39. Florence
FLORENCE
“We have trained you for too long, you should be stronger than this.”
- EZRA TO FLORENCE
The Temple had not changed in the years I had been gone. The same dusty floors, the same heavily robed elders, the same ominous tapestry reminding me that I would never, ever fulfil the Prophesy. I shook out my hands.
A SkyChanger.
The weakest of all my siblings.
At least Khol had the power to manipulate minds and Raf, Goddess bless his soul, had the greatest fire power I had seen when he was alive. Even Ottie could heal faster than everyone I had ever seen. I stood at the threshold of what used to be my brother’s bedroom, I missed Rafael dearly.
The curtains surrounding his bed were still placed in mourning, gathered with dust and un-had dreams. The silk of my deep purple dress hissed against the floor; I had forgotten that tonight was my mother’s ball. We had thrown this ball so many times I had almost forgotten what we were celebrating. Almost.
It was Khol’s birthday.
Standing in my late brother’s bedroom, I remembered that Rafael had always loved birthdays, being the eldest of the four of us, he always begged mother to throw a ball.
He was the parent we never had.
When the trial had deemed his life no longer his own, I had begged my mother to spare him, to save him, to do anything she could to keep him alive.
“It is out of my hands, Florence!” She scolded me years ago, pushing me away from her.
“Do not make this any harder than it already is,” my father whispered in my ears, his words always softer than my mother’s.
Tears dripped from my chin on to my upraised palms as I prayed to The Goddess.
“Stop that, Florence.” My mother batted my hands down. “The Goddess does not have the time to answer a petulant girl’s wishes, your brother failed the trial. His is a threat to The Temple.” She pushed papers from her deep cherry desk onto the floor, stood and began pacing.
“Send him away then,” I cried. “Lock him in the dungeon! Just do not kill him!” She stopped pacing as sobs shook my body, and my father began dragging me from the room. I watched my mother’s head tilt and her brows furrow, and then the doors slammed in my face. I didn’t see my brother again.
Never saw his smile again.
Shoes smacking against the floor behind me brought me back to the present, I’d know my mother’s gait anywhere.
“Standing in his room will not bring him back, Florence,” my mother said, not look up from where she to knelt to fix her shoe. I nodded anyway.
“Find your brother for me, will you?” She looked up and met my eyes, I winced.
“Which one?” I countered childishly; I couldn’t help it.
She ignored me.
“He’s probably cavorting somewhere with the half human,” she examined her perfect reflection in the mirror. “She truly is a tiresome girl,” she scoffed.
“Half human?” I asked, slipping from Raf’s room and into the hallway where slow music sounded from the party below.
“I am afraid so,” she shrugged, turning to look at herself in a cracked mirror. “The humans left her on our land, half dead, almost five moon cycles ago. She had performed a Graceling without even knowing.”
“A Graceling?” I whispered. I had never been able to complete one, not even when my mother starved me for days as punishment.
My mother hummed her agreement.
“But once she arrived here, I… I realized she wasn’t what we thought she was, she was something else entirely.” Her primping paused momentarily. She recentered herself. “But your brother is taken with her, infatuated with her I suppose.” She shrugged again, as though her words didn’t mean a thing.
“Speaking of, there is a man downstairs I want you to meet, fetch Khol and come meet him, it is time you married, Florence.” She checked her appearance once more before turning to leave, as though she was simply asking me to pass her the morning paper. I had been expecting an engagement once I returned, but the words were so blunt, so emotionless. Pain unfurled in my gut.
“Aren’t you curious to why I returned?” I asked sheepishly. She turned, her steel eyes meeting mine.
“You completed your mission did you not? I’ve read your report on Captain Harlow’s crew, it”s very impressive. I’m glad you brought them to me. We knew only you could charm the captain” she said the word ‘charm’ as though it was an insult, and disgust bloomed in my stomach as my mother spoke.
“And now we have the information on Harlow and his crew, we can start negotiations with him. Would be a shame for him to side with the humans.” She rearranged her skirts, moving to leave.
“I do not wish to marry, Mother,” I said, changing the subject abruptly. She paused before stalking toward me, smoothing my hair with the palm of her hand.
“I know it is scary, but Bennett is a nice man, a FireBringer. I believe you could grow to like him.” She smiled, spinning, and beginning her walk down back toward the party.
“No, I could not. I do not wish to marry any man,” I whispered. She stopped walking, standing still. She did not turn. She did not move.
And as though I hadn’t said a thing, she began walking again. My words lost in the wind.
Heat flowed through my blood. I did not go looking for Khol and his half human, I stalked down the corridor after my mother, my steps hurried.
“I met someone,” I stated, my words louder than I imagined. Ezra turned to face me finally.
“Someone I thought would lead me to Harlow again. I had no boat you see, no way of sailing across the ocean.” I walked a circle around my mother. “So I sent for the humans, the hunters that trusted our family, thinking us humans too. I told them of a Sorcerer in Dayra, and they were more than happy to come a collect. I have to say mother, it is very impressive the way you made the hunters believe The Temple was a prison for Sorcerers, instead of a home.” My voice was sickly sweet and mocking.
“But,” I returned to my story. “I had seen a woman on her ship the day before Kai’d, I followed her to a tavern and pointed out a member of her crew to the hunters. My name was Dahlia then.” My mother tapped her foot against the floor, she never was a patient woman.
“I’ll skip to the end; she needed help finding her friend and I conveniently knew where he was being held. I knew it was only a matter of time until we found Harlow. He was more than happy to see me again.” I heaved a deep breath.
“But something happened on our journey, we had two of Harlow’s girls join our crew and I… I grew to love them.” I looked up at my mother, her snake tattoo stark again the white of her dress.
“But with Joy it was different,” I refused to break eye contact with her, “I feel although I fused with her, like a part of my soul now lives within her and hers in mine. And now she believes I have betrayed her, again, and I suppose she is right.” I shrugged.
“But I cannot marry another, you see.” My mother’s eyes narrowed. “For I think I am in love with Joy.”
I felt the sting before her hand made contact with my cheek.
“I raised you better than this, do you think I care whether you marry a man or a woman? I do not.” Anger radiated from her body. Heat making her hands glow a burnt orange, she never really had full control over her FireBringer power.
“But for you to have feelings for a human is disgraceful. We have trained you for too long, you should be stronger than this.” Her face was inches from mine. “I have never been more disappointed in my life.”