My eyes sought out Elex’s and he shrugged and shook his head slightly, so he didn’t know what this was about, either.
The room was really too small to hold this many people, but we managed. The kids came in and took seats on the small sofa, Naya holding Tik’s hand in a grip that had her knuckles turning white.
Rhu moved over and sat down across from them so he could read their lips more easily, and I took a seat next to him. Hel and Elex pulled up chairs from the kitchen while Allard stood behind us, hands crossed over his chest.
“What’s going on?” Hel asked the pair, not unkindly.
I saw Tik look from Hel back to Naya and then to me.
“First, thank you guys for meeting with us like this. I know you weren’t expecting this. We-we have some news we needed to share,” Tik said, a small smile on his face. “Naya and I Bonded last night.”
I gazed at the two kids in confusion, wondering why Naya was so scared, because the poor girl looked terrified. Were they afraid we’d be angry? They may be a little young, but from what I understood, most Somas Bonded before they were eighteen.
“That’s great!” my Bonded responded and congratulations were heard from everyone.
“I’m a Dual Mageia now,” Tik added shyly. “Earth and Fire.”
“That sounds perfect for you,” I said with a smile. “Since you want to do metal work.”
Tik nodded.
“But…Naya has something she needs to tell you all,” Tik said glancing around at all of us. “Before we Bonded last night, she shared something with me.”
I saw him squeeze her hand reassuringly.
“I-I’m so sorry,” she whispered, tears pooling in her eyes.
“Sorry about what, Naya?” Hel asked gently.
“T-the bomb,” she said, her voice trailing off. “I set the bomb.”
You could have heard a pin drop.
“I never meant for anyone to get hurt,” she continued hurriedly. “He told me there wouldn’t be anyone in the Administration wing.”
“Who told you that, Naya?” Luke asked.
“I—I don’t know. I never knew his real name. He said it was better that way. I met him in a chat room,” she said, tears spilling down her cheeks.
“I think you need to start from the beginning,” I said. I was generally a pretty good judge of character and Naya didn’t strike me as a terrorist.
She took a deep breath and Tik squeezed her hand reassuringly.
“My Mom died when I was only four or five. I don’t really remember her. Dad tried to keep the story from me, but kids talk. She was a Soma and was Bonded with her best friend, Mia, a Mageia who was killed in the war. Mom couldn’t take the humiliation, the accusations, of surviving her Bonded’s death. She killed herself. Dad raised me on his own. I barely remember her, just some vague images and feelings. Dad did the best he could. You—you never met my dad, I don’t think,” she said, looking at Hel and Rhuyin who shook their heads.
“He was the best Dad anyone could ever have. We weresoclose. We did everything together, but he never found his Bonded. When the new Mageia started coming to Illyria, I was so hopeful that he would find a match.
“T-then, the new rules came out from the War Leader. There was an age limit, a ten-year range. By this time, Dad was in his forties. When they announced the change, it was like I saw the light go out of his eyes. He had been devastated when we lost Mom, but he had held on for my sake. He said he felt like he was never going to find a match.
“Two days after I turned sixteen…he jumped from the Efkairia bridge.”
Her voice sounded hoarse now, tears streaming freely down her young face. It killed me that she had suffered so much in her young life.
“I was angry. Angry at him, angry at the world, angry at the War Leader. My therapist suggested that I connect with other war orphans as a way to help me work through the anger. I started visiting chat rooms online. That’s where I met him. He went by the name Kyrmenos.
“At first, it was just chatting. He said he his daughter was a Soma who took her own life. We just seemed to really connect. It wasn’t pervy, or anything. He just listened to me.
“Finally, we decided to meet up. We went to the Old Guard Park. I figured the area was always busy, and I really didn’t think he was any kind of threat. I got the impression he was in the military, but he never told me what he did.
