Page 60

I’ll tell Ramona everything later, I decide.

Castor nudges. “Well? What was it?”

I pinch the bridge of my nose, settling on a half-truth. “I made it to the web this time. Connected with the stars, but there were too many memories flashing across my consciousness to keep track of any particular one.”

“So no visions of your family?” Castor places a warm hand atop mine.

“No,” I say truthfully. “Nothing about them.”

Castor’s calloused fingers squeeze mine. “Well, this is still a step in the right direction. You were able to get past your channeling block, Akemi. That’s huge. You are on the right path.”

I force a smile in return, knowing the path shown by the stars is very much intentional and one of dangerous consequences.

After our session, I rush to the library, determined to find something about these stones that keep haunting me.

The sun stone.

Moon stone.

Star stone.

What is their significance? And why do I get the sense that the memories from the stars keep trying to push information to me?

I nudge past a few cadets in the halls on my way to the library, eager to find solace in the knowledge hosted there. None of my Tellings mentioned any such stones, so I’ll have to rely on the tomes in the library. I turn a final corner, almost to the library entrance, when a student jumps in my path. “Argh!”

“Sorry, Akemi,” Esther bows so low that her book bag dusts the floor.

“Hi, Esther. Please, don’t bow.”

She bows her head. “My apologies.”

I take a deep breath. “It’s alright.”

Esther wipes her palms on her green and orange striped dress, looking visibly relieved that she didn’t upset her all-mighty Starwatcher idol. Her grey first-year Watcher cloak is draped around her neck as an oversized scarf, almost covering her smile. Her teeth are orange, disappearing into her gums.

“Esther, your teeth!”

“Oh, these?” She smiles bigger. “Trying out a new whitening paste. Homemade and everything. Though the issue with this is that you have to wear it for twenty-four hours and… well… you see, it turns your teeth orange, which isn’t the worst color in the world. I mean, imagine having red teeth!” She snorts to herself.

“Well, I’ll be going now.” I turn down an aisle of books at a pace that is slightly faster than my normal stride. Okay, fine, I may have been trying to escape.

Every hero needs a sidekick, Marrow’s voice says in my head. It’s what makes the story grand.

I ignore my late Master’s remarks. No point in describing how Esther is the last person I would choose as my sidekick. She follows me through the stacks, and I eventually cave. Help is help, and I trust Esther for some reason. Ideally, I’d want someone with fighting skills. Maybe a sharp wit. Someone who keeps me grounded when my mind spirals. “Oh, hi, Ramona!”

Ramona leans on the edge of the bookshelf in plaid shorts from Goad Squad practice in preparation for the game tomorrow. One platform boot is crossed over the other. She picks at her teeth lazily with a dagger. “You summoned me.”

“I need your help.”

Ramona and Esther listen intently as I recount the memory I had earlier. How these three stones seem to keep reappearing in my visions, and that there has to be information somewhere in this library about their purpose. There are a lot of books to search through.

So we get to work.

19

Legendary

My team congregates in the southernmost locker room in the belly of the arena. Split into a hive-like pattern with a central shared area, each of the eight Solarball teams are allocated a designated space to store uniforms and strategize. Akemi and I took extra care in decorating the locker room in our team colors, purple and silver, so the team had better love it. Speckles of dust sparkle in the air caused by the thumping from above.