Fleeing the clutches of her disreputable relatives, Sera Livingston has made her escape to Australia's Outback. Disguised as a boy, sharp-tongued Sera searches for her sister but is attacked by bushrangers. Thievery becomes her only chance at surviv...
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"I dreamed I couldn't get to you." Sera shifted on the bed, her eyes void as she stared at nothing.
She had recovered enough to be permitted to walk around her tiny home, but her usual energy and strength had been drained. She cursed herself for being so weak, and the days filled with bedrest had not been good for her psyche.
In the past when Sera was alone with her thoughts, they were at times her source of comfort, a security blanket that wrapped around her in a protective embrace. Other's they were her worst enemy. These past weeks, lying in bed, her thoughts betrayed her, yanked her down into a depth she didn't know she could come back from. They also made her come to a very drastic decision.
The clanking of pots and pans diminished. "What do you mean?" Ana asked.
Sera fisted the blanket and her gaze shifted to her sister. Ana was holding freshly cleaned pans, her hands still wet from washing them. Sera noted how they were cracking, bleeding because Ana had to wash them repeatedly from dressing Sera's wound to stop another infection from occurring. Remington had left strict instructions for Ana to follow since Sera would not give him access to their home.
She feared him.
And what his gaze unlocked in her.
"I dreamed I had failed you that night I helped you escape. Instead of getting you out, I had fallen. Sometimes," Sera swallowed, "when I was locked away, I wondered what could've happened if I had not gotten to you. Horrible, horrible visions would haunt me in the darkness of night. In my dreams."
Ana sat in the chair next to the bed, placing the pans down on the floor without them making a sound. She placed her raw hands on her lap, waiting for Sera to continue. Her face was mostly healed now, only a fading black eye to give any inclination of the sacrifice her sister had made.
Ana didn't need her anymore.
She was strong on her own.
This cemented Sera's decision even further.
"Those thoughts would plague me at night, which was ridiculous because you had gotten out. You were safe. I had succeeded. But I would have these nightmares, where I forgot the stash of money I had hidden under the floorboards and when we got to the train station it was all for naught. Or, when we crawled out the window I went first, and uncle had snatched you before you could climb out."
"Sera." Ana's fingers laid on top of hers, but Sera pulled away.
"I can't risk it, Ana. I can't risk anymore harm befalling on you. Look at what my presence has already caused!"
"What are you saying?" Ana's brow wrinkled; eyes widened in bafflement.
Sera's gaze connected with her sister's. "I'm saying, I must leave you. I cannot stay here."
