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I hesitated.
Hogan and his friends were the ones who decided to confront me tonight, but they had not attacked me. They had been using their words to taunt me when I ran and hit Hogan in the face.
Master Leo looked at me knowingly.
“I did,” I admitted.
“Blood has been spilled now,” Master Leo said. “The boys will remember that. You stroke them first. If you hadn’t, perhaps they would keep using their words instead of their fists. And if Aislinn hadn’t told me what she suspected, you would keep beating them, isn’t that true?”
I remembered the taste of blood, the joy I’d felt about seeing them in pain... A shiver went through me. Did I like the violence? Had I enjoyed beating them up when I claimed I only did it because I had no other choice?
“I see that it is the truth,” Master Leo said. “You were angry at the boys, so you decided to show them that. You could have taunted them the way they taunt you. You are smart enough to match their wits. But you chose to use your fists.”
I lifted my gaze to look at Master Leo’s face as Aislinn managed to light the fire behind me. Warmth reached my back but it did not relax me. Master Leo looked disappointed.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered as Aislinn took a seat across from me. “I will not do that again.”
“You might have to,” Master Leo replied, surprising me. “Once the gates are opened, the flood will not stop.”
I nodded. He was right. Hogan and the others would want to take revenge on me for beating them up. There would be no accord with them. I would have to protect myself.
“I’m sorry,” I repeated.
“Well,” Master Leo replied, his lips curling with an understanding smile. “You will learn that lesson by yourself once you see the results of your actions. You are young. You will need many lessons such as this one while growing up.”
I wasn’t young. I was fourteen years old, almost a man, but I did not tell him that. For an old man like him, everyone was young.
“It has been a long day for you, has it not?” Master Leo offered me a compassionate smile.
I nodded. It had indeed been a very long day. First, I’ve had the vision. Then, the conversation with the queen... The fight with Hogan and the others was the least of my concerns.
But Master Leo did not know about the other things occupying my mind. Or did he?
I met Aislinn’s gaze and saw guilt in her as Master Leo continued.
“I hear you had a vision,” he said. “I’m surprised that you did not come to me. We should log it now before you forget the details.”
“He won’t forget it,” Aislinn said.
I glared at her to shut up. It did not work.
“It was a prophecy,” she continued. I felt as though she was avoiding my gaze intentionally. “He saw images and interpreted them too. He seemed surprised as the words spilled from his mouth. Tell him.”
Her final words sounded like an order. Master Leo’s gaze darted toward me.
“I cannot,” I started, but before I could explain why, Aislinn interrupted me again.
“Twice born, from a union of enemies,” Aislinn said flatly. “From unity comes war and peace.”
I was surprised at the accuracy of her memory. The words were exact. She did not miss even a single one, even though she had heard them uttered only once. Her eyes had taken on a glassy appearance as she recounted from memory.
“Dark in light and light in dark," she continued before I could warn her. “With suffering, it will cease.”
“Those were the words,” Aislinn said, speaking quickly as if she feared I would stop her. “The images he interpreted included; A river, breaking into two. One going upstream to break a crown and the other going downstream into a well. War. Sky breaking. Light and dark joining.”
It was amazing for her to remember all that as though she had written down and memorized it. I was too startled to stop her from spilling it all out.
Master Leo seemed thoughtful for a second. Then, he quickly reached into a drawer and pulled out a pen and a piece of paper.
