Free Riptide by Erica Cope Page B

darkness. I couldn't help but wonder if she would ever resurface from her downward spiral.
              She turned at once, leaving the castle without another word. I tried to follow but she had always been faster than me, and I knew that if she wanted to be left alone there wasn't anything that I could do about it.
 
     

~
             
                  Merrick and Elissa had sealed their bond shortly after her arrival and upon their union they became King and Queen of Kestia.
              Though it had only been a few months since her arrival, I already felt very close to her. She was gentle and kind and it was easy being around her. Elissa, despite her obvious love for Merrick, felt horrible for the way things had turned out. 
              With nothing else to occupy my time, I had begun training with one of Merrick's most trusted guards, Krill. Harmonia never would have approved. She would have said it was beneath our status . But since she was no longer at court, I didn't feel the need to seek my older sister's approval. 
              The training was strenuous and though it kept me busy, I tried to make time to visit Elissa as often as I could manage.
              “I'm so glad that you came today,” Elissa said. “You get to meet the new princess before she is officially presented.”
              I could see just how proud she was of her new baby. She motioned for me to come closer. The sleeping baby had golden hair just like her mother.
              “She's beautiful,” I told her.
              “Merrick says he hopes to have at least eight more,” she said with a sigh.
              “How exhausting.”
              “That's what I said.” She smiled. “Though if they are all as sweet as she is, I'd consider it.”
              “Brothers and sisters are always good.”
              Elissa looked up at me, with a sad expression. “Have you spoken to her recently?”
              I knew that she meant my own sister. I shook my a head no. “Not since the day the marks appeared.”
              I had tried to talk to her at first, but all of my attempts of reaching out to my sister had been viciously rejected.
              “Should I offer her a position here at court?” Elissa asked. 
              “I'm not sure if there is anything to be done,” I told her honestly.
              “I just feel so awful about how everything turned out,” Elissa said as she ran her slender fingers through her long, golden hair.
              “I know that you feel guilty, but honestly, how could you have known?”
              “Do you know where she is? Is she okay?”
              “I know that she wants to be left alone.”
              “I do wish she would return to court,” Elissa said sadly.
              “I don't know if her heart could face it.”
              “Would you try to talk to her?” she asked.
              “I've tried. She hasn't spoken to me in months,” I admitted.
              “Please? Try again?” I could see how desperate she was to make peace with my sister.
              “I will try.”
              “Thank you,” she said earnestly as I left.
              I knew exactly where Harmonia had been hiding for the last few months. But I also knew that she sought isolation.
              At first, I held on to hope that someday she would speak to me again, but those days were long gone.
              If not for Elissa's request, I would have continued giving my sister the space she so obviously desired. Even