Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
When Lia and Kayce turned onto her street, her mom’s car was already in the driveway. Lia had prayed she’d have more time.
They had been quiet on the walk, digesting the information from Leo in their own ways. He had offered to drive, but Lia had insisted they walk. It was the only thing, apart from writing, reading—or flying—that calmed her. She couldn’t sit still, and there were no volatequises here.
Lia stole glances at Kayce whenever he wasn’t looking.
Every so often, his face would furrow, tension tightening his jaw.
His hands were stuffed in his pockets, sword riding at his hip.
He was hiding more than he let on. Lia wanted to ask, to see what she could do to help, to ease the discomfort this morning had wrought—
But Mom waited.
The school would’ve alerted Mom they hadn’t arrived that morning—namely Marcus, who did not have an excuse. Why couldn’t he just listen? But he’d seen Kayce, too and probably had burning questions. Like he said, school was a bit anticlimactic. Especially now.
“I would wait out here a few minutes if I were you,” Lia told Kayce, heart hammering. She stared at the front door. “It won’t be pretty.”
Kayce touched her shoulder, his hand warm. “I can come if you wish. Just say the word.”
Even after everything, he would still help however he could. Her lips twitched into a small smile, though her gaze never wavered. “Five minutes. Then by all means, come charging in.”
“I’d like to think I’m a bit more regal than that.”
“Hardly.” She still hadn’t moved.
Her mom knew everything. Leo had said it was to protect them.
She must have known something was going on with Papa.
Why else move back here after so long? It wasn’t like his health was in terrible condition.
He’d been distracted. Absentminded. More prone to worry.
And if his death was no accident, he had every reason to be.
But what was the reason?
Lia wrung her hands. If Mom had ever intended to tell them their heritage, it should have been well before now.
Her timing was trash. Lia didn’t think she’d be able to hold back.
Keep the smile in place. Stay complacent.
Not after everything she’d discovered, the story her papa had left behind—somewhere he knew Lia would go if she ever needed to escape.
Tears stung her eyes, but she blinked hard against them. Only when Kayce squeezed her shoulder did she head inside.
Lia only made it four steps when Mom, still in nursing scrubs, whirled on her.
Light copper locks fell from her hair clip with the force of the movement.
“Do you have any idea how terrifying it is when the school calls to say your son isn’t there?
” she shrilled. “Not to mention what you found at Papa’s.
Reckless! What would you have done if they were there? ”
Guess Leo had called her. But Lia would bet he’d left most of their interaction out. He earned a trustworthy point for giving Lia the chance to approach her mom. And she had every intention of doing so.
Marcus, still sitting by the window, winced at their mom’s tone. “Mom, I’m sorry, it’s just—”
“Just what, huh? What could be so important that you skip school and not even tell me?” She barreled on, “This isn’t the slightest bit like either of you, and I—”
“You’re disappointed?” Lia’s lips flattened in a firm line. “That’s rich.”
Oh, the exquisite irony of it all, she thought bitterly.
Their mom’s expression hardened. “Excuse me?”
At least Marcus hadn’t let it slip about Kayce.
The restraint almost made up for not going to school like she’d told him to.
But she was about to implode his world even further.
She didn’t want to—wanted to ask him to leave, to wait for her to explain later—but there was no dancing around this.
No protecting him from what was hard, as she had tried to do since their father left.
Not when their other parent had left them in the dark.
Nails biting into her palms, Lia crossed her arms. “How does it feel, Mom, not knowing what’s going on? Kind of disorienting? Well, welcome to my day—no, the better part of my week. And it’s only Tuesday!”
“Lia, I don’t know what’s going on, but—”
“No.” She trembled, unable to contain herself. “You do. That’s the entire point. There are whole worlds out there for us to explore—us, because we’re Flamehearts. Papa was one. You’re one. And we are too.”
Mom’s mouth fell open. She pressed a hand to her stomach while attempting to school her features, glancing at a confused Marcus. “Lia, I know the break-in was a shock, and you have been sick—”
“I found Papa’s secret room off the study.
The maps, the sketches of all these worlds created by stories.
The Emperium. I saw Norenth, Mom!” Lia surged, a tidal wave to break levees.
“This amazing, beautiful world that’s mine is actually real…
and you never told me.” Frustration burned in her eyes, and she turned to hide how they shone.
Hearing her mom’s denial—it broke something inside Lia.
Even Marcus stared at his scuffed sneakers.
“I thought I had more time.” Mom’s voice had softened. Her fingers trembled when she gestured to the living room, but she fisted her hand as they all moved to the couch.
Lia kept her gaze trained on the door, silently commanding Kayce to come in. She needed his calming presence, the reliability of his strength. Evidently Flameheart powers didn’t work that way, and the door remained shut.
“Mom, what’s Lia talking about?” Marcus asked vaguely. Bless him, he didn’t bring up Kayce, but Lia was sure he was trying to work out how her accusations fit with Kayce’s sudden appearance.
Their mom took the armchair across the room.
Even though she opened and closed her mouth several times, hesitating on how to start, she was blunt when she did.
“Our family is descended from a line of Flamehearts, an order charged with protecting the balance between this world and those within the realms of the Emperium. Worlds birthed from the human imagination—all made real.”
“Leo told me,” Lia muttered, “at Papa’s.”
“I gathered as much,” Mom said before growing unusually quiet, a fixed look of concentration on her face. “What exactly did he tell you?”
“More than you ever did.”
Their mom sat straighter, back rigid. “With good reason.”
“I would love to hear the good reason behind lying to your children,” Lia fired back. No longer did she need to save face before a stranger. Her questions overcame the desire to be the good and obliging daughter. The burning need to understand engulfed everything.
Why couldn’t Mom see? Lia had spent her entire life yearning for a world she never thought existed.
It comforted her in the darkest moments.
Her mom knew. How could she not, when Lia spent so much time in her room, when her friends were few?
But Mom had also never seemed to understand Lia’s relationship with Papa.
Now that Lia knew everything, such discomfort around stories made even less sense.
Mom studied her. “Flamehearts walk a delicate line between worlds. It’s easy to get lost in them. Many of the stories have been written back, but there are those who seek to release them for power.”
Lia knew with a sickening sense of dread she didn’t mean something like a small gremlin. She recalled the guardian who’d unleashed it all from her papa’s story. Was that the cause of Papa’s distraction leading to his final afternoon?
“You mean like when the First Rift was first torn.” Lia turned back to her, lines forming between her brows. She noticed Marcus about to speak, then closing his mouth. Guilt flashed through her, but he would have to wait.
“It happened once,” their mom warned. “There are those who would see it happen again. Many want the power Malum brought here.”
The name hovered in the air like a shadow.
“Are you saying there are people today who want to do what he did?”
“I’m glad to see Leo left at least this part to me.
” Their mom inhaled deeply through her nose and then exhaled through her mouth.
“For shredding apart the boundaries, the Devourer was banished to the world he tried to make, but his actions had influence. Those who were not given an ember grew very jealous. They wanted more than the taste the First Rift offered them.”
Lia frowned. “More than Flamehearts know about the Emperium?”
Her mom nodded. “A counterpart, but without noble motives. They passed down their version of events. Now they call themselves the Seekers, searching for that power once again.”
“How could they even access it?” Marcus asked, always the quick study. “According to you, only Flamehearts can.”
“They’ve sought us out over the centuries. Find creations that stumble through the patched tears. Thankfully, none have been successful. Neither of you showed signs of Sparking,” their mom said, “and I believed if you didn’t know, neither would they. I wanted to keep you safe.”
Lia’s throbbing ankle begged to differ, and she bent to rub it. “I’m not safe.”
The color drained from Mom’s face.
“Seekers aside—nightmares are here,” Lia rushed to say, heat creeping up her neck and building behind her eyes.
Her words were a rushing flood. “This…gremlin came out from a dumpster and attacked me yesterday, which is utterly terrifying when I have no idea what’s going on, and when I can defend myself like my body has a mind of its own.
I shouldn’t have to find all this out through a stranger in a novel-worthy secret room I never knew that Papa had—”
“Lia, stop. Listen to me,” Mom interrupted, leaning forward. Her voice dropped an octave, choked with restraint. “It’s more dangerous than you know.”
“How?” Lia begged. “Please, Mom. I need to know.”
They regarded each other, both pushed to the brink.