Wall of Shadows

Chapter 7

 Someone was banging on the door.

 I didn't move. Couldn't tear my eyes away from the paper clenched in my quivering fingers. It felt like my soul had been ripped from my body- unable to do anything but stare. This was all probably some stupid joke... But I couldn't help but notice how right it felt, how those four words seemed to be the answer and unraveling of every question I had.

 "Aaren!" Someone shouted. The banging continued. "Aaren, are you in there?"

 After a lot of murmuring, the door swung open. I swayed where I sat. Phaenna rushed towards me, her voice laced with worry. "Aaren. Aaren are you alright?" But I could only see those four words. Your sister is alive, your sister is alive, your sister is alive. Those words that couldn't stop hearing, echoing in the back of my mind.

 "Aaren!" Phaenna shook my shoulders, trying to snap me out of it. My gaze slid to hers, though my eyes remained glazed. I blinked, once, twice to clear my focus. Phaenna's face was creased with worry. Her hands cupped my cheeks. "What happened?"

 "She's alive," I whispered.

 "What?"

 "She's alive," I said more clearly. "Rhea is alive." The worlds sounded so foreign as they rolled off my tongue. So wrong. And yet so right. I met Phaenna's blue stare more confidently. She exchanged a worried glance with Elli, who stood behind her, alongside Lyra.

 "Why don't we get you something to eat?" Lyra said gently. Soothingly. As if she were speaking to a child.

 "Why don't you give us a minute?" I retorted, rather rudely, causing my friends to shift uncomfortably where they stood. Lyra's eyes flickered with annoyance, but she nodded and strode from the room, stilettos clicking against the polished wooden floors. I got to my feet, the note still held carefully in my hand— as if it might dissolve if I pinched it too hard. Should I show it to the twins? I rarely kept secrets from them... But I wasn't sure they'd understand if I showed them.

 "I'm telling the truth."

 Another loaded glance exchanged between the twins.

 My confidence wavered, and I decided to hell with it. "I— I found this."

 I extended the note, showing them the life-changing sentence scribbled on it. The twins' eyes widened.

 Phaenna swallowed hard. Elli's brow scrunched, as if he were searching for the right words. "I don't think..." he said softly-- nervously. "I mean, do you really think this is true? It's just a note."

 "Well, then help me find the evidence."

 "Aaren, there is no evidence. You heard what the Regulate said. They found her body. Why would they ever lie about that? They loved your sister."

 "It's a prank," Phaenna growled, cracking her knuckles. "A fucking horrible one, and I'm going to beat the lights out of whoever had the nerve to try this." It was ironic that someone so petite and gentle-looking would have such a violent streak.

 My tiny bodyguard. Great. I snorted softly.

 Elli put a hand on her arm; a silent warning to calm down. "No one is going to beat the lights out of anybody."

 But they weren't listening. They didn't understand.

 "Why would somebody go through all this trouble just for some stupid prank?! Nobody lives here except me. And the only people with a spare set of keys are you two. This is real. I just know it is. I can't explain it but I do. You just have to trust me."