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Chapter 5

~~Aila~~

I’m still in shock when our mothers finally enter the room, one of the guards entering behind them with a bag of takeout. I stare numbly as our mothers fuss over us, running their hands up and down our arms and inspecting every inch of our bodies while saying nothing. Once they’re satisfied, they both step back and take the food from the guard, who bows politely before excusing himself.

“Oh, my baby… are you ok?” asks my mom, watching me closely.

“Well, I’ve been better, for sure… Do you have any clue what happened out there?” I ask, voice shaking.

Emery and my mother share a long look that makes me nervous. Adreanna watches them with narrowed eyes, catching my gaze and quirking an eyebrow when my mother hesitates to speak. I shrug, turning back to my mother and waiting patiently.

“I have an idea about what it could have been, but can’t say for certain…”

“You’re the second person today to tell us that, you know…”

“Oh? Am I?”

“Yea, that elder said the same thing… he said that we’d need to attend the academy to learn to control it, too…”

“Yes, I’d expected as much… power like that doesn’t come along every day, and leaving you to struggle with it could be a disaster waiting to happen…”

“Care to at least give us a hint about what you’re thinking?”

Mom hesitates a moment before shaking her head.

“I wish I could, I really do, but until we have more information, I can’t.”

“Why the hell not?” demands Adreanna, clearly shaken.

My mom looks between us sadly, shaking her head.

“I just can’t.”

“That’s bullshit, Angelica! We could have died out there! If you know something, you owe it to us to let us know!”

Mom reels back as if Adreanna smacked her. Adreanna’s mother, Emery, steps between her and my mother when Adreanna steps forward threateningly.

“That’s quite enough, young lady. Just because you’ve had a tough day doesn’t give you the right to take it out on Angelica. Sit down and cool yourself…”

Adreanna looks at me, inspecting the dried blood on my arms before growling and plopping down on the couch. I look at our mothers, shaking my head in disappointment before sitting next to Adreanna and wrapping my arm around her shoulders.

“I’m fine,” I whisper soothingly into her ear, rubbing her arm as she deflates.

“You’re not fine, Ai… look at you! There’s dried blood on your arms and face!”

“And on your legs and face… we’re both pretty torn up, and shaken up… taking it out on our only family isn’t the answer… let’s table the subject and enjoy what will probably be our last meal together for a while, yea?”

She sinks into me before nodding.

“Yea, fine…” She takes in a deep breath before turning to our mothers and waving her hand at the couch across from us. “Ai is right. We should enjoy a meal together before they whisk us away… there’s no telling how long we have.”

Emery watches us carefully before nodding and leading my mother to the couch across from us.

“You’re right, we probably don’t have long…” Emery says, squeezing my mother’s shoulder as tears fill both of their eyes.

“Don’t think you’re off the hook, though,” mutters Adreanna, opening the bag of takeout and spreading the containers on the low table before us.

There are plates, napkins, chopsticks, and an assortment of oriental cuisine. We spread out a surprising selection of food, digging in and eating in relative silence, grunts of appreciation the only sound.

Once we’ve all eaten our fill, we lean back and inspect each other warily. The fact that my mother won’t tell us what she thinks is happening has ripped a sort of security out from under me that I didn’t realize I needed… If I can’t trust my own mother to have my back, then who can I trust? Adreanna, for sure… at least, I think so… but who else?

Tears fill my mother’s eyes as she watches me, almost like she can hear the thoughts rushing around in my mind.

“I would tell you if I could, baby, I promise…” she whispers.

Adreanna frowns and looks from her to me, her form stiffening as tears trail down my cheeks. Before she can lash out again, I place my hand on her, shaking my head. Emery growls in much the same way Adreanna did earlier before puffing out her chest and glaring at her daughter.

“There are things beyond your understanding at work here, daughter… much as Aila said, we are your only family right now. We do care for you, but this is beyond our abilities to fix or help with. Even we are subject to the whims of the royals and their councils,” she says, eyes burning into us as if willing us to understand something.

Adreanna looks to me with a frown before shrugging.

“Fine, I’ll take your word at it, for now… but I expect your help in any way you can help.”

Emery blows out a breath and deflates.

“Of course. I’d expect nothing less.” She smiles wanly at her daughter before continuing. “You are the two strongest young women I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing… much stronger than Ange and I at your age… I know that, whatever happens, you two can handle it as long as you stick together.”

“Together…” Adreanna and I murmur as the door whooshes open.

The elder from before comes hustling in with several guards, who he waves away. The guards reluctantly step outside, but not before shooting us a warning glare. A flash of shocked recognition briefly graces my mother’s face before she hides it. If I hadn’t been watching her already, I might have missed it. I narrow my eyes at her, waiting for her to look at me, but when she does, she subtly shakes her head, a clear warning in her eyes.

Startled by her reaction, I do my best to wipe the suspicion from my face and turn to greet the elder. I shakily make my way to my feet to greet him, plastering what I hope is a pleasant smile on my face.

“Thank you for sending the food, Elder. I feel much better with a full belly, all things considered.”

“Ah. Very good, young one. So, these are your parents?” he asks, a sparkle of recognition in his eye.

“They are, sir. This is my mother, Angelica. And that is Adreanna’s mother, Emery.”

“Hmm… I see. It's lovely to see you have both made it in time to wish your daughters well on their new journey.”

“Of course, I would never miss an opportunity to see my daughter and tell her how proud I am of her,” says Emery tersely.

Adreanna’s head jerks up to look carefully at her mother, clearly as shocked as I am by how tense the woman seems. Whatever is going on, our mothers clearly know who this elder is, and they don’t seem to like him terribly much.

“Apologies, sir, but could we learn the name of the man who has treated us so kindly? Our studies don’t go in depth of who the elders are, just that they exist and are charged with protecting the delicate balance we’ve attained since the invasion.” I say the words as politely as I can in hopes of diverting his attention from my family.

“Ah, yes, of course. That is, of course, a safety measure to avoid making members of the council targets. I am Balthasar Veda Marbury…”

I feel Adreanna stiffen beside me. While we aren’t told who is on the council of elders, we did learn about the name Marbury… It is the name belonging to the last High King. Balthasar Veda Marbury was the last person to rule over the entirety of the continent. Each of the four courts reported to him, but when he failed to produce an heir, he stepped down from his position in favor of establishing the council of elders. He's basically the most powerful person on the continent. Nobody really knows if the lack of heir was the only reason he stepped down or not, as rumors have always floated around about a prophecy that preempted the move. Regardless, he's standing here before us. And he's the only person on the entire council or within the royal families even who has showed us even an ounce of kindness through this whole ordeal. That fact has me wanting to trust him, but our mothers' hesitance has me wary. What does the High King want with nobodies like us? Nothing in this world is free, and I've no doubt that his kindness is no exception.

He chuckles when nobody says anything for several minutes.

“I see that you’ve heard of me… fear not, my title is one long since meaningless… I am here as a humble elder. I hope that I can help ease your transition to the academy, since you both no doubt had no expectations of attending the institution.”

“That’s definitely true,” murmurs Adreanna, inspecting the kindly looking old man suspiciously.

“Ah, I see that you don’t trust me. Good, you really shouldn’t trust anyone, especially after that display. That kind of power puts a target on your backs… you should be cautious from here on out…”

“Noted.” I say, looking around cautiously.

“So, what’s next?” asks Adreanna, glancing from our mothers to the elder as he slowly sinks down to sit in the lone chair with a pained grimace.

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