67. Ahmina
AHMINA
“This whole thing is absurd!” Loveleena said to the room, as if she were arguing with herself more than them.
Ahmina, Zeina, and Loveleena had collected in Loveleena’s dorm. With everything that had come to light, they needed time to process it together—to make sense of their new reality as sisters. Luckily, Kumani was out so they had the space to themselves.
Sisters. It was still weird for Ahmina to think about.
She laid sprawled out on the bed next to Zeina while Loveleena paced around the room. “I mean, do you really think what they told us is true?” Loveleena turned to face them, hands on her hips.
“It’s true,” Zeina said calmly. “I could… tell.”
Ahmina studied Zeina’s face as she spoke, trying to get a read on her. “Because of your magic?”
Zeina was a woman of few words, but Ahmina made the connection. Her magical ability had something to do with reading people or understanding truth. Maybe both.
“We haven’t really talked about it with each other—our magic, I mean,” Ahmina said tentatively.
“Talked about it?” Loveleena raised her voice. “We just met!” Her eyes darted from Ahmina to Zeina and back again. “Wait. You’ve met before?”
Ahmina explained the whole story, including what Zeina had shared with her about her arrival at the Academy, how Barrow and Zeina had been secretly feeding her potions, albeit for different reasons, and how they got revenge.
“Fuck that guy. He deserves every bit of your potions, Zeina. If I were you, I’d up the psychological torture a bit. Lay it on thick, you know?”
“I can do that.”
“Stop.” As much as Ahmina loved the idea of getting back at Barrow, even the thought of him made her feel sick. “Can we not talk about him please?”
Thankfully, Loveleena changed the subject. “When did you discover your magic?”
“After we talked about it in the library. I put two and two together.”
“And you?” Loveleena turned to Zeina.
“I had a feeling. And then…” She hesitated, her lips in a flat line. “I stole the book you had and it—well, it told me.”
“The Ancient, Untold History of Magic,” Loveleena whispered, making the connection. “Elder Muaka gave that to me.” She looked at Ahmina. “She told me to say hi, by the way.”
“You’re just telling me this now?” She missed Muaka terribly, and the thought of Loveleena speaking with her made her heart squeeze.
“What?” Loveleena said defensively. “I’ve had a lot going on.”
That wasn’t a very good excuse, but Ahmina wasn’t about to argue with her about it. She rolled the title of the book around in her mind. It wasn’t one she knew, but she had heard it before…
Then it clicked.
It was the same book Lennox had been looking for when she first met him in the library. Elder Muaka had it all along.
“So, what’s so special about this book then?” She was curious to know why he had been searching for it, and why Muaka had hidden it.
“It reveals magic,” Zeina said.
“Did Elder Muaka say anything about it? Like where she kept it? Who gave it to her? Anything?” Ahmina prodded. She needed more. She needed to know everything about that book, and how Muaka came to acquire it.
“Enough about the dumb book,” Loveleena cut in. “I’ve just found out my whole childhood was a lie and I’m actually part of some psycho magical family and have sisters I never knew about.”
Ahmina swallowed her words. Loveleena was right. It was a lot to take in, but unlike Loveleena, she had always known there could be family out there she had never met. For Loveleena it was a complete shock.
“Zeina. Do you know how to use your magic?” Loveleena asked.
“I guess. I don’t really use it. I allow it to be as it is. As I am.” Zeina shrugged.
Loveleena rolled her eyes. “Goddess, you’re worse than Ren. He can never just answer a question straight. What about you, Ahmina?”
Ahmina sighed, “No. I’ve barely just come to terms with the idea that I have it.
It’s something to do with—” She stopped herself, remembering the instructions she received during her first Charming class: don’t reveal your magical ability.
Not to anyone. “It comes out sporadically. I accidently used it on Lennox once,” she said instead, crossing her legs under her. “Not intentionally, of course!”
“He would probably like it regardless,” Zeina muttered.
“Okay so let me get this straight.” Loveleena was back to pacing again.
“We all have inherited magic that none of us can fully control, while our deranged uncle tries to steal it from us via Barrow, who, from what you’ve told me”—she pointed to Ahmina—“is as mentally sick as our uncle. And for some unknown reason triplet magic is stronger, more desirable.”
“Which actually doesn’t make sense,” Ahmina added, ignoring any thoughts of Barrow, her mind tracing over all the facts. “Because wouldn’t the same amount of magic passed down to one fetus just be split into three?”
“Well, it is. For whatever reason.” Loveleena eyed them both, chewing at her fingernail before sitting down beside Ahmina. “I have to tell you something.”
Like every other Jarrian, Ahmina had heard of Park Kem’s disappearance.
So, when Kumani had told her that Loveleena had come looking for her missing friend, she found it hard to believe that was her only reason.
To change your entire trajectory just to look for your friend?
It seemed absurd, especially for a noble.
The Academy wasn’t a place you just tried out.
It was a lifelong commitment. But once Loveleena started opening up, it was like a waterfall of information.
Park. Kumani. Ren. And when she finished, Ahmina was at a loss for words.
Zeina didn’t seem that surprised by the information, but she was hard to read anyway.
“So, are you and Ren like, a thing?” The way Loveleena had described their relationship sounded a lot like two people who secretly wanted each other.
“Goddess no!” Loveleena got up and fixed her hair in the mirror. “We tolerate each other at best. He literally drives me insane.”
Ahmina turned back to Zeina, her chest tightening at what she was about to ask. “And you? Zeina? I mean…” She looked back down at the bed, picking the blanket again. “You did live in Lennox’s dorm all year.”
“Half the year,” Zeina corrected.
“Did you guys ever?” She almost didn’t want to know. And if she were being honest, she did feel a little jealous.
“No. We’re just friends.”
“Can’t you tell?” Loveleena said as if it was obvious. “Look at her face; she looks repulsed at the thought of it.”
Ahmina giggled. “Yeah, you do look kinda disgusted.”
“Lennox is like a brother, I guess?” Zeina admitted. “I’ve never had a brother, so I don’t really know, but I think this is what it feels like.”
“Now you have sisters too.” Ahmina looked between them, her eyes bright. She had always considered Elder Muaka and Rory her family. But having blood-related sisters? It felt… nice.
“Awww, come here.” Loveleena pulled them both into a hug, which she could tell made Zeina want to crawl up the walls, but she tolerated it.
“Plus,” Loveleena said to Ahmina as they pulled away. “That man looks like he’s just dying for you to sit on his face.”
“Loveleena!” Ahmina screeched, throwing a pillow at Loveleena who caught it easily, laughing.
“What? It’s true!”
Ahmina’s mouth hung open. “You did not just say that!”
“Oh don’t be so shy.” Loveleena waved Ahmina off. “I bet he’d be good at it too.” Just the thought of it made Ahmina’s cheeks heat, and she covered her face with her hands to hide her embarrassment.
They sat, talking and sharing stories for hours, before Ahmina finally decided to call it a night. And when she slept, she dreamt of life with her sisters by her side.