Branches of Life

Sucking in a sharp breath, I bolted upright. No longer was I standing in front of the seaside castle, but sprawled across the backseat of the van. Alone. The blanket that was wrapped me earlier, was now tangled around my feet. Bright fluorescent light streamed in through the tinted windows. Luckily, my head no longer ached and the ringing had vanished.

Cursed sister.

That's what the voices kept yelling over and over; a warning.

Despite my lack of belief in the deities, I knew a fair bit about their hierarchy and the ruling class's names. When it came to the stories and legends, I only knew the popular ones that were taught in lessons. Well, except for the one about the Cursed sisters, that myth wasn't too well known.

According to legend, the cursed sisters were one of the only beings the deities truly feared. Not many details had been assigned to them, and with my lack of care for all thing deity, many of the scarce details I was told were forgotten over the years.

I remembered that there were four of them. And I knew for certain I hadn't forgotten their names. Apparently, not even the deities spoke them, afraid that would summon them. A ridiculous notion. Especially because I was pretty sure they were said to have died eons ago.

One detail that I hadn't forgotten, was that one of them killed their fated mate. And it wasn't one of those times where her actions got him killed. Nor was it one of those situations where someone killed him to hurt her. No, if the stories were accurate, she stabbed him in the heart. Not leaving until the spark of life faded from his eyes. A feat that should've been impossible.

A shudder worked its way down my spine, and I found myself grateful they never existed in the first place.

Shoving aside all thoughts of my strange-ass dream and the sisters, I stretched my arms over my head. My body was stiff from laying down for the past... How long had I been asleep? It was still dark outside, but that didn't tell me much. A glance at my right side showed a pale pink line on my rib cage, where my gaping wound had been earlier.

Peering out the window, I saw we were stopped at a gas station, parked next to a gas pump. I climbed out of the van, stretching again with a groan. A cursory glance showed none of the others around, but I heard their faint and familiar voices drifting from the small building.

The walk between the car and the building was short, and I was pushing on the glass door in no time. Only nothing happened. The door wouldn't budge an inch. Of course, it was at that moment I noticed the sign that said pull. How embarrassing. A sharp ding from the bell at the top of the door announced the opening door.

Even without their voices leading me directly to them, I would've still been able to find my friends without effort. The room was close to the size of our living room, and my eyes immediately shot to Ander, Ari, and Harmony huddled in front of the fountain soda machine. And of course, they were arguing over the best soda mixture. Something that happened every time we were in the human realm. We didn't have soda in our realm, so it was almost a tradition for us to get it while visiting.

"I don't care what you say. Fanta and Mountain Dew is the best combination," Ari argued, placing the lid on her drink.

"Back me up over here, Jay," Harmony called over her shoulder, shooting me a glance.

"It's gross," I confirmed, joining them by the machine. "But It's not as bad as Ander's, Pepsi, and cherry Coke combination." I waved my hand toward his already full cup for effect.

"Every fucking time," Ander muttered.

Harmony giggled and I continued, "Your Mountain Dew, sprite, and vanilla combination isn't good either."

"Hey!" Harmony's laughter was replaced by indignation. "That's uncalled for!"

"Your Dr. Pepper and root bear combination sucks too," Ari shot back.

"Now, you take that back." I gasped, gesturing at her with my empty cup.

Ari chuckled and held up her hands in mock surrender.

As I filled up my cup, I asked, "How long was I out?"

"About six hours," Ari answered, perusing the snack isles.

I let out a low whistle, raising my brows. No wonder I was so stiff. "Do we have any idea where we're going?"

"All we know is that it's in a forest." Harmony sighed as she picked up a bag of trail mix.

"Very helpful," Ander grumbled under his breath.

Harmony paused her comparison between different flavors. "We're in Idaho if that help," she added, ignoring Ander's muttered comments.

I tried to think of the states in relation to one another. In our lessons growing up, we had a brief section about the human realm, including their geography. I knew the continents and some countries and states, but that was all I cared to learn.

Ander grunted, his facial features closed off, but his eyes gave away his anger. I shared a look with Ari, that basically said here we go. "Let's hear it," I said with a sigh, knowing it was best to let Ander vent out his frustrations here, away from the other two.

"I'm just about done letting those two lead us around, and barely give us scraps of information. It's dangerous not to have all the facts." He raked his fingers through his hair, huffing out a derisive laugh, drawing the attention of the older man behind the counter. "Look at what's already happened. You almost died last night, Jade. And we weren't even there to back you up."

"We're okay," Harmony called out, flashing the startled cashier a smile. He didn't look too convinced, but he returned to the magazine he'd been reading before, while we continued through the isles.

"Feel better?" I asked, raising a brow at him, grinning when he shot me a bland look.

As I scanned the aisles, I tried talking myself out of asking the question on my mind. "Where are those two anyway?" I tried keeping my tone casual, not wanting to show my growing interest in Koa. Being held by him earlier had felt right. Like it was where I was meant to be. I still smelt his spicy scent on my clothes and hair. There was something disturbingly soothing about inhaling it with every breath.

Based on the knowing gleam in Ari's eyes, I hadn't been successful.

"Probably making plans they'll refuse to share," Ander grumbled. If Koa and Starling kept on acting the way they've been so far, it wouldn't be long until we had a confrontation on our hands.

"You seriously need to let this go, otherwise you'll just drive yourself crazy." Ari laughed nudging Ander's arm.

After we paid for our food and drinks, we exited the building and found Starling and Koa. Both standing next to the van, talking in hushed whispers, cutting themselves off when they heard the door open.

"Told you," Ander grunted under his breath.

"Sorry you two," I called out with the fakest sweet voice I could manage. "We would've bought something for you, but we only do that for those who tell us what the fuck is going on."

Koa shot an exasperated look at me, while Starling pressed her lips together trying to hide her smile. Maybe there was some hope for her after all. Not so much for Koa.

"I vote the bitchy twins sit in the back." Harmony raised her right hand.

"I second that." Ari also raised her hand.

"Bitchy twins? That's the best you can come up with?"

At the same time, Ander asked, "What's up with you and your twin nicknames?"

"Thank you both for proving my point." Harmony gave us a pointed stare.

Chuckling lightly, Ander held out his arm to me. My lips lifted in response, and I looped my arm through his, letting him lead the way toward the van. We stopped a couple of feet in front of Koa, who was leaning against the back door. I gave him a frosty glare and unnecessarily cleared my throat. Yes, I could've taken the high road and should've, but Ander wasn't the only one frustrated with him. Holding my stare, Koa slowly pushed off the side of the van, his eyes never leaving my face.

I went to cross my arms, stopping when I remembered I was still holding Ander's. Koa's focus dropped down to where mine and Ander's arms were linked, his eyes flaring for a moment. His arms were crossed over his chest, making his already impressive arms look even bigger. Tendons and muscles flexed as he clenched and unclenched his fists. Finally, he stepped to the side, allowing Ander to open the door and duck into the van. I gave Koa one last look before climbing in.

I crawled over Ander's long legs stretched out in the middle of the aisle, and sat down next to him, draping my legs over his. "What is the other twin nickname?" I directed my question at both Ander and Harmony, as she and Ari settled into their seats.

"Earlier when—" Ari's response was cut short when the driver's door was opened. This time Koa was the one in the driver's seat, while Starling took the passenger seat.

Koa wouldn't answer any of my questions, but that didn't stop me from trying. "Are you planning on telling us where we're going?" He proved me right when he ignored me as he turned on the car.

Ander's sigh had me nudging his leg with my foot. I shook my head, silently telling him to pick his battles. Ironic, since he was the one always telling me that. Another sigh, this one resigned, let me know he would let this go. For now.

"Are we close?" I tried again, and this time he responded, by cranking up the radio—loud enough, that we were all uncomfortable with the noise. "Oh real mature!"

He laughed—the first I'd ever heard from him—while he shifted gears and pulled out of the parking lot. I was entranced by the sound and felt a lightness in my chest. His laugh was, unfortunately, a short one, that made me almost disappointed it had ended so quickly.

"How's your side?" Ander asked, distracting me from my thoughts on how I wanted to make Koa laugh again.

With a firm shake of my head, I lifted my shirt to show him the thin and almost head scratch. Now that I knew it'd been six hours, I was more than a little confused. Even with her use of silver, it should've already been completely healed. Ander didn't answer right away when I brought this up, his hands gently probing around the scratch. "Your healing was too busy fighting off the bends and hypothermia. I had to cast to get your blood to clot." Ander pulled his hand away and relaxed back into his seat.

"I also used plant healing to aid in the healing process," Harmony chimed in.

It felt like the breath had been knocked out of me. I was worse off than I originally thought. Ander had mentioned I almost died, but I thought he was being overdramatic. I should've known better, Ander wasn't one for over-exaggerating. We were always told there's only so much our healing could handle, and to avoid getting multiple life-threatening injuries at once. I just never thought it would happen to me, especially so soon.

"And I stayed out of the way," Ari proudly announced, breaking the tension that had settled over the car.

"You did a very good job," Ander said in a placating tone, the way one would talk to a child. She laughed in delight, throwing her head back as her shoulders shook.

"What in the fuck are the bends?" Ari abruptly asked once she was done laughing.

Ander chuckled, shaking his head as he covered his face. I was glad she asked because I also had no clue what it was. But unlike her, I didn't want to make myself look like an idiot, and that had nothing to do with Koa...

"It's decompression sickness, it happens to scuba divers," Harmony answered.

Silence descended on the car, the only sounds came from the gently purring engine, and the crinkling of bags and wrappers. "Does anyone have the time?" I stared out the window, looking up at the starry sky as if that would give me an answer.

"It's almost 3:30." Starling's sweet voice drifted from the front seat.

"Wow, one of them actually knows how to answer a question," I remarked. Ander huffed out a laugh, and Ari made an exaggerated cat noise while swiping clawed fingers at me.

"I liked it better when she was asleep," Koa grumbled.

"You say the sweetest things to me."

A small rumbling chuckle came from him. "Rest while you still can. We don't know what we'll face when we reach our destination."