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Aervin and Lucina walk with me back to the Nova House. From the expansive bridge overlooking the lake, I spot Terra standing with Finn down at the edge of it. I stop to watch. The air is cold, the sky cloudless and filled with stars.
Aervin stops at my side. “So that’s your sister, huh? She seems?—”
“Off,” Lucina interjects as she slows next to us.
“Yeah—she seems off.” Aervin smooths his hand over the back of his head, his brows pulling down in concern. “You seem off too, Edgar.”
I look away from my sister and Finn, feeling more certain that none of this is a coincidence. What’s the likelihood that all three of us would survive and end up in the same place? Sully lurks beneath my skin and whispers dark things that twist and turn in my mind, making me more certain by the second that my doubts are valid.
I grin callously. “Off? Does your Shadow not tug on your insides and twist you into something more sinister, Aervin?” I tilt my head in his direction and he flinches.
“Um… No, it doesn’t,” he mutters hesitantly. Lucina’s brows pull closer together as she firms her lips.
Their Shadows don’t have the power I do. Sully’s voice curls into my spine and wraps around my bones. They will die, all of them.
My eyes widen at that. “Shut up. Shut up.” My hands shoot up to my scalp and I fist my hair. Lucina gives Aervin a worried look.
Aervin sets his heavy hand on my shoulder and pulls me in for a tight hug. His blonde hair brushes against my cheek as he mutters, “Don’t let it take you away from us, Edgar. We need you… and I hope you need us too.” He pulls back but keeps his hand planted on my shoulder. “Don’t let the Shadows drag you into the dark. We’re all still here, aren’t we? We’ll be okay as long as we stick together.”
I stare into his green eyes for a few moments before firming my jaw. “We’re going to end up like Ash.” My voice is raspy and low.
Lucina steps closer, her eyes calm but determined, as they always are. “We won’t.” Her smile is bright, and the white cloak clasped around her shoulders brings out her luminescent features.
Aervin grins and sets his arms over our shoulders as he guides us back toward the Nova House. “Let’s get the others and meet in the homeroom; we need a proper reunion with Ash. I have so many things I want to ask him.” Aervin’s voice deepens with pain.
I’m still uncertain what I think of him. Maybe if I met him back at the manor, I’d welcome him with open arms, but after remembering everything, I don’t think I’m capable of letting other people in anymore.
Lucina and Aervin decide we’ll meet in an hour, so I shower and get dressed in the evening attire provided. It’s inconvenient that Nova’s color is white, my least favorite color of all. I frown at my reflection in the mirror as I assess my lounging clothes, an ivory shirt and pants. At least they’re comfortable.
A familiar form peeks behind me, making my skin rise with goosebumps.
“Sully.” I stare at him in the mirror. He looks exactly like me but paler, more dead and sinister. He no longer presents himself as a ghastly boy but as a near-perfect reflection of myself. “Why do you hide in mirrors and in visions only I can see?”
Sully smiles, the edges of its lips curled but its eyes stony and lifeless.
It’s just how I am. Each of us is different in our own ways. I prefer to shadow my vessel’s subconscious. Trust me, you don’t want to meet the real me.
I narrow my eyes and turn to look over my shoulder but there’s nothing there. When I return my eyes to the mirror, it is closer, just against my back. I inhale sharply at the cold air that rolls off its fingertips.
“My subconscious?”
It laughs. The sound echoes as if we are in a cave. Yes, before you received your memories, you saw a shattered boy, traumatized and trapped in your mind. Now you are whole, somewhat, and I reflect that.
I shudder and shut my eyes at the memories of my parents, liquified and steaming into piles of mush and bone.
The homeroom is already filled with all my friends by the time I enter. Ash stands by the fireplace, indifferent. His eyes are gray, and I wonder if it’s from the Shadows. A lot of the instructors have gray eyes. It’s as if the Shadows are stealing something vital from us.
I take a seat next to Aervin, feeling a bit out of place. Ash was their friend and not mine. There’s a pained silence that floats in the air around us, making me somber.
Aervin threads his fingers together and grits his teeth. “I’m so relieved to see you, Ash. You’re… alive.”
Lucina shrinks back farther into the couch with her brows knitted. Her relief that he’s okay is evident, but there’s a deep confusion there too.
Vinnie adjusts his circular glasses and leans forward; he’s closest to Ash and speaks lower. “Are you truly okay?”
Ash stares at him for a moment, slowly blinking and looking distantly at the fire. “I am… I’m sorry you all worried on my behalf.”
Tamaris stands abruptly, angry and fueled with her usual spite. “Well, care to explain what happened?”
