Page 95 of The Tree of Spirits
“It won’t be long before the General finds out that she’s like us,” he said.
And then the smile on Conner’s lips withered. “If he doesn’t know already. The mentors know, and you know how they love to gossip.”
“What will the General do when he finds out about me?” I dared to ask.
“I don’t know,” Kato said, but his expression was bleak. “Best case, he’ll assign a team of Watchers to watch you 24/7. If he loses another Polymage, the Court will never vote to invite Gaia to join them.”
“So I’m just a pawn in his game?” I frowned.
Kato glanced at Conner. “I told you this would all be a burden to her.”
“Yeah, well, it’s better than ignorance, right? At least now she knows what the game is.”
But did I really know?
“What’s special about us?” I asked them. “Of all the people on Gaia, why wereweborn with magic?”
Conner sighed. “I wish we knew, Red.”
“Did your parents have magic?”
Conner and Kato exchanged loaded looks.
“You wanted to tell her everything,” Kato reminded him.
“Yeah, I know. It’s just…well…” Conner shook his head, like he was shaking off his doubts. Then he turned to me. “Kato and I don’t know who our parents are. In fact, we don’t remember anything from before we woke up under the Spirit Tree two years ago.”
“Doesn’t the Government know who you guys are? They keep really detailed records.”
“Yes, they do,” said Kato. “But we aren’t in those records.”
“That actually happens more often than they’d like to admit,” Conner added.
“But if the Government doesn’t know who you are, how were you Chosen?” I wondered.
“There was no Choosing two years ago,” Kato reminded me. “Things were a little more chaotic back then. The Government was still trying to figure out how this whole magic thing worked. All over the world, people just tied themselves to the Spirit Trees and prayed the spirits would blend with them. But the spirits only ever blend with about thirty sixteen-year-olds a year.”
“Wait, if you guys don’t remember anything before waking up under the Spirit Tree, how do you know that you were born with magic?” I asked.
“We’re not sure,” Conner said. “We just know somehow. Same as we know how to walk and talk and do a whole lot of other things.”
“Wow. You really don’t remember anything at all of your lives before the Blending?” I looked from him to Kato.
“Nothing.” Kato looked very vulnerable when he said it.
And I didn’t blame him. I’d thought it was tough hiding my magic all my life, but at least I knew who I was. At least I knew who my family was. I couldn’t imagine how hard it was not knowing any of that. When they’d woken up under the Spirit Tree, they must have felt so lost and lonely.
I grabbed hold of both of them and drew them into a hug. “That’s awful,” I choked up, tears pooling in my eyes. “I’m so sorry you guys had to go through that.”
“It’s ok,” said Kato. “We came to terms with it long ago.”
“Speak for yourself.” Conner nudged him away with his shoulder. “I, for one, want more hugs.” He hugged me so tightly,it squeezed all the tears out of me. Then he gave me a little twirl and set me down.
Kato caught me before I tumbled in a dizzy heap to the floor. “Good job, Captain Rogue,” he said drily. “You nearly knocked her over with your shenanigans.”
“That’sMajorRogue to you, Prince Charming. And, besides, it worked.” Conner nodded toward me.
He was right. I wasn’t crying anymore. I was laughing. Hysterically.
