Keeper of the Lost Cities: Rebuild [COMPLETED]

Chapter Eleven - BIANA

Perhaps the most controversial Vacker of all.

"Councillor Snuggles-A-Lot!" Keefe greeted. "Nice to see you looking so surly! You really do smile too much."

Fitz shot Keefe a glare, and Biana felt like doing the same. His jab hit a little too close to home.

"I see, I see," said Keefe, backing away from the scowling Fitz. "Too much joking for a serious day?"

"You're not the only one who's acting happier than they should," Fitz said, shrugging. Then he looked straight at Biana, as if he couldn't be obvious enough.

She promptly bit her bottom lip to keep from grinning too widely. If she did that she'd start looking like those clowns Sophie had been traumatized by as a child—and no one deserved to be that creepy.

"Do you have an assignment?" Fitz asked Biana, seeming to shift away from Keefe. Biana knew he wasn't doing it on purpose; it was just a habit from all the years of... awkwardness between the two boys.

"No. Why?"

"I thought maybe we could go home and tell Mom and Dad what happened."

"Oh. Yeah, okay. Sure."

Biana felt her stomach tighten with an emotion she couldn't explain. After the Vacker legacy had been revealed, Alden and Della hadn't left Everglen except on rare occasions. It wasn't because they were depressed, like Grady and Edaline had been after Jolie's death; the Vackers were just... being wary. At first they had reduced their visits to the Lost Cities, but when the jeers became too loud to ignore, they'd cut out the excursions altogether. Especially now, they were quick to suggest staying home. "Everglen is expansive," Della had told her. "We'll be fine; there's plenty of space to walk." And of course Alden had said, "There's no reason to worry."

But Biana was worried. Her brain couldn't help but replay the moment when Maruca had hailed her, telling her about the attack on Lesedi.

What if the Purities came after Biana's parents next? What if...

Be strong, she told herself. It was her constant mantra: Be strong.

"Let's go," she said, reaching for Fitz's hand.

He took it and held their home crystal up to the light. He hesitated, side-eyeing Keefe. "You wanna come too?"

Biana felt the breath leave her lungs in one fell whoosh. She wasn't sure if Keefe could feel that or if he simply didn't want to go, but either way he held up his hands with a small chuckle. "I'll pass. Thank you, though."

Fitz didn't quite smile, but his eyes still sparkled with relief. "Yeah."

"You know what—Ro was right; boys are high-functioning amoebas," Biana said, rolling her eyes. She pulled Fitz into the light before she had to suffer another awkward "bro moment." When it came between parents-who-pretended-nothing-was-wrong-when-everything-was-wrong and boys-who-talked-but-didn't-communicate, she would have to go with the parents.

She started to regret her decision, though, as the glistening green and blue hills of her home glittered into view. Most of all, it was the absence of light that disturbed her.

Everglen hadn't displayed its massive gates for six years, and while Biana had slowly gotten accustomed to the new setting, she couldn't help but be reminded, especially now, of how vulnerable they were.

The gates had felt like a display of the Vacker legacy—a legacy that, then, was something Biana could be proud of.

But now... now Everglen was just like any other elvin house. It was... average. She felt ashamed to admit that made her feel average too; what house she lived in shouldn't have mattered. Her legacy, no matter how awful or grandiose it was, shouldn't have mattered.