(Amaia)

"Amaia!" My mother’s soft voice comes from somewhere afar.

"Mom!" I cry out, and before I know it, my feet are carrying me in the direction of her voice.

But I get stuck, like wading through a quagmire, the more I struggle, the more my body and legs ache, pulling me down.

A white misty fog seems to have descended all around, making my vision blurry.

"Amaia!" Her urgent voice comes again and I lift my head. Through the fog, I see her standing a few feet away, almost hovering in the air in a translucent gown.

A horrified shriek leaves me. Her head is twisted to the side. Those beautiful silverish-golden hair is matted with blood. The skin peels off her face, revealing the flesh and veins underneath. I shake my head, closing my eyes, trying to push away the nightmarish image from my brain.

’Amaia! It’s not real...’ A male voice comes, soothing and reassuring, but I can’t figure out who it is.

My eyes open and my mother has moved closer to me, just a foot away. Her hand extends forward, two of her fingers missing, and the blood seeps out of the open wounds.

Drip!

Drip!

Horrified, I stare, unable to pull myself together. The pain in my heart intensifies, and the back of my eyes burns from the accumulating tears.

"Mom... Oh! Mom."

"I can return to you, my lovely daughter. You just need to do one thing," she sweetly says as one of her eyes pops out of her socket.

I struggle, pushing my body forward, and suddenly the quagmire disappears, and I find myself standing on the solid ground again, facing my mother.

A dagger appears in my hand. The cold hilt presses into my skin as I hold it. The silver blade glistens.

"Kill your mates and you can have me back," she sweetly says and points behind herself with a tilt of her head.

My eyes follow her.

I see the long, blurry shadows mingling with the mist. The shades of red, silver and black are prominent, which indicate their hair, but I can’t figure out how many there are.

Three?

Four?

Five?

Six?

"Kill them all. Get rid of them. They are going to do nothing but hurt you," she repeats and I stare at the blade in my hand. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

My heart constricts from the searing pain as if the very blade has been pierced into it. But the clarity comes with it.

No, my mother would never say something like that to me. This is the illusion, this is why I am trapped. It’s playing with my emotions, seeing how I am going to act.

’She is the illusion,’ the same male voice echoes all around me.

My grip tightens against the blade, raising it I plunge it deep into the heart of this grotesque creature.

She screams, her body spasms and then dissolves into a red smoke before disappearing.

The illusion shatters and is replaced by a man with silver hair. He smiles at me, warmly, wholeheartedly. The emerald shaded eyes of his hold love and adoration.

An angelic light brighter than anything I have ever witnessed has him surrounded, making him glow like an unearthly being.

My body trembles with curiosity about who he is and why he appears so familiar.

"Amaia! I am so proud of you for making the right choice."

"Who are you?" I ask. Reaching for him, wanting to touch his face. But he slowly disappears, amidst the fog and my hand just passes through nothing.

I know who he is though. Or who he would have been...

"Noooo, wait!!" I outstretch my hand, wishing to have just one more moment with him.

I am propelled backwards again and lose myself in a darkness before someone grabs me in his strong arms.

"Amaia!" My eyes open. Alnitak is holding me. I focus my gaze on him. Worries shadow his face as he watches me like a madman.

But my head has only one thought. Wriggling out of his hold, I sharply turn towards Saiph.

"Send me back," I demand, pushing away from Alnitak.

"No!" Saiph flatly says. "You are done for the day. You were able to fight the illusion and escape." Frantically I move towards him, disillusioned and hysterical. Lifting my head up I stand in front of him and rave.

"You don’t understand. I need to go back. I need to..."

Saiph stares down at me, unperturbed and unmoved.

"I understand more than you think, Miss Zhāng. And when I say you are done, you are done."

"Just a few more minutes... please." I almost beg him. Desperation clings to every fibre of my being.

"Do you know how long you were under the illusion?" He calmly asks, but the hints of concern line his icy blue eyes. I shake my head, tears stab the back of my eyes.

"27 seconds...you will lose your mind if you stay under my illusion for minutes," he explains.

"I don’t care. I need to go back," I defiantly tell him like a stupid girl throwing a tantrum. But I can’t help myself, my heart is in shambles.

"NO!" He says so authoritatively that my heart trembles and I flinch away. "I do."

His eyes drift to Alnitak who is standing just behind me.

"Take her outside," he orders. Alnitak steps forward and wraps his arm around my shoulder, providing me with his assurance.

"Come with me," he says, concernedly. I throw a contemptuous look at Saiph before letting Alnitak take me away.

Murmurs and stares follow us as we walk past our badge mates. Kacir and Mintaka wear worried looks while Alnitak gently guides me out.

The suffocation, the tension, the dreary atmosphere lessens when we step out into the September sun that beats down at us.

He guides me towards the gardens, not speaking, letting me collect my thoughts and quietly sits me down on one of the wooden benches painted blue.

Alnitak perches himself beside me and takes my trembling hand in his. He

faces me.

"Saiph’s powers are brutal; they mess with one’s brain. It’s alright if you are feeling overwhelmed, Amaia."

But I just shake my head at him. Everything is clear to me now. What I saw and what it meant. I couldn’t see the shadows clearly but I know I saw black hair too. That means Rigel is my mate.

And the eternal light in my heart, my first male protector, that was any brother, Aziel.

"No, it’s not about that. I think I saw my brother, or how he would have been if he were alive. He is the light in my heart, Ali. He is the one who guided me," I blurt out with my body still shaking from the experience.