Tam

Forgotten

She knew even before he showed himself. She knew by the look of his hands, the weight of his stance, the way the oversized cloak hung off his slim frame. She knew without the glint of silver in the sun, without the intense gaze that revealed itself with the sweep of a hood.

It was him. It was Tam. Seeing her brother in the cloak of her enemies hurt more than she thought it would, a dull ache stemmed only by the knowledge that he wasn't there because he wanted to be. He was there to protect her. Like he always was.

She barely stopped herself from saying his name. She wouldn't give them that small satisfaction.

"Tam," Biana breathed, barely above a whisper. Though invisible, her voice drew his attention, his silver eyes more confused than anything else.

"Linh Song," Gethen said, giving her a smug expression. "Are we to assume you are the only one here?"

Linh lifted her chin, telling herself to be brave. "You could. I want my brother back."

Gethen laughed. "I'm sure you do. But I'm afraid you'll have to learn to live without him. If you live at all, that is," he added with a grin.

She frowned, trying to puzzle out where the rest of the Neverseen were. It didn't seem very smart to just bring the three of them, and as far as she knew, they didn't have a Vanisher in their ranks. They couldn't hide the way Biana, Sophie and Dex were.

Her eyes drifted towards her brother. Even she didn't know what he was fully capable of. If he was anything like Umber, the power between him and the silent Ruy beside him would be too much to handle.

Linh shook those thoughts from her head. This was Tam. He wouldn't hurt her, or any of his friends. Ever.

She shivered as a cool breeze raised goosebumps on her bare arms. "Where are the rest of you?"

Ruy pushed back his hood. "That is none of your concern."

She ignored this and focused back on her brother, whose silver eyes were fixed on her waist. No, not her waist--the ends of her hair. The ends of her hair, his face so filled with confusion and suspicion that it hurt her see it.

Gethen turned to Tam. "Go on. Prove your worth, and we'll let you live."

He hesitated, gathering the swirls of shadows to his hands. "Who are they?"

The words hit like a sledgehammer, ringing in her ears and nearly drowning out Gethen's response. "Who are they?"

Who are they?

A punch, capable of hurting from so far away. She forced herself to acknowledge it, one breath at a time.

He didn't remember her. He didn't remember any of them. 

Linh focused on Gethen's words, ignoring the sting behind her eyes. She would be strong. Like Tam always was.

"They're the enemy, Tam," he said. "They want a world full of prejudice and hate. They think they're above everyone else, and that they deserve the world at their fingertips."

"That's not true!" Biana shouted, blinking into existence with her fingers lingering by her side, keeping contact with Sophie and Dex. "Tam, don't listen to him!"

"You see why we have to take them down, don't you?" Ruy asked as Tam rolled the shadows through his hands uncertainly. "We want to make the world a better place."

Linh could see his resolve solidifying, like silver hardening behind his eyes.

"Tam," she pleaded. "Don't do this. You were one of us, once."

His brow furrowed, and she knew he was trying to sort out the hurried gaps in his memory, trying to make sense of a situation where the only thing that seemed right was wrong.

"Sorry," he said, hesitantly. "I don't know who any of you are." He raised his arms, and the shadows swirled faster, rushing towards them.

There was a shout and Sophie leapt into view, throwing her arms out towards the Neverseen. Ruy threw up a force field, a flicker of pain echoing on his face as a mist of Sophie's inflicting hit them. Tam stared at her, shocked, the shadows rushing faster with his growing confusion. 

Linh's thoughts were racing. His loyalties had changed. She was no longer his priority, and no longer under his protection.

The realization made her eyes sting. She was exposed, vulnerable, no longer able to rely on his steady presence whenever she needed it.

"You really think your mini tantrums can bring us down?" Gethen snarled. "We have something you don't."

"Tam, don't do it," Dex said, appearing beside Sophie as Tam readied the shadows. He fingered the cubes at his belt, each powerful explosive capable of bringing the ruins down around them.

"Tam, please," Linh pleaded. "I'm your sister. I'm your twin!  You've fought for me! Do you remember this?" She held up the ends of her hair. "You promised me. You said no one would ever come between us--not our parents, not the Council--nobody! You can't let them do this to us. Don't let them break us apart. I love you." She was crying now, fresh tears pouring down her face. She let them. She needed to make him see, make him understand. "Please."

Her brother's eyes were on the ground, his voice low. "You say you're my twin. You say you love me." He met her eyes then, his filled with hurt. "And yet you're fighting for a world where we can't be treated like equals. You're fighting alongside people who are trying to hurt me." His fists curled, and he looked away, the Neverseen's smirks filling her vision as she stared at him. She could feel the hopelessness building, the feeling of losing her twin forever threatening to burst her heart and leave her broken.

"Say you're lying now, and I'll forgive you," Tam said, still not meeting her eyes. "But until then—" The shadows swirled around him, and the force field dissolved, revealing his angry stare. "You're no sister of mine."