Twyll looked across the table at a stoic Cadence.
It had been two days since the attack and the news of Jenny's death. He hadn't been eating or sleeping very well. From what Twyll knew about Jenny it seemed that the child was a huge part of his friends and family. The light in the dark. She was the link that kept them from breaking apart. And now that she was gone they were at odds with how they fit into each other's lives.
"Do you want to spar?" Twyll asked Cadence cautiously.
"No."
Twyll sighed.
"You can't stop living. I am sure Jenny would not want that." She snapped at him instantly regretting what she had said.
"You don't even know her. You are the reason why I am so far away from my family and Jenny. If it wasn't for you I would have been able to protect her." He said, clenching his jaw.
Twyll stood up and left.
She stopped at the door and rested her hand on the frame, looking over her shoulder she said, "Maybe you should have let me die."
"Maybe." He replied.
She stalked out of the room. An ache in her chest. She shouldn't care about what he said. She barely knew him. She didn't know anyone. She had no one. She was alone all over again, but this time both physically and mentally. With that harrowing thought, she walked onto the deck to get some fresh air.
He was a dick. A grade-A asshole. He shouldn't have said those hurtful things to her. She had also lost her aunt recently. Hell, it had not even been a week. Feeling pitiful and empty, Cadence walked over to the sandbag hanging from the ceiling and went to town on it without taping his hands. He numbed his brain and focused on the muffled thuds of his knuckles against the jute. After a while, he felt the sting of the roughness on his hands and he stopped. His knuckles were bruised and bloody. They felt cramped and we're hard to move.
"Are you done with your temper tantrum?" A husky voice asked from behind him.
Cadence huffed.
"I know how it is to lose someone Cadence. Don't think I don't understand it. I and my aunt never had a close relationship, we were hot or cold all the time." She said in a quiet voice.
Cadence arched an eyebrow.
"Jenny was the one thing that kept us from going over the edge." He sighed. "Our home life wasn't very good. Trystan was the bastard so obviously, he was sidetracked. He became this cold emotionless beast. He is the best fighter and crystal wielder you will ever meet. Karsyn went through a lot when she was just a little girl, I can't say much other than she was hurt by the people she trusted most." He cleared his throat as of it hurt to say it. "Bren's husband, the love of her life just disappeared a few years back. He is one of the immortals." Twyll was curious to know who they were but motioned for him to go on. " Kyan blamed himself for Karsyn's hardships and has a hero complex encouraging him to become one of the continents' best chemists and medical scientists. Shalom might have been the only one who had a normal childhood, but he is an Asymptote." She looked at him with questioning eyes. "Asymptotes are crystal wielders who do not burn out. Their power is never-ending. He can only do basic telekinesis and element bending. A little of everything. His main power though is his ability to kill with his mind. Not many can do that so it's a strength. His power makes him someone to be feared and considered a threat. This also makes him vulnerable. This burden was a lot for him making him incredibly reserved. It was a quality that was good for Karsyn who was guarded as well. He understood her and helped her out of her armour. Their love story is one for the ages." He said with soft eyes.
"What about you?" She asked in a low voice.
"I had the classic parents who gave me everything I wanted but never the things I needed. It was a golden cage, mentally."
"It was the same for me. My aunt gave me everything that I wanted but never her love and affection. She kept everything hidden." Twyll sighed resigned. "Guess we have more in common than I thought. Cold parent figures and golden cages."
He chuckled.
"Tell me more about the crystal wielders and how they work." She urged.
"I am sure you know all about them considering that you have a few crystals yourself, Merrick." He said in a stern voice.
Twyll's cheeks were flushed with guilt.
"I don't know much. My aunt was very vague. I have mastered the elements and healing. The blood, death and shapeshifting are very hard. They take too much from me." She admitted.
"The first thing you should know is that very few can master all the elements and healing. It's virtually impossible." She opened her mouth to protest but he interrupted her before she could speak, " you are special. Trystan mastered shape-shifting and elementals through discipline and practice that not many possess. He is one of a kind. You were born one of a kind." He paced back and forth.
"I don't understand," Twyll said confused. "What do you mean by I was born special? Are you saying that me mastering the elements was all luck and no talent?"
"No, I mean that you are special as in you have an affinity to all elements and magics of crystal wielding. An average crystal wielder has an affinity to two elements at most and if they're lucky, to crystal magic like blood or death or mind and so on. Trystan is an anomaly that comes once in a thousand years where he trains himself to control all elements. His affinity though is shapeshifting. But unlike you, his mastery of elements comes with a price. When you are wielding, you feel good and energized, but when he does it he feels tired and exhausted with the strain. When he shapeshifts though, it's the complete opposite."
"Explain the hierarchy to me." Twyll demands.
"Alright, let me give you the whole history."
He sits down and makes himself comfortable on the mat.
"There are six different crystal magics: Elemental, which consists of Earth, Fire, air and water. Blood magic which entails the use of blood to perform tasks. Mental magic which relates to any type of psychokinesis and telekinesis along with mind-reading and controlling. It also encompasses different types of persuasion. It's rather vast and you can only master a few. Then there is death. The abilities of death magic are not exactly fixed. They differ from person to person. It's pure darkness and decay. You can have the ability to control the dark or the ability to make things die by touching them. It's considered a curse to have death magic."
"But what do you think?" Twyll asked in a challenging voice.
"If you learn to control it you can do great things. Furthermore, it's dangerous and it's like a parasite. Feeding on your life. It's why Bren and the other immortals are the only beings to possess it."
Something clicked in Twyll's brain.
"It's because they are immortal."
"Yes." He replies calmly. "Next we have shapeshifting which is very basic. You can take the form of anything that you picture in your mind. You can also change your features if you don't like them." He continues with a smirk staring blatantly at her chest. "Not that you would need it, pretty girl"
She glared at him and snapped, "My eyes are up here pervert."
He laughed.
"So what you are saying is that I am special?" She asked with incredulity in her tone.
"I don't know what exactly is going on, but I have a hunch."
She waited for him to elaborate, but it was obvious after some time that he wasn't going to say anything.
"Just promise me that you will be careful and smart with my father. He's manipulative and sly. I don't want you to get hurt."
"I don't know what he wants Cadence. I am myself suspicious of his intentions with all you have told me so far."
"We just have to wait and see."
Footsteps sounded outside.
"Sir, we have changed course due to a storm ahead. We will reach the shore after a Two-day delay."
"No! I need to reach it by Wednesday. We are not changing course. We are going to power through the storm."
"But sir!"
"Go, now!"
The man ran away and Cadence stomped out the room.
Twyll stared at his back as he walked away from her. A small ache where her heart was.