Page 152 of Victorious

“But you did.” Serena’s eyes were glassy, filled with light. Her fingers tightened around Sydney’s wrist. “Now I make the world. And so, I make the rules.”

Around them, the house grew even brighter. Rainbows danced against the walls. Daylight flashed on the snow outside as the sun revolved across the sky, there and gone and there again, so fast that she felt dizzy.

Serena reached up, and tucked a lock of hair behind Syd’s ear, lifting her chin so they were eye to eye.

“You’ve grown so much,” she mused, the smile sliding from her face. Nearby, the bouquet withered on the counter. “I guess that’s what happens, when you miss eight years.”

Syd’s stomach dropped. “I’m sorry.”

Serena inclined her head, waiting for an explanation.

Syd didn’t trust herself to hold her sister’s gaze so instead she slipped her arms around Serena’s waist, buried her face against her sister’s collar.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t strong enough,” she whispered, “I knew I’d only get one chance. And I was so scared of failing. I couldn’t lose you again.”

Serena’s free hand drifted up, came to rest against the back of Sydney’s head.

“It’s okay, Syd,” she cooed. “I’m here now.”

She pulled back, her eyes so blue they seemed to glow.

“And I’m not going anywhere.”

The words should have made her feel better, but they didn’t.

Serena’s hand was still a manacle around her wrist. Her skin prickled in warning. Once upon a time, Serena had ordered Syd to go somewhere safe, and every fiber of her being had sent her running away from her sister. Her body had known then what her mind struggled to accept.

Victor said that EOs, in defying death, shed a vital piece of their humanity. Their gentleness, their empathy, their conscience. Syd had idolized her sister, back when she was human. But the Serena who came out of the ice was a stranger. Fickle, and frightening, and cruel. An EO who treated people like puppets, bent them to her whim, her will.

And now Sydney had made her even stronger.

And she had no idea how to escape.

If Victor were here, he’d know what to do. If Victor were here—but then she remembered, the last time Victor had crossed paths with Serena, he’d cut her throat, so it was probably best that he was gone.

Sydney looked around Serena’s dream. Her happy place, she’d called it, but she’d been speaking for Syd, too. Understanding rolled across her, then. Her sister was arguably the most powerful EO in the world.

But she had a glaring weakness.

One that existed long before the day the ice broke on the lake. She was so used to getting her way that whenever someone told her what she wanted to hear, she assumed they were telling the truth.

Sydney met her sister’s gaze, and said, “I’m really glad we’re home.”

Serena let go of Sydney’s wrist.

“Me too,” she said, turning and spreading her arms, as if to hug the house.

Syd shivered. “I’m going to grab a sweater,” she said. “Is my room still up the stairs?”

Serena flashed her a dreamy smile. “Where else would it be?”

Syd matched her grin. “Duh.” She laughed, and started across the room, leaving the withered bouquet on the counter. When she reached the stairs, she made sure to take them slowly, as if there was no need to run. Nowhere else on earth she’d rather be.

XINOW. THEN.

NOAH stood waiting at the second entrance.

It had been twenty minutes since Eli entered the park from the opposite side.