From the Ashes

Chapter 16 ~ Interests Before

Even at the quick pace they set, it took two full days to reach the point of the Treis River where Tarion wished to cross. They hadn't had another lesson since the first. Tarion had explained that the brightness of their magic might attract unwanted attention. They'd wait until they reached the protection of the library to hold another lesson.

Morana was content to simply practice what she'd learned. The only thing she had to be wary about was the light her shields gave off, so she practiced with those only during the day. She could practice letting magic enhance her senses at any time and took full advantage of it. It was already growing to be second nature to her, and Tarion seemed pleased by her progress.

"I'm surprised no one taught you about your power before," he remarked, gesturing to the shield glowing upon Morana's forearm. It was the first they'd spoken since that morning, when Tarion announced they would be crossing the river today.

Her shield winked out and Morana lifted her face to the treetops, not wanting to meet his gaze. "I was always told that it was a curse and would bring only death and destruction. Thinking about it now, I suppose each family I stayed with must've been aware of what I really was." Why else would so many of them have protected her above their own loved ones when disaster struck?

"It would make sense," Tarion replied. "You said you were always passed on to a trusted friend of the family and were moved regularly. I can't think of another reason as to why anyone would do that unless they were protecting and hiding you from something."

Morana pursed her lips, not responding. The very same thoughts had been drifting around her mind for a while now, but she didn't want to think about it. She didn't want to wonder what each of those families had sacrificed to keep her safe. What they had brought upon themselves just for the slight hope that someday she might save them.

But she couldn't stop the thoughts of Koen and Vesna from creeping in, especially in the dead of night when it was her turn to take watch and she had only silence for company. Had they ever planned on telling her the truth of their own accord? Or would they have eventually passed her off to someone else? She didn't know, and now she never would. They were gone, and Neeri was too.

"Did your parents know?" Tarion asked, drawing her thoughts back to the present.

"I don't know," Morana answered. "I never met my parents. I assume so, otherwise why wouldn't they have kept me? I was moved around as long as I can remember. It probably began soon after I was born."

"Do you wish you had known them?"

"Of course." She glanced at him, noting the shadows that filled his eyes. "Did your parents..." Morana trailed off almost as soon as she began.

Tarion raised a brow. "Yes?"

She hesitated once more, then continued. "Did your parents see you Corrupted?"

Tarion abruptly faced forward. "No." Morana said nothing more. She still had questions, but no doubt they were ones he would be unwilling to answer.

Still, it was strange to think of the male as he might have been before his Corruption. A true Prince of Asterria, powerful, beautiful, and whole. What was he like before the Ash War? What had led to his Corruption? Perhaps learning that would help her see the male within the monster.

She'd begun to look past it a little already, but she hadn't fully let her guard down and she wouldn't until she knew without a doubt that she could trust him. Maybe that was unfair of her, but she knew she couldn't take the risk of being deceived through her own naivety.

"What were you like before...everything?" Morana found herself asking.

"I was told I was too interested in history. My father sometimes said that I'd make a better librarian than a King."