Rather than continuing to speak, he reaches for the glass of water before him, and we all watch as ice forms in it.
As William’s eyes meet mine, a deep ache rolls out through my chest. If I ever doubted that he believed he was our brother, that feeling is long gone.
What he just showed us could get him killed, which means, in spite of everything, he trusts us.
Pride and happiness flood me, tempered with anxiety and fear. He has Issen magic, just like me.
‘How long have you been able to do that?’ I ask carefully.
‘Since I was old enough to know it wasn’t a good thing,’ he admits. ‘Something told me I had to keep it hidden.’
I wouldn’t have thought it possible, but my sympathy and grief for my baby brother deepen even more. Not only was he stripped of his family and raised by a man who lied to him day in and day out, but he was also forced to keep this a secret. He must have been terrified living with this.
‘And no one else knows?’ I press.
‘Not a soul.’
‘William, you should’ve said something to me.’ Jonas’s voice is tight with hurt; evidently, he wasn’t lying when he said he thought of William as a true brother. ‘I wouldn’t have told anyone.’
‘I did consider it,’ William confesses quietly, ‘but I didn’t want to put you in a bad position. And, well, I thought … I thought my mother …’ He shrugs the words away. ‘It doesn’t matter.’
While he was never truly Lorathin’s bastard son, he was, however, correct in suspecting his ice magic came from his mother.
‘Thank you for showing us this, William.’ I try to smile, but my lips don’t seem to work. ‘Thank you for trusting us.’
Still chewing on his lip, he rubs his thumb into his palm before looking at me with new nervousness. Given what he just showed us, I can’t possibly imagine what he might still be reticent to tell us, but I wait until he finds the courage to keep speaking.
‘I explored the house alone a little earlier. I found a painting in one of the rooms here. I look just like our father.’ His voice cracks. ‘I could see myself in his eyes, his jaw, the shape of his face. I knew then. Really knew.Iamyour brother.’
I swallow. ‘You are, and you do look like him.’ My voice wobbles. ‘So much. I can’t believe I did not see it before.’
‘You weren’t looking for it. Why would you?’
‘I suppose.’ A small spark of hope ignites within me as I look at the still frozen glass of water. Maybe I don’t need Dinah’s advice after all. Maybe help is far closer to home.
‘Can you teach me?’ I ask, trying to keep my voice level. ‘Can you teach me how to control it?’
If he can, I need not travel to face the Issen at all. Need not endanger myself with a trip that can’t possibly end well.
But as William’s face falls, I know he’s not going to give me the answer I desperately want.
‘I’m sorry,’ he says, and I can tell he means it. ‘I wish I could, but that’s all I’ve got. I can cool a drink for you, but none of what you did. Jonas told us how you stopped him from breathing. I can’t do that. Nor the ice flung everywhere thing. Your powers are different. Stronger. Far stronger. And honestly, I can’t even tell you how I dothis. I did it by accident once and practised a couple of times, but then it occurred to me that practising was a very bad idea. After that, I tried hard to never ever use it. I didn’t want to encourage the magic to grow.’
It’s sensible, though utterly disappointing.
We both look at Kay. She shakes her head. ‘I’ve still got nothing. Not just ice magic. I’ve still got no magic at all.’
I frown. That shouldn’t be so. When Etta returned all of my magic, she was supposed to return Kay’s, too. Everything should have been as it was.
‘Maybe the pregnancy is affecting things,’ I guess. ‘I’ve heard it can do so.’
‘Maybe,’ she says. She shrugs one shoulder as if she couldn’t care less about magic, and maybe she doesn’t. She doesn’t know what it’s likewithmagic. Doesn’t know the hole it left when it was ripped from us. She was so young that her magic hadn’t yet come in when we were stripped and cast out.
‘Ruben is upstairs,’ I say, changing the subject. I quickly explain his change in fortune and standing, and Noleen’s subsequent downward spiral in health, leading to today’s admission into the temple.
‘Poor Ruben,’ Kay murmurs, eyes soft. ‘He deserves so much more.’ She turns to her husband. ‘You’ll like him. He’s a good man.’
Jonas offers a stiff smile. ‘I’m sure I will.’
