âLyon isnât allowing it,â Eirika protested as Ephraim turned away. âHe has no control. I only saw him because the demon purposefully let him go, just for a moment.â
He was so stubborn⌠Eirika bit her cheek until she tasted blood and had to admit that in his position, she would feel the same. Hadnât she made that choice already? Come back to free her brother, no matter the cost? And now here he was, for her, and he wouldnât be persuaded any more than she would have been.
âWeâll have to find a way to kidnap him tonight, then. I have a theory thatâŚwith the stone of Rausten, and perhaps by the full moon, since the demon is strongest at the new moonâŚâ
That was when heâd taken Lyon as his sacrifice, at least. But she could explain her theories later. They had so little time, but she wrapped her arms around Ephraimâs waist and pressed her cheek against his back, feeling herself crumble in tandem with him.
âI missed you so much.â Her voice was already watery. âIâd wished you wouldnât come back, but at the same time, Iâm so glad you did.â
âI couldnât just leave,â Ephraim said immediately. At the sound of her voice breaking, he turned back to her and buried his face in her hair, his arms tight around her as if somehow it could keep them together. âI couldnât. I wanted -- I wanted you to stay away, more than anything. I thought if I could just -- just work up the courage to end it again, then I could go home to you and everything would be all right again --â
It wouldnât have been all right, he knew. It hadnât been all right the first time, after all. Heâd just stayed silent about it, kept it a secret. But now it was all out in the open, every raw, vulnerable emotion heâd ever had about it, and he couldnât simply hide it all again or pretend as if it had never been there. He wiped at his cheeks, furious at himself more than anything. More than the demon -- more than Lyon, and the realization of how angry he was at Lyon just made it all worse.
âFor a while, I wished -- I wished heâd never come back at all. I wished none of it had ever happened. I wished no one ever knew any of what I told you, and that you and I and -- and Renais -- could just... heal, finally. But now I donât even know what to do, Eirika. I donât. Itâs all my fault for ever letting him back in, because after all of what heâs done, I didnât learn a damn thing.â