was precisely the reason that she didn’t like to be near him. The chatar knew too much and he seemed to enjoy it when Colm and Linc learned something she’d rather remain hidden. She didn’t know why he didn’t come right out and tell them if he was so determined they know her secrets.
“And? I thought it was your job to guide them? If you wanted to do it, you could have guided them to my secrets long ago.” She folded her arms across her chest and glared at him. “Did you need me to help you search through those books or not?”
“What do you know of your ancestors?” The chatar sat down in a chair and seemed prepared to ignore her question.
“I know a bit about the people on my mother’s side. They were human. As for my father’s ancestors, I wasn’t told much. My mother never talked about them. If she knew anything about them, and I suspect she and my brothers did know something, she never said anything. At least they knew something about why we had to leave so suddenly, but that’s also something that they never told me.” She shrugged.
“The reason you had to leave would be because of who your ancestors were and the power they held. The same power runs in your brothers and you. The magic from the crystal is still in you, but I’m not so sure that it simply didn’t tap into your latent talent.” The chatar gestured to the chair across from him.
She took a seat. Although she wasn’t really in the mood for any more of his remarks, she stayed. The lure of finding out what drove her family so far away from everything they knew kept her in the room. He might say something that would make her furious, but she’d wanted answers to these questions for years.
“What do you mean the power runs through my brothers and me? As far as I know, they weren’t extraordinarily powerful.” She frowned and folded her arms on the table.
“They hid their power level. It’s probably also the reason you weren’t trained when you finally settled. They had no one they could trust to do it. If anyone noticed the level of power, it could lead their enemies straight to you.” He lifted some of the books and put them into stacks on the table.
It was weird to be hearing about this from a man who didn’t know any of her family. He seemed very confident, and somehow, she didn’t doubt he was right. It explained why she hadn’t learned magic and why her mother had never talked about her father when she was young. It didn’t explain why her mother hadn’t said anything when she was older. There had to come a point where her mother knew she wouldn’t simply blurt out the truth and risk the safety of everyone involved.
“Why were we hunted? I didn’t see it that way when I was younger, but I realize that that’s why we moved twice before finally settling at Scali Thent. There was someone after us and they had to be sure that no one was following. What was so bad about my ancestors and the power they held? Did they misuse it?” She shook her head and rubbed at her temples.
“They didn’t misuse it. They were merely powerful. Some were Ardin and some very talented chatar. I suspect your family was hunted because of the prophecy. It has nothing to do with you specifically. It was your brothers that they most wanted out of the way, but I’m sure they didn’t want you living either, since your children would be just as powerful.” He leaned forward and his palms flattened to the table.
“But why? So they would be powerful. There are many powerful lines among us. Usually they don’t get hunted down.” She narrowed her eyes on him. They also wouldn’t be the first Santir to be part of some prophecy.
“No, normally high power doesn’t lead to someone being hunted down. I can’t tell you the why. That’s something that your brothers will discover. I pieced a lot of what I know together from the texts,” he said and gave her a regretful look.
“Then how do you know my family is even linked to this line of people?” She sighed and looked up at the ceiling.
“Because when I found the reference to that family line and the glowing eyes, I did get a flash of you. I know it’s hard