Chapter: 14: Magpie

“Mom!”

Tristan came flying into the entrance hall at the same moment Mom and I stepped through the door.

“Dad let a stranger into our house!” Tristan shouted, hiding behind Mom’s dress and pointing into the living room.

I chuckled when Mom quirked her brow. “Did the technician arrive already?” she said, and Tristan stopped sobbing.

“Calder,” Mom shouted, letting go of Tristan to follow the trail of voices.

I squatted level with Tristan’s bewildered face.

“You don’t have to be scared, Tristan,” I said, brushing a dark strand of hair away from his brown eyes. “The stranger is only here to drop something off for us.”

Tristan sniffled, drying his runny nose off in his sleeve. “Y-you m-mean that big, flat box?” he stuttered, causing my heart to stop beating.

Big? Flat? The king couldn’t have… Could he?

“Maybe,” I said reluctantly, sealing my lips so I could listen for Dad’s voice, only he wasn’t talking. “Do you want to check it out with me?”

Tristan nodded and grabbed my hand so I could guide him into the living room.

Mom and Dad had started arguing.

“We can’t afford a television, Elia,” Dad hissed, his face as red as a burning kettle. “We especially can’t afford a television this expensive. What were you thinking?”

I was about to interrupt them and explain why a technician was installing a device we would never be able to afford when I glimpsed the slim design of a beautiful frame.

Tristan hadn’t been exaggerating his description like he tended to do.

The TV wasn’t small or bulky as I’d expected. Instead, it was nearly too big for our wall and as thin as the pages of the ~Heliac Post~ that the neighborhood received each week.

I ignored the discussion between my parents and slowly approached the technician to verify whether my mind was playing tricks on me or not.

My eyes widened when I realized what the king had ordered for us.

This kind of technology was even more groundbreaking than the bike I’d helped fix a few months ago. It was probably valued at more than double the cost of our house.

They called it the Aqua-Lux—a television powered by water and light instead of digital technology.

Pixels didn’t construct the picture on that screen. The image’s quality did not suffer when it was scaled.

Instead, there were only crisp strokes and lines with progressive color blending, composed of water bending the white light pouring from the back panel.

Looking at it would be like feeling as if you were in that scenery yourself—or so I’d heard.

I could spend a lifetime wondering how they were able to manipulate the water with such accuracy without a Water Iridis nearby.

Although, I’d probably never figure it out without guidance from the founding engineers.

My fingers itched to touch the fascinating wonder.

Dad would probably pick it apart and learn all about its secrets before we’d had the chance to let its magic enchant us.

“What do you mean by the Aqua-Lux being a gift, Elia?” Dad exclaimed, bringing my attention back to the dark room.

“Who would provide us with such an expensive gift without expecting something in return? They could be—”

“Dad,” I said, brutally interrupting their conversation.

Mom still hadn’t given Dad a proper answer, and I knew why.

She was afraid. Not of Dad, but of the way he would react if he learned about Knox’s behavior and what he’d done to me. She feared for his life the way I’d feared for Milo’s and hers.

Dad stopped shouting and turned to look at me with furrowed brows.

“Not now, Willow,” he said sternly. “Your mother and I have some things to discuss. Please, take your brother and go to your room.”

Then he turned back to Mom and continued asking questions in his quest for answers she was reluctant to give him.

“It was my fault, Dad!” I exclaimed, squeezing my eyes shut and drilling my nails into my palms.

“Your fault?”

The room fell silent. Only the technician’s delicate work tools drowned out the sound of my heavy breath.

“I-I messed up, Dad,” I whispered, my lips trembling as I fought to withhold the stinging tears. “I—”

“Magpie,” Dad said, wrapping his warm arms around me in a comforting embrace.

I buried my face into his shoulder and clenched his wrinkled shirt in my hands. I wanted to let go. I wanted to let all of these emotions and painful cries go, but I couldn’t. Not yet.

Dad gently kissed the top of my hair. “Go sit on the couch,” he whispered, squeezing me before he let go. “I’ll see the technician out and thank her for her time. Then I’ll be right with you.”

I nodded, and Dad let go of me.

It was rare for Dad to call me “Magpie” outside the shed he called his workshop.

It had been his nickname before it was mine—one he’d received from his friends when he was young before he’d met Mom.

Dad had always been smart and inventive, much like the magpie. Once I proved to possess similar interests and skills, he passed the nickname on to me.

He’d usually only refer to me by that name instead of my own when we worked on one of his inventions together. It was something I cherished more than anything.

“Are you crying, Will?”

I looked down and saw Tristan tugging my skirt.

I dried my eyes and squatted. “I’ll be okay,” I said, softly touching his chin. “I just need a moment with Dad, then I’ll—”

“Let’s leave your sister and dad alone for a few minutes, darling,” Mom said as she wrapped our only intact blanket around my shoulders. “We’ll be in the kitchen until you’re done.”

Mom sent me a reassuring smile before she guided Tristan into the kitchen.

I sighed when I heard the front door close and turned around to sit on our stained couch.

“Now,” Dad said, sitting beside me and grabbing my hand. “Tell me everything.”

It required a few stuttering attempts to force the words across my lips, especially when I came to explain why Mom had challenged the Deveroux son.

It became easier once I began telling Dad about the prince and how he’d healed me. Then I had to tell him about the king’s offer, and I broke down in tears.

“I had to say yes, Dad,” I said, sniffling so I wouldn’t ruin the blanket. “The king, h-he gifted us the TV s-so we could w-watch the show t-tonight.”

I bit my lip so I wouldn’t wail. Dad’s silence was as heartbreakingly loud as a cursing scolding.

“I-I’m sorry, Dad,” I whispered, clenching the blanket so hard I might have left a permanent imprint. “I wanted to protect Mom, but I got carried away, and I—”

Dad interrupted me by pulling my body closer.

“You did nothing wrong, Magpie,” he said, squeezing me tighter. “You were right to protect your mother. I have no doubt I would’ve done the same if I’d had your powers.”

I stopped sobbing and concentrated on listening to Dad’s quickened heartbeat.

He wasn’t mad.

“We have been hiding you for long enough,” Dad said, stroking my hair. “It’s time Heliac got to know you the way we do. I have no doubt you’ll do great in the Crown Trials and that you’ll win everyone’s hearts.”

I chuckled. “I won’t be in the Crown Trials to win the heart of the people, Dad,” I said, pushing myself away from him so I could see his proud eyes. “I’ll be there to learn control. Nothing more.”

Dad smiled, squeezing my shoulders. “And you’ll become the greatest Air Iridis Heliac has ever seen.”

“Even greater than the Lost Queen?” I asked, teasing his optimistic view of my position. He only smiled wider.

“Even greater than the Lost Queen.”

A calming wave of peace settled over me. It felt good to know that I had my parents’ support and that they would be there for me no matter what.

“And you, Elia,” Dad suddenly said, raising his voice.

I turned my head to see Mom’s stiffened body peeking from behind the opening to the kitchen. Dad rose from the couch to approach her with serious eyes.

“You are never going back to that mansion. We’ll find another way. I can’t believe Otto recommended that establishment as a decent place to earn money.”

The air suddenly felt cold again. My stomach began aching, and I had to trap my hands between my trembling thighs so I wouldn’t spin out of control.

“I destroyed everything in that room,” I whispered, desperately fighting the tears from reemerging.

I didn’t know if they’d heard me or were even listening, but I continued.

“It will probably cost a fortune to repair, and Lady Deveroux demanded that we pay for the damages in full. Even with the money you receive from my participation, it’ll probably still be months before—”

“Then I’ll work twice as hard,” Dad exclaimed, flexing his muscles. “I’ll take double shifts and maybe even find an additional job.”

I would normally chuckle when Dad acted like that—confident and strong. Right now, I saw no reason to laugh.

“You can’t, Dad,” I said, squeezing my eyes shut. “The academy already requires so much of you.”

A warm hand covered mine, and I opened my eyes to see Dad squatting in front of me. “Not so much that I can’t take care of my family.”

My heart stopped when Dad smiled, and I could no longer hold back.

“I’ll work hard,” I cried, squeezing Dad’s hand back. “I’ll work hard so I can come back home and help as soon as my master lets me.”

Mom’s hand felt heavy on my shoulder. “You just need to focus on yourself when you get there, Willow. We’ll be all right.”

I wanted to say more, but tears drowned my words before I could form them.

“Are you going away?”

I’d almost forgotten Tristan had been standing in the kitchen this entire time.

I dried my eyes and opened my arms for Tristan to settle in my embrace.

“Only for a little while,” I explained, lifting him to my lap.

“I’ve been invited to the Golden Castle where a great air master is going to teach me how to control my amazing powers… But I’ll be back before you know it.”

“You promise?”

I smiled at his hopeful eyes, stretching my pinky for him to wrap his around it. “Of course. And when I get home, I’ll tell you all about my adventures.”

Tristan smiled. “Will Koa be there too?”

A wound that had scarred the surface of my heart tore open as Tristan mentioned the name of my best friend.

I’d be leaving in two weeks, which was almost a month before Koa would initially return from the mines. I wouldn’t even get to say goodbye.

“No,” I said, sighing. “Koa won’t be going with me because I made him promise to look after you while I’m gone.”

Tristan wasn’t old enough to understand what was happening and why it wasn’t my choice to leave them. I didn’t have the energy to explain it to him either.

I looked up at the old clock Dad had inherited from my granddad.

Less than thirty minutes remained till the initiation of the show that would enlighten me about the next stage of my predetermined future.

“Mom,” I said, waiting until she’d turned her head to acknowledge me. “What is this show called exactly?”

Mom shrugged lightly as she sat down beside me.

“They could’ve changed it since the last time—it was quite boring and predictable if you ask me—but back in my day, people usually referred to it as the~ Crown Show~.”