The Family Lokison (Part 4)

So Many Questions (NARVI)

My stomach twisted hard enough to force me awake long before the sun shone in our room. I squeezed my eyes shut and hummed lullabies to myself, praying to fall back asleep, even though the only thing waiting for me in my dreams was an empty space. I was beginning to believe that what others described as dreams were hallucinations and made-up stories. Vali snored in his bed by the opposite wall, and part of me wanted to touch his hand and absorb whatever tiredness he had.

It was a temptation I couldn't act on. I threw my blanket over my head and chose to stare at darkness instead. The small bag of stones on my beltline grounded me—my small pieces of home. Someday we'd be home again. Someday.

***

Vali had already been gone for hours when Mum tapped on the bedroom door. "Narvi, are you alright?"

"Yes, Mum."

She cracked the room open and peeked in with a smile. "May I join you?"

I nodded and sat up in bed, where I'd been all day with one of Father's books. While quiet privacy had been nice, I hadn't realized how much time went by until she came in and pinned the curtains open.

"Are you feeling ill? The day's almost over." She sat on the edge of the bed next to me and touched her belly, which she did all the time now. It got bigger every day. "I'm sure your brother and father will be back soon."

"I'm fine." I stretched and rubbed my eyes, wishing my endless exhaustion would let me sleep better that night.

"And what have you been doing in here?"

"Not much. Reading." I showed her Father's book—the same one Vali and I looked at before we found the portal at home. "I'm trying to learn more about the realms and Yggdrasil."

She raised her brow. "Yggdrasil, or Jotunheim?"

I shrugged.

"Have you come across anything in particular? Something you're curious about?"

If I thought she had the answers, I would've spilled my soul for her—hundreds of thousands of questions raced through my head all the time, and the revelation from Father only intensified them all.

"I just wanna understand better," I said, flipping through the pages again as if I hadn't memorized them.

Mum pulled the book off my lap. "You know, your father said you showed him something last night. How you discovered this hidden ability. Will you show me, too?" The glint in her eyes sparkled when she asked. "Please?"

How could I refuse, even if it was a tired trick, now? I took the candle from the bedside table and snapped to light it. "When I first did this, it was because I was angry. Now, I don't even need to think about it. I just...do it."

She grinned and waved her hand my way. "Go on."

With her cue, I sent cold through the candlestick, snuffing it immediately. "I didn't know it could change my whole body." Snapping again, the candle relit, and I repeated the spell again and again, four times in a row. "Vali isn't as quick with it yet, but he's getting better."

"Practice goes a long way, doesn't it?" She sighed happily. "When I first met your father, we were about your age. He found me in the halls getting into trouble. My skirt caught on fire, and he snuffed it out in less than a second. I spent my life wondering how he did it—now I see it was so innate, he likely never bothered to question if it was unique or not."

"That's why I took the book a few weeks ago. I wanted to see if he wrote anything about cold. Found the portals instead."

She squinted. "I thought Vali said he took it?"