Suns and Shadows

A Bond Stronger Than Gold

Ebony POV

When I go inside Saiya is sleeping on a sofa. It makes me smile a bit. She looks peaceful almost. I sit next to her the couch groaning as it absorbs my weight. "Saiya..." I whisper. "It's time to go." Because I have risked your safety. And now you must flee to the Dark House. "Saiya."

One of her blue eyes peel open, but her face isn't filled with love or hate. "Ebony? Why-"

"I'll explain later." I say hastily. "Right now we need to go."

Her eyes focus on mine. "You look like them." she mutters. "And you were the one who always said they were evil. Look at you Ebony, you're a Sun." Saiya sighs. "And I'm not going anywhere with you."

I look away, a tear burning in my eye. "I'm not one of them. It's just some makeup. I'm still the same. I'm still your sister, aren't I?"

She doesn't say anything so I continue.

"Regardless of what I look like, I'm still the same person who told you stories. I'm the one who brought the man that was able to cure you. I'm the one who risked my own life so that you could be okay." I plead.

"Are you?"

"Yes."

She waits a moment and then runs into my arms. "I thought that might have done something to you. Tried to kill you or-I don't know. "

I start to nod as I feel her tremble beneath me. But it's not normal trembling. I look up to her face. Her eyes have dimmed. Her lips are purple. I drop her on the floor. "Saiya whats wrong?" I ask. She doesn't answer. "Saiya look at me!" I scream.

Her eyes close.

I take her up in my arms and run out the door to where my mother is standing with Joshua When she sees Saiya she drops everything and comes running. "Not again." she breathes heavily. "Not again."

"This has happened before?" I demand.

"Twice." My mother answers and she raises her hands, filling them with her Dark, the shadows and she careful drops the black magic on to my sister. Nothing happens.

Then as she weaves her hands around, small drops of the inky black darkness come out of her body, surrounded by smaller silver ones. They raise into the sky until my mother disperses them with her hands and they evaporate.

Saiya's eyes stay closed but her lips fade back to red. Her breath evens and I collapse on my back. "What-What was that?" I ask as I slip my hand into her own. I'm here, Saiya. I'm here. I think.

My mother shakes her head. "I don't know. After her sickness came back-"

"Her sickness came back?" My voice cracks. "Mom?"

That's when a hand tentatively touches my shoulder. It's Joshua's. I lean back against him and start to cry. The tears roll down from my cheeks making his shirt wet. He doesn't seem to care. "We need to get to the Dark House. Then-" He glances at mother. "Then we can discuss what's going on."

***

Zillah and Karpov tend my sister. They take her to the Medical Wing. Karpov takes a long thin bottle with a glowing  pink mixture inside and force the liquids down her throat. I sit on the sidelines, refusing to leave and refusing to talk to my mother.

Zillah looks at me with concerning eyes as I pretend not to notice. "You don't look okay."

I snicker than soften my expression. "She's my sister." I glance up at her. "Thank you," My voice is heavy. "For doing this for her."

She shrugs. "I've lost a sister before. I'd never want anyone to feel the way I did when I lost her like that."

"What was her name?" I ask keeping my eye pointed anywhere but Saiya. So my mind won't trick me. She's alive, she's alive, she's alive, I tell myself.

For now.

"Her name was Adreanna. " She finally replies after a long moment of silence. "She wanted to change the world. She was killed when they discovered the old Inferno headquarters. Public execution. So every time the screens in the market were on all I saw was her-" Zillah stiffens.

I think back to when this all started. When I chose to take Saiya's place. My life could've ended the same way as hers.

"She didn't die in vain." I whisper. "Because you're here. I am. And we can change it. Make sure that it won't happen ever again."

"But how can we be sure?" She snaps. "After I'm gone how do I know they won't rise up again? Enslave us. Use us. " she laughs. "The only way to know would be to kill them all, get rid of them all."

"But Joshua-"

"He doesn't care about this." Zillah rolls her eyes. "This is just his teenage rebelliousness kicking in. All he wants is to do whatever his dad doesn't want him to. If we all died he wouldn't shed a tear."

I look at her eyes. They're stormy and I understand that she believes what she's saying. I want to argue with her. Joshua healed my sister, but then I look at the person who's laying the hospital bed. Obviously she wasn't healed enough to survive this. I bite my lip.

"They're all evil." She says again.

And this time I believe her.