(Mintaka)

Amaia is walking purely on the sheer strength she possesses, because the bond screams of her endless sea of sorrow.

She is drowning with the illusion of swimming and we are drowning with her.

Saiph’s loss is something we won’t be able to rise above.

We enter her room and that tough exterior she has been keeping shatters. She tumbles to the ground, staring at the stuffed toy she had brought with her when she and Saiph had been intimate for the first time. I am pretty sure it’s a gift from him for her.

I let my dark side remain in control. He is more stable in such a situation while I am a mess. Gathering her up from the floor, I carry her to the bed and sit with her perched in my lap. She clings to me, sobbing into my chest.

Moving forward I pick up the white Yeti from the bed, and I place it in her arms. She embraces it, her arms tight against the white creature. Her sobs fill the room.

I let her grieve, holding her, providing her with my remaining strength.

We don’t speak and yet we feel and understand.

Her fingers are so tight against it that her knuckles have turned snow white.

"I called him Yeti and took this toy as a joke and now he is gone...I want him back. It hurts..."

"I know, my love...I am sorry," my dark self is very possessive of her now. He cares deeply, too deeply.

She turns her head and stares at the table where she keeps her pet bird. I haven’t seen the bird in a while. Slowly she crawls out of my lap and approaches the bird feeder and the wooden bird house. Her hand, which is not clutching the yeti to her chest, reaches for the bird feeder.

"He loved this. It was such a tiny gift and yet he loved it..."

Her words confuse us. Is she talking about Zille or Saiph? But I don’t ask questions. Getting up, I walk over and stand behind her. Placing my hand on her slumped shoulder.

She continues to observe and then finally turns with teary eyes.

"I want to return to him."

"Let me give you a bath and pack some clothes and we’ll leave here."

Slowly, she nods. She lets me take off her blood-soaked jeans and hoodie. Her face is swollen, and her neck has numerous bruises.

It maddens the three of us seeing our mate in such a condition. To think that we came from a woman who is capable of this is what hurts the most.

My thoughts keep whirling to what she and Saiph must have been made to witness. I don’t think I am strong enough to even ask her, to know the gruesome details.

Placing our hands around her face I request. "Heal yourself."

But she shakes her head. "No, I am reserving all my healing energy to bring him back. I will live."

My fingers graze her bruised skin and the ache that erupts in my heart almost forces me to my knees.

Opening the hot shower, I carefully wash away all the blood from her face and body, taking extra care that I don’t hurt her.

Her mental and physical state is highly fragile and she keeps blankly staring at Saiph’s handkerchief tied to her wrist, not letting me remove it.

After the bath, I dry her hair and body before dressing her in fresh clothes. Then I sit her on the bed and she clutches the Yeti in her arms again.

Taking out the bag, I begin to fill it with her clothes and other accessories when there is a knock on the door.

Opening it, I find Rahria and Kacir. They hadn’t been allowed to leave the academy by Headmaster Fallon due to the circumstances and other reasons known to him. He said he will come and speak to our father first.

They wore worries on their ashen faces.

"Guys, we are so sorry," Kacir whispers, his eyes roaming to find Amaia. "Can we see her?"

Quietly, I nod. Amaia lifts her head seeing her friends and fresh tears pool out of her eyes. Kacir and Rahria hurry inside and collectively embrace her.

"Oh, Amaia. We heard..." Rahria doesn’t say much. We hadn’t revealed too many details of Saiph’s passing and everything that had happened because we ourselves are in the darkness. Only Amaia knows and no one has the heart to ask her.

Amaia doesn’t say much but she lets them console her.

"Thank you for understanding and being here for me but I need to get back to him." Slowly she rises from the bed and they step back, giving her space. Kacir shares a troubled look with me and I simply shake my head, letting him know I will speak to him later. And not to mention the funeral.

Rahria helps me pack Amaia’s bag while Kacir holds Amaia, rubbing her arm. She places her head on his chest with her eyes closed and the stuffed Yeti still in her arms.

"Can I bring something for you to eat?" Kacir kindly asks. I don’t even know when she ate last. All our efforts to feed her have been in vain.

"No, I will eat when he is awake."

Kacir passes another disturbing glance at Rahria and me but stays quiet.

"If there is anything you guys need just let us know. We will try to come once father permits us."

"We will." With an appreciative nod, we are ready to take our leave. Rahria hugs her again before letting us go.

We fly back and arrive at the palace. She goes straight to our room and resumes her position beside Saiph, beginning her effort to resurrect him using the floating orb.

Alnitak returns from outside and grimly asks. "Did she eat anything?"

I shake my head in defeat. "No, she says she will eat when he is awake."

He gulps at that. "We need to find some way to help her. We will lose her too if this continues like that. Our griefs will bury us all."