ANEW ||

Echo

Rayne leaned back on her hands, the setting sun warming her skin the best it could. It wasn't heat like on the island, but it was something in this chilly place. She was lounging on top of the building in which they were staying. The grey slab of whatever it was had warmed in the sun during the day. 

She needed to be alone sometimes. Normally, if she were on the island, she would stretch out her wings and take to the sky. Rayne would fly straight toward the gap in the border of the island and appear on the other side, as if out of nowhere. The open sea air, crystal clear water and nothing but her and the horizon. 

If she did that here, well, that wasn't really a good idea. So she settled for being as high up as she could without sprouting wings and flapping about like a pigeon in the wind, shitting on mortals and what not. 

There was nothing more she wanted to do than go home. She missed her sister and her island and her home that she didn't have to share. Not that she didn't mind sharing with April and Lexi. It was just nice to have her own space. 

But she needed to be here. Mari had enough to worry about. Rayne could handle this. 

The hatch in the roof popped open and Rayne looked over her shoulder. She expected to see Lexi, maybe April but it was Hellion who climbed up onto the roof. She hadn't seen him since that morning when he'd woken up with his seal ripped to shreds. Hellion had forgotten all about his previous yelling fit and had been solely content to stare at his hands. 

She groaned loudly, "what do you want?"

The sound of the hatch clicking shut grated against her ears. "I saw you from the street and I thought you might want some company." 

"You thought wrong," she snapped. 

"Okay," he said cautiously, sitting down beside her. "I needed some company." 

Rayne met his gaze, a flat bored expression on her face. "And you thought bugging me was a way to quell your loneliness? Why not stop and speak with Lexi and April? You had to walk by their door to get here anyways."

Hellion grinned. "I'm not lonely," he said looking out over the edge of the building. "I'm with you."

Oh, she had to try hard not to laugh at that. "What do you want, Hellion?" 

He waited for a beat before answering. "A distraction I guess. Everything feels different now." He reached his hand out in front of him, his dark fingers glowing orange in the setting sun. " I can see the tiniest of particles in the air. Feel the vibrations in the ground. I'm faster, I have more control over the fire than I thought possible and-" His words died in his throat. 

Rayne remembered that day Mari had given her the wind. Remembered the snow and the pain and the war that consumed them hours later. She didn't have time then to take it all in, the overwhelming sensations, the power. She had to fight, she had a responsibility. 

Maybe it was different for someone like him. 

She stared at his profile. The jawline, the nose she didn't recognize. The bit of blue in his left eye. She wondered if he knew...

"Tell me about your sister," Rayne said using the question like a double-edged sword. A distraction like he wanted, but a way to gather information all the same. 

Hellion blinked for a moment, "uh, what do you want to know?" 

"Just tell me about her," Rayne said crossing her legs. She shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant. 

"She's older, but not by much. A couple of hours at most-"

"You're twins?" Rayne asked trying not to sound too alarmed. Twins. They had never had twins on the island. Never. Not until Nola and Nova, and they were only eight or nine years old now. If Hellion was a twin and her math was correct... Well, she supposed the timeline fit.