‘Has been in its current location for centuries now. I do not believe the one who received it ever learned of its true power. Or true origin.’
Origin?It feels like she’s telling me it’s an Issen blade, but before I have a chance to confirm that with a question, she continues.
‘You and your people are bonded by this item, and such things have a way of opening doors that words cannot. Remember that.’
I try to keep my indignation hidden. It sounds like she’s basically telling me to go and find the Issen, wave a tiny blade at them, and hope that’s enough to stop them from firing ice through my heart the moment they see me.
I close my eyes, trying to quell the myriad thoughts that threaten to consume me.
‘If you go,’ Dinah continues, ‘go seeking understanding, not answers. Be wary and be sparing with the truth.’
That’s it? That’s all she’s giving me? Some loose, riddlesome words?
I open my eyes and look at her. ‘And my mother? Her powers … that is all you can tell me of them?’
Dinah’s expression softens. ‘She chose silence so that you might live freely. Whatever you decide now, make sure it isyourchoice – not one borne of fear.’
Choice?I think bitterly. I have no choice. None. I must learn to control the magic within me. If I do not, Korvane will kill me for it, or I will kill someone else by accident.
I rise slowly, my legs unsteady. ‘My siblings … sibling.’ I catch myself. ‘Kay? She will carry this within her too? Or is it just me? Just the eldest?’
The priestess draws a slow breath. ‘She is of your blood. Of your mother’s blood.’
It’s as though I’ve been wounded by a physical blade.
Yes.That is Dinah’s answer.
Yes, my siblings carry this same curse in their blood.
Trying to draw back the fear that claws through me, I look at the priestess. ‘Thank you. For telling me what you could.’
She stands with me and pulls me into a brief, fierce embrace. ‘I only ever wanted to keep you safe,’ she murmurs, stroking my hair in such a loving, maternal gesture that I feel my eyes sting.
I let myself be held by her for longer than usual. Here, in her arms, Ican believe I am safe for a moment. That, like a parent, she will protect me from the world.
But she is not, and she cannot.
I withdraw reluctantly and we walk in silence to the edge of the courtyard where we say farewell with a squeeze of hands.
A lump blocks my throat as I wonder if this will be the last time I see her, and I cannot help but wonder if she has the same thought.
As I step outside of the garden, truth settles cold and heavy in my chest.
There are no options for me here. No alternative means by which I can find tutelage for this power that grows stronger without restraint.
I have to go to them. To the Issen.
The clear sky –a sign of Kyor’s waning pain? – barely registers through the fog of my mind as I stumble forward, searching for a carriage to take me back to the High Hold. To my siblings.
They need to know what we are.
Oh Gods, poor William. The emotions that must be roiling through him today. What if they’re too much for him to handle? What if they erupt from him in a power he shouldn’t possess? Just like mine did with Oke.
William ripped the window from the wall with his cyclone powers when he was eavesdropping. What if the next time anger possesses him, it is notthatmagic that tears from him?
As my panic surges, I break into a sprint, but barely fifty feet from the temple, I find my route blocked. It is a carriage of sorts, but it is not the type I am after. It is whitewashed wood, pulled not by horses but by priestesses wearing the same clothes as Dinah.
I want to push past, but it’s not possible. Not with people crowding around it, paying their respects.
