The Halves of Us

by Sydney Paige Richardson

  Aura’s heart fell deeper into her chest. The people of Nitari were nothing like what she’d been told, and all of Thindoral should know.

  “I assure you, the past fault lies with the Ruler who felt the information needed to be covered up. I’m doing my part now to make things right. I hope you will understand and help us continue to fight Vadim if necessary,” Ambrielle said calmly, extending her hand.

  Toni extended his, returning the gesture.

  “It seems you’ve learned something as well while we were gone,” Gossamer said.

  Tell them what you’ve learned. Aura inhaled. But this is all your fault. You can’t tell them. She fought internally as Ambrielle motioned for everyone to join her at the table.

  Bokah waddled past Aura, pulling himself onto a chair and scooting it closer. The screeching sound echoed around the room. He quietly apologized as everyone sat.

  “Adie and Samuel found the hidden library which contained the missing journal that belonged to the Sandman’s father.”

  She found the hidden library! Aura’s pulse quickened. She sat up, listening intently as her mother continued to speak.

  “It spoke of an attack by Sights and of the Etoyoc who tried to warn us. I called on the Sandman—”

  The door to the Council Room opened, and in walked Adie with Samuel. Aura noticed them holding hands, and for once her heart didn’t ache. She stood.

  Adie broke away from Samuel and ran to Aura, her pale blue dress trailing behind her. “I’m so glad you’re back and safe,” she said, eyeing Felipe behind Aura as she embraced her.

  “I’m glad to be back, too,” Aura said, holding on tight to her sister. Zakar was lying. I’m not a curse. The comfort from her sister’s arms brought tears to her eyes.

  “What did you learn?” Adie asked.

  Aura looked around the room and back at her mother. Keep Zakar to yourself. You can take care of this on your own. “We were going to make our way to the border of Vadim and Nitari one morning, but we were chased by Sights. We do know that the western gate has been compromised, so our trip did have a purpose.”

  “It indeed had a purpose,” Ambrielle spoke strongly. “I’ve met with Toni, the Watcher of the Nitari, for the first time, and we both know of a past truth that was hidden. The Sandman confirmed that his father had witnessed an attack by Sights and an Etoyoc had been spoken to by one of the death-like creatures. This was hidden from our records and the people of Thindoral by a past Ruler. We’re just now starting to understand the gravity of the situation, and I feel another attack is imminent.”

  “What are they after?” Toni asked.

  Ambrielle placed her hand on her chest near the Rokis. “Power. Our source of power. For what use, we don’t know. But we’re sure power is what they are after.”

  You will beg me to take it from you. She still felt the intensity from Zakar’s stare as his voice bellowed around the room.

  “They?” Gossamer asked.

  “The Sights.” Ambrielle replied.

  “But the Sights are repelled by—”

  “We also thought they didn’t speak or kill.” Ambrielle interrupted Gossamer.

  He glared at her.

  The hairs on the back of Aura’s neck raised. I created you. A wave of dizziness returned, and she held on to the chair in front of her.

  “Aura, are you okay?” Ambrielle asked.

  “We had to run from the Sights. She passed out and is still recovering from the heat,” Felipe replied.

  “I will take her back to our chambers,” Adie said, moving Aura away from Felipe. She glared at him and, he stepped back.

  “I’ll escort them both,” Samuel said, stepping forward.

  Aura looked at them. “I’m fine. Just dealing with a few dizzy spells from the transport, that’s all.” She took Felipe’s hand and squeezed it.

  “Adie and Samuel, why don’t you take Aura back to her chambers and let her rest,” Ambrielle agreed.

  Felipe kept a hold on Aura’s hand and started to follow them out.

  “Felipe, I need you to stay. Because the current situation involves your region, I’m appointing you to the current Council temporarily, and I’ll be calling a meeting soon.”

  Felipe nodded before looking longingly back at Aura. He brought her close, hugging her, and whispered in her ear, “Tonight. I’ll come see you.”

  In that moment, she wanted to kiss him again. She wanted to fall in his arms and tell him everything. He will love me no matter what. He sees me.

  Adie tugged at Aura. “Come on!”

  Aura broke from his embrace, nodding at him to let him know she understood. As she followed Adie and Samuel down the hallway, she noticed Samuel trying to grab her sister’s hand. Adie gave him a look and pulled away.

  It’s okay. She gave Adie a smile, hoping she understood. “I can’t believe you found the secret library!” Aura linked arms with her sister and leaned against her, hoping another dizzy spell wouldn’t return as they headed toward their chambers. “After all those years of searching! Where was it?”

  “Not in a shelf like we presumed, but in the floor! A door appeared . . . and it’s a long story, but the Sandman is going to see if he can . . . fix what we did to it.”

  “Fix it?” Aura asked.

  “Let’s just say the owner of the library made it to where if someone tampered with the wrong area, well . . . the library would self-destruct,” Adie said.

  Aura waited for her to say more, but she remained silent until they entered Adie’s room. Adie retrieved a few books from the drawer on her bedside table, handing one to Aura.

  Her fingers traced the carving of delicate petals engraved from cherrywood. It can’t be. She dropped it on the floor.

  “Aura, you okay?” Adie asked.

  Her head spun. “No.” Aura said, slowly catching her breath. The intricate design of a blooming flower glared at her. What does it mean? Is the flower from Zakar? Why does it keep appearing? “I’m just feeling dizzy again. I need to lie down.” It wasn’t a complete lie. The dizziness had returned, so she didn’t feel as guilty.

  She walked toward the door leading into her room.

  Adie looked back at Samuel and motioned for him to stay behind.

  Aura sat on her own bed. The lush mattress called to her. She wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and have it all go away. Except Felipe. She remembered the way the silver light of the moons hit his eyes. The feeling of his lips against hers. The feeling of his body pressed against her . . . Her cheeks warmed as Adie sat next to her on the bed.

  She let her head fall onto Aura’s shoulder. “I was really worried about you.”

  “Why?”

  “I had a dream. A premonition. It was—”

  “I’m fine, Adie. I’m safe. It’s okay.” Did she dream about Zakar? Aura held her tongue. She would tell you if she did.

  “What happened at the Bay of Holdtra and when you visited Nitari?” Adie asked.

  The blank ashen faces of the Tribesmen returned to her memory. “Adie, the Tribesmen! When they returned to the bay, their faces where in shock. Their eyes seemed so lost . . . like they were unable to comprehend what they just witnessed.”

  “The Sight attack,” Adie whispered.

  “And the Etoyoc are genuinely nice beings. I don’t know why they have such a bad reputation. They were very kind to us. It might have been Felipe’s presence there, but—”

  “Don’t give any credit to Felipe,” Adie said, standing quickly.

  Why does she keep reacting that way to him? She furrowed her brow and glanced knowingly at Adie.

  Her sister sighed and went to the closet, gathering a sleeping gown for Aura to change into. “Okay, it’s not that I don’t care for him, it’s—”

  “I kissed him,” Aura blurted. “Well, he kissed me . . . we kissed each other.” She fidgeted with her hands, glancing at Adie as she came out from the closet. She couldn’t help but let a slight grin appear on her face.

  She
searched Adie’s expression for approval, but only saw fear. She was about to ask why, when the worry faded from her.

  Adie returned her grin as she placed the sleeping gown on the bed. “You kissed Felipe!?” She knelt next to Aura. “How was it?”

  Aura smirked. “Aren’t you going to tell me about you and Samuel?” she asked, looking at her sister knowingly.

  Adie nodded. They both giggled, and Adie returned to sitting on the bed next to her.

  “How did it happen?” Adie asked.

  Aura remembered them running down the path from the tower and her, in tears, falling to the ground after they ran through the gate. She felt Zakar’s hand on her cheek. She shook her head and shuddered.

  “Dizzy again?” Adie asked with concern.

  Aura nodded, and Adie stood from the bed.

  “This can wait. I’ll let you rest.” She returned to her room.

  Aura shuddered again, feeling a cold chill form around her. She quickly changed into the sleeping gown Adie had given her. One of her door latches creaked open, and the wind howled into the room from the balcony. She walked over to it and closed it, hooking the latch back. She saw dark clouds forming in the distance and smelled the storm rolling in.

  Returning to her bed, she buried herself deep in her covers, feeling the safety of home and the call of sleep. She focused on the kiss with Felipe, hoping to mask Zakar’s voice echoing in her head.

  “I will not bring you what you want,” she said aloud and went to sleep.

  25

  Adie

  A scream radiated into Adie’s ear, waking her from her sleep. The cry returned, and she leapt from her bed. Is this another nightmare? The shrill cry echoed again from her sister’s room.

  “Aura!” she shouted. Springing toward the door joining their rooms, she yanked it open and froze.

  There was Aura, immobilized and rising in the air. Her mouth remained open in a silent wail, and terror riddled her face. The whites of her eyes were replaced with black. The silver moonlight coming in through the window made her navy nightgown shimmer as it eerily drifted out around her.

  In front of her stood a Sight.

  She tried to move towards Aura to help her, but fear overtook her limbs. Adie remained motionless, and her gaze moved to the Sight that stood before her and her sister, towering over them. Its jet-black skin glinted as the moonlight highlighted its skeletal frame. It had Aura in a trance as its bony hand reached toward her. Her hair scattered around her head in a messy red halo.

  Helplessness overwhelmed her, locking her in place as she watched Aura suspended in the air, moving closer toward the Sight. Adie yelled as loud as she could.

  The door to the hallway flew open, and Samuel burst in. Their gaze met and Adie looked back to the Sight. Life moved slowly as Samuel froze in place. His hands fell stiff by his side, failing to reach for his sword. Please be a nightmare.

  Adie saw the fear on his face, and her heart broke as she looked back to Aura. I have to save her. She ran toward Samuel, trying to grab the sword from his side. Her hands trembled as the Sight shriek.

  Adie heard the banging on the balcony doors. The doors shuddered again, but the locks held. The sound of breaking glass brought Adie’s attention to the window next to the balcony door as Felipe crawled into Aura’s room.

  “Felipe!” Adie shouted.

  He fell to the floor, atop a pile of ragged-edged glass, cutting his arm on the broken pieces of the window. Blood left a slight trail on the marble floor behind him as he ran toward Aura, putting himself between her and the Sight.

  “No!” Adie screamed as the Sight’s hand moved forward and caught Felipe on his shoulder.

  Her stomach dropped the moment Aura fell away from the trance of the dark creature. Aura gasped for air as she fell backwards, looking up at Felipe. Her eyes grew wide as she screamed, and crawled toward him. The color drained from Felipe’s skin as Aura tried to run and tackle him from the grip of the Sight.

  Samuel ran past Adie, sword in hand, aiming for the back of the black figure.

  “Felipe!” Aura shouted as the life fell away from his eyes.

  His mouth moved slowly, but his voice wasn’t audible. As Aura got closer, Felipe’s body burst into ash around her. A shriek followed from the Sight as it exploded into gray dust and fell to the floor.

  Aura fell to her knees in the ash. A guttural moan came forth as she lay in the grayness that was once Felipe. She looked at Samuel, still with his sword drawn where the Sight once stood.

  Samuel’s grip on the handle of his blade tightened, his knuckles turning white. His chest rose as he took in deep breaths, gazing at the ash.

  Adie ran over to her sister. Aura’s bottom lip quivered, and her brow furrowed as confusion set in.

  “Felipe, Felipe!” Aura cried as she grabbed at the ash. Her hands trembled as the dust fell away from her and back to the floor.

  Backing away from the ash, she pulled at her clothes as dusty clouds escaped from them. Aura’s eyes grew large, and she brought her hand to her chest. She swallowed hard as though to keep from throwing up. Her fists clenched as she gritted her teeth. She attempted to stand, her body shaking, and faced Samuel.

  “You! Look what you’ve done!” Her chest heaved as she wept, but she ran forward, throwing her fists at his shoulders. The tears spilled from her eyes, creating clean streaks down her face, removing the ash.

  Adie pulled Aura off of Samuel as she shouted, “You could’ve saved me! You could’ve saved him! Why didn’t you do anything!?” Aura continued to shout through sobs.

  Adie strained to pull Aura back as her body went heavy and she fell to the floor, letting a cry of agony fill the room.

  “Aura, shhh.” Adie tried to console her, but tears burned her eyes. Felipe is gone. He tried to save her. She looked at Samuel. Why did you freeze? She held the question back and focused on calming Aura.

  Gossamer came running into the room with a few Guards behind him. They quickly stopped. A cloud of ash filled the middle of the room as Adie held Aura on the floor, stroking her hair and trying to calm her.

  Samuel stood tall, chest rising, taking in gulps of air as he turned to Gossamer. “A Sight. It had Aura. Felipe. Felipe tried to save her, but the Sight . . . and . . .” Samuel’s voice trailed off and he looked at his sword.

  Gossamer walked quickly up to him and put his hand on Samuel’s shoulder, taking the sword. He turned to the Guards behind him. “You, take Samuel to the Council Room and wake Ambrielle. Bring her there immediately. Rouse all the Guards and have them leave no room unsearched. You two, help me with Adie and Aura.”

  The Guards nodded.

  Samuel staggered out of the room. Confusion written across his face. Adie heard him heave out in the hallway, and his skin paled. He glanced back in the room as he made his way to the Council Room, guilt swimming in his eyes.

  Gossamer turned his attention to the bed where Adie sat with Aura curled up in her lap. Her wailing had ceased, and she stared blankly at the corner of the room. Her tears had dried to her face, but she still trembled.

  She whispered, “Vow now, sayeth aye.”

  “What?” Gossamer asked.

  A chill ran through Adie as Aura repeated the words.

  “Vow now, sayeth aye.” Aura repeated, sitting up in bed. “Aye!” she shouted, standing quickly to her feet. “Do you hear me? Aye! Bring him back! Now bring him back! I said aye!” She ran around the room, stopping to look at the ash on the floor.

  Adie stood from her place on the bed, reaching out to touch her sister.

  “No!” Aura shouted, looking at her and hugging herself tightly. “He could’ve saved him. He could’ve saved us both! And you know it. He froze! He could’ve saved us both.” Aura stumbled across the floor, heading for the door, shouting as she went. “He could’ve saved us both.” She turned to Adie. Her eyelids growing heavy as she swayed.

  Adie ran to her side as she fell to the ground, unconscious.

  Adie wa
lked through the halls in a daze, her bare feet shuffling on the floor.

  “Adie!” her mother called as she reached the Council Room doors. Her white satin nightgown peeked through her plush navy robe. “What is it?” she asked. Her emerald eyes filled with worry. “The Guards woke me and said there was an attack on the Dome.” She brought her hand to the Rokis on her chest, glowing softly.

  They entered the Council Room. Adie searched for words but could only look to Gossamer as he leaned heavily against a chair. Sorrow etched through his eyes as they shifted colors. Samuel remained still and quiet.

  “Where’s Aura?” Ambrielle asked. Silence filled the room. “Will someone speak to me? Where is my other daughter?”

  “Aura is in medical,” Adie whispered. It was all she could muster. She focused on keeping her expression calm and blinked back the tears. We almost lost her. I almost lost her.

  “What happened? Is she okay?” Ambrielle asked, panic in her voice.

  “There was a Sight,” Gossamer chimed in.

  “At the Dome? But we have Guards . . .” Ambrielle said, pausing and looking at the ash collected on Samuel. She glanced at the ash on the bottom of Adie’s dress. “Ash,” she said quietly.

  “Felipe,” Adie said, keeping her voice strong. “He put himself in front of . . .” Adie’s voice cracked, and she swallowed hard. “Felipe saved her.” A tear fell down her cheek as she looked at her mother.

  Ambrielle turned to Samuel. “And you?” she asked. “Are you hurt?”

  Gossamer stepped over to Ambrielle. “Samuel killed the Sight.”

  Samuel stood quickly, his chair screeching on the floor. “I tried to . . .”

  His voice trailed off, and Adie wondered what he was feeling. Maybe the memory of his father being killed by a Sight is what made him freeze? She searched his eyes, but they were cold and hard.

  Ambrielle turned to look at Gossamer. “So, Aura?”

  “She’s safe,” Adie responded, walking toward her mother. “She fainted.”

  “How did this happen? What did the Sight want?”