I sat in silence,the weight of the last few days pressing in me. Grandmother was gone, the only family I had ever know. My thoughts drifted back to Morganta,the quiet and peaceful village where she raised me, where she was once a revered healer known as Kaelith Candere. 'Candere' was her family name, and in time it became mine too.
She never spoke of my father, not even his name. All I knew of my mother was that she had died shortly after giving birth to me. But before she passed,she gave me my name 'Thalia'. Grandmother said it was her last gift of strength and love. It means my laughter will heal what her silence leaves.
I used to whisper my name at night,as if repeating it might bring my mother closer.
Even as a child,I knew I was different. My eyes were not like anyone else's in Morganta. My left eye was the pale, piercing blue of ice, while the other was the deep, endless blue of midnight.
But even stranger than that was my body. Whatever I was wounded, I healed in moments,a stark contrast to the villagers Grandmother tended to,whose recoveries took days or even weeks. Though she never gave me a reason for my body's strange reactions,I didn't question it much. I enjoyed the life we had.
But everything changed when I was Nine. It was the day I regretted most. We were in the courtyard where Grandmother was tending to her herbs. I kept watching her, wondering why we seemed so different. I finally worked up the courage to ask her why I was unlike her, feeling like we had nothing in common.
"Grandmother"I called as I turned toward her.
"What is it child?" She asked,her expression unchanged.
"Why am I so different?"
"Thalia" She said slowly. "Everyone is special in their own way"
" But I have never seen anything like this in morganta!" I said pointing at myself. "And you...you have never treated my wounds. Don't you think there is something I need to know?"My words stumbled out sharp, angry that she always tried to hide the truth.
" Don't overthink this" she said, her voice firm. "It just something unique about you"
"Am I supposed to keep living without ever knowing the truth about myself?" I snapped.
"Come inside and let eat" she said, ignoring my question as she moved toward the door.
"I knew it"I whispered bitterly. She stopped and looked back.
"I knew you would never tell me the truth. You won't even tell me anything about my parent"
She remained calm, though I thought I saw anger flickered across her face."Now,get inside and eat"she said.
"I am not hungry!" I snapped, storming off to my room.
The next morning when I woke up, I had almost forgotten the fight... until I noticed her in my room, packing my belongings.
"Good morning,dear"she greeted with her usual smile
"Grandmother, what is going on?" I asked, confused.
She sat beside me, folding her hands tightly in her lap. Her eyes rimmed with worry.
"We are moving" she whispered.
"Moving?To where?"
"You will know when we get there. You were right... You are different. And this place is not safe for you."
"Grandmother,if this is about what I said yesterday, I'm sorry. It won't happen again,I promise."
She shook her head."No,Thalia. It's not that. You must get used to what you are"
What am I? The question burn in my throat,but I swallowed it, afraid to make her angry again. I only nodded.
From that day on, everything changed. We left the heart of Morganta and build a life on it edge where the forest began. Life became one of solitude. No friends. Just me and her.
She gave up her healing,and in her place,a new teacher emerged. She put a sword in my hand and taught me to fight. Molding my strange abilities into something sharper.
As I grew,so did my powers. Day by day,I learned to run faster than human eyes could follow. My speed was unnatural,my feet carried me faster than sight beyond anything as human could endure. And I learned something even more dangerous. I could control fire. Yet,no matter how much I longed to ask,I never spoke of it again.
Until the eve of my seventeenth birthday, just few days ago,she finally told me about my parent.
That night, after dinner,her demeanor grew solemn. "There is something I must tell you." She stood,walked to the fireplace.
" You are my granddaughter by blood"she began"But not by soul. Your mother...she fell in love with something forbidden. Something not of this world.
The air snagged in my lungs."My father"
"A demon"she said,the word cracking in the air."Not just any. A highborn one, powerful and Dangerous"
The word felt like a physical weight."So I'm."
"Half demon." She cut in quickly."That is why you have always felt different."
I sat up slowly, heart pounding. My ears refused to believe the words. "A demon? Then everything I have ever known was a lie?"
"No" she said softly." Only a truth l buried. Because I love you "
"Father"I said suddenly." What happened to him? Was he there when mother died?"
" No" she said simply. I saw the way he lips tightened,she hated speaking of him.
"Then what happened to him? Where did he go?"
"That's enough for now, Thalia. You must focus on the present. The past will wait."
"Can you at least tell me his name."
She hesitated." His name was Xaphan."
"And Mother?"
"Calantha"she said with a faint smile. "It means 'beautiful flower'. She was a light in dark times."
I searched her face for more,but she shook her head gently, placing her hand over mine,she whispered " Remember, your power is not your enemy. It's your gift. It listen to your thoughts. If you fear it, it will fear itself. But if you trust it, it will burn less."
I didn't know why she finally revealed this to me. But now, putting the pieces together, I wondered if it had something to do with tonight. Had she seen this coming? What did she owe the creature? Was it tied to my parent... or me? The question devoured me.
Suddenly, I noticed my surroundings were bright. Dawn had broken. A slight headache pulsed behind my eyes,a remnant of a night spent weeping. It was a night I would never forget.
I get my sword then stumbled back into the cottage and collapsed on the couch. My eyelids grew impossibly heavy,and the world faded to black.