Inheritance

“It is my hope,” Eres said, “that the two of you will return here and allow me to teach you how to use your abilities. Will you return?”

Reese didn’t need to discuss it with David to know that he wanted to do this as much as she did. “Yes,” she said.

“Yes,” David said.

Eres Tilhar did not seem surprised.

CHAPTER 11

Amber was waiting at the visitors’ center when Reese, David, and their parents returned from the ship with Dr. Brand. She was still sitting in the chair where she had sat during the press conference, and when she looked up, seeking out Reese, she had an anxious expression on her face. She stood, smoothing out her dress, and headed toward Reese. There were about a half dozen reporters still in the area, waiting for their turn to tour the ship, and Reese noticed them swivel around to watch as Amber approached. She was wearing black patent leather pumps with her gray sheath dress, and the heels left little holes in the lawn as she walked. Reese’s chest tightened as Amber came to a stop a few feet away.

“Hi, Reese,” she said.

“Hi,” Reese said. She felt as if she were bracing herself for something bad.

Her mom touched her arm. “Honey, we’re going with Dr. Brand to talk to the ferry captain about getting you and David here for those lessons, okay? We’ll be back in a bit.”

“Okay,” Reese said.

“Nice to see you again, Amber,” her mom said as she was leaving.

Amber’s cheeks reddened. “Nice to see you too.”

Reese, Amber, and David stood in awkward silence as their parents left.

“So you’re going to meet with Eres Tilhar?” Amber said.

“Yeah,” Reese said. She wasn’t touching David but she could tell by the way he was standing, his body slightly turned away from Amber, that he wasn’t eager to talk to her.

“That’s good,” Amber said. “Eres is a great teacher. I’m glad you decided to do it.”

Reese didn’t say anything. She was waiting for Amber to get to the point.

“Reese, can I talk to you? Alone?” Amber smiled apologetically at David. “Would you mind?”

David gave a brief shrug. “It’s not up to me.”

The smile on Amber’s face faltered. “Of course not. I just meant—”

“Why can’t you talk to me here?” Reese asked.

“Please. Just for a few minutes. Walk with me down to the cove.” She gave Reese a pleading look.

Despite her defensiveness, Reese was curious. “Fine,” she said finally. She glanced at David. “I’ll be right back.”

“Thank you,” Amber said, sounding grateful.

Reese started down the path toward the cove, and Amber had to hurry to keep up. “What do you want to talk about?” Reese asked.

“I know you’re still angry with me,” Amber began.

Reese shook her head. “That’s a funny way to put it.”

“You’re not angry?”

“Of course I’m angry,” Reese snapped. She lowered her voice as they passed the reporters, who were still watching them. “So what?” she added in a whisper.

“I want to apologize,” Amber said softly.

“You already did that.”

“But you don’t believe me.” Amber sounded miserable.

“What does it matter if I believe you?”

A flash of desperation passed over Amber’s face. “Because we’re going to have to see each other here. And I can’t stand it if you hate me.”

You should have thought of that a lot earlier, Reese wanted to say, but she bit off the words and looked away. They were already at the edge of the lawn, and the asphalt path curved around the cove directly in front of them. If they turned right they’d head toward the dock, and Reese didn’t want to run into her parents, so she turned left, skirting the edge of the water. Amber’s heels clicked on the pavement as they walked. At the end of the path was a bench overlooking the water, and Reese sat down. They were still in full view of the visitors’ center, and if she looked back she knew she’d see David waiting there. Amber sat on the other end of the bench and crossed her legs. Her shoes gleamed in the sunlight, but there was a clump of dirt on the right heel.

“I’ve had to lie my entire life,” Amber said quietly.

Reese kept her gaze on the water so that she didn’t have to look at Amber. “Is that an excuse?”

“No,” Amber said sharply. More softly, she continued, “That’s not what I’m saying. I’m trying to explain why I lied to you. I was born here, but for as long as I can remember, my mother warned me not to tell anyone about us. I slipped up too many times before I really understood what she meant, and we had to leave Earth for a while.”

“When?”

“I was five. We went back to Kurra for several years, until I was old enough to—to lie properly.” She paused, and Reese finally let herself look at Amber. She seemed sad, her eyes cast down to her lap. “I went to middle school in Arizona and I didn’t tell anyone who I really was. Nobody knew. It was… lonely.”

“You never told anyone? Not even—did you have friends?”

Amber gave Reese a tiny smile. “Yeah. I had a best friend, but I didn’t tell her. I wish I could have. I really do.”

It was said so simply, with such raw emotion, that Reese was taken aback.

“When I was fourteen, we had to go back to Kurra,” Amber continued. “Every fifteenth birthday is sort of a big deal for us, so I stayed on Kurra until after I turned fifteen. When we returned to Earth, I went to a private school in Massachusetts. I didn’t tell anyone there, either. By then it had become sort of normal for me. Like, I had this life at school, and it didn’t have anything to do with my mom’s work. I could pretend I was totally human, you know? Like I was actually going to apply to colleges and worry about financial aid and figure out what I wanted to major in. But none of it was real.” Amber sighed and looked out at the cove. The sunlight made her blond hair glow.

Reese wanted to be angry at her, but she found herself feeling sorry for her instead. She sounded so wistful.

“And then when I met you, I knew I had to keep lying,” Amber said. “It was understood that I would. It’s what I’ve been trained to do.” She turned back to Reese. “I’m sorry. I don’t blame you for being angry with me. But I wanted to explain to you why I did what I did.”

Reese felt the tightness in her chest again, as if her heart was straining against her rib cage. “I told Sophia Curtis that you lied.”

Amber blinked. “The TV journalist?”

“Yes. David and I had an interview with her. It airs this weekend. She asked if I knew you, and I told her that you were sent to keep an eye on us. And that you didn’t tell us who you were.”

Amber considered Reese for a minute. “Did you tell her anything else about us?”

Heat spread over Reese’s skin. She suddenly remembered leaning over the table at the Indian restaurant on Valencia Street, kissing Amber in full view of the other patrons. “No,” Reese said, her throat feeling constricted. “I didn’t tell her anything else.”

Reese couldn’t read the expression on Amber’s face. Was it dismay or acceptance? All she said was “Okay.” She lowered her gaze again, and Reese noticed she was wearing purple-gray eye shadow, the exact color of a bruise. Her lips trembled for one second, a movement so small that Reese saw it only because she was staring.