(Rigel)

With a lot of difficulty and requests, I fed Amaia.

"Why don’t we consult someone? Someone who has done it or at least knows." I rub her back, our grieved eyes remain on Saiph.

"Who?" She takes his hand in hers, placing her lips against the back of it.

That’s where I am stumped. I have been locked up for so long that I don’t know anyone who will have any knowledge of this. If only my mother were here.

A rush of tenderness seeps into my heart. Like a gentle whisper of wind grazing against my skin.

Mom?

Is she here?

I stiffen. My senses become alert.

"Rigel!" Amaia concernedly asks, sensing the change in me.

I hear her soft cries and I know my mom is standing outside the room.

In a split second, I am by the door, snatching it open.

Her unique scent, all warm and motherly-welcomes me.

My frantic eyes find her, hysterically sobbing in Alnitak’s arms. He is apologetically mumbling to her. Tears were falling like a stream from his eyes.

Alnilam is holding Min.

"Mom!" I scream like a maniac, rushing forward. "How?"

With her mouth ajar and eyes bloodied, she turns towards me. Spreading her comforting arms she heartily whispers.

"Rigel! My Moonling. I am here. Hathial came for me."

Like a madman, I embrace my mother. Hysterical cries escape me. Motherly warmth exudes from her, filling every pore of my body.

My cold, quivering body thaws with her blooming radiant glow. An effect which can only be brought about by a mother’s touch.

How I have missed her.

The gloomy dark years I have spent chained, caged, shivering, craving a single touch from her. Her comforting scent has formed a barrier around me, sponging off worries and years of neglect.

Words have evaded me. I don’t wish to let her go. Only cry my eyes out in her hold.

My arms remain tight around her back, tears falling on her shawl.

"....I am sorry, I couldn’t find you earlier..." I whimper and her soft hands rub my back.

"It was my duty to protect you and yet I couldn’t. You have nothing to apologise for." She takes a step back and grabs my face, kissing my forehead again and again. Ensuring I am alive.

Her hands shift to my shoulders and then to my arms.

"Look how you have grown up. I have dreamt of this day for years. That, one day I will get to see my son. Here you are." I use my fingers to wipe the tears from her ashen face. She hiccups from the drowning emotions.

"I am never letting you go." I hold her close, hugging her again, ensuring this is not a dream.

"No one is separating us," she says with the finality of a warrior.

We finally separate amidst sniffles and tears. I point towards my brothers. "You have met them. They are on our side." My eyes roam on them and the teasing ache in my heart from the absence of Saiph tightens my chest.

"We are with you," Alnilam says with determination.

She slowly nods. "I can feel the love and bond you people hold for each other. It’s strong."

"But, I lost my twin without even getting to know him." The blinding and raw pain grips my heart at the remembrance of Saiph.

"Has he already been buried?" My mother asks in a grieved voice, eyes holding back tears.

All four of us pass glances. This is going to be difficult. My mom is already in such a fragile state of mind and so is Amaia.

I shake my head.

"As strange as it may seem, we share a mate. All five of us and she is with Saiph, trying to bring him back," I try to explain in as few words as possible.

Mom’s eyebrows are raised in surprise and she asks. "Amaia?"

All of us simultaneously nod.

"Take me to her," she gently asks, wiping away her tears and putting on a bold face.

She is bracing herself to see her son, whom she never fully knew and now he is gone.

"We will give you some time. Call us if you need us." Alnilam gestures to the twins. They leave us there, giving my mother and me privacy.

Placing my hand on my mother’s back I lead her forward. Opening the door, we enter the room where my mate is still pouring all her energy into bringing our brother back.

She turns her head, eyes dulled by grief but a flicker of light descends seeing my mother, followed by a surprise gasp.

Abruptly she stands up as my mother nears her. Her gaze is wavering between Amaia and her son.

Amaia gives her space, stepping back not trying to come in the way. She lets a mother see and grieve her son first.

I hold Amaia while mom kneels beside Saiph. A heavy sob escapes her.

"My son!" Her trembling hand reaches to caress his forehead. "Forgive me for wronging you." Her breath comes out choked and I place my head on Amaia’s shoulder, trying not to break down from these mountains of emotions breaking on me. Amaia holds me, letting me silently cry.

Bending down, she kisses Saiph’s forehead. Her tears freely fall on his face.

Then her eyes lift and fixate on the hovering orb. She stares at it for quite some time before her head tilts and she asks. "How did this form?"

"Queen Adrnia!" Amaia respectfully says. "If I may?"

"Yes, Amaia. Speak freely," she kindly says, although her grief is so palpable.

Amaia reveals everything she had witnessed and what she believed it was.

My mother’s grief converts into surprise and shock. Her eyes turn towards the orb again and she extends her hand to touch it.

Her fingers easily penetrate the surface like breaking the surface of a thick liquid.

"Oh, my. If my limited knowledge is not wrong, this is a Sundered Soul Orb. It forms between a set of twins, from their collective sorrows, grief and a desire for revenge and survival. I think Saiph’s soul latched onto Rigel’s shadow instead of ascending."

She turns her head to watch us. Amaia’s body goes taut in my hold as she urgently asks.

"That means we can bring him back, right?"