Selenite

Chapter 6

"Dead?"

I stare at my hands and remain silent. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see my sister's knuckles turning white as she grips the armrest violently.
Eris takes a deep breath, but her voice is still shaky when she speaks again. "H-how did it happen?"

"It's all really blurry...I'm not exactly sure how it happened," I say evasively, glancing up at her and looking back down quickly when I see her harsh gaze.

"You're lying to me," she says suddenly. "I can tell that you are. You know what happened. Now tell me."

I try to keep my composure, but I can feel my facade cracking, and I worry about what will show through before I want it to. "She died in a fire." I  look up at her, looking her in the eye as best I can to keep her from questioning me further. "That's all I know."

"Fire? But we never have fires in the city, and mom was so skilled with handling water. It doesn't make sense." The bewilderment and distress present on her face are each fighting for dominance, giving the appearance of twitching.

"I'm not really sure how it happened either. It was a big fire. Maybe it was just too much for her."

"No, even then she should have been able to get out of it alive, if not uninjured." She rises from her chair and paces the floor for a few moments before turning to me. "Are you sure that that's all you know? Were you there?" she asks.

"Only for a little bit. I couldn't save her," I reply.

She runs a hand through her hair and sighs heavily. The next words that come out of her mouth are barely a whisper, almost inaudible. "Thank the gods."

...Did she just say what I think she said? I look up at her in surprise. She gives me a small half smile, but her eyes look sad, and even pained. "What do you mean?" I ask.

"You mean you don't know why I'm here?" She looks puzzled suddenly. "Mom never told you why I was sent away?"

"I was always told that you were gifted and left to train more with your magic, but she never really wanted to talk about it."

"Gifted," she repeats, then chuckles harshly. "I guess that's one way of describing it," she muses. "The truth, however, is a little less black and white."

I open my mouth to ask her what she means when a loud knock at the door interrupts me. Eris makes a motion for me to stay quiet and walks to the door, opening just enough for the person outside to see her, but not me.

"You are wanted in the library. Eris," a deep male voice says. I can't see who it is, but he speaks with enough authority to know that my sister doesn't have much of a choice as to whether she goes or not.
She nods silently. I can hear the sound of footsteps thudding down the corridor, then fading into silence, and it isn't until they fade that she shuts the door.

"I have to go," she says, rolling her eyes. "Someone probably wants to talk to me about why you're here, even though I hardly know myself." She grabs a pair of shoes and pulls them on. I notice for the first time that her feet are bare.

She also grabs a necklace from a nightstand on the other side of her bed. It looks similar to the one I wear around my neck, but with a blood red stone instead of white. Carnelian, maybe? Or ruby? I don't get a chance to ask before she heads to the door. "I'll be back soon, hopefully before dinner. There's books on the shelves if you're interested, although you'd probably rather sleep. Feel free to take my bed if you need a nap." With that she swiftly opens the door, closing it behind her.

I rise and walk over to the bed, sinking into the soft mattress. How many days has it been since I slept in one last? Two? Three? Either way, I'm glad to be able to sleep in one again. I lean my head back into the pillows and stretch out.

My head is spinning with everything that's happened. I can't believe I found my sister at the one civilized place I've been to. It seems like a little too much of a coincidence. But the bigger elephant in the room is the conversation I just had with my sister. It was...odd. Despite her initial reaction, she seemed almost relieved by the death of our mother. I know I should ask her about it, but I have so many other things to discuss that it almost seems like it would be burdensome. Besides, with everything having happened so recently, this might not be the best time for questions about the past.

Still, it's worrying. As my eyes weigh themselves down and I drift off, two questions resonate in my mind.

Who was my mother?

And what is my sister's "truth"?

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Ayyy finally got this chapter out! I apologize for the wait and the shorter length. Thankfully I'm already working on Chapter 7 so I'll have that up in a few days!

Also a couple of notes: If you are following me, you know that I recently published the first chapter of another "book". It's more of a collection of short pieces than anything, just a few prompts from my creative writing class with my responses. Check it out if you're interested!

Also, when we reach 1000 readers, I have a big announcement to make, so be sure vote and share! Thank you!