Page 31 of Heart of Night and Fire

“But,” continued Kindle, “I’m hoping while we await Row’s return, we can put together some pieces of this puzzle. How old are you?”

“I’m twenty. I’ll be twenty-one in a few weeks.”

“You’re sure?”

“You’re doubting I know my own age?”

“We’ll see.” He held out the rock to her. “Take this.”

Zarya sighed, hating being ordered around, but she held out her hand before he dropped the stone into her palm. About the size of a lemon, it was warm to the touch, its edges smooth and worn.

“Is it supposed to do something?” She tilted it, letting the light catch the shimmering flecks embedded into its surface.

“You don’t sense anything?” Kindle asked, his eyebrows arched with expectation.

Zarya shook her head. “Nothing, except a little self-conscious that you’re both staring at me like that. What is this?”

Kindle released a frustrated puff of air as he ran a hand through his dark hair. Apsara hovered behind Zarya with her arms folded like an irritating shadow.

“Will you sit down?” Zarya asked. “You’re making me nervous, standing over me.”

This entire encounter was beginning to grate on her nerves.

Without a word and without taking her eyes off Zarya, Apsara dragged a chair out slowly and sat down in the most exaggerated manner possible. She leaned back and spread out her arms as if to ask if Zarya was satisfied.

Zarya graced her with a dirty look and turned back to Kindle, who was now holding a second stone, this one pale and dull.

“Try this,” he said, holding it out.

Zarya reached for the stone. They all stared at it, sitting in her palm. “Now what?”

“Do you notice anything?”

“What am I supposed to notice? It’s a rock.”

Kindle scratched his chin, and Apsara let out a huff of exasperation that had Zarya bristling. Apsara was the one who’d dragged Zarya here, not the other way around. What right did she have to be so annoyed? Zarya also didn’t love the fact these two had clearly been discussing her, thus orchestrating this strange encounter.

“Well, it was worth a try,” Kindle said, taking back the stone and stashing it in his pocket.

“What was? What did I do? Or not do?”

“I had wondered if perhaps you were Aazheri. This is vritrastone mined from the Pathara Vala Mountains. If you had magical ability, it would have responded to you.”

Zarya blinked at those words slowly, as if emerging through layers of compacted sludge. Aazheri. No, if that were the case, Row would have told her. Right? He’d always been confused by her magic. If she’d been Aazheri like him, surely, he would have known.

She considered telling Kindle and Apsara about her magic. Though her ability to capture starlight seemed harmless, Row had always been crystal clear about the need to keep it secret. But after all the risks she was already taking, she decided to heed his warnings on this point until she understood more about herself. He’d kept her entire existence from these people he called friends, and there had to be a reason for that.

“I’ve never been able to do magic,” she said, finally.

The lie tripped off her tongue as she wondered if she was doing the right thing. Row had lied to her about so many things, what loyalty did she really owe him now? She was doing this for herself, though, not him.

“No, I suppose not,” said Kindle. “Besides, you are too old. Magical abilities in Aazheri typically reveal themselves in teenagers, and if you haven’t noticed anything yet… well, it was a plausible guess.”

Sharp talons of grief raked against Zarya’s heart. She understood her star magic was only a benign trick, but a part of her had always hoped it was something more yet to be revealed.

“If you notice anything unusual, see anything, experience any visions, or detect any shivers of magic, please come and tell me at once.”

Visions. The forest with the violet sky. The strange man who said nothing. Was that magic? It certainly felt that way.