(Amaia)

(This Chapter is for @Janelle. Thanku so much for the gifts.)

Where did Rigel come from?

The shock of his sudden appearance leaves my limbs frozen. My feet refuse to move.

"Rigel?"

I try to calm him down but he is so agitated and out of control. His eyes have this wildness about them, it’s untamable in that moment.

"No, tell me where my mother is." A child who was snatched from his mother and subjected to torture and rape.

I understand why he is acting like that. The hope of reuniting with his mother, who might have gone through the same abuse has him so hysterical.

His gaze waver from me to Alnilam.

"Alnilam open the door, I can’t hold myself much longer," he demands.

"I am sorry....I am sorry Amaia. This is not how I wanted our reunion but I can’t..."

Rigel’s body is shaking, the rage exuding from him is terrifying, even for me.

I try to take a step towards him but Alnilam grabs my wrist, holding me back.

"Amaia! Wait. Let me speak to him." Alnilam has hardly taken a step, before he could say something, Rigel moves past us like a blur. My hair brush against my face.

Grabbing the diary, he presses the button of the partition and disappears through it.

"Rigelll! Wait," I shout behind him but he is long gone.

Frantically, I turn to face Alnilam. "This is bad. We have to find him."

"I know where he will go first. Try to connect to him through the mindlink. Others too, I will look for him." Alnilam rushed behind Rigel. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

I open the combined mindlink between us and try to reach Rigel.

Utter chaos reaches me from his side but he doesn’t respond.

Others do though.

’Alnitak is awake,’ Mintaka tells me through the mindlink. Some semblance of relief reaches me at the news.

’I am so relieved. Stay with him, don’t leave his sight and once he is able to travel, bring him here,’ I tell my mate urgently.

’What’s wrong?’ Min asks.

’A lot. We all need to speak.’ A tension ripples through the bond.

’Amaia, where are you?’ Saiph’s worried voice comes.

’Alnilam and I are at the Academy. Rigel just returned but he is not in a stable state. I need your help. Alnilam has gone to find him.’

’I am coming over. Don’t worry we will find him,’ Saiph’s determined voice eases me as I sink to the ground, unable to stand anymore.

’I will bring Alnitak soon,’ Mintaka assures me.

’Don’t tell your parents,’ I request. ’I will explain everything once you guys get here.’

Mintaka’s confusion weaves through the bond but he doesn’t ask further questions.

The bond fizzles down but my heart remains agitated, restless.

That horrible feeling in my gut is growing. Something horrible is going to happen.

Rigel has returned but he was hiding. He only heard half of the truth and now he is gone who knows where. I don’t even know what he might do.

I pray that Alnilam gets to him before he takes some drastic step. Saiph is the one who reaches me first.

The partition opens and he enters looking like a warrior from another galaxy, all snug and weaponed up, I fling myself into his thick, bulging arms.

How I have missed my Yeti.

"Saiph!" I whimper, trying to hold all these stupid emotions which are fleeing me like sand slipping through fingers.

"Your Yeti has got you." He squeezes me against himself while I try not to smear his uniform with my tears and snout.

Finally, we separate and I lift my head to stare at his gorgeous deep blue eyes that remind me of icy planets.

"You are going to need to sit down for this, for what I am about to tell you is going to be devastating." Taking his hand, I guide him forward, helping him settle on the sofa.

I climb into his lap.

Our eyes find each other–confusion in his, determination in mine.

"Do you remember something? Any changes in your body? A surge of memories?" I question and puzzlement covers his face. Eyes hold genuine curiosity.

Saiph just like Alnilam and the twins has no curse marks on his body. I know because I have seen every inch of it. I do wonder how their curses and Rigel’s curses were different. But the voodoo dolls that witch had made of them had crosses all over the doll representing Saiph.

Since they disappeared and Alnilam began remembering repressed memories, it should be possible for Saiph too.

"What do you mean?" He questions me.

I have to tell him everything. His heritage, his true history, the curses.

"Brace yourself." I hold his face. The coarse stubble on his skin shows he hasn’t shaved in days.

Has he been worried about me?

Now I am going to worry him even more.

With every revelation I make, Saiph’s jaw tightens. Horrors and surprise cross his face like waves. That mask he loves keeping plastered on his face, slips and falls.

"Rigel’s twin? Queen Adrnia is my real mom?" His always deep and confident voice has a shaky feeling to it today. He continues.

"That....that can’t be true. The queen has always been kind to me," he insists, which shows that the curse on him, I have been unable to break. I need to burn those damn dolls.

Could this be related to his bird spirit?

"No, Saiph. She is not. I saw her with my own eyes, hurting Rigel, your twin. You are royalty, the true heir to the throne."

His mouth forms an ’O’ of surprise. "That explains why I am able to control Rigel—why he listens to me." His gorgeous eyes water, unable to hold back all his emotions. "Alnilam and twins are my half-brothers....and my mother, my real mother and father are alive." His hoarse voice is quivering with unfiltered emotions today.

Slowly I nod, trying not to cry, seeing his emotional state.

"Yes, you have a whole loving family. And I am going to do everything in my power to reunite you with them."

Pads of my thumbs slowly caress his creased and agitated forehead.

"My mother...Queen Adrnia...she was always so kind to me. I cried a lot when she died but now I know she was just taken." He squeezes my waist in urgency.

"I have to get her back. Please, I can’t let her suffer there anymore." The shake and plea in his voice falls on my heart like lightning.

"We will. But right now, Rigel needs us. We have to get to him and pacify him before he does something." Saiph nods.

"I have to ask you something, Saiph." Lovingly I squeeze his worried face. I can’t even imagine how he is coping with so much information.

"Yes."

"Did you always have a bird spirit or did you acquire it recently?"

My question throws him into a deep thought.

"Actually, I don’t even remember."

His answer shows there are holes in his memories. A lot of his memories are still locked and I have to set him free.

There is only one thing left to do.