My eyes fluttered open and I pushed the red, velvet covers off me, yawning. I stretched and got to my feet, walking over to my wooden wardrobe and opening it. Picking out a pair of jeans and a light purple tank top, I walked to my bathroom and got in the shower.
The warm water burned my skin, but I didn’t care. It was the only thing that felt real and despite the heat, I was shivering. I wrapped my arms around myself and sighed, even a month after the war, I couldn’t stop the nightmares that haunted my sleep.
Nightmares where people were being murdered, nightmares about Ryan, about Ariadne, about Cerdic. I had replayed killing him over and over in my head yet I still couldn’t believe it had happened. That I had killed him.
And then I replayed the moment with Andor and Thorn. How he had picked me over her. How he had disappeared. I hadn’t heard a word from him since. I hadn’t seen him and no one spoke of him except to arrange more armies to try to find him and kill him.
Meanwhile, the Dusarlas had taken over Tharielon, so he had nowhere to go. Thorn and Cerdic’s bodies had been burned and the rest of the Thariels were now working as slaves. I didn’t approve of this, but Elisha didn’t care much for my opinion. She was blinded by hate for them, since Cerdic had killed Stephen.
I got out the shower, brushed my hair and changed into my clothes. As I opened the door to my bedroom and my eyes widened in surprise as I saw Dwynwen sitting on my bed. She smiled shyly at me while pulling at a thread of her top.
I raised a brow questioningly, sitting next to her on the bed, “How is he?”
“Healing, still. He should be dead,” she whispered. After the war, the Dusarlas had taken Sayer immediately to the doctors here. The sword had punctured his ribs, but luckily just missed his heart. It had taken two weeks for him to be able to talk again and just last week he had been able to walk again. Dwynwen was by his side day and night and it surprised me to see her here.
“He’s not dead, that’s all that counts, right?” I inquired, hugging her. She nodded, letting the tears fall. “Calm down, he’ll be fine.”
“And then what?” Dwynwen chocked out, “How can we go back to our old lives? Sayer ignoring everyone while I pretend I am satisfied with my life?”
“I’ll figure something out,” I promised, “I have some power here, and most respect me after I killed Cerdic.”
Dwynwen smiled at me, “You were amazing.”
“I had a good teacher…” I sighed.
“I’m sure he’ll come back. He must be in shock after his sister was found dead in the courtyard,” Dwynwen replied. I masked my expression. I hadn’t told her about what had happened, how Andor had chosen me over Thorn. I didn’t want to tell anyone about it.
“Where’s Jayden?” I changed the subject.
“He’s still refusing to come out of his room. It’s been a month, people think he’s gone crazy,” Dwynwen explained. Jayden had gone mad after Ariadne’s death. He kept talking to himself, talking to an imaginary Ariadne, as if she was still there, as if she could hear him. He refused to let anyone help him and he didn’t speak to anyone else.
I had gone to see him once, but he just slammed the door in my face telling me Ariadne didn’t want to see me. He had to get over her. She wasn’t coming back. She was dead. Like Zane. Like Ryan. Like Cozae. Like Stephen. Like Cerdic. Like Thorn. She was dead.
I had recovered pretty well, every morning I had training with Elisha and my sister, Lauri. We focused on a different element each week. After training I had free time then I had an hour of tutoring with my mentor, Salamand. He angered easily, but I managed to stay on his good side. He taught me about what it meant to be Warrior of Ezalfar, what I had to do, and what I would receive. I mostly found these lessons boring and tended to daydream in them.
After tutoring would be one of two things, either I would have to sit in court with Elisha or I would go hunting with Ianthe, Melissa and Dwynwen. Elisha had been trying to slot another Dusarla in Sayer and Zane’s place but we refused to take them. Despite Ianthe’s rudeness and Melissa’s flirting, I found myself actually getting along with both of them and the thought of a new member in our group scared us all. Dwynwen refused to count out Sayer and whenever Elisha tried to reason with us, Dwynwen would storm out the room.
After hunting was lunch or free time and then we had another training session, this time with our group. Then I got stuck with another tutoring session before the rest of the night was mine.
“Oh, and Morgana…” Dwynwen began before pausing, “Elisha has… um… news.”
“News?” I inquired.
“Yeah, you’ll see…” Dwynwen bit her lip.
There was a knock on the door and two young girls, around the age of nine, ran inside. One of them had dirty blonde hair and hard grey eyes, just like Sayer. A scar ran down her face but she had long recovered from that. The other girl had curly brown hair and bright blue eyes. She ran over to me and hugged me.
“Hey, Lauri,” I laughed, pushing her off me. I still wasn’t used to having a sister.
“Khadi! Khadi! Guess what I did!” she cried.
“What did you do?” I asked.
“Look!” she clutched her stone tightly and it began to glow a faint green. A small vine crept around her arm and she squealed in excitement. Due to losing concentration, the vine disappeared, but it didn’t dim her happiness. “Did you see that? Did you see that, Khadi?”
Dwynwen had decided not to tell anyone I wasn’t Khadi, telling me it was best no one knew due to Seven. As much as it annoyed me, being called another name, I knew it was safer that way, so I went along with it.
“You bet!” I laughed. I turned to glance a Charia, “Did you manage it too?”
She nodded and revealed a small flower in the palm of her hand. She smiled weakly. Ever since her brother had ended up in the doctors, Charia hadn’t spoken. Instead she would follow Lauri around, nodding and smiling. Dwynwen had tried to get her to talk, but she refused. It was only with Sayer did she speak.
“Charia and I have been training!” Lauri stated proudly, her head held high.
I messed up her hair, “Have you now?”
“Hey! Hey! The hair!” Lauri cried, pushing my hands away. Charia giggled quietly, watching us from the other side of the room.
Dwynwen hoped off the bed, walking over to Charia. She kneeled down so they were at the same height and whispered something in her ear. Charia nodded eagerly and skipped over to the bed, climbing on it. Dwynwen smiled and came to sit back down.
I gave her a questioning gaze but she just smirked at me, “It’s Charia’s and my secret. Right, Charia?” Charia nodded, her grey eyes lighting up slightly.
“Khadi!” Lauri piped up, “Do you think Charia and I will be in the same Dusarla group? I hope so!”
“I’m sure you will,” I replied, trying to calm down my excited sister.
“You’ll find out in two weeks,” added Dwynwen, “That’s when you will be named a real Dusarla.”
“Really! Ooooh! Do you think I’ll make it, do you? Do you?” Lauri jumped up onto her feet on my bed and I quickly tripped her up, making her land back on her bottom. She pouted at me but I just patted her on the hand, laughing.
We spoke for a while, Lauri seemed to be able to talk forever, it was a wonder anyone could cope with her. Charia, on the other hand, just listened and nodded. The two of them got along well. Dwynwen explained how the group system worked. Apparently it was determined by strength and which element you specialized in. Lauri would be placed as group leader, like me, since she was a Hunter. She would also be put with the strongest specialized person of each element of her age. Charia, to no surprise, had specialized in water, like her brother. Lauri hadn’t specialized, but that didn’t faze her.
A figure in the doorway caught my eye and I smiled. I poked Charia, nodding at the person in the doorway. Her whole face lit up and she quickly bounded off the bed running towards him.
“Sayer!” she cried, jumping up to hug him. He caught her easily, hugging her tightly. Dwynwen gasped, staring at him in surprise.
“Shouldn’t you be with the doctors?” she asked, getting up.
He shook his head, “I’m allowed out, but I can’t train for a few weeks.” He put Charia down and stared at Dwynwen.
She bit her lip gently, “What you did for me, I-“
“I wouldn’t change what I did for anything,” he interrupted her. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against him. I felt as though I was out of place, as if I shouldn’t have been there, even though it was my room. Dwynwen hugged him tightly, as if at any moment he could have disappeared.
“I owe you my life…” she whispered to him.
He locked eye contact with me and smiled, “Just as I owe Morgana my life.” Charia and Lauri had gotten used to people calling me Morgana, they thought it was my code name or something.
I shook my head, “No, you don’t, I just-“
“You just saved everyone,” Sayer laughed. He pulled back from Dwynwen and moved her hair out of her eyes, smiling sadly at her, "It’s not your fault.”
“It’s like one of those romance books,” Lauri whispered in my ear. Immediately Dwynwen face heated up and Sayer’s eyes flickered to my sister.
“Lauri!” I cried, pouncing on her. I wrapped my hand around her mouth, “Ignore her, carry on.” She bit my finger and I gave an alarm shout. She jumped off my lap running over to my couch and climbing over it. I looked down in disgust at the saliva on my finger. “Lauri! Come back here!"
I ran after her, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her backwards. She thrashed about in my grip, screaming. I rolled my eyes, forcing her into a chair and pinning her there with some vines.
“This is evil! This is unfair!” she cried.
“Deal with it!” I retorted.
Lauri rolled her eyes, “I’ll call mother!”
“Do what you like, I really don’t care,” I replied.
“I’m going to tell on you!!” Lauri threatened.
“Like I care,” I sneered at her. She stuck her tongue out at me and I copied her, sticking mine back out at her.
Sayer rolled his eyes, “You two are so childish.”
“Yep!” Charia piped up. I looked at her in surprise and she shrunk back under my gaze, hiding behind Sayer’s leg. Sayer chuckled, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.
“Did I miss anything while I was… healing?” Sayer inquired, sitting on my bed. Charia climbed up next to him and sat patiently, unlike Lauri who was still squirming in the chair.
“Did you hear about the deaths?” Dwynwen asked, flicking a flame at Lauri in annoyance. Lauri stood up on the chair and hissed at her. I pushed her back down, rolling my eyes.
“All I know is Cerdic is dead.” Sayer replied, giving Lauri a hesitant glance. He turned to Charia, “You become like that and I’m disowning you.”
Charia shook her head quickly and Lauri laughed, bouncing off the seat climbing onto the bed, jumping up and down. Charia giggled and got up to copy her when Sayer gave her a cold glare. She quietly sat back down and stared at the floor.
“Lauri! Stop that!” I cried, grabbing her and pulling her off the bed. She squirmed in my grip and escaped running towards the door.
“Come on, Charia! We’re going to be late for training!” Lauri called, running out the room. Charia gasped and jumped off the bed, hurrying after Lauri.
“Your sister is crazy,” Sayer muttered, falling on his back on my bed.
I shrugged, “I hardly know her, she still thinks I’m Khadi.”
“That’s a good thing,” Sayer replied. “So who else is dead?"
I gulped, not wanting to answer. Dwynwen stared at me, waiting for me to respond but I just shook my head. She sighed and nodded in understanding.
“Quite a few died,” Dwynwen answered for me, “Zane, Ryan, Ariadne, Cozae, Stephen, Cerdic and Thorn.”
“Ariadne’s dead? We went there and failed? Great…”Sayer groaned, “I can’t believe Zane’s dead. Now we’re stuck with Ianthe and Melissa talking to us. How did Thorn die?”
I bit my lip, turning away from Sayer and Dwynwen. They continued to talk, each having their own suggestion about how Thorn died. Sayer thought she had done some weird voo-doo ritual where she jumped into fire to try and bring her father back from the dead. Dwynwen, on the other hand, though she had been ganged up on by Dusarlas. Neither of their thoughts made sense. If Thorn had jumped into fire, there would have been no body to burn later. If Thorn had been ganged up upon, wouldn’t the ‘heroes’ have told everyone they killed her?
“How do you think she died, Morgana?” Dwynwen inquired. I turned around to see Sayer and Dwynwen both staring at me intently.
I smiled weakly, “I-I don’t k-know.”
Sayer frowned, “You’re lying.”
I folded my arms, “No, I’m not.”
“You are,” he argued.
I opened my mouth to retort something when Dwynwen interrupted me, “How would you know if Morgana’s lying or not?”
Sayer’s hard gaze didn’t leave mine, “First off, you turned away the moment we mentioned Thorn. Second, you’re expression looks like you’re in pain. Thirdly, you stuttered. Fourthly, you-“
“Okay! Okay! I’m lying! I know how she died, I was there!” I cried out, staring at the ground.
“You never said anything to me,” Dwynwen whispered.
I rolled my eyes, turning around and slamming my head against the wall. Tears of frustration escaped my eyes. It wasn’t the fact Thorn was dead that upset me, I was happy about that. It was the fact Andor had completely disappeared for a month without even giving me a sign if he was okay
Maybe he hated me for what I forced him to do. Maybe he regretted saving me. All I wanted to do was see him. I had been obsessing over him for the past month. He was in my dreams, in my thoughts, disrupting my daily life. I couldn’t cope much longer.
“We’re not going to force you to tell us…” Dwynwen said softly. I didn’t reply, I didn’t know what to say.
“Andor has something to do with this, doesn’t he?” asked Sayer.
“Why would Andor have anything to do with this?” Dwynwen cut in. “No one knows where Andor is!
“Exactly,” said Sayer, “Even you don’t, do you Morgana?” I pushed myself away from the wall, turning back to see Sayer’s hard stare and Dwynwen’s confused expression.
“Why would Morgana know where Andor is? I don’t get it! What’s going on?” Dwynwen cried.
Sayer sighed, “He cared-“
“-If he cared he would tell me if he hates me or not,” I interrupted him.
“And why would he hate you? Yes, you killed his father, but I saw him in the crowd mouthing things to you. He told you to kill Cerdic,” Sayer argued.
“It’s not about Cerdic!”
"Then what is his problem?"
"Thorn!" I blurted out before I could stop myself.
Dwynwen stared back and forth between us, "Am I missing something here?"
Sayer ignored her, "How did Thorn die?"
I sighed, "She found me alone and put a knife to my throat. Andor came. They argued. Then Andor put an arrow through her heart and disappeared."
Sayer frowned, "He just... Left?"
"Yeah," I fell back into a chair and shut my eyes.
"Morgana-"
I quickly interrupted him, "I'm fine, can we just change the topic please?"
"But why do you care so much if Andor is gone?" Dwynwen asked. I didn't reply but I could hear Sayer whispering something to her. After a few minutes she said, "He's not dead... That much I know."
"And I feel sooooo much better knowing that," I replied sarcastically.
The three of us lapsed into silence. I stared out the window at Ezalfar, Dwynwen played with a small flame in her hand and Sayer began to pace back and forth. I watched him out of the corner of my eye. For some reason, his pacing angered me. I wanted to throw something at him, shout at him, do something to make him stop.
I shook my head, I was going mad. Jumping up from the chair, I made my way out the door and down he corridor. Sayer and Dwynwen quickly caught up, walking either side of me. I ignored them while they started talking about castle designs. Who cared if they were putting a moat around the castle?
We entered the courtyard to see young Dusarlas training intently, trying to get ready for their exams to get in a Dusarla group. I glanced towards the big tree in the centre of the courtyard to see Lauri, Charia and several other children laughing about. I smiled to myself, if only I could be carefree like her.
"Excuse me, Miss?" someone pulled at my sleeve. I looked down to see a small girl hesitantly staring up at me, "Lady Hunter wishes to see you in her chambers immediately." I nodded and the girl ran off into the crowd.
Sayer beckoned for me to follow and he led us into a hallway. It seemed to grow the longer and longer the further we walked, as if it went on forever. Dwynwen was speaking but I couldn't concentrate on anything she was saying.
My head began to pound and I stopped walking, leaning back against the wall. Sayer paused, turning back to look at me questioningly. I shook my head, telling him I needed a minute.
My stomach began to churn and when I glanced up at my reflection in the window it happened again. She was there. Laughing at me. My second reflection. She was back. Two pairs of piercing blue eyes staring back at me. Two girls with long blond hair and tanned skin. Two girls who looked exactly like me, except one of them wasn't.
I opened my mouth to scream but no sound came out. My second reflection smirked at me, raising her hand to her lips before disappearing into my real reflection.
I gasped, blinking rapidly, trying to clear my vision. This couldn't be happening again. I couldn't be forced back to Earth. For once, I was happy where I was. Well, I wasn't that happy... With Andor being missing and all, but going back to Earth meant I'd never see him again. I couldn't cope with that.
"Morgana? Morgana, what is it?" Dwynwen asked in a panicked voice.
I breathed heavily, trying to calm myself, "I-it's h-her..."
"Who?" cut in Sayer, glancing around, trying to find whoever it was I was talking about.
I shook my head, walking at a fast pace down the hallway. The first door I arrived at I flung open. Several children looked up at me in alarm. I panicked, not sure what to do. I needed to be alone, I needed my space.
"Out!" I barked at them, gesturing for them to scram. They looked terrified, gathering up their belongings and scrambling to their feet, rushing towards the door.
I heard the door slam shut and I fell to the floor, shivering violently. I wrapped my arms around my knees, rocking back and forth gently. Sayer sat down on one side of me, Dwynwen on the other, both silently staring forwards.
"She's coming back," I whispered. I didn't need to clarify who, they knew what I was talking about.
"Impossible," replied Sayer, shaking his head, "She can't change universes-"
"But what if she can!" I cried, "What if someone taught her how to!"
Sayer rolled his eyes, "And who would know how to on Earth?"
"Someone who had changed universes before," I answered. I knew I was right. They might have known Khadi well, but I was her mirror image, I probably understood her better than anyone could have. We shared the same mind, it was only with choices did we differ. It was only choices which changed us. "If you were far away from your home, and there was some hope you could return, you would do anything to find that hope."
"How do you know this?" Sayer retorted, his tone disbelieving.
"Because I went looking for that hope, and Khadi did too," I said quietly, "You said if I tried and wasn't any help you would send me home. So I tried, I did as you suggested, the whole time hoping it would be enough that you would swap me back."
"You want to go back?" Dwynwen asked.
"If you do then it's only right we send you back," added Sayer.
I shook my head, "No, I don't want to go back. My life was so boring there and yes, I had good friends, but this adventurous life means more to me..."
"Then you better hope you're wrong," muttered Sayer.
"Can't you do anything to stop her?" I questioned him.
"No, unfortunately, we can't. Also, it's doubtful you'll survive another switch, you weren't meant to survive the first one really. Two is a definite no."
"I've already switched twice, though, once when I was a child and once when you switched me back."
Sayer's eyes widened, "Then I think there's probably a five percent chance if Khadi goes through with this that you'll live."
"Oh joy," I muttered.
“I’m sure you were just imagining things,” Dwynwen added, giving Sayer a cold glare.
“What?” He asked, frowning at her.
She rolled her eyes, getting to her feet and walking over towards the door, “Elisha wants to see you-“
“Elisha can wait,” I muttered.
I sighed, closing my eyes, rocking back and forth again. Hopefully I was just imagining things. Hopefully Khadi wasn’t going to try to change universes again. Where would she get the information from anyway?
How did she survive on Earth? There was no one there to explain anything to her while I had Sayer and Dwynwen over here. Everyone over there must think she, or me, was crazy, which, by what Sayer and Dwynwen had told be about her, she was.
I just hoped she hadn’t harmed Claire, Ward or Evelyn. She sounded like she enjoyed controlling people. I opened my eyes, staring at my reflection in the window. There was only one of me staring back. Maybe I had seen things. Maybe Khadi wasn’t swapping universes on me. Why couldn’t things be simple?
I looked outside at the courtyard where the young Dusarlas were training. Lauri and Charia were chasing each other round the benches, two young boys trailing behind them. One of them raised a plastic sword and let out a shout while the other boy ducked. Lauri snatched the sword off him, twirling it around quickly in her hand. Charia pounced on her, splashing water everywhere as she did. Lauri squealed, flames sparking from her hands as the two of them tripped over, laughing.
“Do you know what Elisha wants to talk about?” Sayer inquired.
Dwynwen came back into view and shrugged, “Probably about replacing Zane.”
“They want to replace Zane?” Sayer cried incredulously, “That’s mad.”
“That’s what I told them, but apparently we’re young enough to take on a new member,” Dwynwen replied.
I frowned, “Don’t they usually change Dusarla groups?”
Sayer shook his head, “Rarely, it disrupts the group.”
“But because you’re next in line for Warrior of Ezalfar they want someone who hasn’t specialized in our group,” Dwynwen said.
“Morgana technically hasn’t specialized,” Sayer argued.
“Not including Morgana,” Dwynwen added.
Sayer rolled his eyes, “We’re not getting another member. No way.”
“We don’t have much of a choice if-“
“Why don’t we just go see what she wants?” I interrupted them, getting to my feet. Sayer pushed himself up from the floor, wincing in pain and clutching his stomach.
“Sayer?” Dwynwen rushed to his side.
“I’m fine,” he mumbled, pushing her away.
We travelled down the hallways, Sayer leading the way, until we reached the grand door leading into the great hall. It was just as magical as the first time I’d seen it.
Pillars of stone were placed either side of the fire red carpet pathway leading up to two gold thrones, one for Elisha, and one for her dead husband. The round ceiling still showed the elements, red flames, blue waves, silver winds and green vines. In the middle, as always, was spirit. It looked like a purple smoke, but I knew it was a shield, just like my shield.
The fountain stood in the middle of the room of the first Dusarlas. Dield, the boy, was sitting down staring at his stone while Valqueri, the girl, stood holding her stone to the sky. Water sprayed out from under their feet and their stones.
Elisha was sitting in her throne, staring at us as we made our way up the stairs towards her. Her eyes flickered to Sayer and she frowned.
“I thought you were with the doctor?” she snapped.
“I was, Lady Hunter, but he let me go as long as I didn’t train,” Sayer replied politely, bowing his head. If anyone but Elisha had spoken to him like that he would of snapped right back at them. Everyone seemed to respect Elisha a lot, I just hoped I could gain that much respect when I took the throne.
“Fine,” She muttered, rising from her seat. “I wish to speak with Khadi alone.” Immediately Dwynwen and Sayer turned for the door. My eyes widened, they couldn’t leave me with her! What was I meant to do?
Sooner than I hoped, the door of the great hall had slammed shut behind them, leaving me alone with Elisha. I gulped, turning back to her. She stared at me, her hard hazel eyes glared at me, before she folded her arms.
“I assume you know why you are here, Khadi?” she inquired.
I shook my head, “N-no…?”
She sighed, “With your father dead,” she paused, obviously trying to keep her composure, “You will be taking the throne soon.” I stayed silent, still not getting what she was trying to say. “The time has come for you to choose someone to help you rule the country.” I continued to stare at her. “You need to pick someone to fill in as your husband until you find one!"
I gaped at her, was she serious? I was meant to pick a ‘fake’ husband until I chose one? This was crazy. Seeing my shocked expression she continued.
“Calm down,” her tone softened, “It won’t be permanent. Just to help you make decisions for Ezalfar until you find the right boy. But… speaking of which… I do have a line of boys for you…”
“You want to try to force me to marry someone?” I asked incredulously.
“No, no! Just a selection of, um, husbands. Darling, it happens with every heir of the throne. My mother chose some for me, as I will chose for you and you will chose for your child. Of course, you do not have to marry them, just… well… be convincing for the people of Ezalfar.”
“Be convincing?”I frowned.
“Yeah, you know… Like, pretend you’re together… To let the people of Ezalfar know we are still in control.”
“I have to pretend I’m married to whoever I chose?”
“Yes! That is what I was trying to say! Until you find the right boy, of course.”
“No.”
“But honey, I already have a line of boys for you to pick from,” Elisha pouted at me. “Let me introduce them to you!"
Oh hell no. This was not happening. I did not want a pretend husband.