Chapter 204: By My Side
The carriage rolled to a halt before a towering manor carved from pale stone, Olivia stared at it through the frosted window, her breath fogging the glass.
It was colder here. She stepped out slowly, her boots crunching softly on the powdered snow. The manor loomed above reaching the clouds. But it was deathly silent and cold.
Her last meeting with Rhistel flashed in her mind. His cold eyes had stared at her like a predator had pierced through her. like he already knew what she was. That short encounter had left her shaking for days. And now...
She looked around, expecting to see him waiting near the grand doors and prepared herself for the impact, but when she walked closer, she was stunned to see that he wasn’t there.
Instead, Oriana stood on the wide stone steps, wrapped in a deep burgundy cloak lined with fur. Her red hair was pinned up elegantly, and her lips were parted with emotions Olivia could not recognize, yet she felt drawn to them. Her sister! No matter how cold and distant they have been, they were family! Olivia couldn’t breathe for a moment.
Oriana looked older, but not in the way that meant age, she looked exhausted.
Then Oriana stepped down and to Olivia’s utter disbelief, threw her arms around her.
"Sister," she whispered hoarsely. "I have missed you."
Olivia froze. For a moment, she couldn’t respond. The Oriana she remembered did not hug. She did not cry. She did not break, she stood cold and told even when their parents had died. And she had always been distant and emotionless.