Chapter 9 Sign Language and Other Secrets
Sign Language and Other Secrets
Ember walked into the kitchen after school, her stomach growling, and legs aching.
Fen had made her stay to get in some flying practice after classes concluded, and she was ready to eat and collapse in her warm bed for the rest of the evening.
She made her way into the kitchen but stopped when she saw Theo and Gaelen at the table.
Theo’s hands moved rapidly in front of him as he grinned in between taking bites of the sliced apple on his plate. Gaelen laughed at something and then began moving her fingers as she shook her head.
”Why does he know sign language?” Ember asked, as she stepped into the room.
Theo’s eyes widened as he shrunk into himself, snapping his head toward Gaelen.
”It’s how he communicates,” Gaelen replied, “and how I communicate with him.”
”He can’t hear you?” Ember furrowed her brow.
Gaelen shook her head. ”Theo is deaf.” She gave a half smile. “he can’t hear anything.”
The little boy twiddled his thumbs beside her, and Ember felt her heart sink.
”Does Mum not know?” she asked. “Did no one think to tell her?”
“She knows,” Gaelen replied with a sad smile. “I think It’s been hard for her to come to terms with, and often times, she denies it altogether. She blames herself for it.”
“Why?” Ember asked, as she furrowed her brow.
”Theo was raised by me, just like most Vala children and the Merrow that work in their homes,” Gaelen replied.
“It happened after he suffered a very high fever for a prolonged amount of time when he was little. He didn’t speak before that, that much is true, but the loss of his hearing made it almost impossible for him to speak after the fact. ”
“And there’s nothing the healers could do?” Ember asked, as rage burned in her stomach. “No spell or potion or ritual that could bring his hearing back? They just sat back an allowed it?”
”I am his healer.” Gaelen straightened, cocking a brow. “His magical core was damaged along with the fever. There was nothing any of us could do.”
“Why didn’t my mum tell me he was deaf?” Ember asked, as she looked over toward Theo. “Why didn’t you tell me?” He was her little brother after all, even if they had only known each other for a few days.
“Theo didn’t want anyone to know. It wasn’t my secret to tell.” She peered at Ember, as if to say you of all people should understand that.
Ember nodded, biting her lip as she gripped the strap of her bag, and then turned to walk out of the room. She crossed the foyer, making her way into the den and immediately began rifling through the books on the shelves lining the walls.
“Looking for something in particular?” Aoife asked, as she walked into the room.
Ember jumped, knocking a book off the shelf as she turned.
She frowned as she bent to pick up the copy of A Vala’s Guide to Magical Maladies and gently placed it back on the shelf.
“Sorry,” she mumbled, as she averted her eyes.
“Do we have any books about sign language?” She didn’t mention what it was for, but Aoife didn’t seem inclined to ask.
Aoife tapped her chin as she seemed to rack her brain.
“I’m afraid I have no idea,” she sighed.
“Books were always your father’s favorite pastime, something I see you’ve inherited from him.
We do have a very well stocked library upstairs that has been collecting dust for some time now.
You could take a look in there. I’m sure he had something. ”
Ember’s heart leapt into her throat as she grinned.
The idea that her father might have things here that he had left had never even crossed her mind.
She had gone her entire childhood with just a journal and a ring to remind her of her parents, and now she had an entire manor full of things that whispered of him.
She quickly threw her bag back over her shoulder and rushed across the room in two strides to wrap Aoife in a hug.
“Thanks, Mum,” she whispered with a smile.
“Of course, Mo Stor,” Aoife replied, as she brushed a stray hair off her cheek. “I’ll be in the kitchen if you need anything.”
Ember nodded with a smile as her mother left the room, and then all but sprinted toward the stairs in the foyer.
After running up two sets of spiral stairs and getting lost down several halls that felt never ending, Ember finally spotted a set of double doors at the end of a long corridor and quickly walked up and pushed them open.
The sight that greeted her was one she had only ever dreamed of.
Sunlight beamed through the large window, soaking the floor in peach and lilac.
The window reached all the way to the top of the vaulted ceiling that was supported by large beams running from wall to wall.
Shelves lined the walls, accompanied by stairs on each side and led to the second floor of books.
Ember felt her stomach flip, positive she was dreaming.
Oh, but what a wonderful dream it was.
She quickly dropped her father’s journal in a comfy chair tucked away in a corner and Helio’d Killian to ask for a book recommendation.
He had mentioned something earlier that day about a book on sign language he had found, and she was willing to bet her father had a copy somewhere too.
She walked along the shelves, pulling out old tomes and searching for anything that had to do with sign language, when she heard the double doors swing open and then close again.
Ember poked her head around a shelf, only to see a tall blond with campfire eyes leaning against the wall.
Instead of replying to her Helio, Killian had decided it was best to just show up.
“How did you get in here?” were the only words she could think of as she furrowed her brow and struggled under the weight of the books in her arms.
Killian glided across the room, snatching them away, and carried them to the chair she had set her father’s journal in.
“Your Merrow let me in, erm…” He stared at the ceiling for a moment. “Gaelen, I think? She told me I could find you in the library.”
“It took me a solid twenty-five minutes to find this room,” she scoffed. “How did you get here so quickly?”
Killian barked a laugh as he sank into the chair.
“I’ve been navigating manors since I could walk, Starhshine,” He smirked.
“They’re all grand, but all laid out in the same fashion.
The library is always on the third or fourth floor, at the end of a wide corridor with giant, double doors. It took me five minutes.”
Ember furrowed her brow as she pressed her arms tightly across her chest. She had been thrown into this life, and she stuck out like a sore thumb. But he had been raised this way, and it was almost infuriating how easy it all was for him.
“Gaelen also told me where the library was.” He smirked, laughing as he dodged the book Ember had hurtled at his head.
“Well, as long as you’re here, you might as well help,” she replied, quickly summoning the book back to her and shoving it into Killian’s chest. “What do you know about sign language?”
“I know a bit.” He shrugged. “Why do you ask?”
“Because Theo isn’t mute,” she replied, as she shuffled through books. “He’s deaf. If I learn, then I can talk to him without Gaelen needing to interpret.”
“Your mum doesn’t know he’s deaf?” Killian narrowed his eyes, and Ember averted hers—she wasn’t interested in hearing what he thought about her mother again.
“She does. She just didn’t tell me.” Ember tried to ignore the sting at that realization, the way the words sighed heavy on her chest. “Theo didn’t want anyone to know, so Gaelen didn’t say anything.
” She blew a stray piece of hair out of her eyes as she leaned on the table.
“But that is irrelevant,” she continued.
“I want to be able to communicate with my brother, even if he didn’t want anyone to know.
” She knew how lonely it was to be in a house full of people that couldn’t understand a word you were saying—or didn’t bother to try.
“Right,” Killian nodded. “Well, I suppose let’s start with the basics.
” He pushed himself out of the chair and took a step forward, directly in front of Ember.
He undid the top button of his shirt, revealing the skin beneath, and rolled both sleeves up to his elbows.
Something about it felt strangely intimate, and Ember found herself searching for something else to look at, squeezing the book she was holding tightly against her chest. He placed his hand on the book and tugged it out of her arms.
“First step is to put away the book, Starshine.” He smirked and tossed it into the chair behind him.
Ember nodded as she swallowed dryly. “Right, of course.” She dropped her hands and flexed them at her sides.
“Assuming he probably has no idea who you are,” he huffed, almost angrily, “it’s best start with the introduction.” He placed his fist in the center of his chest and nodded at Ember to do the same.
“My…” he said, moving his hand out and back to his chest. “…name…” He held his right hand in front of his face, holding up just his pointer and thumb in front of his mouth before he pinched them together and pulled his arm to the right.
“…is Ember,” he whispered, as he signed each letter of her name.
She could hardly pay attention to what he was doing. The way he breathed her name made her chest tighten, goose bumps running down her arms, heat creeping up her neck.
“Starshine?” he asked, as he waved his hand in front of her face, snapping her out of her trance.
“What?” she whispered.
“You try.” He laughed as he nodded in her direction with a smile.
“Oh, right,” she sighed, as she shook her head. “My… name… is… Ember,” she said, as she concentrated on mirroring the movements Killian had done before. She looked up at him smiling with his hand over his mouth shaking his head. “This is too complicated.”