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  “There’s nothing to tell. She’ll make her own.”

  Saytera wondered if they were talking about her, but then all this talk about destiny seemed to be about someone more important.

  “But if you don’t tell her the truth, you are robbing her of her decision.” Vivian replied.

  “She knows what she needs to know. For now. Everything in its own time.”Yansin’s voice was firm, the tone she usually had when lecturing people.

  “You love her like a daughter, don’t you?” Vivian asked.

  For some reason this question made Saytera think they were talking about her. Her heart beat louder trying to anticipate the answer she did not know. But if there had been an answer, it was in silence, the kind of answer Yansin gave with her eyes only.

  Vivian continued, “Consider then what’s best for her. Her future is not here, she was never meant to stay, and you know that.”

  “Nobody ever said she wasn’t meant to stay.”

  “Why wasn’t she adopted like a daughter then? Why? Why doesn’t she go to Blaze Island like the other children? Why? You want her to stay? For what? While war rages on, she has to play around her little island some more, surrounded by people learning arts she’s not even supposed to know exist. Think, Yansin. She’s no longer a child. And she could help our cause immensely.”

  “Your cause? You still want to get involved in someone else’s war? Since when do we meddle in little squabbles?”

  “As opposed to what? Hiding? How useful is that? As to the girl, you knew who she was—and what it meant—when you took her. Why are you ignoring this now?”

  No answer came, only silence. If this was one of Yansin’s typical eye-only answers, that was a very long one, more like a monologue.

  Another voice was heard, “Saytera?”

  It was Kerely. And her voice was not muffled, but clear, as if she were standing right beside… Saytera’s stomach sank as she looked behind her. Nowla was nowhere to be seen. And Saytera had been caught.

  2

  Before the Storm

  Kerely had a calm, gentle expression, with her big brown eyes and dark hair flowing with the wind. Saytera almost asked about Nowla, then realized that it would be better not to get her friend in trouble. She probably hadn’t had time to warn Saytera. Probably.

  The woman smiled and asked, “Do you want to come to Little Lizard Island with me?”

  That was not the reaction she’d expected. Stunned, Saytera nodded and followed her, wondering if she hadn’t realized what Saytera was doing or if she was just playing coy.

  Kerely walked towards the inner beach then pushed a row bow to the water, and they jumped in. The soft sound of water and the movement of the boat felt soothing, as well as Kerely’s loving eyes and her poised manner, except that it was unnerving that she wasn’t saying anything about what she’d probably seen. The boat kept going farther and farther from the shore, away from the little bay and into the open sea.

  They were now in a very dangerous place for anyone who didn’t know those waters, for not only it was full of scattered rocks, storms were frequent. But a master like Kerely or Yansin had no problem going from island to island. They led their boats with ease. Saytera had started to learn a little about it, something about feeling the water, but she was still far from capable of taking a boat anywhere outside the inner bays. Her solace was that most apprentices, even though they were older and experienced, couldn’t lead a boat through the rocks either.

  As Little Lizard Island got closer and closer, even Kerely had to concentrate because it had such a rocky shoreline. The boat entered an inner bay and Kerely docked on a natural protruding rock formation, which had a wooden post for tying boats. She jumped out and reached out her hand to help Saytera.

  “Stay and watch the shore,” Kerely said. She then looked at Saytera and frowned. “Where’s your bow?”

  Saytera pointed back to Ken Island. “I… I was training.”

  Kerely removed her back pouch with the bow and arrows and tossed it. “Here. Take mine. If anything comes, they’ll come from the water. Keep watch. I’ll just get some herbs and be back in a moment.”

  “No problem.”

  Saytera was still wondering how come Kerely hadn’t mentioned anything about the overheard conversation. Perhaps she wanted to torture Saytera with anticipation until she confessed it. Maybe.

  She placed the pouch on her back. It fit. Nothing should disturb them here, though. Canteens, the lizards populating and naming the island, were harmless. At this time of the year there were no sea serpents. Gigantic insects were rare. Saytera sat on a rock, trying to collect her thoughts and plan her next steps.

  So there was something Yansin was hiding from her. How could Saytera ask about it or try to learn about it without letting her know she’d heard her?

  She’d need to think about it later, as something was coming out of the water, a few meters to her right. Saytera got up and moved away from the shore. It was a crab-king, and a huge one. Each of its pincers were almost Saytera’s size. Perhaps it would ignore her. Saytera pulled the bow and an arrow, just in case. It would be sad to kill such a majestic animal. Indeed, it would be sad to kill, period, as she’d never done it before.

  But now it was grabbing onto the rocks and going in Saytera’s direction. It had definitely seen her, and she wouldn’t be able to outrun it. Aiming for the soft spot on the middle of its face, she let the arrow fly—and missed it. The arrow rebounded from its shell and the creature gained speed. A sound beside her startled her. Not her lucky day. Another crab-king was coming from the other side. She couldn’t shoot both at the same time, so she turned back again to face the first one, but this time she waited for a good shot. It also meant that if she missed it she’d be dead, but on the other hand if she missed when it was far away and she had no time to get another arrow, she’d be dead too. And she had only four more arrows anyway. As it got close enough, she shot, and hit the right point. The creature didn’t fall dead, but kept moving forward while jerking its body. This wasn’t good. Saytera turned and shot crab-king number two—and missed.

  It didn’t help that she had Kerely’s bow, not her own. It wasn’t that different, but it wasn’t the same either. It also didn’t help that Saytera was far from a good shot. Meanwhile, crab number two was near. Focus. Thinking about her odds of dying wouldn’t help her. She had to imagine it was just a target. A moving target, but still, she’d practiced with those. The trick was to predict where it was going. She observed the movement of the creature, aimed, and released the arrow. She turned as she felt something behind her. Crab number one was trying to hit her, but its movements were clumsy, slow, and she stepped away, watching the creatures: the first one on its way to death, the second one already still. She must have botched the first shot. After a few seconds, both creatures were immobile and she exhaled in relief.

  Another sound startled her. She turned and saw Kerely.

  “You need more practice with the bow, Saytera.” She sounded angry. “And never go anywhere without yours. You could have died today.”

  That wasn’t fair. “I didn’t know I was coming here. And I don’t have any consistent practice like they get in Blaze Island. My archery training is haphazard at best.”

  Kerely sighed. “I’m just saying you need to practice more, that’s all.”

  “Sure. If I went to Blaze Island, I’d practice.”

  Kerely stared at her as if searching for something, then said, “Training with Yansin is a great honor. You know that, don’t you?”

  “Yeah, I do.” Saytera looked down.

  She’d heard that many times, but she didn’t really agree. It might have been an honor for someone who completed their training and came to Ken Island to advance their matterweaving. It was a sign of accomplishment. Saytera, for her part, had always been trained by Yansin. There was no honor in that, especially when she failed at basic tasks and was the lousiest shot in the Storm Islands.

  Kerely smiled a
nd patted Saytera’s back. “Anyway, you got us dinner, so maybe I should tell you good job.”

  “We can’t carry those.”

  Kerely shook her head. “I’ll send someone. Come. We’d better get going.”

  As they went back to Ken Island, heavy clouds could be seen far in the horizon. Rain would come soon, as with every afternoon at that time of the year. Sea and sky blended together in dark grey. But the sea was still mirror-calm, and the air was stuffy. Such stillness in expectation of the disruption soon to come.

  When they got back, Saytera rushed to her sleeping house, wanting to find Nowla, ask her how she’d gotten away, why she hadn’t said anything.

  On the way, someone stepped out of a tree. Vivian.

  Saytera was startled, but decided to ask her the things that were bothering her. “Why do you say I have a destiny? As if it’s something that’s already set? Is it, uh, is it some kind of prophecy?”

  Vivian took a moment to think, then said, “Hum, a prophecy could be one way of putting it, yes.”

  “But prophecies are not true, they are silly superstitions. ”

  “Is that what Yansin told you?” Vivian chucked. “Look at the sky. What do you see?”

  Saytera looked up, but she didn’t see anything special. “It’s cloudy. I can’t see anything.”

  “Your answer makes no sense. Either you can’t see anything, or you see the clouds. You see them, don’t you?”

  “Well, yes, but I thought…”

  “Well, first you see, then you think. Not the other way around. Anyway, you see dark grey clouds. What do they mean?”

  Saytera shrugged, not sure what the question was about, then said, “It’s about to rain?”

  Vivian smiled. “Congratulations, you’ve just made a prophecy. Is that a silly superstition?”

  “That’s a prediction, not a prophecy.”

  “Call it what you will. It is a potential for something. You can’t change what you are.”

  “And what am I?”

  “You’ll learn it. When the time is right.”

  Saytera rolled her eyes. “Great. Well, I guess I’ll see you around.”

  The woman smiled. “For sure.”

  Dess’s alarm clock rang. It was still dark. They were turned away from the Mainland Star, but the city used lights to mark day and night. Humans needed that constant light and dark ritual. Sapphirelune provided it on its streets. Still, those lights had not yet been turned on.

  Even on an exam day, and after having spent hours and hours at the simulator the previous night, Dess still had to work. Perhaps it also helped him focus. He got dressed quickly, not forgetting his beloved rings adorning his right hand. Circles, reminding him of infinity and power. He also lined his eyes, to remember to be open to see the truth. Well, that, and it also looked good. Black eyes, black hair. Black and straight like his mother’s, hair he’d never touch again.

  Dess closed his eyes, wishing the memories away, focusing instead on his dreams, his goals, his future. He glanced once at his universal reader, his most prized possession. That reader had the greatest collection of rare books in this system, perhaps in this galaxy. It beat the Sapphirelune library. From here he kept his dreams going, and not only dreams, but real hope about a universe where magic reigned unleashed.

  He put on the kitchen uniform, and stuffed his academy one in his bag. He checked it; no parts needed stitching. Yet. Soon he’d need a new one, but at least he’d been extending its useful life by sewing the parts that were ripping apart and washing it by hand. Well, if it all went well today, he’d get a new uniform.

  He stared at the couch. It looked empty without Azael, the old man everyone thought was his grandfather. He’d passed away a year before, but his presence somehow lingered.

  Dess still recalled Azael’s hands pulling him back from the fire, back from the “accident”, back from his family and everything he’d held dear until then. Their old gardener became Dess’s surrogate father, even if he lost his job soon after that. The confusion at the time, with the war and deaths allowed him to register Dess. And that was how Dess had become a nobody, an old retired gardener’s grandson.

  But Azael had also given him life, a second chance, a chance to fight for justice. Somehow he’d found a new home.

  Dess was good at chopping vegetables, but hadn’t done so in a long time. His early morning job was to supervise the early cricket delivery and feed it into the compounding machine, together with the other ingredients. It made some kind of fake meat patties, some days meatballs, sometimes some chicken imitation. He used to think that his colleagues would stop eating if they saw how their food was made, but that was nonsense; eventually they’d be hungry and get rid of their fussiness. Hunger was a real threat in an artificial human colony on a satellite without fertile lands. The luxury of a garden with trees hit him, but that garden had been from a time when commerce with the Mainland Planet and other systems was still strong. Would his family still keep a garden in the current situation? He’d never know.

  Dess also supervised the kitchen droids. He adjusted the grabber unit, which somehow never positioned itself properly, then removed some of the thickener from one of the machines. The mixer always put too much. Once everything was running smoothly, he changed into the white academy uniform. Dess was the first one in the waiting room. Another chance to focus. He ran his fingers over his rings, closed his eyes, remembered all that he studied, all the time in simulators, training stations, all his readings. Everything came to his mind fresh as if he’d just learned it, and yet solid and deep, as if it was something he’d always known.

  From this test the students going to command training would be chosen. Command meant getting near the power in Sapphirelune. Power meant he could do more against the planet who’d turned their back on their own, and now kept the Sapphirians semi-starved. The planet who had sent someone to kill Dess’s family. He’d also have better access to an investigation to get proper justice to whoever helped the Mainlanders kill his family.

  “Hey.” Marcus’s voice startled Dess at first, but he was glad to see his friend’s brown face and long braids.

  Dess smiled. “A little early for you, isn’t it?”

  His friend leaned back and stretched. “I knew you’d be here. It’s a nice job you have. You’re never working.”

  Easy for Marcus to say that. But it wasn’t his fault if he had no idea what it was like to be the only one working and studying and still have to outperform everyone.

  Dess shrugged. “Never partying either, I guess. How was last night?”

  Marcus had a glimmer in his eye and a smile. “It was good.”

  Good had just gotten a whole new meaning in his friend’s voice; something magical and wonderful and special.

  Although surprised, Dess smiled. “See? It wasn’t boring without me.”

  Marcus looked down and shook his head. “Far from boring.”

  There was something Dess wanted to ask, and he wasn’t sure how to approach it. Sylvia. He’d almost skipped his time focusing and studying to go there and see her. Perhaps he should tell Marcus what was going on, but then, he wasn’t sure if there was something really going on, considering technically there wasn’t. What were a few looks and smiles?

  He approached the topic carefully. “And… who else was there? Layla, Sylvia…”

  Marcus leaned back and laughed. “I’m thinking your eyeliner thing is working, Dess. You’re getting the eye.”

  “The eye?” He’d explained it many times and still his friend never got it right. “This is not to see the future, or past, just a reminder to see with the eyes, not with my mind’s preconceived notions.”

  “Well, it’s working.” He ran his hand on his braids. Like Dess, Marcus didn’t crop his hair short, but it had to be tied in tiny braids, since it was so curly. “Sylvia was there.”

  There was something odd about the way her name rolled out of his mouth, and it wasn’t him teasing Dess. It was… He looked
at his friend. “And there’s something you want to tell me?”

  He showed the palms of his hands and shrugged, as if defeated. “You shouldn’t be ripping the truth out of me like that. It was supposed to be a secret.”

  Dess had a queasy feeling in his stomach. “Then keep it a secret.”

  “Sure, so you shoot me with your eyes. Well, Sylvia and I, we… you know.”

  No, he didn’t. Were they together? Had they kissed? And all this time, Dess had been thinking…

  Marcus rolled his eyes. “Great. You’re going to tell me she’s ugly. Yeah, maybe she’s not the Academy’s greatest beauty, but she’s cool.”

  “I didn’t say anything.”

  “You’re saying it with your face, Dess. You’re staring at me as if I told you I decided to desert and become a fisherman on Mainland.”

  Dess was startled, thankful his friend hadn’t caught half of what his face might have said. “I was surprised, that’s all. I mean, I never saw you two flirting, and you never told me anything, what am I supposed to think?”

  “Well, we didn’t. It all happened last night. We started talking, and it was fun, and we got into big ideas, like life, death, especially death. You know, it looms over us, watching and waiting.”

  Dess shrugged. “Yeah, people fall in love over shared ideas, I guess. I’m happy for you.”

  Marcus had a confused frown. “No. We didn’t… It’s not love. I mean, I don’t think it was. We just decided we didn’t want to die without doing it.”

  It. It? Like that? But he teased his friend instead. “I don’t know if you’re aware, Marcus, the exam is hard but it’s not deadly.”

  His friend took a deep breath. “Well, the truce is ending in six months. We’ll have a real, raging war. It was a spur of the moment thing. She’s cool, she’s fun, and it was good. You say partying before an exam is a bad idea; I disagree. I think I’m a lot less stressed now. Then maybe it was that, the stress of the exams. I’m telling it so you know, not to brag.”