Discover the shadows( name may be changed)

Chapter 4

Eventually, she was done lecturing and we went for dinner. After which Ashwini, who had eaten dinner at our house, and I set off on a walk, cheerfully assuring my mother we'd be back before 10, or at least it seemed cheerful. As we silently ambled through the village's winding path, I thought back to my life before coming here. We had lived in a big city, Bengaluru before but when our powers began to get too strong to live discreetly here, where although the existence of Arcane was disliked, it was known. My father had worked and peacefully died here, as did Ashwini's parents due to their soul bond.

Oh, the soul bond. As a hopeless romantic I could talk about it for days. To be clear I am not a head-over-heels kind of gal but I do believe in the idea that out of 8 billion people one of them is the one to spend the rest of your life with. The soul bond literally ties the life-forces of soulmates together, binding them and drastically increasing their lifespan, although that doesn't stop death's embrace.

I remember that day. Suddenly one of the cities had sent armed forces to ambush us because they suspected that we had magic, which was true. The reason the big cities want magic is vile: it is possible to rip out an arcana's magic like ripping out their heart. It is inhumane but one arcana, even a weak one, can power a big city for at least a few hours with their magic. In search of their magic, they came. My father and Ashwini's father, as full arcana, fought side by side against the army. We won, but they sacrificed their lives in the process. I remember Ashwini's kind, sweet mother using her magic to create a shield around their mansion and pulling my family in to protect us. I remember Raghav and Alex, Ash's older twin brothers, dashing around and ensuring the shield was steady. Although it was dark and rainy and I couldn't see any of the brothers clearly, I remember seeing the confusion and shock on their dimly lit faces as their mother fell to the ground, and the horror and grief when she did not wake up. Our fathers were the only casualties. The week after that was the only time the villagers treated us nicely.

I shook my head violently for a second, trying to clear my head of the horrible thoughts. They're fine now, I told myself. Their aunt Capri is caring for them and Mom works. Everything's okay. Just as I expelled my memories from my mind, Ashwini stopped in his tracks. I knew where we were going, this walk was not any random whim, but he stopped and sat down on a bench, spacing out.

"Do you ever think they are watching us?" His voice sounded distant, far-away and quiet, surveying the quiet woods that were somehow also teeming with life even at this time of night. "Do you ever worry that they despise us for what we've become?"

The air seemed to become tense. He waited as I pondered how to break the news to him. "I don't know" I finally replied, figuring honesty is the best policy. "I know that they are watching us somewhere, but I don't know what they think of us." I continued as my eyes wandered over the trees, breathing in the cool night air as I tried to put into words what I had not admitted to myself for two years. "They are watching us, and I think they would be proud of us, because rather than losing ourselves in grief, we kept moving. Life is actively against us, Ash. But we shouldn't look back. What's done is done." I finished.

"But what if," he whispered, so quiet that my ears strained to catch the words and so hopeful that my heart sank, "there was a way?" "There is an old type of magic that can bring a person back in exchange for a life. A life for a life. We can bring them back, you and me. The villagers hate us anyway; they won't care if we're gone." For a second, I considered it. What if we did it?