“Hey," Eden said, running to catch up to Elena.
"Go away."
"Why did you lie about killing all the Eveila monsters?"
"Don't talk to me."
"Seriously, Alec thinks you suck at fighting, but you lied about that, why--"
Elena whirled around and stared straight at Eden with a burning look. "I want him to think that, do you think I'm stupid?"
Eden blinked. "But...why?"
"Why?" Elena scoffed and crossed her arms angrily. She walked a few steps, despite the rain pouring down, her back turned. All the other Valiants of Eirene had gone back to their headquarters, leaving Eden, Elena, and Hete trailing behind. If the sky hadn't been permanently blackened, Eden would say it was getting close to seven PM.
"You said the Sunthread reminded you of a memory," Eden went on, since Elena wasn't talking. "But that was a lie, right? It reminded you of your own power. So if you didn't want anyone to know, why'd you show me?"
Again, Elena didn't say anything.
"You said...every time you think of it, it makes you really emotional. Why is that?"
Elena hesitated. "There are things about me...that you'd be better off not knowing," she said at last.
Eden studied the back of her head. He hadn't noticed it before, but she looked thin, pale. Like frail glass that would break if you touched it. Her brown hair looked dark against her skin. And when she finally turned, he saw that her deep sapphire blue eyes were dark with a burning flame. He hadn't seen it, but he believed her when she told him there were things about her better left unsaid.
"Well," Eden began, hesitating himself. "Thanks for saving me, by the way. You might not like it, but I think your power is awesome. You're really strong, Elena. Maybe if you used it more, you'd learn to like it, too."
Elena's eyes softened, but she still didn't look convinced. She sighed loudly, sat down, and folded her thin delicate hands, white in the icy rain. "You don't get it," she said. "My power isn't awesome. You don't know what I am. I don't even know. But I know that I'm not normal. There's something wrong with me."
Eden blinked. "You don't seem weird to me," he said truthfully.
"I don't?" Elena asked, bewildered.
"Of course not! I've got a weird power too, but I'm not weird."
"But your power was given to you," Elena pointed out. "Mine is...a part of me. I can't get rid of it."
Eden waited for Elena to keep talking.
"When I first found out about it, I was so upset. What person can create white fire out of nothing?" She looked down at her hands. "I started to wonder about my past, tried to dig up some memories. But I couldn't remember anything. Just a bright white light, like my fire. I was stolen from my home in Branwen when I was little...so I figured that maybe I'm not normal at all. I'm a witch...an evil thing."
Elena's eyes were dull as she stared into her lap. Eden cocked his head to the side, walked over to her, and laid his hand on her shoulder. "Hey," he said assuringly. "Maybe I don't understand everything, but I know that you're not an evil thing. Look." He pulled him up by both her hands. "Powers aren't bad. You were born with a gift! I think it's a beautiful gift. And if you were born with it, you're probably meant to use it. So instead of hiding it from everyone, I think you should be proud."
Elena was quiet. Eden couldn't understand the look in her eyes, so he just led her away. "Come on," he said, walking forward. "We're getting soaked." All three of them, Hete trailing behind, made their way back to the Shopping District, where Elena and Katy lived. When they got to the square, all the Valiants of Eirene were taking shelter in Katy's purse shop. They went inside and shook the rain from their heads.
"Elena! What took all of you so long?" asked Alec, standing up the second they came in.
"I just wanted to show the new guy here around the city," Elena answered, smiling.
"Well, next time wait until it quits raining," Katy said, grabbing Elena's hand. "Come on, let's get you some warm clothes."
Eden, meanwhile, stared around at the purse shop. There were strips of white light running along the walls and making glowing paths on the floor. Purses of all sizes sat on chic white shelves: soft pink, banana yellow, charcoal black, and creamy white ones were lined up next to gold sparkly ones and silver mirror-like ones. They all had thick silver buckles emblazoned with the designer logo and one angel wing. On the wall behind the front counter were huge, sleek black words that said Katy's. Eden could just imagine the rich ladies in their needle heels crowding around the cluster of purses, clutches, and charms sitting on the glowing white table in the middle of the store.
"I know it's not the manliest headquarters," Chris said, spinning a gold angel wing charm on his finger. "But for now it's all we got. The Shopping District used to be a really wealthy place. But over the years, it's been slowly dying out. Ever since about a month ago, it's just been dead like this."
"We're renovating the old Town Hall to be used as a new HQ," Alec said. "It's in the safest part of town, plus it's got enough room to fit in all the Valiants of Eirene. Right now, all the members live scattered throughout the city. But the problem with that is everyone's in danger of being attacked by themselves."
"Katy's shop is small, but it'll work for the time being," said Dr. Jackson, who had appeared from the back room. "Elena doesn't seem to be hurt. You did a good job keeping her safe."
Eden looked sideways guiltily. "You're welcome," he said.
"You aren't hurt, are you? And what about that...thief of yours?" Dr. Jackson looked like he regretted mentioning Hete.
"Hete doesn't get hurt!" the mound of scarlet fabric said from the corner, flopping her sleeves at him.
"I'm not hurt, either," Eden said, looking around. He was still troubled by something. "Hey..." he began slowly, folding his arms. “There really isn't a cloaked man here, is there?"
Everyone exchanged glances. "No," said Chris and Alec together.
"We told you, there's no one like that here. We would have seen him," said Katy, emerging from the back room. Elena followed, her hair dried, wearing a T-shirt.
Eden tried to think. "So...you haven't seen anyone at all? Pale skin, kind of sarcastic voice...no one like that?"
Everyone shook their heads.
"So he's really not here..." Eden said to himself. He thought it was really weird. The cloaked man should've been here by now. Where was he? Did something happen to him? Eden couldn't just sit around waiting forever. He needed to learn about the Sunthread. He needed to know why it chose him, how that was even possible. He had to learn about it in order to learn about himself.
"I can't stay here, then," he said, uncrossing his arms. He looked into everyone's faces in turn. "I have to learn about this weapon I've got. Hete told me that the best person to talk to would be some magos lady in Branwen."
At the mention of her old home, Elena raised her eyebrows and locked her attention to Eden.
"Branwen?" said Alec, confused. "That's about twenty miles inland, northeast of here. But why do you wanna leave? We could really use your help."
Eden smiled apologetically. "Sorry, but it's kind of important," he said. "I'll leave tomorrow morning."
*
A few hours later, Eden found himself in Elena's bedroom again, sitting in the silence of that dim blue light. He was looking down at his scrap-metal sword, at the tiny golden Sunthread tied to the hilt. He was so confused about everything. It seemed like Sitara's festival was a million years ago. And Boly...why'd he have to leave Boly behind like that? The poor kid was probably worried sick about him. But all the same, he needed to know about himself. Just like Elena, he had few memories, no parents, nothing. He had to go to Branwen and learn about the Sunthread. That would be the key to finding out who he was.
Just then, the door creaked open.
"Boss?" said Elena, standing in the doorway.
"Oh, hey, Elena," said Eden, sitting up.
"I wanted to ask you something." She sat down at the foot of the bed and sighed. "Can I...go to Branwen with you?"
Eden stared, surprised. "What?"
"You made me wonder today," she went on. "About my power. I know now that it's not something I can hide forever. I'm ready to know more about it, too. And since I was stolen from Branwen, I thought that maybe..."
"Hey, hey, I get it," said Eden. "Sure you can go."
"Really? I can?" Elena asked, staring.
"Yeah! I know that you probably feel just as confused as I do. If you really want to go, you can just meet me by the Eirene statue tomorrow morning."
Elena smiled and stood up. "I'll be ready then, I promise!" She dashed out of the room and shut the door.
Eden lay back down on his back and kept staring up at the ceiling. Questions and memories filled his head until, eventually, he fell asleep.
