When the door to my bedroom opens, I bolt upright in bed. I’m still dazed. Sleep clings to me like afine glitter I can’t shake. But still, I know enough to hope.
“Nikolai?” I blink against the darkness. Even when I see the small, thin figure in front of me that can’tpossibly be him, I’m convinced it’s Nikolai. “You came back. I didn’t know if—”
The moment I hear my name—the moment I hear my sister’s shaky, tentative voice drenched in fear—Ijump out of bed.
I’m across the room with my arms around her before I can even process what is happening.
“Are you real?” I gasp, tugging at the ends of her strawberry blonde hair and squeezing her to mychest until I can feel her heart beating against my rib cage. “Are you really here?”
Elise laughs softly. “Yeah. And I’m glad you
