Chapter 2

I remembered the month before, when a few students from the training squad cornered me. They said I did not belong there because I came from outside. They threw my forging tools into a mud pit and cut up a wrist guard I had just finished.

"You think you can make weapons looking like that?" They laughed loud and sharp. "Your sister is a frenzy wolf. You probably carry the same broken blood."

"Stay away from us. We do not want your sickness rubbing off."

When I got home, my mother smelled the mud on my clothes. She brushed my sleeve with her hand. "What happened to you?" She stopped for a second, then said more quietly, "Go clean up. Your sister cannot stand that smell."

I stayed in my room and turned the cut wrist guard over and over in my hands.

Later my mother knocked on my door and asked me what was wrong. I opened my mouth, then closed it. In the end I just shook my head and said nothing. I knew that if I told my family I was being pushed out, my sister would lose control because the house was not peaceful.

"Iris cannot take any kind of stress. One bad shock and she could go into a frenzy." The healer's words hung over our family like a locked collar.

My mind started to go blurry again. I heard my father on the phone, keeping his voice low. "…She is having another episode. Yes, we will bring her in right away."

Footsteps went past me in a hurry. My mother slowed down for a second and looked down at me on the floor. "Nova," she said, and her voice wavered. "Your sister's medicine… never mind. I will get it. Rest."

She took two steps toward the door, then looked back at me again, like she wanted to say something. Iris called out from the main room, and she walked away fast.

My mind drifted back to the day I stood outside the forging workshop. I had cleaned all my tools and put them away in my storage box.

My mentor looked at me and let out a long breath. "You are really not coming back? You are the most patient apprentice I have ever had."

"Metal sounds make my sister sick," I said without looking up. "The healer said she needs a quiet space."

Now all the unfinished blades were cooling down in the workshop. They were cold, just like me.

A siren came from far away. My mother's voice came from the main room. "Iris! Hold on! The medics are almost here!"

The door swung open. Wind rushed in and scattered dust across the floor.

"Where is the patient?" A stranger's voice asked.

"Over here!" My father's voice was shaking. "She is losing control—"

I lay on the floor and tried to call out, but nothing came from my throat.

The medics went straight to the couch. They lifted my sister carefully while she fought against them. No one looked at the corner where I was dying.

"Internal bleeding…" That was the last thought that went through my head before everything went still.

I floated up and looked down at myself. My body was still curled on the floor. A dark bruise was spreading across my side. My face was pale. My lips had no color. I looked like a tool left behind in the corner of the workshop.

The house was full of noise and movement. My father carried my sister out. My mother followed with the medicine.

She stopped at the door and looked back inside. "Where is Nova?"

My father stopped too. He turned around and followed her eyes. He saw me. His mouth opened like he wanted to say something. Iris jerked in his arms and her claw scraped his arm.

He hesitated for one second. Then he turned away. "She will be fine," he said, and his voice dropped low, like he was saying it to himself. "She just hit the table. She will be alright. She has always been healthy. This is more urgent."

My mother paused for a moment. She looked back into the room and her eyes passed over me. They did not stop. Then she followed my father out the door.

The door closed behind them.

A corner of the family tapestry came loose from the wall. The tapestry showed four figures. Iris was in the middle. My parents stood on each side. I was at the edge, almost the same color as the background.