Natural Selection by Elizabeth Sharp Read Free Book Online

another word. He
pulled into to driveway and climbed out of the car. Without looking
back, he grabbed his bag out of the backseat and went into the
house. I followed, my feet dragging. Sariah wasn’t home, but I knew
she had detention for her incident on the quad. I tossed my bag on
the steps as usual and followed Xander into the kitchen.
    “ Are you mad at
me?”
    “ What?” he gasped, looking
shocked “No! Why would I be mad at you?”
    “ Then why aren’t you
talking to me?”
    “ What do you say when
someone announces ‘Oh, by the way, I know the secret you’ve been
hiding all these years’ as calm as can be?”
    “ I didn’t mean it that way,
but is there really a good way to broach the subject? For goodness
sake, I feel like I’m on the receiving end of the Holy Hand Grenade
of Antioch, and you’re the one getting huffy?”
    Xander snickered and shook his head.
“Monty Python couldn’t have said it better. Do you have any
questions for me?” he asked, his too-bright-blue eyes studying
me.
    “ Do you remember anything
before coming to live with us?”
    He nodded. “I was only two, but djinn
and succubi mature fast. A full-blooded djinn matures by the time
he’s three. Since I’m more human it was slower, but I have memories
as early as six months.”
    “ What was it like knowing
what you could do? Did you know it wasn’t normal?”
    I knew that was the wrong question as
I watched my brother’s face shut down. He was silent, and I could
see an internal struggle in his eyes. Just when I thought he wasn’t
going to talk to me anymore, he looked down at his hands resting on
the counter top. “I knew it scared the hell out of people, but I
didn’t understand why. Mom taught me about it later, but at the
time, I was so hurt and confused.”
    I opened my mouth to ask a question
but stopped. I tried again and the words stuck in my throat, too
heavy with insecurity to make it out of my mouth. “Do you remember
your birth mother?” I asked tentatively.
    “ You’re really going for
the tough ones, Lia.” His voice was little more than a whisper.
“Yes, I remember her a little, but not much. Mostly, I remember how
scared of me she was.”
    I felt so sad for him. Xander had
always been the greatest brother growing up, and I couldn’t imagine
somebody being afraid of him. Even knowing about his mysterious
powers, I wasn’t scared of him. He was my brother—that hadn’t
changed. “I’m sorry, Xander, but her loss is our gain. I know, I
know, no mushy chick flicks, but just for a sec, I promise.” And
with that I walked around the counter and threw my arms around my
brother. What shocked me the most was how hard he hugged back, like
he'd been waiting for me to reject him. “Xander, you do know this
doesn’t change anything, right? I’m not going to run away. You’re
stuck with me, so deal with it.”
    His entire attitude changed. It simply
hadn’t occurred to me he was gearing himself up for rejection, and
that realization made me sad. How could he have expected me to
reject him for not being normal when none of us were? For the first
time in my life, I really looked at my brother. Xander had never
been good at making friends. In fact, I can’t say I’d ever seen him
with any—other than Nathanial. I felt guilty for making things so
awkward for him over the years. It occurred to me though my parents
had explained about my brother and sister, I still knew very little
about myself. I was so frustrated and confused. I wanted someone to
tell me something—anything! I opened my mouth to ask Xander, but
he’d always read me like a book. I could tell by the stony
expression on his face what the answer would be without saying a
word, so I remained silent.
    “ Sorry, Lia. I can’t help
you. Mom made us promise not to tell, and until she releases me
from it, my lips are sealed.”
    I nodded, trying not to let my
disappointment show, but it made me a little sad. My brother and I
were moving into