Ethon (The Other Worlds Series Book 2) (3 page)

“See ya,” she murmured.

As she left the room, she saw herself through Porter’s eyes. There were no thoughts accompanying the image though. He was only looking at her. But just as she went through the door to the hallway, she swore she heard him think one word:
Gifted.

:  :  :  :  :

Dishwashers were something Legann was going to miss. The Other Worlds really needed to invest in such luxuries. Living conditions would improve immensely. Legann finished loading the dishwasher with the utensils and plates Olinia and he had used during dinner before turning it on. Oh yes, he would most definitely miss it. Maybe he would look into bringing it to the Other Worlds once he returned to his realm. It could not be that difficult to construct. The civilized areas of the Other Worlds already had basic indoor plumbing so why couldn’t he bring his realm dishwashers? Oh yeah, electricity. The Other Worlds was sadly lacking in that sort of technology.

In the next room over, Legann heard the television turn on and switch through channels rapidly. He chuckled. Olinia was upstairs in her room doing an assignment but apparently wanted to search for something to watch on the main floor’s LED flatscreen television. It was a habit she had picked up over the last few months. A lazy habit. She would wait to come downstairs until she found something interesting to watch, seen through Legann’s eyes. Since she could hear and see his thoughts, she would use that to her advantage when Legann sat in front of the TV. There was no need for her to come down when Legann was there to see what was on.

Legann couldn’t help but laugh a little. What a weird lifestyle he and his sister were living. If any Ethon were to randomly pop in on them, they would run away screaming at what they found.

Grabbing a can of soda from the refrigerator, Legann moved into the adjoining room with the TV. He knew it was what Olinia wanted him to do. Her homework no longer held her attention once she turned on the TV. He sat down on the couch and tipped his head back against a cushion, watching the channels change. When the channel surfing stopped on a commercial, he opened up his soda and took a sip.

“Have you heard of this place?”

Olinia’s voice made him jump. He hadn’t heard her sneak up on him. She was standing behind the back of the couch. He blinked up at her. “Are you talking about the commercial? What is it?”

“Some sort of private after-school program near here.” She sat next to him. “It’s called DS Academy.”

Legann glanced back at the TV. “What does the DS stand for?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“How’d you hear about it?”

“Some of my fellow students went there during high school,” she answered. “I’ve heard people thinking about it a few times on campus.”

The DS commercial faded into another one, and Legann gulped down more of his drink. “What’s so special about it?”

“You have to be invited to attend, first off, and even then that doesn’t guarantee admittance. You need to pass their scholastic tests after that.”

“So, it’s basically some super genius school.”

She let out a short laugh. “Basically.”

“Yeah, no thanks.” Legann grunted. He had no desire to work harder than he was already in any Ethon school. He wasn’t that devoted to his education.

“You know what I want to know, though?”

He turned. “What?”

“If you have to be invited to that school, why are they advertising for it?”

“Maybe they’re low on students and need more tuition money,” he offered.

“Maybe,” she admitted.

“What were those students you saw like?”

“Oh, they were cocky. They honestly think they’re something special. I mean, that’s the exact word they use to describe themselves,” she replied. “They all have full-ride scholarships and feel as if they’re brilliant.”

Legann watched Olinia reach out her hand towards the TV stand. The remote to the satellite dish floated through the air across the room, landing in her hand. She then began skimming through the channels again. After a moment, he asked, “Why aren’t we like those students? We are High Royalty after all.”

She blinked. “Are you serious? We’re totally cocky.”

“We are?”

“Think about it.” She pulled a face. “We haven’t made any real friends here because we keep telling ourselves that we’re going home one day and these Ethons mean nothing to us.” She paused. “By all accounts, it looks like we think we’re better than the Ethons.”

“That’s not fair,” he protested. “We
are
different than them. This isn’t our home. We’re just waiting for-”

“He’s gone, Legann,” she cut him off. “I doubt he’s ever coming back. We’re stuck here until we find a way home on our own.”

She never said his name. Even after all this time, she still refused to acknowledge that he could one day return and take them home. He may not have left them in Ethon for so long on purpose. Something might have happened to him. Whatever the reason, Legann did not believe that he and his sister were on their own. Legann was willing to wait for him to come back.

“Olinia-”

“No,” she interrupted again. “I really do think you forget I can hear your thoughts. Sorry, but I’m not willing to just put my life on hold while I wait for someone to finally keep his promise. I’m done waiting. I feel like I’ve done it long enough.” She stood. “I’ve been stuck-up and bitter for too long at these Ethons.”

“I didn’t mean to make you upset,” Legann said.

“I know. You’re fine.” She tossed him the TV remote. “I think I’ll go to bed early. Night.”

“Wait.” Legann stood, soda in hand. She paused, her back still to him. He took a breath. “Have you really lost hope about ever going back?”

She faced him slowly. “In order to have hope for something, you have to want it first.”

He frowned. “What are you saying?”

“I-” she hesitated. “I’m not sure I even want to go back to the Other Worlds.”

“What?” Legann blurted. “Why not?”

She grunted. “At this point it almost feels like our native realm isn’t real.”

“That’s just the Ethon mindset rubbing off on you,” he retorted. “We both know our realm is real. We have real family and friends there, and real responsibilities. You’re going to be queen. You’ve got to go back.”

Olinia bit at the inside of her bottom lip. “Maybe I don’t want to be queen anymore.”

Legann could feel himself gaping, but he couldn’t help it. His sister had shocked him. “Since when do you not want to be queen?”

“I haven’t wanted to be queen for over a year now,” she said softly.

Legann furrowed his eyebrows about to respond, but she rushed on, “Look at us. We’ve been exiled to Ethon. We’ve learned things that no one in our realm has. Can we really just return to the Other Worlds and pretend that what we’ve experienced here no longer exists?” She paused. “No, we can’t. From here on out, wherever we go and whatever we do, we will have a part of Ethon inside of us. We’re not just Other Worlders anymore – we’re much more complicated.”

Legann watched her, somewhat speechless. He wanted to refute that once an Other Worlder always an Other Worlder, but he knew better. She was right. During basically the past two years, something in them had changed. He, just as she did, no longer felt entirely from the Other Worlds. In fact, at the moment he felt very much like an Ethon.

When Legann didn’t reply, Olinia offered him a sad smile. “I’m sorry to have put it so bluntly, but I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. Even if we someday do go back, I don’t think I can be queen.”

Again, he didn’t say anything. He wasn’t sure what to say. Half of his brain knew that he should want to go home to the Other Worlds, but the other half was telling him that he didn’t need to. Could he and Olinia really live the rest of their lives in Ethon?

Before he had the chance to form a sentence, Olinia broke into his thoughts. “I’m tired. Goodnight, Legann.” With that she headed for the stairs, leaving Legann to stare at her back.

He sighed and sank onto the couch, suddenly feeling exhausted and no longer caring about the soda in his hand. “Night, Nia.”

3

------------------

The weeks were once again blending together. It was week six of her semester, but it could have been week thirty-six for all she knew. Even though she felt drained and bored as usual, there was something else behind her fatigue. She had the vague sense that she was on the brink of desperation. Trenton had spent the last weekend with her and Legann. She cared for her father’s former friend a great deal, but his eyes… Sometimes Trenton brought her more pain than joy. Sadly, this past visit was one of those times.

As the music blaring in her ears switched songs, Olinia leaned her elbows on the table in front of her and placed her head in her hands, running her fingertips over her scalp. She didn’t really want to think about Trenton at the moment.

Just then, an image of herself sitting down with her back to the beholder came into her head. The person recognized her, and she unfortunately recognized him. Olinia felt like cursing. She was in no mood to entertain.

He tapped her on the shoulder. She turned, even though she already knew who had joined her. Apparently, being in the library of her school on the topmost floor in a corner that was generally unoccupied didn’t mean that she could ever really be alone. The lack of people was what drew her there to study – she didn’t like to be bothered. Yet, here Porter was with that silly, smug grin of his. He was pleased to have found her. Had he been searching for her? Reluctantly, Olinia pulled out one of her earbuds.

“Fancy meeting you here,” he said cheerfully and dropped into the seat beside hers.

Olinia resolved to never sit at a desk that sat more than one person ever again. She forced a smile. “Yeah, small world.”

“What class are you studying for?” He wasn’t going to go away.

She dug her nails into her palm. He knew exactly which class she was studying. He’d already observed that their Anthropology book was open in front of her. He simply wanted her to say it so that he could offer to study with her. Why did he choose
her
as his next conquest? She wasn’t going to fall for his little games. If only she could still turn herself invisible. “I actually just finished doing the reading for Anthropology and was about to leave.”

“Oh good, so you’ve got some free time before your next class.”

Olinia mentally kicked herself. There was still thirty minutes until their Anthropology class. She shouldn’t have said she was done reading. At least if she was studying he wouldn’t try to talk to her. She pulled a face. “Maybe I’ll go take a nap.”

She wants me to leave,
he mused to himself
. Sorry, not going to happen. I need some information first.

What information? Olinia blinked. What could he, an Ethon, possibly want from her? She decided she didn’t care to find out. Slipping her textbook into her backpack, she stood. “I guess I’ll see you later.”

Nice try.
He was internally laughing at her as he jumped up to block her path. He believed that his attention was making her feel uncomfortable, mistaking her averseness for being shy with attractive men. “Why are you wanting to run away from me?”

She had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. He shouldn’t flatter himself. Classic good looks were not something that weakened her. She grunted, “That was me trying to politely tell you to get lost.”

Her response surprised and amused him. He was grinning again. “Why do you want to be alone?”

“Look,” she sighed and for once said what she was thinking, “I don’t know you. I don’t really care to get to know you. How about I just see you in class?”

As she turned to go, Porter moved with her, prohibiting her from getting far. “You’re such a mystery. Makes me wonder what you’re hiding.”

Mystery? Really? Where did he get that line? He seriously needed to get out of her way. Her resolution to not use her gifts in front of Ethons thinned when she became irritated. “I’m not interested in being your friend.”

I know what you’re hiding.

Olinia sincerely doubted that. She let out a short laugh. The odds of him discovering her past were not in his favor, unless he already categorized her with aliens. In that case, he wasn’t too far off.

He frowned. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” she lied. “I’m gonna go now.”

She managed to slide around him and take a few steps before he called out, “You may think you’re the only one like you, but you’re not.”

“What?” She turned.

Porter closed the gap between them. “You’re different, Olinia. I can tell.”

“Different from whom?” She retorted.

“Than most people you meet,” he answered. His thoughts flickered between images of her in class and throughout campus. She inwardly gagged at the detail. He was on the verge of stalking her with how much he followed her around.

She bit at the inside of her lip. “Remember how you read where a person is from has an impact on them. Well, I’m not so different than those of where I’m from.”

“That’s hard to imagine.” His mind drifted to how soft her skin looked. He wanted to touch her again, like how he’d brushed her hand before.

Olinia released her breath in a rush. It was time to go. She nodded her head once. “See you in a little bit, Porter.” With that, she left him behind to stare after her.

:  :  :  :  :

It was not even two months into the school year and Legann was already anticipating the next holiday. He was once again bored out of his mind in English. He still strongly believed the class was a waste of his time.

The teacher, Mrs. Amellia Haglund, was up at the front of the room reviewing her favorite collection of poems. She was a short, round woman with long, frizzy brown hair. A pair of reading glasses dangled around her neck by a bright red cord and her eyebrows were in need of some help. Despite her odd complexion though, Legann did like her. Unlike some of her colleagues, she actually cared for the education and wellbeing of her students. She was a kind woman with an easy smile. It was just too bad that she taught English.

Legann glanced down at the notebook sitting on his desk and began to doodle on the top page. Before coming to Ethon, he had only used paper for learning how to read and write. Raised in a poor village under Kendren rule, there had not been an abundant supply of writing materials. Paper was a commodity that was not to be wasted on such things as art.

When he entered Ethon though, Legann was given as much paper as he wished. He began to draw and soon discovered he wasn’t half bad at it. It was soothing to him to recreate images from his realm and memory. Over the past few months, he had progressed in his drawing to the point of notice from Trenton. The last time he had visited, he mentioned for Legann to enroll in a sketch class as an elective.

“Mr. Reien?”

He looked up in surprise, realizing Haglund had repeated his name twice already. “Yes?” He asked.

Haglund frowned. “You will be presenting with Lillie Pallort.”

“Presenting what?” He blinked.

“A poem,” Haglund reminded, giving Legann the impression that she’d mentioned this to him before. She shook her head sadly, as if disappointed. “It’s your turn on Friday.”

A girl off to Legann’s left and toward the front of the room turned around to steal a quick glimpse of him. He recognized her short hair – hair so white it was practically silver – and remembered her to be Lillie. For his entire high school experience, they’d shared the same lunch period. She would often sit alone – but by choice, not from rejection. She would read all through lunch.

Once Haglund returned her attention to her poems, Legann went back to his drawing. Today, he was interested in trees – big, thick ones with multiple branches, like those that had been in Delvich Forest. For the remaining forty or so minutes of class, Legann focused on outlining the dreaded prison forest of the Vrenyx world in his notebook. He was so engrossed in his work that he was startled when the bell rang.

Grateful for school’s end, Legann grabbed his things and stood. In front of him, Lillie did the same. He winced inwardly. It was probably best if he talked to her now about their assignment rather than later.

He hurried after her, pulling alongside her just as she exited the room. “Hey, Lillie.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Hello?”

Did she miss Haglund’s speech about them having to work together? Lillie looked as if there couldn’t possibly be a reason for him to be near her. He felt like rolling his eyes. It wasn’t like he was all excited to work with her either. “When should we meet up to do that poem thing?”

“During lunch tomorrow.” She reached into her book bag that was slung across her shoulder and yanked out her cell phone, purposely avoiding his gaze. “I can meet you in the cafeteria.”

Legann pulled a face, not that she noticed. Her eyes were glued to her cell. He sighed. “Alright. I’ll meet you there.”

“Great.” She glanced up at him. “See you then.”

She veered off down an adjoining hallway, and Legann slipped his own phone out of his pocket. There was the usual text from Olinia, notifying him of her arrival. He grunted and began for his locker, dodging students along his way. He had the vague feeling that Lillie had just ditched him.

:  :  :  :  :

Olinia closed her eyes and dropped onto her bed. She was alone, finally surrounded by complete silence. It was something that didn’t happen very often anymore. So when Legann would leave her, no matter the length, she reveled in only hearing her own thoughts.

Her current silence was due to an absence of milk and a few other necessities. Legann had volunteered to run to the grocery store, thus leaving her alone in their house. Well, the house Trenton had purchased for them. Olinia still didn’t feel like it really belonged to her and Legann. It was just another display of Trenton’s generosity. He was almost too nice at times.

The house was two stories. White walls, navy shutters and trim, and a gray roof made up the exterior. It was a newer home, not quite three years old, and had been the model home of a subdivision. When Trenton bought it, the surrounding land was meant for other houses to be built on. Because of Olinia’s unique condition though, Trenton decided to buy that land as well, preserving the little grove around the house. Olinia was glad that he had. Living right next to Ethons would have limited Olinia’s quiet time to nothing. She was content to just hear Legann. His thoughts she could handle.

It really was a beautiful home, too. With hardwood floors throughout and three full bathrooms, it fit right into middle-class America. On the main floor, there was a large kitchen, complete with breakfast nook and island, a guest bathroom, an adjoining family room, a study, a dining room, and an entryway. Upstairs were the four bedrooms and two other bathrooms. For just two people, there was more than enough space.

Since Olinia was older, she had claimed the master bedroom and attached bathroom. Legann hadn’t really minded taking a smaller room. He was rarely in it anyway other than to sleep. He preferred to spend his time in front of the TV or in the study when he had homework to finish. Olinia smiled slightly to herself. Her brother was easy to live with. He enjoyed her company but often did things on his own. Being with Legann was much like when she had lived in Sivean with her twin, Zedgry.

At the thought of Zedgry, Olinia winced. It had been almost two years since she had last seen him. She wondered how he was doing. Why hadn’t he ever come to find her? Someone had to have mentioned that she and Legann were stuck in Ethon. No, only one person had known about their exile. If he hadn’t returned, then how could Olinia expect her twin to find her?

Olinia sighed and stood, heading for the mirror above her bathroom’s sink. Before entering Ethon, her current reflection would have surprised her. Even though her facial features hadn’t changed much – she still had the high cheekbones, full lips, and dark brown eyes with gold flecks throughout – lately she had been dying her hair a dark brown instead of the light, golden brown she had sported for most of her life. The dark hair was a pretty color and made her not appear so young. Because of her Eveon blood, she basically didn’t age past seventeen for generations to come. The dark hair helped her look her actual age of almost twenty. The cut also helped. Since leaving the Other Worlds, she had shortened her hair to an inch or two below her shoulders and layered it throughout, giving it a choppy look.

Along with the changes in her hair, her wardrobe no longer consisted of wispy Eveon dresses or floor-length gowns. Jeans, T-shirts, zip-up hoodies, and flats were now her everyday apparel. She still wore some skirts, but it was usually in the form of summer dresses. Tight, blue jeans were the trend for Ethon women. Today, Olinia wore a dark pair of jeans and a slim, short-sleeved brown turtleneck. Yes, her appearance was definitely different than what it once was. She had never even donned a pair of pants before coming to Ethon.

Memories of her princess days made her pull a face. It was hard to believe that she had once imagined herself to be queen of Caprith, Evedon, and the Other Worlds. The realm she was raised in seemed too much of a fantasy to be real. Ethon had rubbed off on her. Just as she had basically told Legann, the desire to be queen that had once kindled inside of her had long since extinguished. How could she ever become queen to a realm that refused to discover her whereabouts? The Other Worlds obviously didn’t want her, and if Olinia was being honest with herself, she wasn’t so sure she wanted the Other Worlds.