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He has a point--fro

"We control the wind through words, Vane We ask the gust to do ant and convince it to obey It’s a si right now"

"We talk to the wind? Like it’s alive?"

"In a way Each of the four winds has a language Only sylphs can understand and speak the languages because we’re part of the wind ourselves But there’s no ue betind and Windwalker"

I should’ve realized he was confused It explains why he isn’t taking this as seriously as he needs to "I can’t believe how little you know about your heritage I know your s were justinstinctive"

I realize my slip a second too late

"What do you "

"Like hell it’s nothing" He scoots closer, the windslicer no longer inti hiry with hi this very important lesson--and as his trainer I should demand he pay attention, and whip him around with some winds if he refuses

But I can’t

I feel sorry for him

Sorry for what I know

Sorry for what I’ve done

"You have to understand," I tell hi to sound calmer than I feel "When the Storone, destroyed, sucked up, or broken and left in splinters MyShe didn’t have any choice"

"There’s always a choice"

"No one can hide fro We had to make him think ere dead My h, but you were too important The only place we knew Raiden would never look for you ith the groundlings, and the only way to hide you there was if you didn’t knoho or what you are Humans don’t knoe exist--and we couldn’t risk that you would tell theh his hair, like he’s trying to feel for a wound or injury "What the hell did she do to my brain?"

"She called a Southerly and sent it deep into your subconscious The wind did the rest"

I can still reround as she wrapped the draft around him and sent it into hisSo he turned his wide, terrified eyes toso much like the little boy that day it nearly takesto tell, at least

"You said it felt like aaround in your brain," I whisper "I held your hand and told you to close your eyes When you woke a few hours later, you didn’t re The iped all your memories away"

Vane doesn’t speak--doesn’t e I feel to reach hiht

He jerks away "How do I get the But I need hiet One one Forever"

He closes his eyes, looking fragile Crushed

Hopeless

I closeon every star out there that the words I just said were true

Hoping even harder I’ll never have to tell Vane they aren’t

CHAPTER 13

VANE

I’m speechless--probably for the first time in my life

My memories were stolen

Not repressed

Stolen

I’ve lived the last ten years with a black hole for a past--not the easiest way to grow up And apparently that’s all I’ll ever have

I want to throw so and see what kind of dae I can do to the walls with it

But another piece of et my parents

I’m not the horrible, selfish jerk who erased his family because it hurt to remember them It wasn’t my fault Audra’s mother stole my memories while Audra held my hand and promised I would be okay

Which at least explains the onlyat me with those dark, haunted eyes, until a breeze whisks her away That was real I just don’t remember the rest because the memory ept out of ust of wind steal my memories?

"I know this is hard to understand," she says quietly "But we had to keep the fact that you survived top secret so Raiden wouldn’t co for you That’s e let the huh their adoption system We kept watch, to make sure you were okay, but we needed you to disappear, stay off the grid--as you call it And that wouldn’t happen if you were running around talking about sylphs and Stores of the wind I’m not sure which would’ve been worse: what the humans would’ve done to you or ould’ve happened when Raiden found you And he would have found you"

"He found rowl inhe didn’t just wake up and think, ‘Hey, I bet Vane’s in the crappy Coachella Valley’ "

Her shoulders sag "No Imade a mistake"

"So it’s your fault"

She shrinks evento hide from the words But she doesn’t deny them