By the time everyone gathered to eat a nut and cinnamon pie, it was all Talise could do to keep a neutral expression on her face. As much as she loved Water Festival, it always reminded her of just how broken her own family was.
Wendy and Cyrus didn’t understand. The two siblings laughed with the carefree attitude that only came from siblings who loved their families. Tempest seemed just as happy.
Rio and Fyra definitely looked like they missed being with their own families for Water Festival, but they were clearly still enjoying themselves.
From across the crowd, she locked eyes with Aaden. A wrench went through her stomach. Without a single word, she could read the thoughts in his mind. She could feel them inside herself. The wrench twisted, sinking until it weighed down on the little joy she had managed to find.
He understood. He felt it too. As wonderful as it was to have a holiday dedicated to family, it still hurt. Both of them.
Because Aaden’s family was just as broken as hers.
The weight pressed in on her, lowering the corners of her mouth no matter how she tried to smile. She tried again. Even though it hurt, she didn’t want to ruin the holiday for anyone else.
As the day progressed, the feeling only deepened. Memories of poison, dry pellets of fish food, and even imprisonment stuck in her mind. Her father had become her enemy. Her father.
After all these years, she could finally accept that his wrongful actions had caused Kessoku to attack the palace. His actions had caused the war. And things had to change.
She and her friends could forget their woes for a day to celebrate Water Festival, but this war was coming fast. And now was the time to prepare.
THREE
SIMPLE GRAVESTONES LINED ONE END OF THE graveyard. Talise walked past each with a growing pit in her stomach.
Even here in the Storm, every gravestone had at least three marks. Many had more. Her fingers trembled at her side as she tried to gulp down a lump. The simple marks honored the person’s life. They acted as a symbol for the love their families held for them. The more marks a grave had, the more honored that person was considered to be.
It had taken Talise too long to finally enter the graveyard. She had accepted long ago that Marmie’s grave would end up bare.
Her funeral had been the same day as the Master Shaper competition. Talise had to miss the funeral so she could compete before the emperor and become Master Shaper without revealing her true identity to Kamdaria.
But now Talise lived in the Storm. She actually had a chance to mark the grave. She just had to find it first. It would have been easier if the fear of disappointment hadn’t been so paralyzing.
Another row of graves only speared her with disappointment. Regret. Guilt.
She fought back tears as she glanced over the names on several gravestones. She had missed Marmie’s funeral just to keep her own identity hidden. And then her identity had been revealed a few months later anyway.
Despite knowing she had good reason, Talise still couldn’t ignore the guilt of leaving Marmie’s grave bare.
While tears pricked at the back of her throat, a young voice called from across the graveyard.
“What about this one?” Willow hopped up as she pointed to the grave in front of her.
Maybe it had been cowardly, but Talise was too afraid to ask for help from her friends. She couldn’t bear to admit that she had let Marmie’s grave go unmarked for so long.
Getting help from Willow felt different. The girl didn’t even know the relationship between Talise and the person’s grave they searched for.
By the time Talise made it across the graveyard, her muscles ached from squeezing her fists so tight. Heaviness trickled inside, sending her heart down to her toes. Her feet trudged over the icy soil, stomping nearer while she feared each step.
By the time Talise stepped in front of the gravestone, her heart crumpled into a tight ball.
Skye Maki.
Like many people in the Storm, Willow had never properly been taught how to read or write. Talise had written out the name Shyna Mori so the child would know what to look for on the graves. Willow had managed to find a grave with many of the correct letters.
But it still wasn’t Marmie’s grave. Hers would continue to be unmarked.
Talise shook her head, unable to form words that weren’t filled with tears.
Willow shrugged and turned her attention to the ground below. Reaching one hand out, Willow scrunched up her face until her eyebrows nearly touched.
After keeping her hand hovering over the soil for several seconds, a cluster of pebbles rose from the earth until they hit the child’s palm. She glanced up with a grin as she turned her hand over to examine the rocks.
Talise had to turn away from the graves before she could speak, glancing only at Willow as she finished. “You are getting much better. Your practice is really helping.”
The smile on Willow’s face only grew. “Are you sure this is going to help my city though?”
Once Talise had something to focus on, it was much easier to set aside the grief that threatened to shred her from the inside out. She stood a little taller and took on a teacher persona. It came naturally now that people in the city had started to regain their shaping.
“Do you remember when I shaped nutrients out from deep inside the earth?” Talise asked.
Willow nodded. “Yes, you used them to enhance the soil in the glass house where our food grows.”
Now Talise nodded. “Once you learn to identify the different parts of the soil, you will be able to shape out nutrients too. Then you can always make sure the soil you use to grow food has the nutrients it needs.”
The child screwed up her mouth as she glanced down at the ground. “And it’s really going to help me even when I’m just separating rocks from earth?”
Talise couldn’t help but smile. She remembered being young and thinking her early training had been too simple to be useful. “Yes, it really will help. You start with identifying rocks because they’re the easiest. Once you get good at that, you’ll start to identify the different parts of each rock and then the different parts of soil.”
With a little shrug, Willow began shaping rocks from the soil again. Despite her hesitation, the girl did enjoy shaping.
Her distraction meant Talise could only go back to the graves. Her heart squeezed as she stepped through rows of graves again. Still, there was no sign of Marmie’s grave.
When her chin began trembling, the desire to distract herself became a necessity. She had checked every grave. None of them bore Marmie’s name.
Talise clenched her jaw as she jerked away. It hurt to see the graves, but the marks hurt even more. Turning to Willow did not take the pain away from Talise’s heart. But it did help.
Her throat burned as she tried to swallow. “Plus, knowing how to shape rocks is helpful for all sorts of things. If you’re ever in an attack, you can shape rocks to help defend yourself.”
Another set of pebbles rose into Willow’s palm as she nodded thoughtfully. “Like those people who stole our vegetables all those weeks ago. If people try to steal from us again, I can protect the glass house by throwing rocks at the attackers.”
Now Talise’s heart got tight for a whole different reason. She took careful steps forward until she placed a hand on the child’s shoulder. “No.”