Silver: The Lost Royal

8| Magic

THE wind whipping her hair in her face should have been annoying-not exhilarating.

When she told Zack she would leave her hair down, he raised a brow and questioned her decision. At some point, she did the same, but all her worries were quick to dance away with the wind.

Unlike she had assumed, they didn't head back to Larry's when they left the trio of new students. Zack offered they stop and have lunch, which she agreed to. Due to her aunt's horrid insistence that she finish her chores before leaving, she couldn't find time to stuff a morsel down her throat and hence hadn't eaten all day.

Sitting at a table under a bright green umbrella outside Fast Foods, the scent of burgers, fries, and sizzling meals stimulated a hunger she satiated with every bite of her burger.

"You say you've been here more than a week, huh?" she asked as she finished up, wiping her fingers with the tissue that came with her order.

With his arms folded on the table, he nodded, his pack of nuggets now empty.

"Then how did no one know about you? News would have spread that there were some new people. Emerfield is small and everyone knows everyone."

"The Lake House is at the far east of town and I stay with my grandma..." he trailed off.

"You don't go out much then," she completed, and he confirmed with another nod.

"I knew a family staying at The Lake House-" she snapped her fingers, eyes lighting up once she remembered the name. "The Gunters. Are you related to them?"

"Mr. Gunter's mother is my grandma's sister."

She pursed her lips in thought before she asked, "Mr. Gunter is your dad or mum's cousin?"

He stole a glance at the pack before he said, "My mum."

In the short time she'd been with him, he'd spoken about his grandma with a certain look in his eyes. At first, she thought it to be admiration, but the longer she'd seen it, the more she felt it was far from that. Which also made her ponder about his parents. She'd heard nothing about them from him.

"You're wondering about my parents, aren't you?" he asked, and she whipped her head up to look at him.

"I swear you can read my mind."

He let out a light chuckle. "You spend a lot more time in that head of yours than out of it. So, what question do you have?"

"I don't mean to pry but, where are they? I assume it's just you and your grandma living together."

"My parents are still alive, but they're... not here, not now, at least."

Just before she could recognize the emotion his eyes held, he cast them down, hiding the truth behind them from her.

"Do you plan to bring them here?"

His voice had an edge to it and she caught a hint of anger when he answered, "If I could, yes."

"Are they in some sort of danger?" she couldn't help but ask.

His silence spoke volumes. When he finally lifted his eyes to meet hers, his lips parted, but no answer came. Then he shook his head ever-so-slightly before he cast his gaze at another table on their side. Despite his lack of words, she had some understanding of how he felt.

She'd been an orphan since she could remember, but she had Elowen's parents, who were the closest thing to family. If something terrible were to happen to them, it would be equivalent to having her heart ripped out of her chest, leaving her empty inside. The mere thought stung her heart.