The Halves of Us Read online

He sighed and fidgeted with the braids hanging from the side of his fitted black pants. “Yes.”

  “Did it scare you?”

  His jaw clenched. “Yes.”

  “How come you didn’t say anything?” Aura stood and walked toward him. “Everyone looked at me like I was crazy.” She fought the urge to throw something at him. Why am I so angry?

  He stood from the bed. “I was trying to make sure you were okay, and you were holding my hand, and . . .” he stopped. His dark eyes flickered up to meet hers. “I’m sorry.”

  Aura shifted her weight from side to side before looking away.

  “Had you ever seen one before?” she asked.

  “A Sight?”

  Aura nodded.

  “No. Only heard stories from the Etoyoc. They have legends about them. They call them Frames of Death.”

  Aura shuddered. Vow now, sayeth aye. The words repeated in her head. “What do you think it means?” She sat on the opposite end of the bed.

  “What the Sight said?” He paused. “Vow now, sayeth aye.” Felipe spoke the words slowly and closed his eyes after he said them.

  “What do they want?” Tell him you keep hearing the whispers. She dismissed the thought.

  “She wants allegiance.”

  “She?” Aura looked to him. Her eyes fell to his jawline as he clenched again.

  He matched her stare. “The Wicked Willow.”

  The room fell silent again. Their eyes still connected.

  “Thanks for the berries,” Aura said after a few agonizing seconds had passed. Thanks for the berries? That’s all you have to say? She silently cursed herself.

  “I heard you liked them.”

  “You seem to know a lot about me.” Aura smirked as she crossed the room to the glass doors leading out to Adie’s balcony. She suddenly felt warm and reached for the door handle. Maybe I just need some fresh air. She could feel Felipe’s eyes on her, but she avoided his gaze. “I don’t seem to know much about you.” She turned and looked back at him, resting against the balcony doors instead.

  “What do you want to know?” Felipe leaned against one of the posts of Adie’s bed.

  “Do both your parents live in Nitari?”

  “Just my mother.”

  “Your father?”

  “Never met him.” Felipe shrugged.

  Aura watched him as he sat on the edge of the bed. He ran his fingers through his dark curly hair. He wore a loose-fitted long white shirt, and Aura could see the muscles beneath the thin material. His eyes met hers, catching her lingering.

  “Um,” Aura said as she looked away, “and do you have any siblings?”

  “Only child.”

  “Hmm.” Aura said as she sat on the velvet loveseat. Sweat gathered on her palms. Why do I feel like this? Her head raised. “Do you love maple berries?”

  He shook his head. “Dreadful things.” He winked, and a side smile appeared as his lip curled to the left. “They’re one of my favorites. May have snuck one or two before I gave you the pouch.”

  The door to the chambers swung open, and Samuel paused as he entered the room. Felipe stood, leaning against the post again.

  “Everything all right in here? It just got really quiet, so I wanted to make sure everything was okay.” Samuel’s forehead crinkled with confusion as they both avoided his gaze. “Felipe, can I talk to you a minute?”

  Felipe inhaled as he walked toward Samuel. “Sure.”

  They stepped out of the room, leaving Aura alone.

  What just happened?

  Aura stood from the bed and tiptoed toward the door. She leaned her ear against it, attempting to hear their conversation.

  “Did you really hear the Sight, too, or are you messing with Aura?”

  Felipe chuckled. “You really think I would do something like that?”

  “I don’t know you, but you can’t do something like that to her. Aura, she’s . . . she’s . . .”

  “Do you believe she heard something?” Felipe asked.

  “Look, I’m here to protect Adie. Aura has a vivid mind and is known for causing trou—”

  Aura opened the door, something burning inside her. “You don’t believe me? Why does everyone assume I’m making this up?”

  Samuel’s gray eyes fell.

  “Felipe, you can come back in.” She opened the door, motioning for him to follow.

  “Aura, I—” Samuel reached out to stop Felipe.

  “No. Go protect your Adie. I don’t need you.” Aura slammed the door and gasped as it closed. What did I just say?

  Her chest rose as she inhaled and exhaled, welcoming the release of a heavy weight that before had pulled at her shoulders. She stood tall. Adie can have him!

  Felipe cleared his throat, and Aura turned around, covering her face with her hands to hide flushed cheeks. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Don’t be. Someone had to tell him the truth.”

  She huffed and rolled her eyes as she walked across the room. “Why does no one believe me?” she asked, sitting next to Felipe on the loveseat.

  “I think it’s more of they don’t want to believe you. But everything inside them is screaming for them to.”

  Aura glanced at Felipe. Her eyes darting to his lips and quickly away. Stop. She stood. Change the subject! “I hope Adie’s okay.”

  Felipe’s hand slid into hers. Aura pulled away at the electric shock of his touch.

  She faced him. “Felipe, I—”

  “It’s okay.” He nodded as he stood. “I can wait.”

  He made his way to the door, smiling at her before he exited.

  Aura finally breathed as the door closed. She looked at her hand. The one he’d touched. He felt it, too. She couldn’t help it. She smiled.

  13

  Adie

  Adie held her breath as she reached for the wooden handle of the Council Room door. She just wants to speak with you. She entered and found her mother sitting at the head of the Council table.

  “Gossamer said you wanted to see me?” Adie asked as she shut the door behind her. Please help me get through this, she prayed to Fate. She twisted a curl of her hair around her finger, making her way toward her mother.

  Ambrielle stood and faced her. Uni’s light shown through the elongated windows in the Council Room, creating a halo around her.

  “Don’t be nervous,” Ambrielle said.

  Their eyes met, and her mother smiled. “I don’t have much time, as we’re sending Tribesmen to Hatem within the hour. But I wanted to speak with you about—”

  “I’m really sorry for—”

  “Don’t apologize,” she said, lightly grasping her daughter’s hand. “I didn’t mean to make you worried. I wasn’t upset with you last night. I . . .” She trailed off again, looking into Adie’s eyes.

  Adie felt as though her mother was searching her for answers. She knows. She knows I’m keeping something from her.

  “I know what you’re going through. When I first touched the Rokis, it was a terrifying ordeal. But we must move forward. We need to talk about the images you’ve seen in your dreams.”

  “What happened when you first touched the Rokis?” Adie asked, avoiding the subject of her own dreams.

  Ambrielle’s lips parted as though she were about to speak, but she hesitated. Adie shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

  Ambrielle sighed and motioned for her to sit at the table. “I’ve tried to have the Rokis take me back to what I saw the first time or even project it. But it never has.” She sat up straight in her chair and looked at the empty one to her left. “I was sitting right there. Your grandfather . . .” she paused, and tears collected in her eyes, making them twinkle. “My father handed me the Rokis. He said it was time for me to learn my power. I wasn’t much older than you. Father thought I was ready, though Mother disagreed with him. Those before us had all documented their powers. Some more subtle. Some more drastic, like your great-grandmother who was a shapeshifter. I think Father expected great thi
ngs from me, so I was nervous.” She stopped, still gazing at the empty chair to her left.

  “What happened?” Adie asked.

  Ambrielle faced her slowly. “Your grandfather set the Rokis on the table, and I touched it. My mother, Gossamer, and my future Council members were in the room, and they all say I vanished. It was assumed I had the ability to disappear, to become invisible. But when I failed to reappear and hours had passed, your grandfather grew nervous. I was only gone merely minutes. Or so it seemed to me.”

  “Where did you go?” Adie asked.

  Her mother’s furrowed brow and darkening eyes made her uneasy. I’ve never seen her so worried before. Memories flashed across her mind of touching the Rokis with Aura. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get the image of the tree and Aura’s dark eyes out of her mind.

  “I . . . I don’t know. It was unfamiliar to me, unlike any region here on Thindoral. Which led me to believe it wasn’t from this world. I stood in the cold rain. I looked up and could see no stars, but I noticed a familiar figure a few yards in front of me. It was my brother Gossamer. There was space between us and I was nowhere near light, so he didn’t see me. I almost shouted out to him, but I noticed he limped and his face had aged. Gray hair covered his head. And that’s when I saw it.”

  “Saw what?” Adie asked.

  Ambrielle sighed heavily. A soft whimper escaped from her as she hesitated. “He held it so close I didn’t notice it until he brought it up to his lips and kissed it before laying it on the ground in front of a tall building. A Tontu, one that looked female, like me and you, came forward. She appeared like our kind, but her clothes were not of our world. The tall building had a dark blue symbol I didn’t recognize. Gossamer left. I watched him mysteriously disappear into the air. As I walked toward the bundle he’d laid on the ground, I heard it cry.”

  “It cried?”

  “Yes. It was a baby.”

  Adie’s heart raced, remembering the nightmare of her mother giving birth. No, the nightmares aren’t true. They’re just that—nightmares.

  Ambrielle shifted in her seat. “The lady ran up to the bundle and called out into the rain. I thought she had seen me, but a flash of light nearly blinded me momentarily. I closed my eyes for only a second, and when I opened them, I was back in the Council Room. It was dark, but Gossamer was sitting at the table. He looked so worried. He turned to see what was behind him, and there I was. He called out for Father. Apparently, a search party had been sent out for me. I was soaked and couldn’t speak. Father attributed it to shock. For days, they asked me where I’d been, what I’d seen, and if I figured out my power.”

  “Did you?” Adie asked quietly.

  Her mother’s power had remained secret for decades. Rumors of what it was flooded Thindoral. Some so ridiculous they used to make Adie and Aura laugh as children.

  “It wasn’t as apparent as others’ had been. And some may not even call it a power, but I can read you. I can read your feelings, that you’re nervous and worried, and calm you with my voice. It has helped me tremendously in my speeches, interviews, and during Requesting Ceremonies. The power is one of the weakest in our history, or so it would seem. But I have learned to use it to my advantage. I never understood what the Rokis was trying to tell me by transporting me to the event I witnessed and giving me this little power . . .” Ambrielle trailed off.

  “Surely, it has been a great power to you,” Adie said.

  Her mother was one of the most beloved Rulers in recent times. Crops were plentiful, drastic weather occurrences had decreased, she had maintained peace between regions, and trade was up.

  “I have thought about it over and over, Adie. Just that one glimpse. I never told anyone but Gossamer. I told him the night before I began my ruling. He assured me my power was a sixth sense, warning me about others and their feelings. And the Rokis had shown me something very important, and I was meant to tell him what I’d seen. Your uncle has stronger faith than I could ever have. He convinced everyone my power was to remain hidden, unlike those who ruled before me.”

  Adie shifted in her seat. She knows you’re keeping something from her. You have to tell her.

  Ambrielle cleared her throat. “After your first lesson, I think we may finally have another clue. Because of the projection, I saw a glimpse into your nightmares. It showed another world similar to ours, but we didn’t recognize it. I believe there has to be some connection to this world and the world I visited.”

  “And my powers?”

  “We believe you have the power of premonition. You receive these premonitions in dream or nightmare form. Your nightmares are warnings to you.”

  “Warnings of what?” Adie asked. No. Images from her nightmares flashed before her. The darkness in Aura’s eyes, the blood coming from her abdomen, her mother giving birth, and Samuel . . . Samuel. She touched her lips, remembering how his had felt against hers.

  She faced Adie. “I don’t know.”

  Adie shuddered at the solemn tone of her mother’s response. “What did you make of the projection?” Adie asked.

  “We recognized the red light opening up into a portal. I’ve never seen one myself, but it has been described to me once before.”

  “By who?”

  “Your great-grandmother,” Ambrielle said. Her lips curled into a smile. “She was always telling us stories of her travels and shapeshifting ability. After my father began his rule, her ability stayed with her, unlike anyone who’d ever ruled before. That is why we were shocked last night. You had your power before you touched the Rokis. Your power is much stronger than you think it is.”

  Adie shifted her gaze away from her mother’s. You can’t lie much longer. The truth will come out. She quickly changed the subject. “What did she say about the portal?”

  “Her own mother had attempted to open up time. In the beginning, we were warned by the Designers that the only time travel we could do was with the power of the Rokis. The sand creatures, like the Sandman, are the only other individuals who can travel through time without the Rokis. We believe this to be because they’re made of time itself. But when time travel was used, there were strict rules about doing nothing to alter that time period. The reason for that was, it's believed altering a time period doesn't affect our own but creates an alternate timeline. Though that has never been proven. In the beginning of our history, time travel was used often, mostly to study nearby worlds or other realms. But it was Ruler Aisira who put an end to the time travel.”

  “Why? What happened?”

  “No one knows exactly, but many say Aisira went too far into the future and didn’t like what she saw. It frightened her. She issued an ordinance with the Designers and Fate that time travel was no longer to be used by anyone.”

  She hesitated. “When your great–grandmother was young, her father died. Her mother, the Ruler, was in despair over the sudden death of her husband. She wanted to go back in time to say goodbye to him, but the ordinance forbade it. In her agony, she turned to darker powers. She sought help from Wendelone in Vadim. No one warned her of the repercussions.”

  “Repercussions?” Adie asked. How come I’ve never heard about this?

  “Dark powers are called that for a reason. They settle into your soul. The tiniest ounce of jealousy, hatred, or anger will feed darkness and make it grow till it consumes you. Only in death can you defeat darkness.”

  Only in death can you defeat darkness. The words replayed over in Adie’s head as she searched for their meaning.

  Adie looked directly at her mother. “Why did you ask to see me?”

  “As we speak, the Tribesmen in all regions are preparing for me to send them to Hatem. The Sights have attacked the region.”

  Adie’s mouth went dry. “Attacked? But they have never—” Sights. Aura was right. Maybe she did hear it, too.

  “After the situation with your sister hearing the Sight, and one appearing through your projection, and also today at the Requesting Ceremony . . .�
� Ambrielle’s voice trailed off. “Have you had any nightmares about Sights? Have you seen any attacks on Thindoral?”

  “No.” Adie searched her mind. “Sometimes I don’t remember all the details, but I . . . I’m sorry I can’t remember. I don’t think so.” Guilt pulled at her heart. Could I have predicted this and saved lives?

  “This is not your fault.” She reached for Adie’s hands. “I wanted to see if you knew anything about the Sights before I sent the Tribesmen to Hatem. We have a tactical disadvantage. This situation is unprecedented. We have no idea how to kill them or if they can be killed. Your father is leading Tribes to Hatem to aid and fight.”

  Adie searched her mother’s face. Her cherry lips were normally curved into a smile, but today they fell into a thin straight line. Her eyes glistened, but no tears fell. Something else is bothering her. “What aren’t you telling me?” she asked anxiously.

  “Your father will leave with Michael. Should they need assistance, it’s my duty to join them. In my absence, you will hold temporary position of Ruler. If something were to happen to me, you would become Ruler.”

  Adie’s shoulders fell as though someone had just placed weights on them. She leaned back in her chair, searching for the words. “But we’ll defeat the Sights, won’t we?”

  “Their numbers are unknown, and there were numerous ones in the projection of Hatem. After all these years, we can only speculate about their full strength and abilities.”

  “Why would they attack us now? What do they want?”

  Ambrielle shook her head. “With all that has occurred in the past few days, I think that something is coming. Are you sure you’ve never seen Sights in your dreams before?”

  Adie’s brow furrowed. The last thing she wanted to do was replay what she remembered from her nightmares. Her heart grew heavy. But maybe it could save them. It could save all of us.

  “The latest premonition involved the portal. I was on the High Perch here at the Dome, next to the Announcer with the Rokis. In the distance, the sky had turned red.” Adie paused as the images from the nightmare returned. Her head began to spin, and her throat tightened. “The Rokis transported me to an unknown room. It was so dark, and I saw the portal again, and . . .” She looked at her abdomen. “There was so much blood . . .” Dizziness overwhelmed her, making her stomach churn. Adie couldn’t shake the image of Aura before her, terrified.