The Dream Crafter(43)
“Your brother?” It hit him, then, that he’d never heard the name before, the name of the person her whole life was devoted to, who governed every decision she made.
Shock froze her body, every inch of her advertising she hadn’t meant to say it, hadn’t meant to expose herself that way. Her mouth opened and closed, as if she could somehow bring the name back within herself, reverse it.
All he could do was push through, treat this in easy tones, make it normal and something to talk about. “You said he was younger. I assume not the same father.”
That broke through, and she answered readily. “No. It’s very obvious when you see us together. My father was Japanese and I favor him. Nakoa’s father was Hawaiian, and he looks like a perfect blend between the Hawaiian and our mother’s Scottish heritage.”
“How did your mom get involved with his dad?”
Amana sighed, giving a little shake of her head, and the frustration in her tone was no doubt her internal commentary over her mother’s bad decisions coming out. “His father was a soldier. I think Mom thought she could recreate grandma and grandpa’s relationship if she married a soldier.”
“But it didn’t happen like that.” He kept his voice small and warm, as inviting as possible.
“No. It was runaway dad the sequel.”
“Which means Nakoa is your half-brother.”
“That doesn’t matter.” Her voice was fierce, darting through the air with pinpoint force. “It never mattered. He’s my baby brother, and that’s it.”
If the anger did one thing, it brought her out of any lingering depression from either the discussion of her past or the fear that hit her upon the realization she’d used her brother’s name. She was fixed on him, her gaze daring him to say anything about her brother.
“You make me wish I had a sister,” he said instead, and waited as the righteous fury seeped out of her body, leaving her still a little edgy, but not quite ready to leap out of her seat.
“Yeah, well, speaking of…” She was turning abashed, her cheeks reddening, and made a small motion with her hands to clearly get him talking.
Considering how much she had exposed, he obliged. “I don’t have a family. I was trained from birth in my powers.”
Amana’s jaw dropped. “Are you talking…I mean, are you a…an initiate?”
Initiate. He hated that word, hated how it marked him so completely as an outsider. “Yeah, that’s what I am.”
“Which order?”
“None.” Not that he blamed her for asking. Being raised outside of a specific order was rare. “My master is unusual. He doesn’t pick his students because of a god or to serve a specific purpose. He chooses pupils for his own reasons, which he never tells, and then one day he says the training is finished, and he sets them free.”
“And he had you since birth?”
“As far as I know. I have no memories of anyone before him, and he would have no reason to lie to me.”
“Wow.” Amana trailed off, her voice soft. Her fingers were curling on themselves, grasping for something that wasn’t there, while her eyes went pitying.
Hmmm. Even after the pain her own family caused her, she pitied him for not having one.
“Where is Nakoa now?” To get that pitying look out of her eyes, to deflect from him once again. Let her explain herself and stay away from him.
It did the trick, and now only agitation showed itself on her body. “I think we’ve talked enough, don’t you? We might not have gone question to question, but I think we’re even.”
“Yes, we’re even.” Without waiting for any other words, he rose and went into the kitchen, leaving her behind to stare into the flames.
Chapter Twenty-Two
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“Why haven’t you ever used your power to free your brother?”
They were eating in front of the fireplace, both of them quiet since the earlier round of questioning. Merc glanced over at her, where Amana was stabbing her asparagus with the fork, only taking a bite after every third piercing.
Though it shouldn’t, the question had been growing inside his mind ever since that first day on the run. After he grabbed her from Fallon, she seemed so contrite, so insistent she never would have used her power if it wasn’t for her brother. But if that was the case, why hadn’t she used it to free her brother from the start? Why betray what the two of them had shared?
Still playing with her food, Amana said, “I tried to find him once in my dreams, but it was like I bumped into a wall when trying to reach him. I later learned about all the spells used to stop dream walkers and out-of-body explorers. I can’t say for sure, but I imagine that’s what I hit.”