Island of Dragons (Unwanteds #7)(4)

Thinking back upon his life in Quill made Aaron feel numb inside. Everything he had once lived for was gone. He smiled ruefully, wondering what sort of metaphor Ishibashi would make from it. He missed the old man, sometimes desperately.

Every now and then Aaron thought about what it would be like if the pirates hadn’t mistaken him for his brother—if they’d captured Alex instead, and Aaron had remained in power. Would he still be high priest, or would Gondoleery have ousted or even killed him by now? Would he still sneak to the jungle to be in the one place he felt at ease, among the misfits . . . the misunderstoods? Would he have eventually confided in Liam that he was so terribly uncertain about what he was doing? Or would he have kept it all in, as always? As one is expected to do in Quill?

And would he be raising his sisters to be bad like him? Thisbe and Fifer were almost two years old. When he looked at them, he couldn’t imagine them growing up in that horrible, stark palace.

One quiet morning he sat on the lawn with his sisters, watching them play in the sand, making sure they didn’t venture too far into the water. They were learning to swim, but it was the current that worried Aaron the most, knowing they could be swept off their little feet and pulled out to the sea.

Aaron could swim a little now. Not like Alex and Sky and the others, but at least he wasn’t terrified anymore. Not really, anyway, though he still had nightmares about the little pirate boat and the hurricane. But he also had good dreams about returning to the Island of Shipwrecks.

Carina Holiday and her son, Seth, walked up to the beach. Seth ran over to the girls, and Carina sat down next to Aaron.

Some of Alex’s friends had begun to trust Aaron by now. Simber, for sure, and Sky, of course. But Carina had kept her distance, watching him—he saw her and others, too, like Claire Morning and Samheed Burkesh, always, always watching him. And while Aaron knew their skepticism was deserved, it was hard to take, and it didn’t feel very good. He wondered why Carina chose the spot next to him to sit.

“Good morning,” Aaron said.

“Good morning,” she replied, crossing her ankles and pulling her knees up. She sipped from a steaming mug.

Aaron watched his sisters shriek with joy when they saw Seth, who was a year or so older than them. They had become fast friends—most of the time anyway. As good friends as two-and three-year-olds could be, he supposed. “The girls really love Seth,” he said to break the silence.

“He adores them, too,” Carina said. “And I am rather enjoying this quiet morning.”

“It’ll be even quieter when the Quillens are gone,” said Aaron. “Alex is going to start expanding the magical world soon.”

“I was at the meeting,” Carina said.

“Of course,” said Aaron, feeling awkward. “Sorry I didn’t see you.”

If Carina noticed Aaron’s awkwardness, she didn’t indicate it. “I would imagine the Wanteds and Necessaries can’t wait to go home,” she mused.

Aaron nodded. He understood the feeling.

Seth started to pile and pack sand into a large mound. Thisbe waited until he was almost done and pushed it over. But Seth didn’t get mad; he just started building it up again. Fifer played quietly by herself, singing a nonsensical made-up song.

“I guess she’s like me,” Aaron said, more to himself than to Carina. He looked up. “Thisbe, I mean. The one in red.” Suddenly he felt strange for saying it, as if he were admitting something that made him very vulnerable. He still had a hard time with that, especially with people he didn’t know well. Perhaps he always would.

Carina smiled. “Can you see their personalities emerging?”

“Yes. It’s interesting. They’re quite different from each other once you get to know them,” Aaron said. “Thisbe plays hard and sleeps hard. She puts all her energy into everything she does—see?” He pointed as she knocked Seth’s sand tower down again with her whole body, landing on the boy. Seth fell back, surprised, and laughed with Thisbe when she laughed. They got to their feet.

“Again?” Seth said to her.

“Again,” Thisbe agreed. Seth started piling sand.

“And Fifer,” Aaron said, shaking his head. “She’s very gentle and . . . I don’t know. Intensely musical, and thoughtful, I guess. Can a two-year-old be thoughtful?”

“I think so,” Carina said. “Seth is that way too.”

“Yet he puts up with Thisbe’s games so well.”

Carina nodded. “And the girls love each other, don’t they? They seem inseparable.”

“They are,” Aaron said, thinking about so much more than just his sisters. “They’re best friends. They couldn’t live without each other.”

Carina sipped her drink and watched the kids quietly. “You know,” she said after a while, “I used to think that twins were trouble. Marcus and Justine. You and Alex.” She swung her head to give Aaron a look of raw honesty. “Because it was really difficult with you for a long time, you know?”

“Of course.” Aaron dropped his gaze. “I know.”

“But you’re proving that it doesn’t have to be that way,” said Carina. “You’re showing your sisters something important, I think.”

Aaron pursed his lips. He hadn’t thought about that before. “Somebody wise told me that just because Alex was good, that didn’t mean I had to be bad in order to be distinct from him. I could be a different kind of good.”