Page 116 of Grim and Oro
She shrugs. “My mom asked me if I wanted to know, and I did. So now ... I do.”
She doesn’t seem concerned at all. I blink. “How does your mom know?”
“The oracle told her. The one on Moon Isle.”
“I thought they were frozen.”
“They are. But one thaws once in a while.”
I didn’t know that. I haven’t been to the isle. Only Egan goes on royal visits with my father. “What—what did it say?”
Enya shakes her head. “No. I’m not telling you. Not ever.”
My panic rises. I know we’ll both die. Of course we will. But what if her death is soon? What if it’s before mine? Suddenly, the pain in my arm and the group closing in on us are irrelevant. I take a step toward her. “But—but if you tell me, we can stop it. We can make sure it doesn’t happen.”
Enya smiles, then. She tilts her head at me. “Why would I want to do that?”
“Why wouldn’t you?” I practically exclaim.
She shrugs a shoulder. “We all must die sometime. And it’s a good death. A glorious one, like you said.”
“Aren’t you ... aren’t you afraid?”
She shakes her head. “No. I’m not afraid at all.” She motions toward the cliff, just as the yells become clear. The Sunlings have found us. “Come on. We don’t have all day.”
She runs ahead. I stumble behind her, pain shooting through my arm as I shout at her to slow down, that maybe we should find another path. Maybe this one is too dangerous.
All she does is look over her shoulder at me, mischievously.
“I do not die today,” she says.
And then, she jumps.
One month into Sunling training, and I have yet to use my fire.
The instructors have tried everything. I have participated in their exercises. Attended their lessons. Observed their examples.
Now, they’re using fear.
“Get in.”
We’re far past the Sun Isle castle, in the scorch lands. There’s a hatch, aboveground. Below—only darkness.
I take a step in, and groan as I fall several feet onto grating sand. My instructor’s voice echoes as he says, “If you want light, make it.”
Then the latch closes, and my senses narrow.
The darkness is so saturated, I can almost taste it. I open my eyes. Close them. It’s the same either way.
I swallow as something crawls over my foot. The air is dry and full of dust. I cough. My throat burns.
Fine. I’ll try. Down here, at least, I can’t hurt anyone but myself. I search for that ember that’s always been in my chest.
Find your fire.
I look. I claw at the place it once was, asking for scraps, just a beam of light. Just something to leave this dark place.
But there’s nothing there.
