Wicked As You Wish (A Hundred Names for Magic #1) - Rin Chupeco Page 0,18
was life in Avalon like?” Tala found herself asking. She was only a baby when her parents had left and remembered nothing before Invierno. Her parents had always been reluctant to talk about the past, as had Lola Urduja and the others. It hadn’t seemed right to push, when it was obvious that past had been a painful one.
Her mother smiled. “Happy. King Ivan was a good man, as was Queen Marya. Avalon was like a second motherland to me. And Alex was quite the adorable child.”
“And you were both soldiers there? Bandersnatchers?”
“Aye, I was a soldier,” her father said. “Special forces, of a sort. Yer lola Urduja and her team functioned in a more official capacity for the Avalonian king. And yer mother was the Bander.”
“It wasn’t as prestigious as it sounds,” her mother demurred. “We used to call it the rich boys’ club, because most were sons of some titled nobles. That isn’t to say they weren’t talented—they were the best magic-users of their generation—but most came from privileged backgrounds.”
“What happened when the frost came?”
“Your lola Urduja was the hero of the day,” her father said. “They were too late for Ivan and Marya, but it was she and the Cheshire who smuggled Alex out before the ice cut off all escape. Yer mum and me, our first priority was you. They came up with the plans tae move him from place to place, secret him away with loyal supporters tae keep him from ever being found. The Makiling curse helped yer mum avoid detection. Still does. And me…” He paused. “I…looked very different, then. Doubt anyone would recognize me now.”
“Do you think we’ll ever go back there one day?”
Her mother’s gaze moved to her father’s. “I hope so. We’ll know soon enough.”
“But not to the Philippines?” she asked.
She wasn’t expecting the sorrow that clouded her mother’s face at the words, but it was her father who moved, seating himself on the other side of the bed. “Had a falling-out with yer mum’s side many years ago,” he said quietly. “Didn’t approve of me.”
Anger flared through her. Because he was so much older than her mother? Because he wasn’t Filipino? “Because you’re not one of them? That’s ridiculous!”
Her father paused, his turn to look uncertain. He opened his mouth.
“Yes.” Her mother’s voice was sharp, cutting him off before he could speak. “Invierno doesn’t have the monopoly on bigotry, Tala. Cutting off ties was a decision I made, and a decision I stand by. I’ve never looked back since.”
“Lumina,” her father began.
Her mother shook a finger at him. “Your father’s been harboring that particular guilt all these years. I’ve never regretted my choice. The two of you are all I need. But, Tala, if you’d like to go to the Philippines once everything’s settled down, we’ll take you. You deserve to know where you come from, know more about the people who’ve come before you.” She smiled. “Your birth helped ease much of their hostility, you know. They’ll welcome you with open arms.”
Tala looked down at the beautiful dress. She fingered the bright shells, exploring the way they felt against her skin. “Won’t I seem too different?” It didn’t sound like her mother’s people were amenable to change.
Her mother softened. “Oh, honey. Just because you’ve never been to the Philippines doesn’t mean their rivers don’t course through your blood. It doesn’t mean you don’t have their mountains in your eyes. It’s not where we are, it’s who we are. You’ll always be both a Makiling and a Warnock, and always a Filipina. Never forget that.”
“I won’t.” That felt good to know.
“Yer mum’s people have a saying,” her father said quietly. “About there being a hundred names for magic in the Tagalog language. A bit like that old song about native Alaskans having fifty words for snow. Every culture gets to make that claim, but it’s particularly true with Filipinos, I think.”
“Like agimat?” Tala’s Tagalog needed some brushing up, but that’s what they’ve always called their Makiling curse.
“Aye. And kulam, and anting-anting, and some others you don’t expect. Harana, tadhana. Yer mother would know more than me. What I mean is, you’ve got magic in your blood, love. You can’t take it out of you any more than you can will yourself to stop breathing. Y’got a whole language of charms. You’re beautiful spells, you and your mother.”
Her mother rolled her eyes. “Your father’s laying it on thick tonight.”
He grinned suddenly, leaning over to give her a swift, fierce kiss.