Hunted by Kaylin Lee

Author:Kaylin Lee [Lee, Kaylin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781077516526
Published: 2019-07-26T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

“I hope you don’t think less of us, now that you know what we’ve done.” Damian watched me carefully over the battered, wire rims of his glasses. “Or maybe you should. That’s probably what we deserve. But I hope you know that you are still safe with us.”

I pulled my blanket tighter over my shoulders. Si had stalked out of the cave after their argument, and he hadn’t yet returned. The younger boys were asleep in their bunks.

Damian and I sat on the thin, threadbare carpet by the suffio hearth, sharing a pot of hot coffee. Si had brought the beans with him when he’d arrived. Probably stolen.

“I don’t think less of you.” I took a sip of my pilfered coffee. It tasted just like the regular kind. “Now that I’ve had a moment to think about it, I’m sorry I reacted so …”

Loudly. Wildly. Without restraint? Was this how I always dealt with news I didn’t like—with immediate, self-righteous fury? “I’m sorry I judged you all so quickly. I do hope none of you ever have to steal to survive again, but the truth is, my family’s record isn’t exactly pristine, either.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Sounds like there’s a story I need to hear.”

“It’s not that interesting.”

Damian’s lips tilted up slightly. “Just take my mind off my own shame, would you? Tell me the story.”

“You remember I told you we were in hiding most of our lives?”

Damian nodded. “In the bakery. Right?”

“I suppose that was my first crime—keeping my mother’s secret. She’s an absorbent mage.” I studied the glowing, golden-orange suffio embers in the hearth. “A very absorbent mage. She has the Touch.”

“I’ve heard of her.” He whistled low. “Zel. She’s Draician, right?”

I nodded. “She escaped Draicia when she was my age, desperate to save her babies. She was pregnant with us when she made the journey across the Badlands. She snuck into Asylia and found shelter with a baker in the Merchant Quarter. If the old Asylian king had found her, he would have put her to use the same way her Draician mistress had—as an assassin.”

The frank revelation of my mother’s past made my cheeks heat. I focused on the embers, watching them shift and spark as they heated the cave with magical warmth. “Trackers searched the city for her for years, but they never found her. She would have been safer in the Badlands, but she didn’t want us growing up out here.” I shot him an apologetic glance. “Not that there’s anything wrong with—”

“You already know we nearly starved to death as children. Your mother was right. You were better off in the city.” He cocked his head. “And what was your second crime?”

“Our mother planned to surrender to the authorities. She couldn’t stand the thought that we would always be in danger because of her power, because of the way the city government would inevitably want to use her. She thought if she separated from us—if the authorities never knew we existed—then even if she had to be enslaved, my sister and I would be safe.

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