Chapter Six
I can’t think straight. I grab the suitcase from under the bed and place it next to the yearbook photo.
I examine the two closely, holding my breath.
Surely, they can’t be the same. My hand cradles the love heart key chain.
I stare at it hard. My fingers run over its smooth edges and travel lightly over the little ridged dips and chips from the wear and tear over the years.
I stare at the photo. The key chain looks the same.
I peer closer; there’s something I didn’t notice before.
It appears that there is something white protruding from the heart in the photograph.
The corner of something? Maybe a piece of paper.
My eyes revert to the key chain situated on my palm.
I look at where the front and back sides of the love heart join.
There is a little ridge that runs down its outside edges.
I don’t know how I didn’t notice this before.
It’s a locket. I place both of my thumbs along the ridge and begin to pry it open; it budges a little.
I tense harder, separating the love heart down its middle and opening the literal can of worms. I hear something drop onto the bed.
It’s a piece of paper folded up neatly. It must’ve been hiding in there for over twenty years.
I stare at it, my muscles tense, not knowing if I want to see what lies inside it.
But the thought of not knowing is much worse.
I grit my teeth and place the paper gently on my left hand as if too much force would make the contents disappear from my grasp forever. I open each fold with care.
There is an image in front of me that makes me queasy. A wave of fear washes over me, and I drop the piece of paper from my grasp as if it were dirty. My mouth plummets, unable to mask my emotions. It’s her. My mother. But she is not alone.
I rise from my bed and pace the length of the dorm room, the rattan rug reassuring the soles of my feet every few moments.
I take a minute to build up the strength I need to investigate further.
Sheepishly, I return to the bed and examine the photo.
As if looking with fresh eyes will change what I have just seen.
My mother. Her unmistakable auburn curls caress her rosy cheeks, and she is planting a kiss on the cheek of another.
But that man is not my father. He has dark brown eyes, but his features are light.
Blonde hair swoops down the ridges of his brow, and his dark eyebrows stand guard over his face.
A sharp jawline harshens his softness. He has broad shoulders and looks tough.
He is wearing a black sweater vest, and tattoos snake out from its edges, covering the majority of his chest and arms. It’s the man from the yearbook photo.
What the fuck?! I look at the photo as if it were contraband. What is she doing kissing a Moon? That is forbidden. My thoughts fight in my head, torturing my mind black and blue. The door flings open.
“Someday I’m going to be Mrs Nala Silver,” Nala sings as she enters the room, oblivious of the grave offence I have just uncovered.
In a rush, I conceal the book and illicit photograph under the sheets of my bed. The white sheets are now tainted with the murky sin they have been forced to hide.
I make an effort to plaster a smile on my face to mask my emotions.
“I’m guessing it went well with Charlie then?” I tease as she saunters across the room and perches on her bed. Her feet stamp with excitement as she throws her head into her hands, and an exhilarated squeal exits her mouth in triumph.
“It went so well. He wants to be a tamer too. We share the same interests, and he thinks I’m GORGEOUS!” she says without taking a breath. “Is it too soon to say I love him?” A gentle laugh escapes her lips.
“Saying I love you after the first few conversations? He definitely won’t think you’re a psycho,” I smirk over a sea of sarcasm.
“Ha ha, very funny!” she mimics my sarcasm. “I’m glad you’re here to keep me sane.”
I shoot her a friendly smile and reply, “At least one of us is getting some action.”
“Oh, please… I’ve seen the way the guys drool over you, Asha. You just don’t realise.” Her eyes meet mine. “Like that Influencer in the library earlier…” She tosses me an elaborate smile and raises an eyebrow.
“Who… River? Oh, that’s nothing,” I shrug my shoulders and brush this statement off.
“Oh, so he’s got a name,” Nala taunts.
“How did you even….”
She cuts me off.
“He was looking at you the whole time we were in the library. I’m surprised his eyes didn’t burn a hole through your skull.”
I can’t help but blush at this information.
“Well, River and I are just friends…” I say matter-of-factly. “Plus, he’s not really my type,” I speak out loud in an attempt to convince myself.
“You keep telling yourself that,” Nala counters. “The smoking hot third year with the dope ass Gifts is never anyone’s type.” She winks at me, still swimming in sarcasm.
I fight the urge to smile at this and change the conversation. “Did you have any more theories about that elion from earlier?”
“I didn’t, but Charlie did…” A smile plays on her lips as she says his name. “He thinks that the elion may have thought you were someone else, someone who it had bonded with before. It would have to be a strong bond with someone who looks like you, but it is possible.”
Revelation jolts over me as my mind connects the dots.
There is only one other person I can think of who looks like me.
My mother. But my father would’ve told me if she were a tamer.
My eyes peel away from Nala and look at the sea of lumps and bumps that my bed sheets are concealing.
But then again, how much did I really know about my mother?
***
We’re sitting at third meals. I haven’t told Nala about the photograph or that my mum might have been a tamer.
I want to tell her, I do. But I just can’t find the words to say.
What would she think of me if she knew my mum might have had an affair with a Moon?
I can’t risk my place here in Sun Sovereign.
News travels fast, and my mum is not here to defend herself.
Maybe I am just getting ahead of myself.
Maybe it wasn’t an affair. Maybe there is more to the picture. I just need to find out what.
Nala breaks me from my thoughts. “How are you feeling about combat tomorrow?”
I pull a slice of cheesy pizza away from its base and pick off the pepperoni slices from the top, flinging them onto my plate. Nala is sitting with Charlie, her legs across his lap. They both look at me.
“I’m actually not shitting myself for once.
My father made sure I was well-trained. I’m sure he wanted a boy.
He’d call our sparring sessions bonding time.
” I smile at the thought of my father. “I didn’t enjoy it much, but I did learn how to kick some ass.
” I laugh and take a big bite out of my pizza.
“What about you guys?” I wave the slice in their direction.
“My mum trained me. She always said you have to be extremely fit to become a tamer. Asha is thinking about taking the taming class too,” Nala says, looking at Charlie with excitement.
“We’ll most likely be the only ones in the class after what happened earlier,” Charlie states.
“Yeah, because we’re the only students stupid enough!” I banter.
“Cheers to stupidity!” Nala says as she thrusts her glass of apple juice into the air, waiting for us to clink back.
“To stupidity!” I laugh and clink my glass against hers, Charlie joining in. If the Gods could see us now.
***
The night draws in, and Nala and I are getting ready for bed.
I shower and scrub my body hard, as if my sponge can wash off the stress of the day.
I dry myself off and throw on my favourite pyjama set: pink strawberry shorts with a matching cropped top.
I walk out towards my bed and wait for Nala to get in the shower.
The sound of running water is apparent. I haven’t got long, and I use this time to move the secrets stored under my sheets to the suitcase under my bed.
I sit on top of my covers and gaze up at Moon Castle out my window. They will be waking up soon.
“So, what do you think about Charlie then?” Nala asks, anticipation written all over her face.
“Huh?” Her words are not quite registering in my brain yet.
“Charlie, what do you think of him?” she asks.
“I like him. You two definitely make quite the pair.” I pull the sheets over my legs.
“You really think so?” she says, also getting into her bed.
“Yes. Haven’t you heard, those that tame together stay together!” I joke, and she grins.
“That’s good.” She laughs. “I’ll make sure I tell him that.”
“Remember, don’t be a psycho,” I mess.
“You’re right. Don’t wanna scare him off!”
“Somehow, I don’t think he scares that easily,” I smirk as she turns off the lamp by her bed.
“I hope you’re right, cos I really like him,” she whines, squeezing a pillow into her chest.
“How about this? If he hurts you, I’ll break his neck?”
“Promise?” she pleads as I hear her giggling to herself in bed.
“Yeah, and I’ll feed him to the elion’s for first meals,” I reply, turning my bedside lamp off too.
She laughs at this for a minute before saying goodnight.
It’s ten p.m. and my eyes are feeling heavy for once.
Must be from the bitch of a day we’ve all had.
I am relieved that I don’t have to take my sleeping pills again after the weird dream I had last night.
Thoughts try to swim to the surface of my mind, the key chain, the photo, the blindfolded one, but I don’t give them time to breathe as I push them deeper into the back of my mind.
I shut my eyes and drift off to sleep. Combat is tomorrow, and I need all the rest I can get.
***
I am awakened by the squawks of birds around me. Is it morning already?