"Erebus, please pass me that book on the left corner of the shelf."
"Erebus! Erebus!!!" Lily's booming voice came rushing in, pulling me right back to reality.
"Yes, yes, what happened, Lily?"
"Where is your mind wandering off to? Did you even listen to what I said?"
Instead of answering, I simply picked up the book and passed it to her.
She looked kind of shocked—she certainly wasn't expecting me to know what she needed.
It's just a habit my brain has, registering useful information even when I'm not actively listening.
"What were you thinking about, Ere?"
"Nothing in particular. Just random thoughts."
Lily always had this habit of watching over us in a motherly fashion. She always wanted to know if we were feeling fine, or why we were dozing off.
I suppose she picked up those qualities from her sister, Miss Mary.
Lily was the only kid in the orphanage related to her by blood, not that it mattered much. She was my sister just as much as Rem, Max, and Kit were my brothers, and Sarah was my little bratty sister.
"You should read more books," Lily said, flipping through the pages. "It would help you when you grow up. The things you read never go to waste."
She always emphasized the importance of studies and was always fascinated to tell give me historicsl lessons.
I looked up in her direction. "Do you have any more books related to people with zenkaichi abilities ?"
"I don't have one on hand. You'll have to find it in the library, Ere."
I made my absolute cutest face—the one trick that usually worked on the sister who couldn't refuse me.
"Lily, please get it for me. I can't read the title of the book properly from here."
She stared at me like I had just said something profoundly stupid. Did I?
"You want to read a whole book, but you can't even read the title? I don't know if reading can affect your intelligence, but yours might be broken."
I always forget that I have officially turned 14 and people know that I am not that cute not that dumb.
She smiled at me—a rare sight, considering she rarely smiled around anyone else.
"I'll look for it in my free time, after my archery practice."
She had been away from home for days at a time for her archery tournaments. Everyone said she was a talented archer, but I had never actually seen her hold a bow, mostly because I rarely ever left the orphanage grounds.
"Would you take me to your tournament this time, Lily?"
Her face fell, a look of disappointment and guilt washing over her features. I recognized it instantly, having seen it every single time I asked about her matches.
"I can't take you, Ere.
Mary would never allow it."
I didn't want to be stubborn—heaven knows I'd been stubborn enough about other things—but I had to ask. "Why?"
"Please understand, . Until you become old enough,you can't go to certain places. That goes for all the kids in this place."
I knew the rule; it was drilled into us every day. Only Rem and Lily were allowed to leave for specific events and competitions, and they were only granted that privilege after turning 17. Rem went to the Lemus Academy; Lily went for her archery.
Next year, Max would finally get that privilege. Would he attend an academy too?
"How old is Kit, Lily? He looks around Max's age."
Lily turned a page of her book. "Kit is the same age as Max."
"No way. Shouldn't he be allowed to attend an academy like Max the next year and take the test for whether he has some type of cool zenkaichi ability?"
Lily looked at me over the rim of her big glasses, which swallowed half her face.
"He can't, Erebus. Kit is a bit of a special case."
Was she talking about his red eyes? Now I was even more eager to figure out what she knew.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I don't know much either, Ere. My sister doesn't tell me everything. She only tells me as much as she tells you."
She was lying. Miss Mary definitely didn't tell me Kit was a special case.
I made a mental note to talk to him more. I had wanted to catch him as soon as I got back to the orphanage, but he had been completely dead to the world, sleeping off whatever exhaustion he was hiding when I finally returned from being missing for eight whole hours.
Though he had seemed jolly enough this morning. Did he actually like toast and omelettes?
"How is Rem doing at the hospital?" I asked, pivoting.
"Fine. Guards were sent to check on him, and Mary went down there herself to deliver breakfast."
"She says hospital food is terrible, so her cooking is the only acceptable option."
I stared at Lily for a moment. "Don't you ever feel like we're kept in the dark?"
She flipped another page. "And what do you mean by that?"
"We aren't raised like normal kids, Lily. You know it, and I know it. Crucial information is hidden from us, we have endless restrictions, and we never even get told why."
She smirked a little. "You talk awfully cleverly for a boy who can't even read a book title."
"I don't know most things either, Ere. None of us do. I honestly think even Mary doesn't know as much as you think she does."
She paused, her expression softening as she looked at me.
"The restrictions don't come from fear, . They come from love. That's why I don't resist. I love my sister, and I love all of you, and I don't want things to change—even if maybe they should."
She offered a quiet smile. "But that's just my way of doing things. When you get big enough, you can find your own path. I just hope, for your sake, it's paved in love."
What was she even talking about? I had literally just wanted to know why Miss Mary wouldn't let me have extra chocolate, or why I wasn't allowed to run freely in the garden!