Seeing my expression, she added, “Or you can leave now, and that second condition will still hold.”
“Guess I have no choice.Agreed.”
She studied my expression, then nodded.“How much do you know about the history of the Emberborn?”
“Not much.”
“Not surprising, given your age,” she said.“Emberborn used to be common.Although they were not as numerous as non-Emberborn, thousands lived in Analon alone.Emberborn and humans lived peacefully side by side.Then, twenty years ago, King Tarnasau declared Emberborn a threat to the kingdom.He was afraid of their power.He and his Sentinels and Royal Guard began to hunt them down.The Butcher was the master architect of it all.”
At the mention of Orlik’s nickname, I flinched.
She continued, “Emberborn were either killed or conscripted into King Tarnasau’s army.The ones who escaped fled the country or went into hiding.Even mentioning Emberborn became a capital offense.The king’s lackeys scrubbed the libraries, removed them from the history texts, and destroyed their artwork.He literally wiped Emberborn from existence.”
How does an entire race get wiped out such that only a few remain?The thought made me sick to my stomach.
“And I can detect them,” I said.“At least when they use their abilities, that is.”
Mrs.Crowe turned the centrifuge’s crank to increase the whirring sound.“Emberborn call their abilities Embers.What you’ve described is Veilsense: the ability to detect when Emberborn draw on their Embers.”
“And how did I get this Veilsense?”
Mrs.Crowe looked me directly in the eye.“Veilsense is itself an Ember.”
It took me a moment to absorb the implications of what she’d said.
“But…only Emberborn have Embers.”
She nodded.“Now you understand.”
I couldn’t accept it.It wasn’t possible.
I was Emberborn?
“But…but I’ve seen what these Embers can do—make people disappear or turn into beasts.I can’t do anything like that.”
Mrs.Crowe’s gaze looked like it could cut glass.“Turn into beasts?You’ve seen this?”
“With my own two eyes.Orlik’s bodyguard Syra.”
Mrs.Crowe looked visibly pained.She let out a long breath and continued.“Each Emberborn’s Ember is as distinct as their appearance or personality.Some Embers are innate and passive, like Veilsense.Others are more active and take great energy to perform and great skill to master.”
I still didn’t want to believe I had a “magical” power, but a growing feeling told me it was the truth.Perhaps a part of me had always known.
“Why didn’t my parents tell me?”I asked, not expecting an answer.
“Emberborn were hunted and murdered because of their Embers.Would you trust a child with that secret?”
My father had trusted me.You can hear whisperhawks, like me.It’s your special gift.But you must keep it a secret.Tell no one.
I had told someone.And it had cost me dearly.
It was hard not to feel betrayed.I’d been Emberborn all along, and my parents had chosen to hide that from me.Maybe if I had known what it meant—how dangerous it was—things might have been different.
“But how did I not figure it out?”I asked, more to myself than to Mrs.Crowe.
“Most people don’t develop Embers until their teen years.And Veilsense is innate, so it’s not that surprising that you didn’t even know.”
Until their teen years.
