by Megan Linski
“I know, Dad.” Being the firstborn son of the Water Chief had been fantastic, until I’d brought embarrassment upon the entire House a few months ago. After making sure I was okay, Dad’s first priority had been coming up with ways to restore honor to Toaqua. As of yet, he hadn’t managed to clean up the mess I’d made.
Dad was cautious with his next few words. “Liam, I know it hasn’t been easy with Nashoma gone.”
“Dad, I don’t want to talk about it.”
“I’m just saying, perhaps it is time to move on—”
“You ever try living without a soul?” I shot back at him, and he recoiled. “There’s no moving on from that.”
Dad stared at me, and I ran a hand through my hair. “I’m sorry, Dad. I’m just tired.”
“I understand, son.” He was letting me off too easy these days. “Go head home and relax. Your mother will help you pack for the trip.”
I was twenty-one and didn’t need Mom to pack my bags for me, but I bet she would anyway. She spoiled me. I listened to my father and headed out, blocking out the castle around me until I emerged into the evergreen forest that surrounded it.
But I didn’t go to the ocean to head home. Not yet. Instead, I turned deeper into the woods, heading toward the burial ground.
Nobody was here, luckily. I moved around the burial mounds that were covered in flowers until I got to the newest plot, one that had only recently been constructed.
The hill was new, and was covered in dirt, not grass. A stone wolf’s head totem stood before the gravesite. There were no other markings.
An empty plot was next to Nashoma’s. We were supposed to be buried together. Not apart.
I kneeled on the ground and took out a few offerings from my pockets. His favorite food, beef jerky, some wildflowers from outside his den, and a couple of incense sticks.
I muttered a prayer in the ancient language of our tribe as I lit the incense and scattered the petals over the grave. I don’t know what I expected. Some sign from the ancestors, some indication that Nashoma was here— but I felt nothing, and saw nothing.
I was totally alone. And fuck, it felt that way.
I hung my head. “I’m sorry, Nashoma,” I whispered. “I don't know why I’m here anymore.”
I couldn't help being bitter. My life meant nothing.
I’d lost everything.
Apparently, I was magic, but that was all Amelia had bothered telling me. It was an hour-long drive out of the Salt Lake Valley and back home to our cozy small town, but Amelia barely let me get a word in the whole time. By the time we got home the night of the lion attack, she'd worked herself up so much that I couldn't understand her ramblings. She threw around words like Hawkei and Nivita, as if she knew an entirely different language. I couldn’t understand a word of it.
She blew up at Mom and Dad the second we walked through the door. "How could you lie to us?!" she demanded.
They acted deeply offended, like they couldn’t believe Amelia would accuse them of such a thing.
Despite my desperate need to understand what was going on, Mom and Dad exiled me to my room to "deal with Amelia in private." I'd lain on my carpet with my ear pressed the vent in my floor and a blanket draped over my body, trying to hear everything downstairs. I couldn't hear most of what they were saying, and the bits and pieces I caught didn't make any sense.
“She can’t go to Orenda,” I heard Mom say. “She’s a Koigni raised by Toaqua. The Elementai would have her killed.”
I tried to tell myself that the events of that night hadn't actually happened, that I was drunk or something, but no matter how much I tried to convince myself otherwise, I couldn't get over how real it felt. How my heart pounded at the sight of the lion. How my skin heated when the fire shot out of my palm. How Amelia looked at me like I wasn't her real sister.
And who knew? Maybe I wasn't...
Sometime during the night, I drifted off. I woke to the morning light and peeled my face off the vent grate. A glance in the mirror showed evenly spaced white and red lines across my skin where the grate had dug into my skin. That was going to take a while to smooth out.
I was still dressed in my athletic shorts and t-shirt from the day before. I was in desperate need of a shower, but clean hair and a change of clothes could wait.
I tossed my blanket to my bed and left the room in haste. I nearly tripped over our cat in the hallway. The stupid feline jumped out of the way and hissed at me. He shot daggers my way, like I'd seriously offended him.
If I wasn't used to Oliver's constant need to avoid me, I might've been intimidated by the thirty-pound beast and his razor-sharp claws, but he just turned from me and continued down the hallway.
The house was eerily quiet this morning, which gave me chills because there was never a silent moment when Amelia was home. I padded softly down the stairs, listening for signs that anyone else was awake. I was usually the last one up, so it'd shock me if the rest of my family was still in bed.
I reached the bottom of the stairs and heard the cling of dishes in the kitchen. I crossed the hall and peered into the room. Mom, Dad, and Amelia all sat around the table, quietly scooping cereal into their mouths. They looked like my mom and dad. Mom, with her dark brown hair piled on top of her head and the first signs of age touching the corner of her eyes. And Dad, with his salt and pepper hair and a shadow of scruff along his jawline. They looked the same as every other day, but they moved like robots.
I hesitated in the doorway. What could I possibly say to them?
So, I'm adopted? You lied to me? Spill it, Mom and Dad. If those are, in fact, your real names.
Mom glanced up from her cereal bowl and caught my eye in the doorway.
"Sophia," she said with a wide smile.
She was acting far too cheerful. Another reason I knew last night wasn't just a dream.
She stood and pulled the chair out from beside her. "Sit down, honey. I'll grab you a bowl."
My initial reaction told me to do as I was told. I wasn't one to touch conflict with a ten foot pole if I could avoid it. But I knew I couldn't avoid it this morning. No matter what I did, I needed to tackle this issue.
Dad eyed me like he couldn't believe I hadn't accepted my mother's invitation to join them. Amelia looked half-surprised, too, but she mostly avoided everyone's gazes. Another red flag. How many were we up to now?
Mom turned from the cupboard. "Sophia? Aren't you going to join us for breakfast?"
I crossed my arms. "The only thing I'm hungry for is answers."
Mom's brow furrowed as she set my bowl on the counter. "What do you mean, honey?"
I glanced to Dad, hoping he would respond to my request, but he only dug into his cereal like he hadn't heard me.
I swallowed. "Amelia told me I'm adopted."
Mom let out a laugh so loud that it made the rest of us jump in unison. "Oh, honey, Amelia was only teasing. Of course you're not adopted."
Mom was a terrible liar— even worse than I was.
Amelia shot to her feet and slammed her hands against the table top. A loud bang filled the air. Bruno, who I hadn't realized was lounging under the table, jumped to his feet and scurried out of the room. The dog, who looked more like a coyote than anything, nearly ran me over on his way out.
"Can we cut the bullshit?" Amelia snapped.
Mom and Dad exchanged a glance, but they didn't back down.
"You can't keep this from her forever!" Amelia yelled, her eyes darting between the two of them.
Finally, Dad sighed and straightened in his chair. "She already knows, Susan. We might as well tell her what we can."
Mom's lips tightened. "I hoped it would never come to this..."
“We knew it would, eventually.” Dad turned to me. "Amelia is right. We adopted you.”
The confirmation was like a knife through my back. I didn't want to believe it was true. It wasn't just that this family wasn't my own. It was the fact that all three of them had lied to me my entire li
fe. Even Amelia, who I'd grown up spilling every last deep, dark secret to, had lied to me. I trusted my family with everything, but now... a knot tightened in my chest until I could hardly breathe. My knees shuddered, and I held myself up against the door frame. I wanted to scream, to spew all the hateful words that were racing through my mind, but I was afraid that if I opened my mouth more than just words would escape.
Mom rushed to my side and took my arm. "Sophia, honey. Sit down, please."
I hardly noticed her leading me across the kitchen to the empty chair closest to the door. I sank into it, but my mind raced so fast that it hardly felt like I was in the same room as them.
They lied to me. Who lies about this kind of thing?
"Why?" I heard the word escape my lips, but it took me a moment to realize that I’d spoken it. "Why would you lie to me about something like this? If I'm not your daughter... where did I come from?"
Mom and Dad looked to each other again. Their stalling was getting on my nerves.
"Just tell her," Amelia demanded. "Tell her, or I will."
Dad frowned and scooted his chair closer to me. "Sophia, everything we've done has been to protect you."
I pulled my hand away from his when he reached out for me. He didn't get to comfort me. Not right now. "Protect me from what?"
"From the Elementai," Amelia answered.
Mom shot her a heavy glare, but her expression quickly softened when she turned back to me. "You were placed in our protection when you were a baby. In our world, it's forbidden for a Toaqua to raise a Koigni. We wanted to raise you as our own, and we knew that we would care for you well, but we couldn't do it in our society. That’s why we left."
"Toaqua? Koigni?" I repeated. The words didn't sound real.
"We come from a group of people with the ability to manipulate elements," Dad explained. "There are four Houses of Elementai. Toaqua— that's us— are able to manipulate water. Koigni can manipulate fire, while Nivita control earth and Yapluma control air. You have the power of Fire, Sophia."
"No." I denied the truth immediately. If my family was running some sort of prank, they obviously hadn’t thought it through very well. "I can’t be from the Fire House. I'm scared of fire. Everyone knows that."
I can’t be from the Fire House. My own words echoed in my mind. I said them like it was possible I’d come from another House. Was I actually entertaining the idea that I could be one of these Elementai?
Mom shook her head slowly… regretfully. "We only let you believe you were afraid of fire."
"What?" I asked in shock. Another lie. "But I fell into a fire pit when I was a kid. You wouldn't even let us have bonfires, or a fireplace, because you said I was too afraid of them."
"We only said that to keep you away from fire," Mom admitted.
"So that I wouldn't control it and freak people out?" I demanded. Is that what I was? A freak?
"No," Dad insisted. "Elementai don't get their powers until they're older. Yours are still very weak. We made up the story about the fire pit to curb your fascination with it. Fire can’t hurt you."
Explains why I have no burn scars.
My blood boiled at the confession. What else had they lied to me about?
I lifted my gaze to meet Amelia's from across the table. "This is all true?"
Her eyes filled with apology. She nodded.
"Why didn't you tell me, Am?" I whispered.
"You think I didn't want to tell you I could control water?" Amelia replied. "In case you don't remember, Mom and Dad lied to me, too! I had no idea you were Koigni. I thought you were a normal human, until yesterday."
I got to my feet and paced across the room. How could I possibly accept what they'd just told me? Magic didn't exist.
I whirled back toward them. "What else should I know about the Elementai, about the Koigni? What did I need protection from?"
I stared at Amelia, but she didn't seem to have an answer for me. Mom and Dad had both gone pale.
Mom was the first to speak. "None of that matters. The fewer questions you ask, the safer you'll be."
"Safe from what?" I demanded.
Nobody answered me. My jaw clenched so hard I was afraid I might crack a tooth.
Finally, Mom stood. She pulled me into a hug. I wanted to push her away, but her hug was both a betrayal and a comfort. No matter what she lied about, she was still my mom, and nothing beat a mother's touch.
I still hated her right now.
"Sophia," Mom whispered into my ear. "I'm sorry we can't be more honest with you. You're just going to have to trust us."
The thing was, I wasn't sure I'd ever trust my parents again.
Three days had passed, and I was still avoiding my parents as often as I could. They didn't want to open up to me, so I refused to open up back. Amelia, at least, was sympathetic. She found me sitting on our old swing set in the backyard. We hadn’t used the thing in years, but right now, it felt like the only thing that was normal.
It was pouring rain, and I was soaked.
I didn’t want her sitting next to me. I wanted to be alone. But Amelia wasn’t the type to give people space when they needed it. She took the swing beside me and opened her hands. The rain had stopped. I looked up and noticed that Amelia had made some sort of force field around us so that the rain slid off thin air and stopped pouring on me.
“That’s kind of creepy,” I said flatly.
“You’ll be able to do creepy things, too.” She smiled at me, but I didn’t smile back. Instead, I scowled at Kiwi on her shoulder because I’d rather look at him than stare her in the eye.
“Come on, Sophia,” Amelia encouraged. “You have to talk to me eventually.”
“How can I talk to people who lie to me?” I bit back.
She frowned. “That’s not fair.”
“Really?” I said sarcastically. “Then why don’t you tell me what really happened the other night?”
“It was a mountain lion attack,” Amelia insisted, just like every other time I dared to bring it up.
“I’ve seen pictures of mountain lions,” I said. “That thing was bigger.”
“It just looked bigger because of all the adrenaline.” She wouldn’t budge on the topic, but I could still tell she was lying. If she really thought it was a mountain lion, she wouldn’t have gone to investigate it.
“There are still other things you lied to me about,” I pointed out.
“You’re being unfair,” Amelia said. “I knew you were adopted, but I didn’t know you were one of us.”
“Exactly,” I emphasized. “You knew I was adopted, and you didn’t say anything.”
“It wasn’t my secret to tell,” Amelia said.
I bit my lower lip. “But we tell each other everything, Am.”
“You don’t understand,” Amelia argued. “I couldn’t tell you about the Elementai. Everything in our world has to be kept secret… for our survival.”
I paused, considering this. “What’s your world like?”
“It’s ah-mazing,” Amelia sighed with a dreamy look in her eyes. “It’s incredible. It’s everything you ever wanted. Imagine the best dream you’ve ever had, and then multiply that by a hundred. Orenda Academy was my home, and it’ll be your home, too.”
My home? “What do you mean?”
“You get to spend four years learning how to use your powers and how to take care of magical creatures,” Amelia stated simply.
“Magical creatures?” I asked warily. My first thoughts flickered to the fat naked plant babies that came screaming out of the dirt in Harry Potter.
“Yes,” Amelia said with a smile. “It’s an Elementai’s duty to take care of all animals that have magic. You’ll learn more when you get to the academy. You’ll bond with your Familiar, and—”
“My Familiar?” I asked. It was like she was speaking in riddles again.
“Your creature,” Amelia clarified while stroked Kiwi’s feathers. “Kiwi is mine. Bruno is Dad’s, and Oliver is Mom
’s.”
“Wait. Mom and Dad have Familiars?”
“Yes. Every Elementai has one.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“A Familiar? It’s your lifetime companion,” Amelia explained. “The most important relationship you’ll ever have.”
I still didn’t really understand Familiars, but if mine was anything like Kiwi, I’d take it back. The thought that creatures like dragons, unicorns, and griffins really existed made me feel worse. How had I gone my entire life knowing nothing about who I was? This was too much information at once.
“I’m probably going to bond with a plant,” I said dully.
“Don’t say that. Your Familiar is going to be so awesome. I just know it,” Amelia said.
“So… what exactly did you learn at this school? Like, Water Math?” I asked.
Amelia laughed loudly. “No, Sophia. You learn how to use your powers, and how to use them to work together with your Familiar. You’ll be in Fire classes, learning how to use your Fire magic.”
I didn’t know if I wanted to learn Fire magic. I would burn up my plant.
Amelia smacked herself in the head. “That’s right! You’re Koigni! You’re going to have classes with Madame Doya.”
“Madame Doya?” Her name sounded harsh, even when I said it. “The title sounds so formal.”
“We only call her madame because she’s on the Elder Council,” Amelia explained. “She’s really young to be an Elder, too. Like, Mom and Dad’s age. Anyway, she’s a total bitch. I had her for one class, and we never got along, mostly because she’s so mean. She’s probably going to hate you, too, because you’re my sister. But maybe not, because she’s the Dean of your House. She loves her little Koigni pets.”
“Oh, great.” I already had a strike against me. Madame Doya sounded horrible, like the kind of person who would find pleasure in whipping students if it were allowed.
Amelia was rambling now. “I loved Orenda Academy. There were so many hot guys from the other Houses, but I never got a chance to hook up with them because it was forbidden.”