"Alina, why are you so nervous?"
Alina’s mother said, seeing her daughter looking lost sowhere.
Alina forced a smile. "I’m not nervous, Mom."
"You’re twisting your fingers. You always twist your fingers when you’re nervous."
Alina looked down. She was twisting her fingers. She stopped.
anwhile, Aunt Lyla was practically bouncing, her eyes darting everywhere, taking in every detail of the kindergarten grounds.
"The kindergarten is so pretty," Alia said, looking around. "But why is it nad Little Fang Academy? Is ’fang’ for fangs or sothing else?"
Alina’s heart skipped.
She glanced at Dante, who stood a few steps behind her, his expression calm and unreadable. He had dressed simply today, dark trousers and a white shirt, with no shadows visible. He looked like any other man.
But he wasn’t.
And this wasn’t any other kindergarten.
"It’s just a na," Alina said. "The founder thought it sounded strong."
Alia nodded, accepting the explanation. "It is strong. Very unique."
Aunt Lyla spun in a slow circle, her arms spread wide. "Wow! This kindergarten is so beautiful. It feels like I’m getting a tour of a world-famous university!"
Alina laughed nervously. "It’s just a kindergarten, Aunt Lyla."
"A very fancy kindergarten," her mother corrected. "The buildings, the gardens, the pathways. It’s like sothing out of a storybook."
She looked at Dante. "And you run all of this?"
Dante nodded. "Yes."
"You’re very young to be in charge of such a place."
"I founded it."
Alia’s eyes widened slightly. "You founded it? By yourself?" She thought he just had a principal post, but she didn’t expect him to be the founder of the whole place.
"With help. But yes."
She looked at him with new respect. "That’s impressive."
"I’m so proud of you," Alia said, looking at Alina. "My daughter, a teacher at such a beautiful academy."
Alina’s smile felt fragile. "Thank you, Mom."
She glanced at Dante. He gave her a small, almost imperceptible nod.
It was ti.
"Let’s go inside," Alina said. "I want to show you the classroom."
She led them down the winding path toward the main building. The morning sun was warm on her face, but her hands were cold. Her heart was pounding. Her stomach was twisting.
This was it. No more hiding.
They reached the classroom door. Alina paused, her hand on the handle.
"Before we go in," she said, "I need to tell you sothing."
Alia tilted her head. "What is it, dear?"
Alina took a deep breath.
"The children I teach are not ordinary children."
Her mother and aunt exchanged glances.
"Not ordinary how?" Aunt Lyla asked.
"They’re different. Special. They have abilities, things that human children don’t have."
Alia frowned. "What do you an, abilities?"
Alina opened the door.
Inside, standing by the window, were Lucien and Sable.
They had been waiting. Alina had specially chosen a holiday for their tour because she didn’t want to overwhelm or scare them.
Their small faces were calm. Their postures were straight. Sable was bouncing slightly on his heels, excited to see Alina’s mother again. Lucien stood still, his hands clasped behind his back.
Alia and Lyla had never seen Lucien and Sable like this.
Lucien’s eyes were red, a deep dark red like rubies glowing in the sunlight. His small horns curved back from his temples, dark and elegant, catching the light.
Sable’s eyes were bright black and curious. His dark shadows tendrils curled at his feet, and his little horns were small.
The door clicked shut behind them.
Silence.
Aunt Lyla’s mouth fell open. Her hand flew to her chest. She stumbled backward, bumping into a small table and knocking over a stack of papers.
"Lyla!" Alia reached for her sister, but her eyes were fixed on the boys, on their horns, on their glowing eyes, on the shadows moving at Sable’s feet.
Her face went pale, then white, then sothing close to gray.
"Alina," she whispered. Her voice was barely audible and shaking. "Alina, what is this?"
Sable tilted his head. "Hello again, Grandma Alia," he said politely. "I know I look different today. But I’m still ."
Alia didn’t respond.
She couldn’t. Her lips were moving but no sound ca out. Her hands were trembling. Her legs looked like they might give way.
Aunt Lyla found her voice first. "Alina!" she said, her voice high and thin. "Alina, their eyes! Their eyes are red, and the shadows, and the horns! What is happening?!"
Lucien t Alia’s gaze without flinching. His red eyes were calm and gentle.
"I know this is frightening," he said quietly. "But we didn’t want to hide anymore. Not from you."
Alia’s hand went to her chest. She was breathing fast.
"Hide?" she repeated. "You’ve been hiding from us?"
Sable nodded. "We look normal in front of humans. No horns. No glowing eyes. No shadows. So you wouldn’t be scared."
Aunt Lyla grabbed the back of a chair to steady herself. "You an every ti we saw you on video, every ti you waved and smiled, you were pretending?"
"Not pretending," Lucien said. "Just hiding our features. We were still us, just a little different."
Alia’s knees buckled.
She sat down heavily on a nearby chair, her hand still pressed to her chest.
"A little different," she repeated. "A little different."
She looked at Alina. Her eyes were wide, lost, and searching.
"Alina, how long have you known?"
Alina’s heart broke.
"Since I started working here, Mom. Almost from the beginning."
Alia stared at her.
"You’ve been teaching these children for months, and you never thought to tell us?"
"I was scared. And according to the contract, I can’t tell anyone about this world. At that ti, your condition wasn’t good, so I accepted this job, Mom. I didn’t want to hide," Alina admitted, her eyes tearing up.
Aunt Lyla sank into the chair beside her sister.
She looked at Sable, who was still standing calmly by the window, his shadow still fluttering around his hand.
"He can make shadows?"
"Yes," Sable said. "I’m getting better."
Lyla stared at him. Then she looked at Alina, then at Dante, then back at the boys.
"I need a mont," she said. "Or maybe several monts. Or maybe a whole day."
The room was still. Alia’s hands clasped in her lap, her eyes moving slowly from Lucien’s horns to Sable’s shadows to Alina’s tear streaked face.
Then she looked at Dante.
"You’re not human either," she said blankly.
"Yes," Dante said.
Reviews
All reviews (0)