Frozen 3

Chapter 39

Ryder

I woke up after a very restless night. I had hardly slept a wink. The sun had long since risen. I knew I was supposed to have been up for a while, looking after my herd. I hadn't had the strength. I'd spent all evening and most of the night wandering around the enchanted forest. My sister's behavior had disappointed me. I'd left her alone, seized with anger. I took a long walk to calm myself down and, realizing that my reaction had been stupid, I made my way, exhausted, to my hut. I approached silently, thinking Honeymaren was asleep. When I saw that her window shutter was still closed, I went over to open it, knowing that it was the only way for her to see the light of day the next morning. The moment I put my hand on the wooden shutter, little Bruni jumped on my arm.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" I asked the little animal, laughing.

The fire spirit looked at me with round eyes and crawled up my sleeve to clutch my fingers. The moment I tried to open the flap, it spat tiny flames onto the back of my hand.

"Ouch! Let go of me! Let go of me! Let me go!" I moaned, shaking my fingers with all my might to make the salamander let go.

Bruni had finally fallen to the ground and, before leaving, had glared at me. I rolled my eyes before finally managing to open the shutter. I simply glanced inside out of curiosity. It was then that I saw what had been haunting me all night. Honeymaren and Elsa were kissing passionately before my astonished eyes. I quickly looked away, not wanting to see any more. A feeling of heartbreak had seized me. I felt tears welling up in my eyes without knowing why. I fought them back as best I could, feeling suddenly overcome by anger. I fell to my knees and pounded the floor with my fists, stifling a cry of fury.

Now I couldn't forget what I'd seen. I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. I ran my hands over my face to try and compose myself. It was no use, the vision of my sister kissing Elsa was engraved in my memory.

Honeymaren still hadn't gotten up. The very idea that my twin could love a woman made me furious. I had warned her! I was suddenly overcome with a sense of shame. Ashamed of having a different sister. I was terribly angry with her. Suddenly, I heard her bedroom door open and close. I stood up and made my way to the living room, fists clenched. Honeymaren was there, making herself a cup of tea and looking pensive. I came and sat down on an armchair opposite her, trying to remain impassive.

"Did you have a nice evening?" I asked, falsely interested.

She raised her head and looked at me, astonished.

"I didn't do anything special, you know," she replied, raising her teacup to her lips.

I felt anger welling up inside me. She dared to lie to me, looking me straight in the eye.

"Really? I thought your evening had been more exciting than this..."

Honeymaren gasped and nearly choked on the mouthful she'd just swallowed.

"What do you mean?"

I saw the panic in her eyes. I looked at her hard.

"I know what happened last night with Elsa," I said coldly.

"But how..."

"I saw you," I interrupted.

My sister suddenly began to blush.

"What exactly did you see?" she stammered, suddenly embarrassed.

"You were kissing. And I don't want to know what you did afterwards," I added reproachfully, seeing her relief.

I stood up and approached her. I grabbed her violently by the shoulders and plunged my gaze into hers. We were so close that our foreheads were almost touching. I saw her wince in pain under the pressure I was putting on her.