Light in Dark Places

Chapter Two

Joan doesn't want to let go of her sister's hand. She's afraid that if she lets go her sister will disappear.

Her sister is older now—of course she is. She must be twenty-three now. An adult, not the teenage girl Joan remembers. But for some reason, Joan never doubts for a second that this is her sister; she never experiences any estrangement from this person who is not who she remembers. Seung-ri was always a mirror for Joan, only a shade darker and prettier in every way. Darker hair, darker eyes, more determined, more fierce. But everyone who saw them together said, You look so much alike. Joan always hoped that was true. This is Seung-ri, her sister; her sister will make everything better.

Her sister is currently fighting with the Thunder King.

"Seung-ri, can I speak to you alone for a second?" Hernandez says, in a tone that is clearly not a request.

"A question for you, Clemente. Were you going to tell me that my sister is awake?"

(Clemente, Joan marvels in her mind. Her sister is calling the Thunder King by his first name. Like they're friends. Like they hang out).

"In due time," Hernandez says. His teeth aren't clenched exactly, but he bites out the words nonetheless. "Seung-ri—"

"No," Seung-ri says. (Her sister interrupts the Thunder King. Her sister says "no" to the Thunder King. Joan stares at both of them. She has no idea who either of them are). "My sister is awake. That's the only thing that matters right now." Seung-ri looks back to Joan and squeezes her hand. "How do you feel, nabi?"

Joan feels like crying again. "Confused. Why are we in the Desert? Our Place is in the Valley. Where are Mom and Dad?"

Seung-ri hesitates, and for a few seconds terror grips Joan's heart. Too much is different now. Paralysis sweeps through Joan as a cold rush of fear and anxiety wracks through her entire body—it's been seven years, something terrible might have happened to their parents, what if they're gone, what if she will never see them again—

"They're still in Vineheart. We'll call them later tonight, to tell them the good news," Seung-ri replies, calming the terror immediately. "The Desert is our Place now, nabi. This is our home."

"But—" she stops. There are too many questions. Too many. She doesn't even know where to start.

"Everything's going to be OK," Seung-ri says, brushing a strand of Joan's hair behind her ear.

Joan believes her. She always believes her sister. If Seung-ri says it, then it must be true.

"Seung-ri, we need to talk now."

Both sisters look back at the Thunder King.

Clemente Hernandez isn't so much handsome as he is striking. Joan always thought so, even when she was a kid and their mom was showing both of them his magazine clippings. His cinnamon skin was always so smooth and clean, like acne wouldn't dream of marring someone so important. He had a long and delicate nose that on some other man might have seemed too feminine, but he had a stern jaw, thick eyebrows and a perpetual gravity about him that made him come across as someone who never learned how to smile. Even if she hadn't known that he was one of the most powerful human beings on this earth, Joan would have still thought he radiated a kind of unmistakable confidence that comes from being completely untouchable.

Joan is still pretty sure he wants to kill her.

He is wearing the dark red of the military. It only now dawns on Joan that her sister is wearing the same uniform. Her mind can't wrap around the idea that Seung-ri must be in Sahuaro's Special Defense Force.