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“Tell me what?”
Cyn chewed the edge of his lip, studying me. Then he sighed and said, “Ezra’s like Zeke.”
“He’s not a Vithrelas,” Zeke interjected. “He doesn’t dreamwalk or anything like that.”
“Right. He’s a rarer type of Shyrlivi than Vithrelas. The deadliest type of Shyrlivi.”
My stomach tightened at his words.
“But he won’t hurt you,” Zeke said, giving my arm a squeeze.
“Nah. Not now that he knows what you are. But most Voids can’t control it.”
Zeke glared. “Ezra can.”
“Better than most.” Cyn shrugged. “Most Voids die young after their powers surface, unable to control it. Their shadows consume them.”
“That’s awful.”
Zeke toyed with the hem of my shorts. “Some think it’s a small mercy that a Void dies that soon.”
“What?” I gaped at him. “Why would anyone think death is a mercy?”
His shoulder hitched. “The shadows do what they want. They lash out at anything they perceive as a threat and destroy it without question.”
“It makes sense if you think about it,” Cyn said. “Voids awaken in the face of tragedy or when their life force is stronger than others. In Ezra’s case, it’s twofold.”
“He lost his sister when he was twenty-one.”
I looked at Zeke. “But Cyn just said they die young. I mean, twenty-one is young, but that’s only three years ago. He’s twenty-four, right?”
Zeke nodded.
“Ezra’s Void powers surfaced in his teens because he’s so strong.” Cyn’s jaw ticked, as though reluctant to say more. “It’s just… when Linara died… if he hadn’t already had control, he’d have killed us all and half of Feranzis. It took him months to get control again.”
“He locked himself away under the palace in the cells so he wouldn’t hurt anyone.” Zeke’s arms tightened around me, and I suspected he did it to ground himself.
I wanted to know more, but asking felt wrong. They’d already shared more than I thought Ezra would like.
“How old was she?”
“Five,” Cyn said.
I’d never had siblings, but I couldn’t imagine losing one of them—especially at such a young age.
I now understood why Cyn didn’t think I was a Void like Ezra.
Even after almost losing Ash, and almost dying myself, I still hadn’t hurt anyone. I felt nothing nefarious inside me that wanted to consume me or the world. I felt something, but I didn’t understand it.
I didn’t want to try transforming my hand anymore. After hearing about Ezra’s sister, I didn’t have the energy.
“We should let her finish packing,” Cyn said, pushing off the wall. “Blue flowers?”
“Huh?”
“The bakeware.”
“Oh. Yeah.” My cheeks flooded with heat. I was surprised he remembered after everything that had happened between us. “If you can make sure they don’t end up with the donation stuff, I’d appreciate it.”
