(Amaia)

My heart didn’t rest for a second but suddenly it grew utterly restless. The bond I shared with Alnilam, begins to buzz with extreme anger and sorrow.

His guilt follows, and then just pure grief as if he were in mourning. Even the bracelet of his hair on my wrist is restless, it keeps going around in circles, not resting for a second.

"Something is very wrong." Picking up my head from Mintaka’s shoulder, I say. "We have to go to Alnilam. Please."

Mintaka shares a troubled glance with Alnitak.

"We can’t. He told us to keep you here, no matter what."

But my heart wouldn’t rest, the agitation rises, until I can’t breathe. Getting up from his lap I begin to pace, clutching my chest.

Alnitak stands up too. "Let me mindlink with Alnilam, he will be out of range though. But I sense something off about him too."

I have already tried that but got nothing, only static from his side. Alnitak tries but gets the same result.

Alnitak steps closer and holds me to his chest, letting my ear rest near his heart. He helps me find a semblance of peace.

But it’s not only Alnilam, Saiph is also going through a mix of emotions. Usually, the bond between him and me is the quietest because he masks his emotions. Not today. Maybe it’s the effect of the battle that they are experiencing so many sentiments.

There is a knock on the other side, so Mintaka opens the partition. In walks Rigel with concerns making his face rigid.

"What’s wrong?" He questions, his eyes dipping to find my bound hands. "Why is she bound like that?" Rage is apparent in his eyes like a storm ready to devour everyone involved.

Alnitak explains everything with a sigh while Rigel listens, his hand reaching out to pull me near him.

"He can’t bind her like that. What is she, a prisoner?" He blazes, not caring in the least that Alnilam’s life must be in danger or that something has happened to him.

I understand why someone in handcuffs and chains unsettles him.

"I want these removed and have to see Alnilam. I am extremely worried about him." My chest has constricted so tightly that I am having difficulty breathing. Rigel understands and feels my words.

"Where are the keys?" He demands, staring at the twins.

"They are with Alnilam." Mintaka comes to stand by us.

"She is so agitated. I woke up sensing her misery through the bond. And even your brother, something has happened." I am not sure how Rigel senses Alnilam but there has to be an explanation.

"I will take you once we get these cuffs off." Rigel turns and gently holds my shoulders. I nod.

We are still on it when the door opens and Saiph’s presence fills the place. All of us turn to watch him and my heart is smothered by despair.

That’s not a look of relief, that’s a look of hellish news and I don’t think I am ready.

His usually calm face is stone-hard with misery. The emotions he usually hides are bare for all of us to witness. His big shoulders are drooped so low as if the weight of the universe has been dropped on him.

Several bruises, like cuts from a knife or a sword, cover his face and forehead. The blood has clotted and coagulated.

"What happened?"

"Where is Alnilam?"

Twins shower him with questions.

I am the first one to move and place both my hands on his rigid chest. "What’s wrong? Are you alright?" He is extremely tense.

Others watch him with questioning eyes, the bonds buzz between us with despair and anticipation.

Saiph extracts a key from his pocket and unlocks my cuffs, throwing them on the table. He then holds me to himself and lets his chest deflate.

"Say something, please. You are scaring me," I plead with him, trying not to tremble from the weight of these combined emotions.

We pull apart and he holds me by the shoulders.

His pained eyes shift from me to the twins.

"We won, but....it’s Jamina." He closes his eyes to hide away the pain. "She is gone."

Mintaka’s shrill intake of breath is followed by Alnitak’s curses. Life drains out of me, and my knees buckle. Saiph’s arms hold me tight, not letting me fall although he himself appears broken.

"No, no, this can’t be. I can’t lose her too," Mintaka laments, rubbing his hands on his agitated face.

Tears slip out of my eyes and my chest feels so heavy with the burden of everyone’s stifling emotions.

So that’s what I have been feeling from Alnilam. He must be devastated. I need to go to him.

"How did that happen? And who?" Alnitak asks, enraged.

"Betelgeuse. I was fighting Bellatrix so I didn’t see but it was him."

"And Alnilam?" Mintaka steps closer, his anger is like a storm ready to destroy everyone in its path.

"He is just sitting there holding her body, he won’t let her go or listen to anyone." His anguished eyes find me.

"He needs you, Amaia."

His face appears blurry through the tears that won’t stop flowing from my eyes. Every moment spent with Jamina flashes before me, especially her radiant smile.

I nod through the sobs that rock my body. Saiph holds me steady.

"I will take her. I am quicker and faster," Rigel grimly offers but there are hints of sadness clinging to his words too.

Saiph slowly lets me go, trusting Rigel. My body uncontrollably shakes, and I can’t stop crying as Rigel takes me into his arms.

"I will bring the twins, you go ahead. They are at the Biank grounds." Rigel only nods, it seems he knows the place.

"We will be right behind you, Amaia, go." Alnitak and Mintaka give me hugs. Their grief is overwhelming and I don’t know where one begins and the other one ends. We are all a conglomeration of grief at that moment. The raw agony and emotions have mingled in my chest and exploded like a bomb. My mind has become a twisting mess.

The news has shaken us to the core, broken us. We have lost a gem and I am not sure we will recover from this loss any time soon, especially Alnilam.

I can’t even imagine what he must be going through.

I place my complete trust in Rigel as he lets his shadows spread into wings and takes flight with me safely nestled into his arms.

"Amaia! Hold on. Don’t let their grief overwhelm you. Breathe and don’t drown." Rigel understands what’s happening to me but I can’t help it.

My breath is choked out of my lungs because of the speed with which Rigel moves through the air and we land in a desert kind of landscape.

But it’s not deserted at all. Sentinels line the place, not only sentinels but hunters and enforcers are there too, everyone distinguishable by their uniforms.

Rigel lets me go and stays back, urging me forward. "Go, I am here."

My desperate eyes waver and I finally find him. My heart lurches and almost stops.