The Last Fallen Star by Graci Kim (ebook reader with highlighter .txt) 📕

and he puts a hand in front of the boy protectively. “Sora, how do they know of the artifacts?” His voice is strained.

My ears perk up at her name. Sora. The boba-tea woman sent us to the right person! Could this be the same Sora who wrote the letter? It has to be!

Emmett must have come to the same realization, because he speaks up. “It doesn’t matter how we know about them. What’s important is whether you know where the last one is. Do you? Do you know where we can find it?”

Sora studies us carefully. “And if we did know where it was, what makes you think we would help you?”

I glance over at Emmett, knowing that this is, without a sliver of doubt, the worst time to come out with the truth.

But I also know what’s at stake. Even if Emmett is mad at me for the rest of my life, we have to save Hattie. And if he doesn’t forgive me, it will be my fault and my fault only.

“Well?” Sora asks.

I take a big breath. “You see this black cord around my neck? Take a look at what’s hanging from it.”

Sora walks over and pulls out the vial from under my collar. She exhales sharply.

I puff up my chest and channel the courage that can only come from loving your sister and your best friend more than anything else in the world. “This is my sister’s heart, and you’re going to help me save her.”

Sora doesn’t answer for a while. She just stares at the blackening heart and then at me with a weird look that makes me feel sad inside.

When she finally speaks, her deep voice is surprisingly gentle. “And why, pray tell, would I do that?”

I avoid Emmett’s gaze and clench my hands together behind my back in prayer. “Because,” I say, “you believe in knowledge and truth. And the truth is, I am one of you. I’m a Horangi.”

I’M NOT SURE WHAT I thought would happen after I dropped the ultimate truth bomb on Emmett. I guess I expected him to scream and shout. Maybe even throw out some colorful words that would land a few bucks in the swear jar. But in reality, he doesn’t even look at me. It’s like he can’t look at me.

“Em…?”

The three Horangi scholars are staring at me with plate-size eyes, so I know everyone in this room has heard the truth. But instead of responding, Emmett shrinks into his chair. He keeps his eyes down and blinks blankly like a robot. It’s like the news is so outrageous and unbelievable that all he can do is retreat into his shell and pretend it was never uttered.

“Em,” I try again, not knowing what I want to say. “I only found out at Hattie’s ceremony. It’s why we couldn’t do the gift-sharing spell. I was going to tell you, I promise. I was waiting for the right time. I…It’s just that I…” I trail off. What words could I possibly find to tell him how sorry I am for keeping the biggest secret of my life? How must he feel knowing that I come from the clan that killed his mom?

My eyes start stinging, and I don’t know if it’s from the blinding whiteness of this room or my blinding guilt. “Em, I’m sorry,” I manage to whisper before a hard lump forms in my throat.

Sora coughs as if to bring herself back into the present. Then she signals to the Horangi boy and nods to Emmett. The boy rubs his wrists together. I notice that, like Austin, the boy doesn’t have a Gi. He closes his eyes and clasps his hands into a ball. Then, in one swift motion, he releases them and brings them down as if imitating a lava flow. Immediately, the water ropes binding Emmett release and splash around his feet.

I gasp. The man could control the metal stars on his jacket, and this boy can wield water…. And neither of them used Gi or incantations. How is that possible?

But I don’t get to ponder the question for long. As soon as he is free from his watery shackles, Emmett makes a mad dash for the exit, taking Boris with him. He doesn’t give me a second thought, much less a glance. He just pulls the door open and runs away, away from me, and something withers inside my chest.

I strain against my liquid ropes, wanting to go after him. But Sora shakes her head. “Let him go. He won’t get far. And we need to talk.”

I bite my lip but don’t argue. It’s probably best if I give Emmett a bit of time to cool off anyway.

Sora crouches in front of me so we’re at eye level. “I don’t believe we got your name,” she says. “You know my name is Sora. I’m the clan leader of the LA Horangi.”

She points to the man. “This is Austin, and this,” she says, nodding to the boy, “is Taeyo.”

The boy adjusts the red bow tie around his neck. He stares at me curiously but doesn’t say anything. I glance at him and at the two adults and wonder if they’re his parents. Aside from Taeyo’s very different fashion choices, they look like they could be a family.

“I’m Riley Oh,” I say hesitantly. The last thing I want to do is make small talk with these people.

Austin whispers something in Sora’s ear, and she nods sadly. “Yes, that’s what I thought, too.”

She turns to me. “Riley, I think I know your parents. You are the spitting image of your mother. I believe you are the daughter of Mina and Yoon Seo.”

I’m momentarily stunned. My birth parents are still alive? “Are they…Are they here?”

Her face looks pained. “Sorry, I should’ve been clearer. I knew your parents. They were valiant and loyal scholars who passed away protecting our clan. I’m sorry you didn’t get to meet them.”

My gut wrenches. And then I