2

"Nani, hurry up!"

Destiny leaped over a rotten log and scampered to the top of a large boulder. "Honestly, Ananda, you are the slowest Alexandar there is!"

I pulled myself up and plopped down next to her, breathing hard. "Isn't that weird, since my mom's the fastest?"

She laughed.

The sun disappeared behind a cloud, instantly making me shiver. Not for the first time, I wished I had my mom's gift. I'd move that cloud out of the way. Or maybe I would just fly up, all the way to where you can barely breathe, and just soak in the sunlight.

Destiny swung her legs over the jagged edge, looking fearlessly down the cliff. I didn't know how she did it; heights were terrifying. That was pretty much the one thing I'd inherited from my mother- a fear of heights. "Don't fall," I warned.

"I'm not going to fall!" she protested.

"You never know…" a voice said ominously.

A hand suddenly pushed Destiny forward, at the last second grabbing her shirt and yanking her back. She shrieked. "Jimmy!"

Her brother grinned mischievously. "What's up, you two?" He sat down between us.

I did my very best to conceal my sudden burst of affection, but I didn't do well enough. Destiny gave me a weird look.

Curse her mind-reading powers.

Yeah, that's right- mind-reading powers.

Jimmy regarded the view. "It's nice out here. Oh, and Mum says to come back in. The Elvish ambassadors are visiting tomorrow, and apparently she wants you to find something to wear for the ball." Then he faced me. "That means your parents are coming too, doesn't it?"

I hoped my face didn't get too red. "Yeah, I can't wait."

"It's been boring without Aunt Caiti around," he said absently.

I nodded.

There was silence for a moment, then Destiny stood with a sigh. "Race you back?"

Jimmy popped up. "Sure, but you won't win."

"Oh really?"

With that, they rushed off in the general direction of the castle, shoving each other back and forth.

I slowly stood up and followed them.

A bird flew across my path, landing lightly on a branch overhead. It trilled a song and looked at me. A sweet, high melody came from behind me. I watched the bird bend its head forward in a bow before I turned around. "Aunt Courtney, aren't you supposed to be giving Kat her singing lessons?"

My aunt gave me a smile. "We've already finished. Your sister has a beautiful voice."

"Well, she's not really my sister…"

Aunt Courtney's slender hand rubbed my hair. "So?"

We walked back toward the castle.