Chapter 89: Unspoken Curses.
Andrea turned away, only to realise Claire was standing directly in front of her. Her hood had been pulled back, exposing a pair of cold eyes that remained fixed on Andrea without the slightest hint of hesitation.
"You sent my brother out there on his own?."
Andrea’s expression immediately darkened. Ryan had barely disappeared into the crowd, yet Claire had already found her.
She wasn’t particularly surprised. Claire had always been perceptive, and with Ethan being involved, it would’ve been stranger if she hadn’t come looking.
"Yes... but at the risk of sounding insensitive, I had a very good reason for doing it."
Claire’s fists trembled.
If she could’ve punched Andrea, she would’ve.
Instead, she drove her fist into the thick wooden support beside them. The pole snapped instantly, and the force travelled through the frame, bringing the entire tent crashing down in a shower of timber and cloth.
"At the risk of sounding insane, Andrea. if my brother dies..." Claire’s voice shook despite how hard she tried to suppress it. "Don’t expect me to ever follow another one of your orders. To think I actually killed Leslie for you and you turn around and send my brother to die."
Before another word could leave Claire’s mouth, Andrea stepped forward and covered it with her hand.
She was beginning to lose what little patience she had left.
One person questioning her judgement was already exhausting enough. Two, especially when neither of them understood the full picture, was rapidly becoming intolerable.
"Ethan is a Space Master like you, and perhaps a better one. You need to let him grow and stop restraining him every chance you get. If he does die, then it will be on you."
Claire’s eyelids fluttered before her expression gradually hardened. She pulled Andrea’s hand away from her mouth and took a small step back, her cold eyes never leaving Andrea’s face. The anger hadn’t disappeared. If anything, it had settled into something far quieter, making her words sound all the more serious.
"You’re the one that sent him in the Eidolon Chief’s direction, all alone against an army of monsters, he’s just a kid... you should have asked me to go instead."
Andrea slowly shook her head.
"Your ability has a time limit, once you lose the ability to fuse into space, you would be a sitting duck... Your brother’s ability is more versatile, and honestly speaking. He’s stronger than you are in a fight, if it came down to it."
Claire went silent.
Almost unconsciously, she bit down on her lower lip, a habit she’d had for as long as she could remember. She wasn’t wrong for reacting the way she did. She was simply worried about her little brother, just as any older sister would be. Even so, she couldn’t deny what Andrea had said. If it really came down to a fight, Ethan stood a far better chance of surviving than she did, and with his ability, escaping from the Eidolon Chief wasn’t completely impossible.
Andrea understood that better than anyone.
Despite everything that had happened, she still considered Claire a friend, and she cared about both her and Ethan. If there had been anyone else capable of scouting the Eidolon army without throwing their life away, she would’ve sent them instead. Unfortunately, there wasn’t. Ethan alone possessed the kind of ability that could gather the information they desperately needed while still leaving him with a realistic chance of escaping if the Chief discovered him.
"He will be fine, I told him to scout and return immediately, even if the Chief spots him, he’s the only one in camp with the type of power to escape from a fight against opponents leagues stronger than himself."
Claire agreed inwardly, but she refused to give Andrea the satisfaction of hearing it. She remained stubbornly silent, her lips pressed into a thin line as she searched for something else to say, anything that would prove Andrea wrong.
She never got the chance.
A figure suddenly fell from the sky.
The impact obliterated a nearby tent. Wooden supports snapped apart while thick sheets of hide were flung into the air, startling everyone nearby. Several Awakened instinctively reached for their weapons before realising it wasn’t an attack.
Before anyone else could react, Andrea and Claire had already moved.
Claire fused into space, her figure vanishing before reappearing beside the crater almost instantly. Andrea followed only a heartbeat behind, weaving through the scattering crowd with alarming speed.
Claire immediately dropped to her knees.
She gently lifted Ethan’s bloodied head into her lap, her hands trembling despite her best efforts to remain calm. The moment she saw him, the crushing weight pressing against her chest eased. He was still conscious. Most of the blood coating him wasn’t from fatal wounds, and although his body was covered in cuts and bruises, none of them appeared life threatening.
That knowledge did little to calm her racing heart.
"Ethan... you’re still alive, thank God."
Andrea stood over the siblings, her calm hazel eyes fixed on Ethan. She remained completely composed, though in truth she was relieved to see him alive. When Ethan finally opened his eyes, Andrea was the very first person he saw.
He immediately sat upright.
"Andrea, we’re all fucked."
His completely unfiltered outburst instantly drew the attention of the gathering crowd. Several nearby Awakened stopped what they were doing and turned in their direction, while others began making their way over, hoping to find out what had happened.
Claire reacted first.
She immediately covered Ethan’s mouth before another word could escape him. Then she looked up at Andrea.
Their eyes met for only a brief moment before they both nodded in silent understanding.
Ethan looked between the two of them, completely lost. Before he could even ask what was happening, Claire activated her Dormant Ability. The two of them fused into space, vanishing from everyone’s sight as though they had never been there.
Within the silent void, Claire wrapped both arms tightly around her little brother and refused to let go.
For several long moments, neither of them spoke. Only after convincing herself he was truly alive did she finally release him.
Then she punched him square in the face.
Ethan stumbled backwards, clutching his cheek in disbelief. A string of curses immediately formed in his mind, but after one glance at Claire’s expression, he wisely decided they were better left unspoken.
Without giving him the chance to complain, Claire grabbed him by the wrist and led him straight towards Andrea’s tent.
The two siblings waited in silence. It wasn’t long before Andrea finally stepped inside.