Memories: Book One Of The Eclipsed Eyes Trilogy

Chapter VI

I laid on the bed in the room, left alone to my thoughts while Cinder looked around the house for supplies. The view outside the window was one of trees, not very entertaining. Carefully, with the blanket trailing behind me, I stood up and crossed to the seat where Arc had sat before, peering at the books he had been reading. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, and a small picture book titled Where The Wild Things Are rested there, tempting me to open it and flick open the pages-it hadn't been since I was in The Prison that I had read a book, and I must confess, I was beginning to miss the activity.

I flipped through the picture book, wondering what lead him to read it. I slightly jumped when the bedroom door opened, a bit afraid Arc would open it and see me studying them. I let out a breath of relief when I saw it was simply Cinder, followed by a faint glimmer of concern, wondering where Arc had gone.

"Here." She threw a ball of something at me, and it wasn't until I caught it that I realized it was clothes. "I found it in one of the drawers of the living room. Let me know if they're too big or small."

I nodded, not really feeling like speaking. As she left the room once more, I shrugged on the clothes, discovering a simple grey, kind of baggy, T-shirt, as well as jean shorts, seeing as the weather had been hot and humid as of late.

Frowning to myself, I opened the door that separated the bedroom from the rest of the house. Cinder sat on a white couch in front of a coffee table, drawing designs in the air with her fingertips. Blue and green shimmers of light came from her hands and I watched, entranced. At The Prison, most Fae were kept in a different wing, and were given serums that disabled their powers. A smile smile rested on her lips.

I stood there for a moment, trying to recall the times I had seen the Fae in The Prison. I remembered how, when I had been first placed into my cell, the first person to have greeted me was a child, with glowing, green wings, and long silvery blonde hair. She had smiled at me, showed me a few harmless magic tricks, even let me touch her wings. I remembered the touch of them beyond distinctly. It was like brushing your hand through a window of thin, constantly moving water. They pulsed with warmth, and left little trails of light on my fingers.

"Where are your wings, Cinder?" I asked curiously, tilting my head to the side, somehow knowing that there was a sad story behind those words. Her fingers stilled, and the twinkles left the air. She stared at the table, not responding, her hands coming to clasp in her lap.

I moved to sit by her and she sighed, leaning backwards and putting her feet up on the table.

"I gave them to my brother." She looked at me. "He was born without them, even though he is more Fae than Elf. I am more Elf, yet I still got the wings. So, I decided to give them to him. We talked to a Fae that performed physical magic." She bit her lip. "Wings cannot be created out of thin air-you're either born with them or not. She turns down hybrids who want wings but don't have a donor, but, I was willing to give them to him.. He argued, even at his young age of three he disagreed with it."

"How many years ago was this?" I asked in a quiet murmur.

"Seven. He's ten now."

"Where is he? Is he at your-Azrael's camp?"

She turned again, coming to stare at the front door. "He's in, what we consider to be, the children's prison."

I nodded solemnly. I had never gone there-they took me straight to The Prison because it has a higher ratio of guards to prisoners, and refused to underestimate my abilities. "I'm sorry, Cinder."

"It's in the past. I'll get him back soon." Her voice hardened from the vulnerable tone it had taken, and she shot me a smile. "Anyways, why don't we-"