Page 27 of Anomalies

“Selene, this is Lucina,” Gemma replies with a look of warning. “Be nice.”

Selene’s onyx eyes move across me in a painfully slow once-over. The dark charcoal around her eyes is smudged, and the sleeve of white ink running up her left arm complements her deep brown skin stunningly. Her dress is all black, slits running up the sides, and she moves… like a predator, eyes flicking this way in that.

“Hello Lucina,” she purrs, sizing me up with that same suspicion that everyone but Gemma seems to have with me. Something feels sinister about Selene, with her dark eyes and too-perfect teeth, slightly sharper than everyone else’s.

She smirks as if she heard that thought. Weird.

“And this is Kimber,” Gemma continues, and the green-eyed girl next to Selene smiles widely. Kimber’s cinnamon hair shimmers under the moonlight as if random strands have been painted gold. She’s wearing a bright yellow dress with thin straps tied in bows over her shoulders, and the pointed toe of forest green boots sticks out from the longest layer of fabric.

She looks up at me with big green eyes, then her rosy lips split into a full smile. “Lune Sylra,” she says, and my brows furrow.

Lune Sylra is the brightest star in our sky. She’s the first to join the moon at night and the last to leave come morning. People used to write songs about it, and some even dedicated their lives to figuring out how it burned that lucidly for that long, but it’s a mystery still.

“Lucina,” I correct her as nicely as I can, then Gemma tugs me down onto the bench beside her.

“That’s the name you were given in the commoner lands?” Kimber asks.

“Um, yes,” I reply, then pause. “Wait, how did you know I came from the commoner lands?”

“All of camp knows,” Selene answers for Kimber, casually swirling her jar of moonshine. “The strange girl who grew up with humans.”

“Selene…” Gemma grits out, but her friend only shrugs, crossing one leg over another and revealing more white tattoos; swirls and shaded lines that look almost like rocky ocean waves.

“She’s right,” I say plainly, and something like surprise sparks in Selene’s dark-eyed gaze, as if she’s used to dishing out snide comments, and not used to someone… agreeing with them.

“Thank you, Lucina,” she says, lifting her jar to me. “And you’re right about my snide comments.”

I freeze.

Had I said that aloud? I hadn’t said that out loud.

“Wait,” I stutter, “how did you⁠—”

Gemma scowls at Selene, then pats my thigh gently. “She’s a Lakelet. A water witch. Her coven can read unguarded thoughts—careless streams of consciousness. We’re all taught at a young age to protect ourselves from it, but don’t worry, Selene here can teach you how to shield.”

The Lakelet snorts, “Fuck, no.”

Great. Another thing I have to worry about, not being able to protect myself against mind-readers…and whatever the hell Kimber is⁠—

“She’s a Diviner,” Selene says, and my eyes go wide.

“Selene!” Gemma smacks her tattooed arm. “Stop that.”

The Lakelet hardly looks remorseful. “She’s practically screaming her thoughts at me, G. I’m just answering the questions she’s too scared to ask out loud.”

Gemma rolls her eyes, downing more of her moonshine.

“Your grandmother told me you were from the commoner lands,” Kimber says. It pulls my attention so fast, I nearly snap my neck to look at her.

“My… grandmother?” Maybe she was talking about Nana? Ivy’s grandmother was the only one I ever had. Catherine’s mom was just as stuck up as she was, and Merrill’s mother died long before I was born.

“Mhm,” she nods cheerfully. “My coven are Seers. The Elders are far more skilled, but all of us can see through the veil. The spirit world is like a layer on top of ours, and only Diviners can see through it.”

Kimber takes a small sip from her jar, and Selene snickers at how terrified I must look right now.

“Kimber,” I say slowly, “what grandmother?”

Her green eyes crinkle, then she points just above my right shoulder, and my stomach drops. “She won’t show herself fully to me, but her spirit is tied to yours. She follows you.” Kimber pauses, listens, then she says plainly, “She wishes she could have met you.”