My eyes widen and I feel a rush of fresh butterflies as I wonder what it’s going to be like to see them again. All I can do is hope they’re okay and trust in Storm, who wordlessly leads me off the main path and over to a side door that might be used by servants or visitors. Storm pulls it open, turning the handle in a way that suggests he’s done this a million times.
We find ourselves in a stone corridor with no windows that seems to run parallel to the grand entrance hall. There are electric lights lining the walls in little lamps, and I’m surprised that the wall sconces aren’t enchanted like the ones in the prison. Either way, they keep the corridor pretty bright, and we have no trouble navigating it. We walk past dozens of doors before we get to one at the end, and Storm knocks the big brass knocker as he lets go of my hand.
“I’m not sure which room they are in, exactly, but—” Storm is cut off when the door creaks open, and my eyes light up when they come to rest on a familiar head of red hair.
“Peyton!” I cry, and fling myself into his arms before he can say a word. I might have been scared to find the truth, but I missed my family more than I could have ever realised. Just seeing Peyton now - the brother who has always been there for me, who has saved me more times than I can count, who I joke and pull pranks with - is enough to make me cast all those worries aside. Peyton is my big brother, no matter what Xur and the others might say.
For a moment, Peyton is speechless, which is rare for him. “How are you here?” he exclaims, pulling me back and placing his hands on my face as he looks me over disbelievingly.
The changes in my brother are clearly visible, and they startle me a little into silence. Dark bags are under his eyes, his skin is paler than before, and his face is lined with worry. His eyes look a little bloodshot - no doubt the result of many sleepless nights. The strangest thing, though, is that he is now sporting a small ginger beard. It doesn’t suit him one bit, and I can’t help but point it out.
“We should be talking about why you’ve grown a beard! You look like a ginger Santa Claus,” I say.
There’s a brief moment of silence, and then Storm bursts into laughter along with my brother. This lasts only a second before Peyton seems to realise that we aren’t alone, and he turns to look at Storm.
“Who are you?” Peyton asks, lowering his hands and stepping a little in front of me like Storm is a threat. Storm notices straightaway, and he doesn’t look impressed. I go to say something, but Storm beats me to it.
“Storm Cyncus,” Storm says, offering his hand out with a big grin. Peyton pushes me back out of the way, and before I can stop the idiot, he punches Storm right in the middle of his face. Storm doesn’t move much from the punch, mainly as he is built like a rock wall, though his lip does bleed. Pey holds his fist, swearing under his breath. Okay, maybe my big brother is an idiot.
“Is your brother a fool?” Storm asks me like he can read my mind, and I just shrug. I’ve always known Hugo and Damien are dipshits, but I had confidence in Peyton having some brain cells in that large head of his. Either way, this is all stupid.
“Pey—”
“You locked my sister up for feckin’ nothing, you bastard!” Peyton charges Storm, succeeding in actually knocking him onto the ground, which I will admit is impressive. Storm boisterously laughs as he fights with my brother, and I just sigh. I think Storm might have just let him knock him over for fun.
Men.
“What the heck is going on out here!” The door next to Peyton’s room opens, and my mum walks out. She stares down at Peyton and Storm who have stopped the fight, paused like someone stopped time, though Storm is still laughing, and I’m shocked that my mum nearly used a swear word.
“Mrs. Kismet, it is lovely to meet you. Karma has told me a lot about you,” Storm politely says, pushing Peyton off him, and he goes flying into the wall with an oomph before Storm smoothly gets up. “Your son and I were just saying hello.” Men have a strange way of saying hello.
Peyton starts, “Mum, he is—”
“Enough, Pey. Storm is my friend and nothing like his adoptive family,” I step forward as I speak, catching mum’s full attention. Her eyes fly to me just before she runs over and pulls me into her arms. I breathe in her lavender scent, and I’m instantly relaxed for a long second. It reminds me of all the times she has hugged me growing up, and told me she loves me. Every time I fell off my bike, or my brothers fought a little too roughly with me. Or that one time I fell out of a tree I’d climbed and broke my arm.
“Karma, I was so worried. Are you alright?” she asks, squeezing me tightly. I pull back, looking into her eyes because I need to look at her as I ask. She looks confused as she runs her eyes over my face.
“Mum, who are my biological parents?”
Chapter 36
“Did she whack her head in that prison?” Peyton asks, turning to Mum with a look so incredulous that it might be comical under other circumstances. “What the feckin’ hell are you talking about?” he asks, turning to me and looking at me like I’ve lost my god damn mind. “Karma, what did they do to you in there?” I can see the speculation on his face already: thoughts of reeducation, subliminal messaging, and torture, all in the name of psychologically breaking the prisoners. If what Xur said about my family didn’t feel so terrifyingly right, I might even wonder that, myself.
Mum doesn’t answer or look away from me, and I can see a range of emotions playing across her face like a slideshow. Guilt, regret, love, and worry, each one making my stomach drop a little lower. Finally, though, her expression settles on anguish, her eyebrows knitting together and her eyes growing moist.
I feel like I can’t breathe as I look at her and see the pure pain reflecting in her gaze. I’m sure she knew this day was coming, sooner rather than later. That was why she gave me the charm on my birthday, wasn’t it? She wanted to ease me into the news, and she did it the only way she knew how. If things had been different, she might have sat me down at the kitchen table, held my hand, and explained it all in the way only a mother could, but instead…
I just wish I had heard it from her first and not the higher gods.
Slowly, Mum clears her throat, looking like she’s in a trance. “Peyton, go and find the rest of the family and wait in your room. Karma and I need some alone time,” Mum finally says, though she isn’t speaking to me.
Peyton glances from Mum to me as if we have two heads. “What are you talking about?” he asks, his eyes wide. “Mum…?” There’s a flicker of recognition on his face, but he seems to push it away in an instant.
“I know you must remember some of the truth, Peyton,” Mum says, her shoulders going rigid, and she doesn’t pull her gaze from mine. “It’s time I told Karma the truth.”
Peyton looks like he’s been hit over the head, and his expression falters between denial and confusion. Mum just continues to watch me with that stoic, mournful look on her face, and making eye contact with either of them suddenly feels like too much.
I take a deep breath and pull my eyes away from her for a moment, only to see Storm coming over to my side. He had been lingering a few feet behind me as he watched our conversation, but he must have picked up on my distress. Just having his strong presence next to mine is a comfort, and I shoot him a grateful look. He links his fingers with mine, an action that doesn’t escape my Mum’s or Peyton’s attention. They stare at our hands in what I can only assume is shock, and Mum looks as if she’s about to say something, but then Peyton seems to snap out of the trance he’s been in.
“But—” he begins, glancing up at Mum with a panicked look on his face.
I look up at Storm, who is staring down at me, and his gaze fills me with a strength I didn’t know I had. I don’t have to tell him I don’t want him to leave - he knows, and nothing needs to be said between us. I need him here with me as I find out the truth. Peyton, on the other hand… It’s not that I don’t love him, or want him to share the truth with me. It’s that I love him too much; he’s been here for me for as long as I can remember, and I’ve shared everything with him. I don’t want him to have to hear firsthand how I’m not actually his baby sister, how I’m the reason he’s caught up in this mess. And I’m afraid to see his reaction, afraid that after this, our relationship will never be the same.
“Now, Peyton!” Mum snaps, and after another moment or two, I hear Peyton’s footsteps receding away back into their chambers. The knot in my stomach loosens a little, and slowly I turn away from Storm and back to Mum.
Mum doesn’t say another word; instead she just retreats back into the room she came out of, and I quickly follow behind her.
I let go of Storm’s hand so he can shut the door behind us, and together we head into the lounge. It’s pretty basic in here: two cream sofas, white walls and tiled floors. There is a small kitchen pressed against the one wall with a few white cabinets, a mini fridge and a coffee machine on top of it that smells like French roast. Two windows stand at the back of the room, stretching from floor to ceiling and looking over a beach. Outside, the sea looks almost pink as the rising sun reflects off it, a view that would no doubt be breathtaking if we weren’t in our current situation. It’s a relief to see that my family has been living in relative comfort, though; I was half-expecting a dingy basement with no windows and nothing more in the way of furniture than a cot in the corner. I have no doubt that this castle has a proper dungeon, too, and I’m sure that if I don’t behave myself, Xur could easily have my family moved there. The fact that these digs are nicer than I was expecting doesn’t fool me, though; it’s still a prison.No doubt any teleportation charms have already been taken away, and given the magic in this place, charms probably wouldn’t work anyway. Even if the windows aren’t enchanted, we’re still trapped within the palace walls, and outside, there’s nothing but open ocean. An escape attempt would be deadly; my family is completely at the mercy of our captors, and that knowledge is enough to make my blood boil.
Other than a staircase in the corner of the room, which I assume goes up to some bedrooms, there isn’t much more to see. Or to distract myself with looking at. Taking in another shaky breath, I turn back to Mum, giving Storm’s hand an involuntary squeeze. There’s no getting away from this.
“Come and sit down, Karma,” Mum quietly instructs me. “You too,” she adds, turning to Storm but barely giving him a second glance. He’s on my side, and that seems to be enough for her for now. “I don’t want to tell you the truth,” she continues, moving over to the pristine sofa and sinking into it stiffly.
“Mum,” I begin, “I know it can’t be easy, but I need to know-”
She holds up a hand. “I have feared this day for a long time. You have to understand that I never thought I would have to tell you this way.”
