Love eternal (book 5)

Chapter 2: the incident

The morning progresses with an almost painful slowness. Yugi and the kids both wake up around eight in the morning and go on doing whatever it is that they feel that they have to accomplish at such an unearthly hour. I roll onto my back and listen to the distant sound of their chatter and the clattering of pots and pans as they make breakfast. It's hard to believe that fifteen years has passed since that fateful incident with Heba. Now both of my children have reached the ripe age of sixteen and I couldn't be any prouder of them, but I can't help but feel like something is drastically off.
The dream from last night haunts me every time I allow my mind to wander. Worst of all, every time I blink I can see the horrified and pale face of yugi as I slowly strangle the life out of him. I roughly rub my eyes with the palms of my hands in an attempt to make the horrible vision disappear. Such a ridiculous notion to believe that if I keep rubbing my face that I can somehow make the horrible image simply vanish from existence, like it had never happened to begin with. I don't understand what is happening to me, this has never happened before in all of the time since Solomon had first brought me back from Egypt with him.
A soft knock sounds on the door and I quickly close my eyes and roll onto my side. There is a brief pause before the quiet sound of tentative footsteps reaches my ears quickly followed by more confident ones. I have to fight the urge to smile at the approach of my children. Atemu reaches me first and just continues to stand there in silence while Heba reaches out for me but pauses just a hairs breadth away from my skin.
"Heba?" Atemu whispers softly. "Do you see that too?"
"Yes," she murmurs back in a voice equally soft, but more intense. "I can see it."
"Is there something wrong with father?" Atemu asks with an anxious voice as he shifts his weight from one foot to the other. "This is frightening me."
"Stop working yourself up so much." Heba hisses in reproach to her brother. "We don't know what this is just yet so there is no point in reacting as if it's the end of the world. Now how about you go be helpful and go tell dad."
"Why do I have to tell dad? You do it!"
"Someone has to stay here with father and besides you're closer with dad than I would ever be." She answers seriously. It takes all of my willpower not to speak at this very moment. It's true that yugi and I seem to get along better with the child that received more of our individual attributes, but that doesn't mean that we favor one more than the other. I can't help but wonder if Heba realizes this. "Just go Atemu."
"Fine!" Atemu grumbles. "But I don't know who died and made you pharaoh." I bite the inside of my lip to repress the laugh that threatens to escape me as Atemu leaves the room. That boy may have my namesake but he is purely yugi.
"Father, I know that you are awake." Heba says sternly as she sits on the side of the bed beside me. I smile slightly as I open my eyes and peer into those familiar crimson eyes. The eyes that we both share amongst all of the other traits that seem to mainly have come from me. Her spiked hair cascades down her back and cradles her face in their embrace making her angular face appear even more beautiful. I have no idea how such a beautiful woman could have been formed from the combination of yugi and myself but I am grateful that she was able to reap the benefits of the merging.
"Good morning princess." I murmur softly.
"I know that you were awake the whole time." She says without any hesitation. "There is something that we need to discuss."
"Oh delightful." I grumble as I roll onto my stomach and bury my face into my pillow. "Then it can wait."
"I'm afraid that it can't." She protests as she tries to roll me onto my back. "There is something wrong here." Her thin hands wrap around my arms and try to roll me over. Something in my chest begins to coil tightly like a spring as she keeps tugging on me.
"That's enough Heba."
"We need to talk father." She says seriously. "There is a darkness that seems to surround you." Heba pushes on me with more strength and the tightness in my chest begins to ache slightly as it continues to intensify.
"I said that's enough." I respond tersely.
"Father it was like an aura! It was almost pure darkness, how does that not concern you?"
"I said enough!" I snap as my chest begins to feel as if it is being ripped open from the inside. My fingers curl into the blanket as I attempt to hold onto my composure as an overwhelming wave of anger begins to wash over me, blinding me.
"Father, we need to figure out what this is." Heba whispers softly, her voice a gentle caress of silk that is instantly incinerated by the uncontrolled blaze of my rage. I quickly snap into a sitting position and grab onto both of her wrists. She stares at me with blatant shock and fear as I pin her down to the bed beneath me, those familiar crimson eyes staring up at me with horror.
"What needs to be figured out is your place in this hierarchy, princess." I hiss darkly. "Learn your place."
"My apologies father." She murmurs as she turns her face away from me.
"Look at me when I am speaking to you!" I hiss as I harshly grab onto her face and force her into looking at me.
"Yami what are you-" that painfully familiar voice suddenly dies off and I feel every muscle in my body go rigid. "Atem?" He whispers softly. I slowly turn my face to look at yugi who is regarding me with shock and anxiety, his amethyst eyes continuing to flick between my face and the girl beneath me. "How is this possible?" He breathes.
My eyes drag themselves away from yugi slowly and back down to the tan hand that is now tightly holding onto the face of my beautiful daughter. My daughter who is doing everything in her power to hold back her tears. The flames that were raging in my chest begin to die down as I release Heba's face and slowly release her. Yugi rushes over to the bed and quickly grabs Heba who clings to him like her life depends on it. He and I both watch in shock and confusion as the dark pigment of my skin begins to bleed away and the familiar cream color begins to resurface.
"Yami what is-"
"Please just leave." I plead as I quickly rise from the bed and rush into the bathroom. "All of you need to leave." The door slams shut and I throw the lock and feel myself begin to slowly slide down the opposite wall. White hot pain flashes through my body as the darkness inside of me begins to recede and the world begins to go black. What is happening to me is the last thought that crosses my mind before I allow the oblivion to swallow me.