Page 144 of The Last Guardian

“Did you tell Dorian?” I asked Arthur, with a long sigh. “He’s aware of the Guardians—so did you tell him for⁠—”

“He knows about the Guardians because I had no choice but to tell him when he decided to come here with me!” Arthur yelled, his cheeks flushed red.

I yelled back, spitting, “But did you or did you not tell him about you?”

Arthur went still, his eyes searching mine like he was begging me not to say more.

Dorian gestured in front of Arthur’s face, calling for attention. “Eh, asshole, are you going to answer me, or am I somehow invisible?”

Arthur glared at Dorian, breathing loudly before returning his focus to me. I crossed my arms, waiting for his explanation.

“Everything I did,” Arthur whispered in a controlled anger, “I did it for our family. It is my duty to protect you—all of you.”

“You lied to us, Arthur—” I said, but Arthur interrupted me with a scoff.

“I could accuse you, too, Alyana,” Arthur said, his jaw clenched. “Why did you not tell us about the day Mother died?”

I went still. The air stopped moving, my heart falling from my chest.

“Wha—” Dorian began, but I didn’t let him finish.

I tried to ignore the pang, and I scoffed bitterly. “What are you talking about?” I crossed my arms, letting the lie burn my tongue.

“I followed you—” Arthur said. His voice broke. “Five years ago, the day you went to the healers, I followed you.”

My breath quickened, tension coiling through my shoulders, as I searched my brother’s eyes.

“Since her death, you have been acting strange,” Arthur recalled, his eyes falling to the past, “so distant, almost like you died too.” His eyes repressed the feeling surging inside of him. “When I saw you sneaking from the palace, I followed you to the healer’s center. And I listened from the outside…”

“How—” I stopped, swallowing my words. My gaze lingered on Arthur, who was staring back. Everything inside my body froze, thinking—breathing was impossible.

Dorian cleared his throat. “Not like I want to interrupt this declaration, but can you fill me in? Because I feel like I could be choking on the carpet and you would not even notice.”

My eyes fell on Dorian, his brown eyes gleaming with worries and fears—and the sadness I would put in them if I shared this secret I had dug inside my soul.

Every part of me begged not to say it, not to tell them, not to burden them with this—but I was the one who had demanded answers from Arthur. Truth, I longed for truth. How could I ask him that if I refused to tell them my truth?

With deep, shaky breaths, I drew on the strength I had left. My hands trembled at what I was about to admit to them. Of the lie I had created and in which I had allowed myself to live for five years, digging the hollow even deeper.

“I—” I closed my eyes as a tear escaped from one. Hells, I couldn’t even say the words. “I—I don’t remember anything about that day.” Tears flowed down my cheek, and I pushed them away with my hand. “I don’t know what happened. I just woke up, and Mother was there, in my arms, already—” The words died on a sob.

Dorian got up instinctively, breaking the distance between us, taking my trembling hands in his. “Alya.”

Protect.

Protect.

Protect.

Protect them, protect your heart, urged my inner voice.

“Why did you keep that to yourself?” Dorian whispered, with such sorrow and sadness in his beautiful eyes—and I cursed myself for putting those emotions into them.

“How could I have told you that?” I asked with another sob. “Who would have believed me?”

“I would have believed you,” said Dorian softly, his eyes lingering on mine.

Arthur added, his voice catching slightly, “How… how could you think we wouldn’t?”