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"Dead," she whispers "He sacrificed himself to save you"

I don’t knohat to say as she turns her back to hts the sky, and she vanishes into the darkness I fight off a wave of panic She wouldn’t leave me here, would she?

No I’ve never had any reason to believe she ht

"What did you mean earlier?" I ask quietly

"Earlier?" Her voice is a faceless sound in the darkness Like she really is a ghost

"When you woke up instretch of silence passes before she speaks "Water weakens us Saround, which li I can’t eat?" That definitely falls into the not cool category

"Your body’s not ready for that kind of sacrifice yet The starvation would actually ht now, since you’re so reliant on earthly foods But soon you’ll have to start working your way toward it, if you want to reach your full potential The closer to the e are, theth Now the water’s weakened me"

That makes about as much sense as the quadratic functions we studied last year "It was half a bottle of water It’ll be out of your syste physically of this earth is at odds with the wind Even the tiniest bit of so as small as water will severely limit what I can do--for months And it couldn’t have happened at asound, like she kicked the ground

"Why is now so crucial?"

"Because Raiden knoe’re here He’s theto find you for years I did everything I could to shield you, but now his Stor to capture you, and if we run, they’ll tear the whole valley apart looking for you Thousands of people could die And the Stormers will find our trail and hunt us down Our only option is to fight, and if I’ood"

So to stand "All of that over me? Why--why a, Vane You’re our only hope"

I have to laugh It sounds so Princess Leia Help uy"

"Believe me, I don’t You’re probably the most important person alive at the moment"

Andht I find out I’m not human, that my parents were murdered, and that the saetih I’m no one Oh, and we can’t run, can’t hide, and can’t win in a fight It kindalame like pinchI can feel the breezes streaking acrosson the wind TheI’ve always felt but never kne to understand

Audra ht The fabric of her ski over the curves of her body I have to force myself to focus on her face--which looks just like it does inaround her cheeks Her lips part and I expect her to whisper the saht

Instead, she says, "None of this "

"Training?"

"You need to learn to fight To defend yourself when the Stormers come for you It’s why I’m here To teach you what you need to fulfill your role"

"My role?"

"We’re back to you repeating everything I say"

"Well, what do you expectsense!"

I can tell by the way her jaw locks that she wants to yell at ht," she says instead "But you’ve had more revelations in one hour than anyone can handle--and I have to figure out what to do about the Stor"

A hint of defeat returns to her eyes

"Are people really going to die?" I ask, giving her the cue to tell , elaborate prank

"I hope not"

Not the reassurance I’ for

But then she squares her shoulders "I won’t let anything happen I’hters--even with soet help"

"Help? Likeother sylphs? What, you call theht souys,’ and they just blow into town and save the day?"

One side of her lips twists into a smile "It’s not that simple" The smile fades "It’s not simple at all But I’ll take care of it As soon as I take you home"

My mouth opens with a new question--but I freeze when she puts her finger onto call for backup, I need to do that as soon as possible Please, just give "

I want to argue--there’s a boatload of crap she hasn’t explained--but I’ frohlike it, and it’s a trehtest nod

Her eyes lower, focusing on her finger on my mouth, and some sort of indecipherable emotion flickers across her face "Thank you"

The words sound almost choked as she drops her hand to her side and shakes it Then she turns away and whispers the same incantation she used before

"Come to me swiftly, carry no trace Lift me softly, then flow and race"

This ti the wind And the wind obeys her co only inches away Close enough that I can feel her body heat radiating through the air Close enough that I becohter, separating us from the rest of the world A safe, private space for just the two of us