Ember's POV-

I look out at the night sky. The stars are the only things lighting up the sky. It was my turn to keep watch. I light a fire in my hand so I can see better. I watch the fire dance around, making shadows on the floor. Suddenly, I hear a creak behind me. I jump up, spinning around, the fire lashing out.

"Ember, it's just me!" Rafi yells, jumping backward. I reel the fire back toward me, extinguishing it.

"I'm sorry," I say quietly. "I'm just a little jumpy."

"A little?" he says. "More like a lot. You nearly took off my head."

"I'm tired," I say, shaking my head. The darkness surrounds me as Rafi comes a little closer.

"I'll take you to bed, then," he says. I nod as he guides me to my room.

"I have no idea why I'm this tired," I say, crawling into bed and yawning.

"Maybe it's the stress from the past couple days," he suggests, sitting down on the floor.

"Maybe," I mutter, closing my eyes. "How long has it been since Mom was poisoned?"

"Two days."

"Three more days to find Aralynn and Kade, I guess," I say, yawning again.

"That can wait until tomorrow," Rafi says, standing up. "Goodnight Ember."

He starts to walk towards me but thinks differently. He walks out of my room, shutting my door. I snuggle into the warm covers, slipping into a deep, deep sleep.
(:)(:)(:)
I open my eyes slowly and I look around. I forget where I'm at for a second before remembering. I slowly get up, pushing my hair out of my eyes.

I open the door to see sunlight. I got blinded for a second before I blink a few times. I walk to the deck of the Zodiac to find Rafi looking out over the land. "Are we almost there?" I ask, startling him.

"Yeah," he says, turning around. "I think we'll be there by night, which will be good. We'll have the darkness covering us."

"Good." I walk up to him, standing next to him, looking out on the land as well. "Do you think we'll be able to find Aralynn?"

"I'm not sure," he says. "Do you think we'll find Kade?"

"I'm not sure." We stand in silence, not knowing what to say.

"Um, just so you know, Jivin is a town that hates people who have powers," he says, and I turn toward him.

"Why?" I ask. "And how do you know that?"

"I know that because . . . because I grew up there," he says, his dark hair blowing in the breeze. "I was born in Jivin and when Aria was wanting a warrior from Jivin, my parents made me sign up. And they hate people with powers because they think its a . . . sin."

"Wow." I stand there, shaking my head. "But powers are a good thing."

"Sometimes not," Rafi mutters.

"What do you mean?"

"One of my older sisters was killed by a person with powers," he whispers.

"I'm sorry," I tell him. He turns away from me. I try to put my hand on his shoulder but he moves away. "Rafi, learning I had powers was the best day of my life. Some people just use their powers for evil, but I won't. I promise you."

"I know who killed my older sister," he says. "Its a person who has lightning powers. I think it was your friend, Aralynn."

"What?" I ask, narrowing my eyes. "She wouldn't have done that. She was with us before she went evil."

"You sure?" he asks and I back away. "I'm not saying she isn't good. Its just that before I got sent to the palace to be in Aria's elite force, and before you had your early adventures, where was she? Who was she? Was she good or was she evil?"

"She never said anything before her time with us," I say quietly. "Only that she accidentally killed her mother and her father experimented on her."

"She killed her mother?" Rafi asks.

"On accident!" I say. "She used lightning for the first time and hit her instead."

"Maybe she turned into Aralynn when she came here," Rafi says. "I remember that day clearly. It was a girl with light blue hair, one yellow eye, and one dark blue eye killing Yara."

"That sounds like Li-Aralynn," I say, closing my eyes. "Why would she do that though? What turned her into Aralynn? How did she turn back into Light when she met Shun?"

"She had this guy with her," Rafi says. "He had purple eyes."

"Kade." I growl slightly. "He's evil and the one who probably turned Light evil."

"But he left Aralynn, and then she killed Yara. I think she was heartbroken and confused, using that to fuel her."

I stare out at the barren landscape. How could she do this? My friend. My best friend. I shake my head, and I start to bite one of my nails. "Ember, I know you want to think that Light is still in there--in Aralynn. I'm not sure anymore. She's become ruthless, Ember."

"Don't say that Rafi!" I exclaim. "I know Light is still in there! You didn't know her like I did! She was amazing, sweet, yes a little rude at times, but she was my best friend."

"Maybe you're letting your feelings for her as your best friend getting in the way of your people," he says.

"Maybe you're letting your grief overcome my knowledge on her," I say harshly. "She was good. I'm telling you. Why don't you believe me?" My voice cracks a bit at the end.

His eyes soften slightly. "Ember," he starts to say, resting his hand on my arm, "I do believe-"

"How?" I ask, ripping my arm out from under his hand. "I-I think I'll go back to my room for a bit. Tell me when we get there."

I walk away before he has the chance to respond. Once I got out of his sight, I start running toward my room. I jump on my bed, bursting into tears. I know Light is still in there. I know she is good. I know. I also cry because of the stress. I cry because I don't know if Mom will make it. I cry for Shun, for my unknown feelings for Rafi. I cry because I feel all alone.
(:)(:)(:)
I stare at my wrist and I jump up slightly. I wipe my eyes so it doesn't look like I was crying. How could I forget that I can call my friends?

I tap it and say, "Call Annie."

It lights up and I wait until I see her. "Annie!" I say happily. I notice she has a towel wrapped around her body.

"Hey Ember," she says.

"Whatcha wearing?" I ask her, raising my eyebrows.

"I just got out of the shower," she says like its obvious.

"Ugh, I need a shower," I say. "Anyway, did you find Nailea?"

"Yeah, and something else that's really important."

"Well, tell me!"

"We found the spell!"

"That's amazing!" I say excitedly. "Can you get back to Didian?"

"No," she says, her face dropping. "Since Aria is . . . sick, we can't come back. But, there is this . . . power of telekinesis where I can transport us back."

"Okay," I say. "We haven't found Aralynn or Kade yet." My mind drifts back to the conversation with Rafi but I don't tell her it.

"Um, Damien and I had our first kiss," she says quietly.

"Wait, what?" I say, almost yelling. She adjusts her towel as well as pushing a stray piece of wet hair behind her ear.

"Yeah," she says, going a little pink. "It was magical! How is Rafi?"

"Okay," I say. Suddenly, I hear yelling so I tell Annie, "I have to go. But tell Damien that even if he is my cousin, I would hurt him if he hurts you."

"Got it." She grins. "Wait, before you go. If you see Aralynn anytime soon, tell her her mother isn't dead."

"She isn't?" I ask as the yelling gets louder.

"Nope. Well, bye Ember!"

"Bye!" I end the call just as Rafi runs into the room.

"We made it to Jivin." I get up, careful not to look at his face and go to the deck. I see a city of firelight glowing in the near darkness.

"What are they getting ready for?" I ask as I notice a lot of people strolling around in dresses, robes, and masks.

"Oh, a festival for the people without magic," he says a little quietly.

"Okay, why would Kade or Aralynn be here if they hate people with magic?" I muse to myself. "By the way, I'm still mad at you."

I see him nod out of the corner of my eye. "We should get ready," he says.

"We're going to the festival too?" I ask, turning around to face him.

"Kade and Aralynn might be there," he says. "We can stop by my house on the way to get some clothes."

"Okay," I say as he lowers us to the ground in a mini forest.

"We'll have to be careful," he says. "I'm sure they know what you look like and they know that you have powers, so we'll have to be quick."

"Got it. Quick." I nod as he climbs down the ladder, looking around the wooded area. He signals that I can come down. When I touch the ground with my sneakered toe, he grabs my arm, pulling me behind a tree. "What-"

"Shh," he says, clamping a hand over my mouth. "I heard people."

I listen for footsteps or voices, but I hear none. Suddenly, I hear a soft voice humming a tune . . . a tune that brings back some memories of mine that I blocked. Mom used to sing me the same tune when I was littler.

"One day I'll get my prince charming, one day I'll conquer evil beings," the girl sings with a soft and warm voice. Rafi's grip loosens on my mouth. His arms drop to his side.

"That sounds like . . . but it can't be," he says. He takes a quick peek behind the tree. "Its my other sister, Ilya!"

He starts to walk to her but I grab his arm. "Maybe we should stay secret."

"No," he says. "She's good. She can help us."

"You sure?" I ask him. His face hardens.

"Am I sure?" he growls. "She's my sister. How could I not be sure?"

"Hm, this reminds me of our . . . conversation earlier," I whisper. He glares at me and runs away from the tree. I shake my head as I run after him, trying to catch up.

"Iyla!" he calls and the girl turns around. She gasps and I gasp as well. She looks almost exactly like Rafi, but with long, curly black hair that frames her face.

"Rafi?"

"Its me Ilya." He grabs her in his arms, squeezing her like he would never see her again. "I'm back. I'm sorry I ever left."

I watch the happy embrace as I back up slightly. I watch them silently, not knowing what to do. They soon let go and Rafi is smiling like he is finally happy. "Ilya, this is Ember. She is Aria's daughter."

"Hello," I say politely.

"Ilya, we need your help," Rafi says, getting serious.

"I'll do anything you need," she says.

"Ember here is trying to find her friend. We think she is here. We need to get into the festival and I know you have clothes that she could fit into."

"Okay," she says and then takes off her cloak. "Ember, put this on so you won't get recognized."

I grab it, putting it on and pulling the hood up. Ilya and Rafi start walking off, so I follow them. We soon make it to a little house and they walk inside. I hear a delighted shriek. "Rafi!" someone yells. "You're back!"

A woman comes barrelling toward us and crushes Rafi. A man comes out of the house as well and joins in the hug. I stand behind all of them awkwardly again. "Mom, Dad, can you please let me? I have something important to do."

They let go and Rafi introduces me again. "Now, we have to get dressed for the festival so we can find her friend," he says, glowing with happiness. My heart flutters a bit. Wait, what? Why? I dismiss it and we all walk inside the house.

"Ember, follow me please," Ilya says, smiling softly. I follow her into another room. It must be hers. It was decorated with a bed and a bedside table with a candle on it. She goes over to a chest and opens it. She looks back up at me before reaching in and grabbing something. She pulls out a black and blue dress and I gasp.

"Its so pretty!" I say, taking it in my hands. She also grabs a black cloak. I close the door and get undressed. I slip on the dress and she tightens the corset in the back.

"Rafi likes you, you know," she says casually.

"What?" I say, not believing her.

"I can tell. But something happened between you two. What happened?"

"Okay, so he says that my friend, Li-Aralynn killed your older sister," I start off. "I'm not sure if she did it, but he has, like this grudge on her still. He says that he doesn't think Light is still in Aralynn, since she can change back and forth. He doesn't believe me that she was good."

"I believe you," she says after a few minutes of silence. "I've already forgiven Aralynn for what she did. She was heartbroken and confused. I'm still sad Yara is dead, yes, but Aralynn is not at fault. I know Light is still in her."

"Thank you," I say, turning around. "Are you going to do my hair?"

"Yeah, turn back around." I turn back around and she takes pieces of my hair in her hands. She does something that I can't see and tells me to turn around again. She is holding a mirror and I gasp. My hair is in a simple braid and it looks simple yet elegant. The dress fits me perfectly and I twirl, making the ends flow out.

"Thank you Ilya," I say, hugging her.

"You're welcome," she says, hugging back. "Let me get you a mask."

She let's go and walks out of the room. She comes back a few minutes later with a light gold mask. I put the cloak and mask on and walk out of the room. Rafi looks up at me and he stop what he was doing. "Hi," I say, waving.

"Hi." He continues staring and I nudge him.

"Let's get going," I say. "Let's find my best friend."
(:)(:)(:)
We walk to the center of town, where everyone is gathered. "This is . . . amazing," I whisper to Rafi. "Well, except for the part of it that's not about powers, but you know what I mean."

"Yeah." We walk in silence again. I look around, trying to find my blue-haired friend. "Do you see her?"

"No," I reply. "Maybe she's over there." I point to where the majority of people are located.

"Oh, maybe we shouldn't go over there," he says nervously. "That's where people can dance."

"Come on!" I say, getting excited. "I wanna dance!"

"But I don't want to," he says, shaking his head.

"Come on!" I say, grabbing his arm and pulling him toward the people. He willing comes along. I look around and follow the dance the people are dancing. Suddenly, the dance stops and a slow song comes around. The notes of the instruments and the singing sounds heavenly. I look at Rafi and he smiles at me. He brings me close and my face gets really close to his face. I could feel my face heat up underneath the mask.

"Follow my lead since you don't know the dance," Rafi whispers. I nod, not trusting my voice. I follow Rafi but stare into his memorizing eyes, getting lost in them. "Ouch."

He stops dancing and grabs his foot. "Did I step on it?" I ask, trying not to laugh.

"Yeah," he says even though he's smiling.

"Sorry!" I say, grinning. He puts his foot back on the ground as I sling my arms around his neck. He hesitantly puts his arms around my waist. My heart flutters and I almost melt in his muscular arms. We stare into each others eyes for what feels like forever, his dark blue eyes pricing my light blue ones. "You know I forgive you, right?"

"Yeah," he whispers, not wanting to break the moment. "You wouldn't be dancing with me if you didn't forgive me."

I nod, smiling softly. Our faces move a little closer to each other and I hear a thunk. I giggle as he laughs, my face getting red underneath the mask. Again. "I'm sorry."

"Its fine," I say, smiling. "Maybe we should take our masks off."

I slip my arms from off his neck and take my mask off, dropping it to the ground. He does the same and he twirls me. I laugh, my face reddening as my dress goes out. He brings me close and my lips touch his in a perfect embrace. Fireworks go off and everything fades away until it is just me and him. He smiles against the kiss and pulls away. "Woah," he says, smiling. "That was amazing."

"It sure was!" I say, grinning. Suddenly, I notice no one is around us and the music stopped. "Where'd everyone go?"

"I'm not sure," he says, frowning. "And when did they leave?"

"I'm sorry to ruin your special moment, but I need you two," I hear a voice behind me. I turn around to see my best friend, Aralynn. I feel something connect to the back of my head and everything goes black.