Lena Matthews

"Does sunlight hurt?" I asked, opening the blinds. I turned around to face Carter, who wasn't responding.

"It's not that bad," said Carter.

"Cool." I said, shutting the blinds automatically. "Should we go downstairs?"

Jessica had bought me a green dress and a scarf, but I ended up taking the scarf off after a few minutes. It was way too itchy. I didn't understand how Mom was able to wear one all the time. Paranoia was a powerful motivator.

I also managed to sit still long enough for Jessica to braid my red hair neatly over my right shoulder. The entire time, I had stared at my reflection calmly. For the first time since learning about the Forbidden, I felt safe.

Staying inside the Reynolds house felt like being inside a bubble. The world seemed to end at the front door, with my family felt thousands of miles away, not a few minutes.

I had undergone a million tiny revelations in the span of a few hours. As I walked down the stairs, I already felt exhausted. But today was important, and I couldn't let my guard slip for a second. This was my trial, and I was about to fight like my life depended on it. Because it probably did.

I caught a glimpse of Rosie's photo by the mantle. It felt like she was staring into my soul from her tiny frame of existence. Rosie was always staring at me in this house, telling me that I was an imposter. Whenever I caught Rosie's eye, I had to remind myself that her old photos weren't some twisted mirror.

"Okay, I think I figured it out," said Jessica from the kitchen. She was staring at her laptop screen with an intense focus. Over her navy blazer and skirt, she had on an apron that felt very out of place. As I got closer, I realized that she was busy working on chocolate chip pancakes.

"Do you need help?" I asked.

"I said I figured out." Jessica promised, heating up a pan. "I just haven't cooked in a while. This kitchen is here for decorational purposes."

Jessica used a ladle to pour batter over the pan, and watched it carefully. From the way she was glaring at the pancake, it looked like she was plotting some kind of revenge against it. She grabbed her spatula and attempted to flip the pancake, but only ended up folding it in half. Jessica's eyes flashed a bright red as she stared at the pan angrily.

"Let me do it." I volunteered.

"That would be great, Ivy." said Jessica, relieved. "I actually need to do something. Carter, can you drill her on the case?"

I turned my focus to the large bowl of pancake batter and adjusted the heat on the natural gas stove. For some reason, I put my hand over the flame to check for heat, but couldn't really feel anything. My palm briefly brushed over the fire before I took it away and set the pan down.

"Did you just touch the fire?" Carter asked.

"No." I answered, pouring a pancake.

"You're lying." Carter pointed out. "Is there a weird fire thing with your family? Because I didn't ask about your sister last time, and-"

"If I tell you, do you promise to keep it a secret?" I asked.

"I'm sure my secret's a lot worse." Carter reasoned.

"I'm Forbidden." I said.

"What?" Carter exclaimed incredulously. He ran around the counter to stand next to me. His speed created a small tornado in the kitchen, and I had to hold onto my glasses to make sure they didn't fall. Carter's eyes were alight with excitement at the prospect of gossip.

"Just a quarter. My grandmother was a fire... thing." I explained. I knew that the word was Ifrit, but I didn't like saying the word aloud.

"So did you know about that before or after I saved your life?" Carter asked.

"Jessica was there too." I deflected.

"Answer the question!" Carter exclaimed.

"Before..." I admitted. "But I wasn't aware that there were others!" I added. That was the truth, or at least close enough. Carter didn't seem to notice.

"This..." Carter paused, the excitement draining from his face. "Blows a giant hole in the case." He backed away from me slowly, and walked back behind the counter. He sat down in a chair for a fraction of a second before getting up and pacing around the living room.

"If anything, it's an advantage, right?" I asked.

"No, you're either Forbidden or you're not. If there's anything the Forbidden Court hates, it's gray area. There's a couple of exceptions, but still. We'd have to put your entire family on trial, and-"

"We just won't tell them." I said. "It's a secret, remember?"

"Yeah, but that could get complicated," said Carter. "There are a lot of Forbidden with an aptitude for finding lies."

"I'm going to try and not think about that." I said. I flipped the pancake, only to find it extremely burned.

I tossed the charred pancake into the trash and poured a new one, determined to get it right this time. "Look, nothing has to change." I explained to Carter. "I'll go through the trial the same way Jessica prepared me to do it."

"Yeah, because she always knows best," said Carter sarcastically.

"Are you still mad at her about Rowan?" I asked.

"I shouldn't be, but I am," said Carter. "The philosophy that Jessica had was really different when I first met her. If she had had her breakthrough earlier, I wouldn't be like this."

I nodded, trying to process Carter's words as I flipped the pancake. It was a perfect golden brown this time. I smiled in satisfaction at my tiny achievement.

By the time I had finished with the pancakes, Carter and I had reviewed every detail of the case, and had agreed to keep my Forbidden heritage a secret. Jessica came downstairs to meet us a few minutes later, and we all piled in her car to get to Atalka Academy, which was where I was going to have my trial. Stepping outside felt weird, like I was exiting my own little illusion. I was finally going to face the consequences of knowing too much.

No one said anything in the car. I couldn't ignore my nerves, especially since I still had no idea what was going to happen to me if this didn't go right. The Atalka Academy parking lot was pretty small, and we pulled into the last spot available. With a shaking hand, I opened the car door and stepped outside.

The moment my feet met the concrete, I felt dizzy. Jessica had to support me as I walked to the front of the Academy. Several people were milling around outside, and a few white tents along with a million folding chairs had been set up. This felt more like a casual wedding than a life or death situation.

As we approached, the entire congregation fell silent. I was finally feeling grounded enough to walk on my own two feet, and headed into the center of the crowd on my own. I could feel every pair of eyes judging me, and everyone parted for me as I walked.

"You?" someone asked incredulously.

"Taylor?" I asked, realizing who was speaking. Our words shattered the weird spell of silence, and everyone went about their business again. Taylor walked towards me, surprise still on her face. I could almost see a smile.

"I can't believe it." said Taylor, hugging me. I stiffened immediately. Hugging was not something I was aware that Taylor could do. Her personality had changed completely now that Jane-Anne was nowhere to be seen. "What happened?" She asked.

"Ms. Armani." said someone sternly. "You're not meant to ask. You know the rules." It was Mrs. Delaney, Aurelie's teacher.

"Wow." I muttered to myself. I felt like an idiot. There were about fifty people that had gathered so far, and I felt like I had seen most of them already. Each of them had probably walked past me at some point, and I had been completely oblivious.

"Iris! Don't push your brother!" Mrs. Delaney called, her voice directed towards a young blonde girl who was giggling as she watched her brother brush the dirt and grass off of his clothes. Without warning, he started to chase Iris across the field, the two of them shrieking in delight. Wherever their bare feet touched the grass, it turned a more vibrant shade of green, and a couple of white flowers appeared.

"So, they're..."

"They're half." Mrs. Delaney filled in for me.

Half. Like my dad. "They seem... nice." I said, unsure of what else I was supposed to say.

"I know what I signed up for," said Mrs. Delaney.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, everyone else tends to get... irritated about my personal decisions. " Mrs. Delaney explained. "I guess you haven't heard what the others like to say."

"Not really." I admitted. "What do they say?"

"That I was rash, that I'll regret it, things like that." said Mrs. Delaney.

"Why would they say that?" I asked. That logic didn't make sense. Mrs. Delaney seemed like a responsible adult. There was no reason in my mind that she shouldn't be a parent. She was a teacher, after all.

"They're going to grow up." Mrs. Delaney explained. "My husband is going to grow up too. Some Forbidden have affairs, but they go soon after. It's hard to know that I'm going to live without them someday. But it's worth it. That's what they don't understand."

Just like that, I had to remember that Mrs. Delaney could be centuries old for all I knew. Like everyone else here, she was destined to outlive every human relationship. I watched as Iris's brother chased his sister around the gathering, almost bumping into a few of the guests. Iris continued to elude her brother, but he took matters into his own hands. He raised his arms and shut his eyes. The grass around Iris's feet suddenly lengthened and wrapped around her feet.

"Hey!" Iris exclaimed as she tumbled to the ground.

"Jasper Arlow Delaney!" Mrs. Delaney scolded, her mom voice in full force.

"Looks like you need to control your kids." said Makaya, approaching the conversation. Her demeanor was more serious than usual, and she had her arms crossed defiantly.

"Makaya," said Mrs. Delaney, stiffening. "I can handle my children, thank you. All due respect, but you aren't a mother."

For a moment, Makaya's perfect charm faltered, but she quickly collected herself. "We need to talk, Flora."

"I don't have anything to say to you," said Mrs. Delaney. "I need to check on my kids."

"It'll just take a moment. Come." said Makaya in a lilting, gentle tone.

"Did you just try to influence me?" Mrs. Delaney asked. "I can handle some siren tricks. You'll have to try harder than that."

"Okay." said Makaya nonchalantly. "Iris! Jasper!" Iris and Jasper trotted to Makaya obediently. Now that I saw them up close, they looked otherworldly, with platinum blonde hair and their mother's green eyes.

"Iris, Jasper, I'm going to need you two to stop running around." Makaya lowered herself to the kid's eye level. "This is a serious event, and you're on thin ice among these people. They're making a special exemption to let you stay here. If it wasn't for the Kazama kid, you wouldn't be here at all. I'm a special exemption too, so I know how hard it is." Makaya stood back up. "Now Jasper, apologize to your sister."

"I'm sorry." said Jasper immediately.

"Good." said Makaya. "Run along now. Just don't actually run." Makaya winked as the kids walked away.

"That wasn't necessary." Mrs. Delaney scoffed.

Makaya shrugged. "I took care of your kids. Now let's talk."

Mrs. Delaney didn't seem happy about it, but she followed Makaya to the fringe of the gathering to discuss something. Nearby, there was a small group of Forbidden standing awkwardly, like outcasts.

"Who are they?" I asked, turning to Taylor.

"The suspects," said Taylor. "They're under surveillance by everyone else. All of them have an affinity for the cold, so there's a chance that they did something to someone within the gate. That breaks the rules. And Atalka loves its rules." Taylor's tone sounded bitter.

"So where's the Court?" I asked.

"There." said Taylor, pointing. Before all of the folding chairs, a stage had been set up with a podium in the middle. To the side, seven people were sitting rather stiffly, whispering to one another. Mrs. Delaney, looking heated from her conversation with Makaya, joined them. One of the chairs was noticeably empty.

"Who's missing?" I asked, staring at the vacant chair.

"One of the justices is on probation for not doing her job correctly, so we're going to have to nominate someone else soon." Taylor nudged her head in Makaya's direction. "I don't get how she got Pearce in her pocket, but she did. If anyone else had let the situation spiral this far out of control, they'd be gone."

"So, I'm the situation." I said.

"Obviously," said Taylor.

"What about you?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" Taylor asked.

"What are you?" I clarified.

"That's considered a rude question by a lot of us." Taylor warned. "Be careful who you ask that to."

"I didn't know." I apologized. "Um, is your family here?" I asked, switching subjects. 

"My dad can't come to these meetings. He's human." Taylor explained. "It's a shame really, these gatherings are always interesting."

"They can't be that interesting." I said, laughing nervously. "Right?"

"We'll see," said Taylor, shrugging. "Good luck, Ivy Scott. You aren't that bad, so I'd hate to see you lose this."

"What happens if they don't rule in my favor?" I asked, staring at the Court.

"One of the justices will kill you." Taylor explained. "Then, there are two possible outcomes. One: you die, and that's that, or two: you become one of us. Then our secret becomes yours too. Mutually assured destruction."

The microphone on the podium squeaked loudly as Mrs. Pearce picked it up. "Okay everyone, thank you for coming. We are going to be starting the trial of Ivy Scott in a few moments. Please take your seats."

A/N: So I have some bittersweet news. We're almost halfway through The Gate. I started this book in late August, and I'm so grateful that there are people out there willing to give this a chance. But also, I have some good news! I tested negative!

QOTD: Why do you think Taylor is acting different?