Page 94 of Wings of Ebony
“Huh?” Her brows cinch. “Is that a real question?”
“Real as a heartbeat, yep.”
“Okay, uhm, let’s see.” She chews her lip. “I saw piles and piles of onyx. Then Aasim took me through this long, caved-in tunnel to a wall, which we walked through. Somehow! And it opened up to more mountain. There were tables and chairs. Uhhmm, what else…?” She glances around the room. “That’s pretty much it. Aasim didn’t let me stop and sightsee. He just took me through the mountain and out back here.”
So Bati and everyone are tucked away? They really don’t trust anyone from the District.
“So you didn’t see anyone? Not a single person?”
“No, why? What am I missing? Just tell me.”
“There’s an entire people living in secret here, Bri.”
The lines on her brow deepen.
I slip the cuffs on to keep my hands busy. “An entire tribe of magical people who look likeme.”
She shakes her head no, like what I’m saying don’t make sense.
“And no one here has onyx bound to their wrists.Nonehave the ‘great Chancellor’s gift.’?” I use air quotes on that last part.
“What? I don’t understand. What do you meanmagicalpeople, Rue?”
“I mean fire-wielding, matter-shifting,magicalbrown-skinned people. People like me.”
“That means—” She settles onto the bed. “Wait, whatdoesthat mean?”
Aasim’s warning haunts me. “It means magic was never the Chancellor’s to give. He stole it. It was… theirs.”
Bri parts her lips to speak, then closes them, looking hella confused. Maybe I’m not explaining it well. If I had an accurate history book, I’d give her that. Maybe that’d make it easier for her to see. Or maybe her confusion is rooted in something else. I gotta keep trying. Surely she’ll see.
“When the Chancellor showed up to unite all the tribes,” I say, “Aasim’s people fled here in secret.”
“You can’t be serious,” she says, an incredulous look on her face. “This is a joke.”
Does my face look like I’m joking? What about any of this sounds like I’d be joking? Iwoosahfor some patience.
“Rue, that was, like, over sixty years ago,” she rolls her eyes. “And I’ve never even read anything like that. How do you even know for sure?”
My pressure rises. “You think I’d make this up?”
“No, I—that’s not what I meant. I just—this is a lot to digest.”
“A whole lot,” I agree.
She pulls her sweater tighter around herself. “I know you wouldn’t lie. I know that, Rue. I-I just don’t understand.”
“I wasn’t done. Maybe if you knew more you’d understand more. Can you just listen?”
“I’m sorry, go ahead.” She pretends to zip her lip with a finger.
I continue. “Aasim’s village was dying out of some Sickness when he was born. In fact, his mother died of the Sickness when she had him. So Aasim only had his dad when he was small.”
“Your grandfather?” She presses her glasses to her nose.
I shift on my feet. “Sure, m-my grandfather.”
“Oops. Sorry, I’ll shut up, I swear.”
