CHAPTER SIX

I am tired of being used, hurt, and tossed aside.

SORA STARED AT the gloves in her hands until she was sure she was going to become cross-eyed. The Exillium gloves felt rough against her bare hands, not unlike the ones she'd been forced to wear to control her ability, and both pairs of gloves only reminded her of what an outcast she was.

She did feel like she was wasting her time in Exillium, though—and so did Soreas. Now that the adrenaline and excitement of the dramatic Tribunal had faded away, she honestly thought Soreas was being nothing but an idiot. She could take care of herself, new ability or not. And since she would be gone, Soreas could have had actually something to do for Mr. Forkle, which wouldn't brand him as worthless.

He hardly did anything for the Black Swan ever since Jin had joined those mysterious cloaked people, and Sora had a feeling that Jin was responsible. Soreas wasn't as close to Jin as Sora, but Sora knew that it was difficult for him. Not that it wasn't for Sora, but Sora's mind always chose to forget. Although she had no choice but to let the memories of Jin resurface once in awhile, but other than that Sora wasn't that mentally traumatised.

Or so she thought, before the triggers set her new ability as a Terrakinetic off and destroyed everything she'd ever known.

Well, it didn't matter anymore. What was done, was done.

Sora looked out of the glass wall in the unfamiliar room she had been placed in. Not that she would ever have the time to familiarise herself with the Zoroks' extravagant estate. The first rays of sunlight were peeking out from the majestic volcano island, Sakurajima, which was away from the mainland. It casted the frothy waves of the ocean in an orange-yellowish glow and bathing her bedroom in sunlight.

She sighed. It was too beautiful a place, but the Zoroks had insisted on the Heks staying in their mansion for some reason, even if it was only for a single night. It was probably because Soreas was the best friend of their son.

Making up her mind and forcing herself not to think about anything anymore, Sora slipped on her ability-restricting gloves and then covered them with the midnight-black Exillium gloves, pulling the sleeveless grey vest over her shirt.

Her fingers closing around her Polyglot ability pin—a tiny pin bearing a purple background with pink lips and a white speech bubble, Sora attached it to the collar of her vest, and reached down again, brushing against the smooth surface of the Terrakinetic pin—an image of a majestic-looking Panakes growing on cracked, shattered ground.

The whole night, she'd been asking herself a single question.

Who am I?

Right now, gazing at her frail, weak-looking reflection in the vanity mirror— something she wasn't used to being— Sora knew she was much, much stronger than this. And now, she had another answer.

She was a messenger for the Black Swan. She was the one who made Project Moonlark who she was today. She was a super-talented Polyglot. She had a brother who would walk with her till the end of the world. She was anything but a person who fit in society. She was a murderer. She was banished because her power had went out of control. And what was this legendary power which murdered her parents and made everyone shrink in fear at the slightest mention?

Sora bent down and kneeled on the carpeted floor of her temporary bedroom, her gloved hands grazing the flowers that had been woven into the strands of fabric. Despite the double layer of gloves trying to restrict her, trying to confine her into a box where she would never be satisfied, her determination and her power shone through, making the dainty daisies stretch out their petals even wider, growing more lucid by Sora's every touch. Leaves sprouted and unfurled out of the green stems, catching the fresh sunlight streaming in.

"You have to stop doing that."

A disemobided voice resounded in the air, and Sora jumped in shock, leaping up from the floor and turning around to face the speaker, only to see empty air.

Wait, what?

"I won't have you destroying my house too, just so you know." The voice seemed to come from nowhere, but Sora knew better than that. She heaved a sigh inwardly and closed her eyes, trying to find from where exactly the source of the voice was coming. Then she opened her eyes, narrowing them in concentration as she flicked her wrist, making one of the vines from the carpet lunge up and lash against something invisible yet solid.

The something let out a small, surprised yelp, and she knew she had him there. Splaying her hands and somehow entwining her power into the thick vine, Sora lassoed the Vanisher, capturing him tightly and letting him fall to the ground.

The Vanisher reappeared with a flash of light, and a boy lay on the ground, his arms firmly tied to his chest by the vines in the carpeted floor as he writhed on the floor, trying to force himself out of Sora's trap. Sora frowned at him, taking a few steps toward him, trying to get a closer look at him—

She yelped as something tugged viciously on her left foot, and she tumbled to the floor, half-landing on the boy. She tried to untangle her arm away from the boy's neck, and almost ended up suffocating him instead as he let out a few choked coughs.

So Sora gave up for the meanwhile and on the other hand, turned her head slightly to scrutinise him— it seemed like trying to get a closer look at him worked out even better than she thought it would— just… not in the way she would have preferred.

His messy, tousled hair was of the colour of blazing red, a stark contrast against his ocean blue eyes as they flickered over— and Sora sucked in a quiet breath when she locked gazes with him. It felt like she was looking at Sakurajima itself, and the peaceful, tranquil ocean surrounding it.

The boy— Kael Zorok, the Zoroks' son and Soreas's best friend— blinked at her as she tore her eyes away and concentrated, unraveling the tangled vines from his body and freeing the both of them.

Sora stood up, her cheeks burning as she made her way quickly to the dressing table again to brush her hair into a ponytail, before strapping her mask to her head and throwing on her cowl, casting her face in deep shadow. Pretending that nothing had happened.

She could feel the heat of the boy's gaze as she wrapped her waist with a silver belt and adjusted the shining chains around the collars of her grey vest. She was just about to finish strapping on her boots onto her legs when he opened his mouth to speak.

"For a girl like you, you don't seem much of a murderer to me."

Sora made no move to reply, instead brushing past him to make her way to the door. But his next words stopped her short.

"Then again, I've learned not to judge an elf by their appearance. It's not good to trust anyone, you know. The last time I did that, he betrayed me to join the dark side, never to return."

Just like Jin.

Sora turned around to face him, even though she knew he couldn't see her expression. "Well, now we know that you and I aren't as different as you think we are."

As she stalked out of her room, her victorious feeling faded abruptly when a whisper of an invasion, a wayward thought not belonging to her, prickled the back of her mind. That someone had entered her mind and messed around with her thoughts.

It was the subtlest of invasions, and no ordinary mind would've caught it.

But Sora's mind was everything but ordinary.

Sora whipped around again, just in time to see the door close on her.

* * *

"It's less than twelve hours since the Tribunal and you've already managed to flirt with two boys," remarked Soreas dryly in Japanese, staring at her through the little slits in his Exillium mask. "Can't say I'm impressed."

"It's been less than twelve hours since you've foolishly sacrificed everything you have for me," countered Sora crossly, folding her arms across her chest. "I'd like to say it's not too late for you to change your mind, but it is too late already."

They were eating their breakfast in a small, separate guest room the Zoroks had provided for them. Despite only having been staying at their estate for a night and a little more, Sora's photographic memory had already memorised and mapped out the entire floor plan of the gallant mansion. Thus, she was pretty sure that the Zoroks were now dining in the room… right below them.

Her cheeks flamed as the intense stare Kael had given her resurfaced in her mind, and she ducked her head to hide behind her hair, only to realise her hair had been tucked back into her Exillium hood. Oh well, at least there was a mask to hide her embarrassment.

"You're blushing," Soreas noted, switching back to the Enlightened Language, tilting his head sideways as he scrutinised her. Sora tried to act normal as she picked her fork up. She might have stabbed the coriander stalk a little too hard, which wasn't helping her in trying to look nonchalant at all.

"I am not," Sora insisted, sending the food into her mouth and chewed meticulously, trying not to focus on Soreas. He had less trouble than her when it came to putting on the Exillium uniform, but Sora thought she had fared pretty well herself, especially when she considered the fact that she had done the second half of it in front of Kael Zorok, that rule-breaking Telepath.

He reminded her why she hated Telepaths so much. They liked to poke their noses into things which didn't concern them—or should she say heads?

The food tasted bad in her mouth. A gnome must have been taking a break. If only she could freely use her Terrakinesis to make them grow riper and more scrumptious. Yes, that would be great. Unfortunately, she wouldn't want the Zoroks to get the wrong idea. After all, she was now The Girl Who Had Destroyed a House. And she was also The Girl Who Killed Her Parents, but she didn't want to think of that anymore.

Forget, forget, forget, her mind chanted, twisting and turning the fleeting memories of the rubble crashing down on her until they dissipated from her mind, evaporating quickly.

Sora let out a relieved sigh, her tense shoulders relaxing.

"Speaking of boys, I hope you haven't forgotten about what happened with Elian Fellers yesterday," Soreas commented idly, causing Sora to jerk and spit out the half-chewed vegetable into his mask.

Choking on the remnants of the coriander still stuck in her throat, Sora had no choice but to listen to Soreas he continued, "He's one of the few people who actually like you and accept you for who you are. And he also basically… confessed to you, so that's a bonus."

Sora turned to look at him, her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. "Confess what?"

It seemed like he was smiling, but Sora couldn't be sure.

Soreas ripped his mask off from his face, revealing his laughter-filled eyes as he retrieved a paper napkin from beside him to clean off Sora's spew. "You have an amazing projectile range—"

"I do not," interjected Sora. "Anyway, this isn't what we're supposed to be focusing on."

Her fingers flew up to cradle the single bead that had been woven into the chain necklace. It was long and heavy and cold to her touch, like it was trying to weigh her down both physically and emotionally. The tiny bead seemed so small, compared to the troubles she was facing right now. Then she looked back up at Soreas, like she was expecting him to say something in reply.

"I'm not leaving you behind," Soreas insisted, his voice growing louder and louder by each second, like he was trying to prove his point. "Besides, what's done is already done. You're my sister. You're my only family left. Why would I leave my only family behind? I would have nothing if I did that."

Sora stared at him for a stilted second. Then she stood up from her seat and raced over to the other side of the table to wrap Soreas in a big hug.

She felt like she needed her big brother now more than ever.

"Thank you, Soreas," she whispered, feeling weak tears prick her eyes and leak onto the fabric of his Exillium vest.

A cough behind them interrupted their moment, and the two siblings pulled away from each other and turned back to face Lucela Zorok. Rich coffee-coloured bangs framed her pale, powdered complexion, and her eyes were the colour of the midnight sky.

Wary, Sora watched as Lady Lucela approached them, two jade bracelets draped across the palm of her hand, the beads clinking merrily.

Sora supposed the pretty accessories were farewell gifts for them, but why did the Zoroks care so much for them? Well, other than the exception of Kael, they had been pretty nice to her and her brother, but what for? It wasn't as if they knew one another very well. In fact, she and Kael were on the opposite sides of the popularity scale in Foxfire. While Sora was laughed and jeered by all the prodigies, Kael was always the one surrounded by friends. While Sora had a niggling feeling that it was only because of his father, who was one of the few Emissaries, and the fact that he was double-talented, she couldn't help taking a discreet dislike to him.

Well, now that discreet dislike had already heightened to a strong hatred.

She loathed Telepaths who carried themselves in a haughty way, violating the rules of Telepathy wherever they went. She was only able to sense him poking around in her mind because of the incident that happened seven years ago.

She wasn't able to remember much because that had been the point where she'd just acquired her photographic memory, amongst other things. It was a blur of fractured memories. All she could remember was two adults pushing her out of the way as a savage unicorn crashed into them, but the impact had knocked them backward, making her stumble and hit the ground hard, her head receiving the brunt of the injury. As she lay there semi-conscious while the crowd surrounding the three of them discussed frantically about what to do, she saw a girl with chestnut brown hair rush toward the two adults, sobbing her heart out—

Mummy… Daddy… no… don't go, don't— go!

"Sora," someone said, nudging her in the ribs. "Sora"

Sora blinked, snapping out of her reverie and gasping for breath. Her head hurt and her eyes were filled with tears. She whipped her head around the room, trying to get a sense of where she was. Crystal walls, crystal chandeliers, crystal coffee table… Soreas… Kael... then her eyes landed on a full-length mirror beside her. Someone had removed her Exillium mask from her face, and her fingers flew up to her face as she carefully touched the wetness leaking down her cheeks, as if she couldn't believe her tears were real.

"Wa—" Sora's voice came out choked, and she tried again, clearing her throat this time before continuing, "Was I… crying?"

"We didn't know what was happening with you," Lucela said from behind her. Their gazes locked in the mirror, and she continued, "You were shaking terribly and we had to set you down to sit, but it didn't seem to help. So we removed your mask and pulled back your hood and tried to wake you up. It was like you were sleepwalking."

"You experienced something like this too, during the Tribunal," Soreas said shakily. "I'm scared that it's something that would repeat itself again. Sora, you need help— that's why I'm here."

I don't need your help, she thought fiercely. I'm Sora Heks, for Eternalia's sake.

But as that would make her sound arrogant, all she said out loud was, "It's really all right, Soreas. Anyway, aren't we running late?" She looked at Lucela pointedly, trying to make her get the hint that they needed to get out of her house.

Lucela nodded solemnly, but held out a hand as if to stop them. Gesturing for Sora and Soreas to hold out their hands, she gently attached a jade bracelet each to their wrists.

Sora held up the bracelet to the light of the chandelier, gazing at it in wonder as the light bounced off the gems threaded into the strong strings, the jade cool to her touch.

"What is this for?" she asked, the same time when Soreas inquired, "Why are you giving this to us?"

Lucela opened her mouth as if to speak, her lips forming a single word, before deliberating and changing it into another word. "I've heard about… your sister."

Both Sora and Soreas flinched at the last word as their minds processed what Lucela had just said. A blurry image of a girl appeared behind Sora's eyes, like she was about to fade from existence. Sora smothered the image and pushed it to the back of her mind, blinking her eyes as she stared at Lucela.

Soreas also shook off his troubled thoughts, and asked flatly, his voice void of any emotion, "What about her?"

If Lucela was bothered by Soreas's tone, she made no move to comment about it. Instead, she continued, saying, "The reason why we invited you here is because… we thought that you would be able to help Kael."

Sora gasped as Kael's previous words rang out in her mind.

It's not good to trust anyone, you know. The last time I did that, he betrayed me to join the dark side, never to return.

"He was betrayed," Sora said quietly.

It wasn't a question.

Lucela's pretty, perfect facade seemed to crumble right before her eyes, revealing a broken, beaten mother who was worried sick for her only son. She nodded sadly, but there was something else in her eyes that made Sora suck in a sharp breath. Was it anger, rage, or frustration, she couldn't tell.

But they were the same feelings both she and Soreas had experienced when Jin had turned her back on them.

"His biggest dream back then was to become an Emissary for the Council," Lucela said bitterly, her fisted hands shaking terribly as her eyes misted with tears. "The thing is, he didn't decide to be an Emissary by himself. No, he was inspired by his friend— the person he thought was flawless— the person who meant the world to him.

"His Friend wasn't much of an Empath. His talents laid somewhere else. He was one of the smartest elves running to be at the top of the Foxfire Entrance Examination rankings. After all, his dream was to become an Emissary.

"But it all changed for the worse when he manifested as a Pyrokinetic. Everyone who had ever looked up to him began to avoid him. Well… everyone except for Kael. He was still extremely fond of his friend, and he didn't want to let go. His friend, however… well. All I can say is that bullying doesn't do any good to anyone, and he started to shun away from Kael as well.

"I understood that he was trying to get Kael away from him so Kael wouldn't get hurt, but my son, being the naive person he was, kept going after him. He thought that if he tried hard enough, he would get to him. Everyone soon grows to understand that nothing lasts forever. Not even elves." Lucela exhaled shakily, before continuing. Sora bit her lip, sensing the unfortunate end of the story slowly drawing near.

"Everyone had heard of some force of rebellion that was slowly rising through the ranks, but nobody chose to believe it. After all, why would they? The idea of opposition is simply unheard and unspoken of among the elvin race. Everybody thinks that we're perfect, but then again, nobody has ever tried to look through the curtains.

"He joined the rebellion just recently and vanished, never to be seen again. His family also disappeared with him, and nobody bothered to look into it… because they had a Pyrokinetic amongst them. That's all I knew. I believe Kael knows more of the story than anyone else, but that's just because he's directly involved in it. He hates him now. He's never been the same person he was since then. That… that's why I invited you two to stay here, right before you vanish forever like his friend did. He knows your backstory as well. I thought he would feel like he's not so alone after all, and try to relate to you… but he's not seeming to budge. Well… I tried." Lucela looked more defeated than Sora had ever seen her, and it felt like a razor-sharp knife had pierced through her heart.

"I went to the Tribunal yesterday, and Kael came along. What that Fellers boy had said was trying to tell me something. We should give out our love to other people unconditionally, and look beyond the flaws. Even if they are a million miles apart, we should never forget them."

Elian? Huh, I thought he was only spouting rubbish.

Sora wrinkled her nose, while Soreas pinned her with a penetrating stare, like he was trying to read into what she was thinking about Elian.

He didn't have to worry.

She had eyes for another.

Lucela cleared her throat when both Sora and Soreas said nothing. "I gave you these bracelets so we could keep in touch. These aren't as functional as Imparters, of course, but these were what we used a long, long time ago, way before Imparters and Leapmasters were even invented. You should only use them when an emergency calls for it. I just wanted to let you know that the Zoroks will always be right behind you."

"Even after him?" Sora asked tentatively, her heart palpitating loudly. She now knew one of nameless rebels' backstories, their motives. She had to find a way to tell Mr. Forkle. Beside her, Soreas also looked troubled, like he was thinking about the same thing as her.

"Even after him," promised Lucela. "Now, you are running late. It wouldn't bid well for you to display tardiness on your first day of Exillium. I've heard the Coaches are extremely hard on the Waywards."

AUTHORS' NOTE

So... we're not dead. On the verge of death, but not just yet.