Page 20 of A Simple Truth

My mouth opened and then closed in hesitation.

“Ask,” Zora ordered, raising her brow at me.

I took a short breath. “Are the powers hereditary?”

“Yes. While the degree of powers will vary person to person, you cannot be a Destroyer unless one of your parents is. And chances are, both of them were. Destroyers don’t marry outside their kind often, or ever, actually.”

“Does that mean one of them was a Justice Wielder?” I asked. A little shiver ran through my body as my mind clung to one truth I had finally learned about my parents.

Destroyers.All this time.

“Males carry the Justice Fire gene; however, it doesn’t mean that they wield it. Raw fire is rare.Veryrare,” she paused, her eyes scanning mine, looking for something that I could not understand before she continued, “And it is even more rare in females. Like, once in a generation kind of rare, Finn,” she said, as if there were something more behind the words. “It is theoriginal fire that the runaway goddess gifted to her eldest son in its pure form thousands of years ago.”

Zora kept on talking, but my mind wandered, lingering on that simple truth.

They were Destroyers. My parents, somehow, all this time, were Destroyers.

For twenty-three years, I had imagined their shadowy figures in my head. As a child, I had often stared at the other children’s parents, wondering if mine looked similar to them, but no matter how hard I had tried to imagine, they were always these faceless, shapeless creatures. Yet somehow, I could now envision their statues, dressed in that dark silver armor, wielding fire, swords at their sides…

“Are you listening?” Zora asked, interrupting my thoughts.

“I’m sorry. I just didn’t know,” I sincerely answered, as we took a seat at the trunk of a large fallen tree.

“Didn’t know what?”

“About my parents. I grew up with a maid, and the only thing I knew of my parents was that they died. I don’t know their names or who they were. I never knew they were Destroyers.”

“Oh.” Zora paused, taking another look at me. “Want to talk about it?”

I swallowed hard, shaking my head. Words couldn’t bring back the dead, but deeds could honor them. “Teach me to summon the fire.” I nervously scratched my arm.

“Every fire starts with a spark.” A corner of her mouth lifted upwards in a crooked smile as she snapped her fingers and tiny sparks of fire appeared in front of me. I snapped my fingers, repeating after her, only to see defeating nothingness being summoned. We tried a few more times with just as fruitless results. The Commander adjusted in her seat, deciding to take a new approach.

“Close your eyes,” she commanded. “Now, look deep within yourself and feel for that magic. Some Destroyers feel it as a bucket, or a lake, that you can dip into and source the fire out of. It’s always there, a part of you.” I peeked from one of my eyes, seeing Zora’s eyes closed, and her hands out. “Just imagine dipping your hand into the water.” And as if on cue, she moved her hand, summoning a ball of heat.

I took a long, deep breath, shutting my eyes once more, looking deep within, behind the thick walls, behind the closed doors and dusty locks. But there was nothing. Empty and solemn. Only the occasional rustling of chains echoed within.

“There is nothing.”

“Keep looking,” Zora encouraged.

I dove even deeper through my mind’s void halls; the halls I only vaguely remember seeing before. I trailed my finger down the cold, stone-like walls, meandering down the spiral stairs leading into nothing but an abyss.

“There is nothing,” I replied again, trying to keep frustration at bay.

“Keep. Looking,” Zora cheered on with a stern voice, and I dutifully listened, shutting my eyes once more.

I had never been so deep within the fortress of myself, but I walked farther and farther, through what felt like mazes of my own self. The dark halls narrowed, creeping shadows, warning me, chasing me out. My heartbeat increased with every step, shivers running down my body. My mind sounded alarms, begging,threateningme to stop, as my body dizzied.

“Keep going,” Zora instructed, as I felt her hands hold on to mine, not realizing that my body was violently shaking.

I ignored the little beads of cold sweat dripping past my brow, sliding along my prickly skin. I was now absolutely blinded by the darkness, relying on nothing but touch as Idescended another set of stairs, shocked when, at last, I felt what must have been a door.

“Almost there,” Zora shouted, but her voice sounded distant, as if she was miles away, muffled and faint. I felt a tug, as if someone was pulling my soul out from the darkness closing in, suffocating me. My mind began shutting down completely, but I fought back, past the shadows, through the absolute terror as my hands pulled on the small, round doorknob.

A loud and bright flash painfully blinded my eyes, quickly replaced by the soothing darkness.

“Thank gods!” Motra’s loud voice pulled me back to consciousness, as I slowly opened my eyes. Rays of what now looked likeafternoonsun slipped past the ten female figures hovering over me. My arm moved on instinct, shielding my eyes from the sun.

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