Page 29 of Hell Burns Between Us

The atrium was packed with enough plants to qualify as its own ecosystem. This, naturally, was his sister Wisteria’s preferred method of decorating. She firmly believed greenery was all a room required, and she had never met a plant she didn’t think deserved a place inside.

One side of the room was made entirely of windows, allowing them to read under sunlight long after their own bedrooms were shadowed from evening’s approach. It was a room made for comfort, thick carpets and lush sofas—and yet for him it conjured only memories of the long afternoons he’d spent studying here with his two older siblings.

He opened the door and found Wisteria lounging on a long emerald sofa. Her sharp, chin-length hair swished as she turned to look over her shoulder at them. Soft pink highlights graced her periwinkle skin and accentuated her indigo hair, offering the only hints of softness to her otherwise haughty exterior.

Before anyone could speak, his brother Hemlock burst through the door behind them, arms overflowing with bottles of alcohol and mixers from the party.

Hemlock was lean like Oleander, but much taller, with massive broad shoulders. Where Oleander slouched and Wisteria smirked, Hemlock was calm and purposeful. His sapphire skin was a shade darker than Oleander's, his hair the same blueish-silver, but his most striking feature was his eyebrows—bushy and bright silver. This was perhaps the only place he showed his otherwise carefully controlled emotions. Hemlock stopped and raised one of those thick eyebrows at Oleander in a silent question.

Oleander spoke as he signed. “Wilder, this is my older brother, Hemlock.” He used the sign their family had created for Hemlock’s name—a combination of the sign for “clever” and the letter H. Wilder was opening her mouth to say something, but Oleander quickly turned to Hemlock and finger-spelled, >W-I-L-D-E-RHow. Are. You?Drunk.Yes.No.Yes. I know.No.Yes.<

Hemlock shook his head in mock judgement, but then he winked and started mixing her drink. The room was quiet for a moment until Wisteria let out a long sigh. In a mocking tone, she said, “Well, now that you’ve won Hem and, I’m assuming Ols over, what in the ever-loving fuck are you doing here, Perine Wilder?”

Wilder sighed, scribbled something on a piece of paper, and handed it to Hemlock. She then turned to Wisteria, her expression tight and arms crossed. “I accidentally inhaled some purification smoke and your brother had to bring me the antidote. I, um, had some problems with my family due to the whole spewing honesty of it all, and so I opted to come here and watch the rest of the ceremony instead.”

Wisteria looked her up and down. “Alright, fine, but no weird Holy Circle shit tonight. I’m here to relax and gossip.”

Wilder shrugged and took a sip of the bright pink cocktail Hemlock handed her. “Fine by me.”

Hemlock raised a questioning brow. She beamed and nodded enthusiastically before walking towards Oleander, who had thrown himself onto one of the many green loveseats. Wilder settled herself on the one next to him.

Oleander had always prided himself on his lack of curiosity about almost anything, yet now he found himself asking, “What did you write to Hemlock?”

“Just what I was about to say to Wisteria.” She glanced around the room. “I don’t know how to sign very many things, but I figured he probably was also curious why I’m here.”

“Ah,” Oleander choked out. “That… That was nice of you.”

He slumped broodily into his loveseat. Wilder was always doing small kindnesses like that, which was annoyi—no, it wasn’t that. She was insuffer—no. This thought refused to form as well.

He blew out a frustrated sigh as he considered the exact correct word to describe her.

She was… irritating? Yes!

Yet, also—immediately the smoke forced him to admit—equally endearing. He’d watched her doing countless considerate things all the time at the Academy. She was quietly kind, almost persistent in her attention and care to others. Most beings wouldn’t bother including Hemlock in their conversation, forcing him to ask Wisteria or Oleander to fill him in.