Relentless

Chapter 4

 When we get home we light a few candles in the foyer, along the stairs and in our rooms.

I follow Ashton into our parents bedroom as she holds a flame in the palm of her hand to light our way.

She stops in front of my father's desk and opens her empty hand to me. "Bobby pin?" She asks.

I hesitantly comply.

She grabs my pin and holds it like a lock in her fingers. I watch as heat begins to radiate from the pin. Then, she slowly places it into the keyhole of a locked drawer. The only locked drawer. Mother's locked drawer.

"That's Mother's drawer!" I can't contain my outburst.

Ashton's only answer is one solid nod.

"Wait, what are you-"

My question fades as the pin cools and I hear the mechanical 'click' of the lock. She pulls the pin out and I can see that it has formed into a perfect replica of our mother's key.

She opens the drawer and my eyes fall on dozens of letters, each sealed and addressed, but never to be sent.

Why would she have letters just sitting in a drawer? They all look addressed to different people, but all written by her. I can recognize her handwriting everywhere.

Ashton reaches in and grabs a letter from the top. It's addressed to us.

Now I'm really confused.

It actually looks like one of the oldest addressed letters. I wonder what she had to write to us and couldn't just tell us.

Ashton signals with her head for me to follow her and we both headed back to our room. I can tell that she has done it before but sees no point to cleaning up the evidence of her theft because they won't be home for a few more days.

I sit next to Ashton on her bed. She lets the flame fade in her hand and offers me the letter with her other outstretched hand.

"Why don't you open it?" She offers.

I hesitate before shaking my head. "I can't."

Still, Ashton doesn't move. She just stared at me blankly.

I bite my bottom lip until I cave and snatched the letter from her grasp.

I hesitate again with my fingers gingerly resting under the edge of the paper that hold my mother's seal. I look at our family crest pressed and red. I exhale deeply before tearing past the seal.

I glance back up at Ashton before reading and she nods for me to continue so I do.

"'Dear my dearest daughters,'" I read aloud, assuming Ashton wants to hear it, after all it is our letter.

I read on. "I know I should have told both of you long ago, but your father and I assumed that you both are safest left in the dark. After all, raising you so far away from the chaos undetected and then allowing you to know about the war and putting the idea in your head that you could help only to lose you in the first fight would be irresponsible of us as parents and-'"

"'Defeat the purpose of us moving you two here.'" Ashton finishes for me and my eyes darted to her in surprise.

"You know this part?" I inquire.

"Oh, don't look so surprised." She said with the dismissal wave of her hand.

"But the seal of the letter wasn't broken so how did you read the letter?"

"I have my ways," is her only answer with a smirk.

I nod as events click in my head. Ashton must have either stolen the seal or made a replica out of metal with her abilities to recreate the seal.

"Continue," she says, so I do.

"'I love you girls so deeply and you are both so much more special than you know. You are Divines. They are half Celestial, half human. You are both a hybrid that inherited the strongest parts of both of us.

There are five different ranges of abilities that Celestials, like myself, have. Deities, however, only inherit one of those 'elements.' You girls have Illuminate abilities. Because you are twins, you share the abilities.'"

I pause and look up at Ashton. "How does she know?"

She just nods at the paper. "Keep reading."

"'I've noticed,'" I begin obediently. "'that both of you have shown talent in the development of your abilities. Ashton, I've noticed it most with you. Illuminate is the element of heat and light. You have inherited a talent with fire. I first noticed it one day when you were six. You were playing outside with Celeste and you tripped and fell. Your knee grazed a rock and you let out a shrill cry. You were unaware, but when you did, every lap and candle in the house flickered out, only for a moment, simultaneously. I began worried since you had such control at such a young age that your powers would manifest beyond your control and consume you in fear. I hope this is not the case, but only time will tell.'"

Ashton interrupts me. "You'll notice that the ink from here on is darker, newer. I guess it took her a few years to conclude her thoughts."

I nod as I realize she's right.

Still, I continue. "Celeste has seemed to take longer to stumble upon her power. I have noticed her talent for thriving after sundown. I know she loves to be in the sunlight, but her ability to see at night is incomprehensible. I've never heard of a light wielder to be able to have night vision. Although, it does make sense. She can manipulate the path of light directly to her eye.'"

Aha! So that's where Ashton got her theory about my night vision, Mother's letter.

"How long have you known?" I ask Ashton, looking up from the page that I'm only halfway done reading.

"There's more." She says trying to evade my question.

"That's not what I asked." I said firmly.

She finally meets my gaze. "A few months."

I raise my eyebrows. "That long? And you never told me? You never thought to tell me?" I'm not mad just surprised. I'm also surprised by the fact that she still surprises me. She's so unpredictable that I never know what's possible.

Soon, nothing will surprise me, I think to myself, not knowing how true that statement truly is.

"Well," Ashton eyes fall on the bed. "I told you tonight that I planned to tell you, and that was the truth. It's just that the right moment never came up. I thought that this weekend would be perfect since they're away."

I'm surprised that her loved ones are her downfall. She's such a strong spirit, but she's always afraid of being judged and failing her loved ones, which solely consist of her family. It worries me that if someone corruptive where to get close to her that she would be easily manipulated.

Then, I think that maybe her confidence is just a face, a show she puts on in an attempt to protect herself because of how vulnerable she is around those she loves. I know that she has always struggled to make friends that are girls, but she has never had a problem getting boys, but after they fell in love with her her appearance then learned how reckless she was so they kept dumping her, she lost faith in them. She hasn't had a boyfriend in over a year.

I put my hand on hers and her eyes shot up to mine. I want her to know that I'm here for her, but the worlds don't seem to come. By the expression on her face; however, I can tell that my message got through.

We sit there in silence. I notice the lights dim as Ashton relaxes, but when I opened my mouth to speak, a loud crash came from downstairs. We both jump to our feet and are peering out the hall in a moment.