Page 126 of A Touch of Stars and Stones
“The day in class, after Azur. I went to see my father.”
“I know.”
“But I didn’t tell you everything we said. Everything I deduced.”
I don’t respond. There’s no reason to think it’s going to be bad except for the drop in my stomach. So, I wait for whatever he wants to tell me.
“He knew you were a Fifth the day you arrived here, when you first met the Orders. They all did.”
My mind runs back to the memory of that day in the hall. His Dad, the clipped words, most of which were just confusing at the time. And then seeing Ten.
“He asked me to find out about you and what you know. He doesn’t trust you and thinks you’re a danger.”
“I am.” It was the truth.
“No. Not physically. It’s more than that, but I don’t have all the information. Not yet anyway. There are pieces missing…”
He seems to be working something through in his head, but I don’t want him to spare me the details. If he’s kept this from mefor days, he’s had time to work it out, and now I want the rest of the information. “Ten!”
“I think he knows who your parents are.”
“My parents?” I turn in his arms and look up at him.
Parents.
“How? What did he say? Are they here?” The questions swamp me as the words set my mind racing into a future I have never thought about. But then, as his lips don’t move and he stays quiet, hurt chases up my spine and clouds my heart. I pull back out of his embrace and wait for him to answer.
“I don’t know any of the details, but he didn’t deny knowing one or maybe both. And he’s not telling me everything. It might be just him, or it might be all the members of the Orders.”
“So, really, you don’t know. You just think?” My words taste bitter on my tongue.
When I was little, I waited for Lyle to mention anything about who my parents were and if she knew them or not. But then, the idea slipped away, replaced with the love and care that she gave freely, and I was happy. I didn’t need to know because I had her.
But with the revelations over the past few weeks, that question has come back like a dormant and dusty book, waiting to be opened in my mind.
And now Ten has. He’s cracked the spine and turned the first page.
“I don’t want to keep anything from you. You’ve been in the dark about so much. You’ve already faced so much, and I won’t be a part of that. Especially not now.”
“I want to speak to your father. Or someone. They might be here, in Kirrasia.” I stand and take another step away from Ten. He’s suspected something for days. “Why didn’t you tell me that your father knows them? Why didn’t you tell me straight away?”
“He didn’t say that. He didn’t answer my outright question, which means he couldn’t without lying. So, it’s my suspicion. And I’ve been busy trying to protect you. Find you some time to prepare, give you training.”
“And knowing who my parents are wouldn’t help that?”
“You have so much to learn. You’ve scratched the surface in class, but there’s a reason my father is being the way he is. He’s calculating and manipulative and punishing as zuns, but behind all of that, he was afraid. My father. I want to find out why.”
“And you getting to the bottom of your little mystery is more important than telling me that my parents might be here? That he might know them?”
“I’m telling you now, but that’s just it. There’s nothing to really tell. Except they knew you were a Fifth. And I would bet there’s more they’re keeping from you. They could have thrown you into training and made sure you were more prepared. It’s like they want you to fail. Or never understand what you’re capable of. Why?”
“I don’t know!” I shout at him. “After everything that’s been kept from me, what Lyle kept from me, now you—” My voice quivers.
“I hate this. I promised to help, and I am, but I’ve wanted to give you something concrete. And things between us have been… intense. It’s not a big conspiracy, which I’m hiding from you.” He pauses. “Please, Ever.”
“Please, what?”
“Don’t look at me like I’ve just broken something precious.”
