Page 60 of In Between Darkness

“Huh?” I tilt my head in confusion.

“Look. I used to get nightmares when I was young. My mum would put it under my pillow and it worked for me, so I thought it might work for you too.” He shrugs and paces in front of me. “There’s no science behind it. I think it’s more of a placebo effect type thing.”

I stare in disbelief.

“And the dream walking?” I ask, expecting another stupid answer.

His eyebrow rises, and he looks at me more seriously.

“My nightmares were bad. I would see things, bad things. My father took me to a shrink. They think it’s to do with the serpent venom that runs through my veins. Anyway, they gave me a book on the subconscious mind and dream walking was mentioned. Only five percent of Moons have this Gift… Luca was one of them.”

He scratches the back of his neck and looks down at the ground. “That’s why I thought you were different.”

Wait? Luca! My father could dream walk. I take a moment to take this all in and reply when I feel satisfied with his answers. I take a deep breath.

“You’re right, I am different. You were right all along… I’m not a Sun.” I lift my head slowly to gauge his reaction to thisstatement. His face doesn’t change much, but I can tell from his eyes he is thinking.

“Are you one of us?” he asks, and I swear I see a glint of hope in his eyes. I shake my head and lean back on the bench.

Ryder joins and sits beside me. “What are you then?” he questions curiously.

“Have you heard of the Starkind?” I ask, pulling the leaves off a twig I picked up from the bench.

His eyes narrow, and he looks at me puzzled.

“I- I -I’m both. You know that article you found about my mum and Luca.” I look at Ryder to make sure he’s still following my story; he nods at me in response. “Well, it turns out, he’s my father… My real father.”

Ryder’s face shifts from confusion to shock.

“That’s impossible.” He shoots up and begins pacing the ground again, his black hair shining silver under the moonlight.

“Apparently not… Something to do with eclipses, but I’m not too sure. All I know is it happened, and I exist,” I say, trying to hide the disbelief in my words. I stand and still him from pacing by gripping his forearm. His eyes burn into my soul for a short moment as I wait for him to say something.

“So you’re half Sun and half Moon.” His words come out more like a statement than a question, almost as if he is trying to convince himself. He moves closer to me and looks me up and down, studying me.

“I didn’t believe it either,” I explain, trying to read the emotion on his face. I watch as his pursed lips morph into a slight smile.

“I knew you were different.” He tugs slightly at his hair and lets out an exhale. “So, what are your Gifts?” He no longer looks shocked or confused, just curious. He analyses me with his eyes like I am a brand-new species.

I am amazed at his reaction. He doesn’t seem to care. I thought he would surely be shocked or afraid at this earth-shattering news, in disbelief that everything we have been told about the nature of the Sun and Moons and their ability to procreate has all been a lie … but this boy is unfazed.

I let out a small sigh of relief, knowing I can lower the walls I have built up around myself and finally share the weight of this secret I have been struggling to carry.

I open my left palm and conjure a white orb of light. “The school thinks I’m a light worker because I can do this.”

I pause for a moment, bracing myself for the reveal of my darker Gift.

“But I can also do this.” I reluctantly open my right hand and concentrate on its power jolting through my veins until the black void appears once again. I hold my light close to it so that Ryder can see more clearly. I watch his eyes widen in fascination.

“Let me see that.” His curiosity gets the better of him, and he pulls my hand in to examine it closer.

“Stop… It’s dangerous!” I pull my hand away and close it into a fist, concealing it under my left hand. “River… he’s inside… I think…. No, I know.”

I feel his eyes judging me like I’m fifty shades of crazy.

“What do you mean he’sinside?”He steps in closer and smudges away the mascara from under my eyes with his thumb. Now he looks shocked.

“He took me on a date. It was lovely. I mean, it really was-”