“Do you understand what I’m saying?” his grandfather asked, his voice almost a whisper.
Yiran nodded. Exorcists were accepted by the rest of society because their magic worked against the Revenants. But if that ability to wield magic came from the very thing the Revenants desired, would a world without such people be safer? For the sake of his half brother and grandfather, Yiran hoped no one would try to find out.
“What do you have to say for yourself, boy?”
Keeping his gaze lowered, Yiran counted to eleven, letting his breath trickle out slowly. In the past, he would attempt to answer, but no answer ever placated his grandfather. Perhaps a satisfactory answer did not exist, and Yiran had given up trying. Even a stubborn dog will learn who its master is, and what it must do to get fed.
“I’ve told you to get your act together many times, but it seems my words have gone unheeded. You’ve had your chances. Pack your things. You’re leaving this place.”
Yiran must’ve heard wrong. His grandfather couldn’t be kicking him out over a silly traffic violation, could he?
“What does...leavingmean?” he asked, throat tight.
“There’s a private academy two towns away. You will keep up your attendance and your grades, and you will graduate. I don’t want to see you back here unless I ask for you.”
Why are you doing this to me?Yiran wanted to yell.Why did you take me in only to throw me out?But he stayed silent and contained his anger. Because deep inside, he knew why. He was never really a Song. Nevertruly part of the family. He’d been living here for the past twelve years like a parasite, and today, his grandfather was finally culling his infected stock.
His grandfather settled onto his chair and picked up his reading glasses. “You leave tomorrow morning. Someone will drive you.” He opened a ledger, licked his thumb, and flipped a page.
Yiran knew he was being dismissed, in more ways than one. Even as his mind protested, his body had given up. His head lowered and his spine curved to complete the bow.
“Yes, Zufu.”
Yiran barely made it down the hallway before sinking onto the cold floor. He would be in full view of the servants if any were to walk by, and they would know something had happened between him and his grandfather again. But he was past caring about what the staff thought.
Eyes closed, he lay there, feeling the scrape of the hardwood floor against his scarred fingertips. One more year of high school and he’d be off to college. No big deal if he left earlier. It wasn’t like he’d miss Sweets or Theo. Not much, anyway. They were friends by convenience, thrown together because of family connections. Loyalty played little part in their friendship. But Yiran had chosen the two of them, hadn’t he? And they had chosen him.
His grandfather wasn’t giving him a choice.
“Why are you lying on the floor?”
Great.The golden boy of the Song family had found him.
“I’m resting.”
Ash made a sound between a laugh and a snort that was somehow still charming. “I didn’t know you’d be home.”
Is this really my home?Yiran wanted to ask. But he kept his mouth shut and his eyes closed.
“Come on, get up.”
Yiran felt a nudge at his leg. He sighed and opened his eyes.
Looking at Song Lan Xi was like looking into a funhouse mirror,exceptYiranwas the distorted image. His half brother went by the monikerAsh—a nod to the gray hair that sprouted prematurely from his head because of his extraordinarily high level of yangqi. But it didn’t matter what he chose to call himself. Unlike Yiran, Ash wore the Song family name well and he strode through life with the ease of someone born to succeed.
He was everything Yiran was not and could not be.
Sometimes, when the nights grew long and lonely, Yiran found himself hating him. He hated Ash’s confidence, his guts, his swagger. He hated that their grandfather loved Ash more, and that Ash was the only connection Yiran had to their dead father. He hated that Ash would lay his own life on the line to protect his family. Most of all, Yiran hated not knowing if he would do the same in return.
“I didn’t see your car in the driveway,” said Ash. “Did you crash it again?”
The accusation pushed Yiran to his feet. Two months ago, he had the misfortune of crossing paths with a jaywalker. The girl had suddenly appeared at the intersection with her head turned in the wrong direction. He’d swerved to avoid her, ramming into a fire hydrant. But his grandfather took one glance at the missing fender and broken headlight, and it was all that mattered.
“I told you it wasn’t my fault the last time,” he said.
“Okay, okay. I believe you,” Ash soothed. “So why are you home early?”
He doesn’t know about my exile.Yiran pushed his hair out of his face, mumbling, “Zufu sent someone to pick me up from Theo’s. He wanted to talk.”
