Page 100 of Trivium

Ahmina, Zeina, and Loveleena had collected in Loveleena’s dorm. With everything that had come to light, they needed time to process it together—to make sense of their new reality as sisters. Luckily, Kumani was out so they had the space to themselves.

Sisters. It was still weird for Ahmina to think about.

She laid sprawled out on the bed next to Zeina while Loveleena paced around the room. “I mean, do you really think what they told us is true?” Loveleena turned to face them, hands on her hips.

“It’s true,” Zeina said calmly. “I could… tell.”

Ahmina studied Zeina’s face as she spoke, trying to get a read on her. “Because of your magic?”

Zeina was a woman of few words, but Ahmina made the connection. Her magical ability had something to do with reading people or understanding truth. Maybe both.

“We haven’t really talked about it with each other—our magic, I mean,” Ahmina said tentatively.

“Talked about it?” Loveleena raised her voice. “We just met!” Her eyes darted from Ahmina to Zeina and back again. “Wait. You’ve met before?”

Ahmina explained the whole story, including what Zeina had shared with her about her arrival at the Academy, how Barrow and Zeina had been secretly feeding her potions, albeit for different reasons, and how they got revenge.

“Fuck that guy. He deserves every bit of your potions, Zeina. If I were you, I’d up the psychological torture a bit. Lay it on thick, you know?”

“I can do that.”

“Stop.” As much as Ahmina loved the idea of getting back at Barrow, even the thought of him made her feel sick. “Can we not talk about him please?”

Thankfully, Loveleena changed the subject. “When did you discover your magic?”

“After we talked about it in the library. I put two and two together.”

“And you?” Loveleena turned to Zeina.

“I had a feeling. And then…” She hesitated, her lips in a flat line. “I stole the book you had and it—well, it told me.”

“The Ancient, Untold History of Magic,” Loveleena whispered, making the connection. “Elder Muaka gave that to me.” She looked at Ahmina. “She told me to say hi, by the way.”

“You’re just telling me this now?” She missed Muaka terribly, and the thought of Loveleena speaking with her made her heart squeeze.

“What?” Loveleena said defensively. “I’ve had a lot going on.”

That wasn’t a very good excuse, but Ahmina wasn’t about to argue with her about it. She rolled the title of the book around in her mind. It wasn’t one she knew, but she had heard it before…

Then it clicked.

It was the same book Lennox had been looking for when she first met him in the library. Elder Muaka had it all along.

“So, what’s so special about this book then?” She was curious to know why he had been searching for it, and why Muaka had hidden it.

“It reveals magic,” Zeina said.

“Did Elder Muaka say anything about it? Like where she kept it? Who gave it to her? Anything?” Ahmina prodded. She needed more. She needed to know everything about that book, and how Muaka came to acquire it.

“Enough about the dumb book,” Loveleena cut in. “I’ve just found out my whole childhood was a lie and I’m actually part of some psycho magical family and have sisters I never knew about.”

Ahmina swallowed her words. Loveleena was right. It was a lot to take in, but unlike Loveleena, she had always known there could be family out there she had never met. For Loveleena it was a complete shock.

“Zeina. Do you know how to use your magic?” Loveleena asked.

“I guess. I don’t really use it. I allow it to be as it is. As I am.” Zeina shrugged.

Loveleena rolled her eyes. “Goddess, you’re worse than Ren. He can never just answer a question straight. What about you, Ahmina?”