“But they didn’t tell us that our father wasn’t just a king.”
Phuong stared at her brother. “What are you talking about?”
“Our father wasn’t a lesser king of the Yore. He was the emperor.”
Phuong felt her knees wobble. She leaned quickly against the wall. “What are you talking about?”
“The Kiyin stone that was found with us. Your stone spoke to me in my dreams last night. I spent yesterday asking around the Yore. The few who were brave enough to tell me told me that the Kiyin stone isn’t royal. It’s imperial.”
“Why didn’t Hoa tell me?”
“She probably didn’t want to overwhelm you. It was a shock to find out that you were a queen, let alone an empress.”
Phuong pinched the bridge of her nose.
“What does the Kiyin stone do?”
“It has the blood of emperors in its heart.”
“What does it do?” Phuong repeated.
“It can help you master your powers.”
“You brought it with you when you came to find me?”
“Yeah. That’s how it was able to reach me in my dreams. Let’s go to my room.”
Phuong followed her brother to his room. In his bag, he had the Kiyin stone that they’d been found with outside of Heritage House.
“How could nobody tell us about who we were?”
“It put us at risk,” Xuan said. “But watch.”
Xuan closed his eyes and spread his fingers out with his open palm facing his bag, the Kiyin stone grasped in his other hand.
Phuong gasped as she saw the bag levitate.
“You have telekinesis?”
“We have telekinesis.”
Phuong reached out her hand and tried to levitate the flower that was resting on Xuan’s dresser, but she couldn’t move it.
“You have to hold the Kiyin stone, Sister.”
Phuong held out her hand. Xuan gave her the stone. This time, when she willed the flower to rise, she was shocked to see it begin to float in the air. She was so surprised that she dropped it on the floor. She bent down to pick it up and put it back into the vase.
“I’ve barely begun to scratch the surface of Yore magic. I learn new things about myself every day.”
“So am I,” Xuan said.
“This should help,” Phuong said. “Can I hold onto the stone?”
“It’s half yours, half mine. Of course you can hold onto it if you need it.”
Phuong hesitated before she told her brother what had been troubling her.
“I got in touch with the Yore ancestor spirits.”