt that.”

Varro’s eyes now had a hint of lust swirling in them. My cheeks blushed at the implication of his words. I felt awkward and wrong, sitting here with the son of my father’s enemy. It would be easier to just ignore that, but occasionally I found it eating away at me.

“What did you mean by‘you could say that’?”

A pained look flashed across his face as he turned to look away from me for the first time.

“My sister and I were triplets. Our baby brother was the smallest of the three. With my father having one strong male and female heir, he decided a sacrifice to the old Gods of the sea would bring him good favor. He tossed our brother into the Endless Tides. He broke our mother’s heart that day. And he severed a tie that my sibling and I will never recover.”

My heartbeat stilled and I sat frozen in horror. His father had killed his own son, an infant, at that? Lord Corliss was even more barbaric than I ever fathomed. What kind of evil existed in his heart to do what he’d done? The crisp blue of Varro’s eyes that usually seemed alight with life now appeared dim and cheerless.

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