SURVIVE (THRIVE: Book Two)

Chapter 51- Regret?

"She shouldn't be here." I overhear Roxie state from inside the room. I'm sitting in the hall with my head buried in my knees, practically paralyzed with grief.

"I need more time before we can move their bodies, something about this is getting to me," Aurora says quietly.

"You two stick around, I'm going to take the kids home. They've been through too much today." Nixi sighs.

"Be safe," Roxie says sympathetically "Take them to Nanea's, she needs to know what happened."

"I will." Nixi agrees, pausing as her voice begins to become somber "Sister,"

"I know." Roxie sighs as I hear her shuffle around. Suddenly, Nixi comes out into the hall to find the three of us crouched around silently.

"Come on," she begins sadly as she reaches her hand out to me "It's been a long day. Let's go home."

It's dark by the time we make it home, and the house is mostly dark with only a single candle lit in the living room. As I walk in and look around, I sigh, wishing I could see Pearl sitting in the window, curled up with a good book.

"Thank goodness," Nanea says as she comes out of the kitchen, rushing over to hug me "Sweetheart, are you okay? Where's Pearl?" she asks, and the tears begin to fill my eyes.

"She didn't make it," Nixi sighs as she leads Pheonix and Desire in. Suddenly, Nanea freezes, slowly backing into a chair, shaking as she sits down.

"No," she chokes under her breath, "This can't be," she begins to cry.

"I'm so sorry Lolani," Desire says as she climbs into the chair beside her, holding her.

"Jewel is gone too," Phoenix states "They used them for something, we just don't know what."

"Where are they now?" Nanea asks worriedly.

"Gael's compound," Nixi states solemnly "Aurora and Roxie are going to bring their bodies to the temple once they're done figuring out what happened." As I look around, I slide my back down the wall, sitting on the floor, defeated.

"Should we wake up Aria and Alex?" I ask nervously. Phoenix sighs as he looks down the hall, and suddenly, his expression changes.

"Too late," he states, and Aria begins to make her way to us, looking across our dismal faces.

"No," she mutters, clutching her hair as she crouches to the ground "No... no....no!" she screams, her cries echoing as we all feel powerless to help.

"Aria," Nixi begins "There was nothing we could do," she explains sadly.

"This can't be true," Aria cries "It just can't be." As she falls forward on her knees, she clutches desperately at the ground, clinging to a reality that no longer exists.

"What's going on out here?" Alex asks as he peers out of his room.

"Alex," I try to speak but am too consumed by tears. Suddenly, Magnus comes out from behind him.

"Tessa!" Magnus shouts as he dashes over, gripping me tightly "Thank god you're okay."

"Relatively speaking," I mutter as I fail to hold back the tears.

"Nanea," Alex asks as he looks down at Aria. Nanea just looks at him and shakes her head. At that moment, I hear Alex begin to cry for the first time.

None of us expected anything like this to happen, but the demons from the past have returned whether we like it or not. After everything I have seen that they are capable of, there is one undeniable fact that is flooding my mind; we are at war.

As I wander through the dungeon, I'm met by pure silence as all of the cells are surprisingly empty. Apparently, the guards have been too worried about the bigger picture over the last few days that they haven't been arresting smaller crimes. When I make it to Sanctum, I can hear Roxie and Aurora down the hall.

"How is that even possible?" Roxie asks worriedly.

"I don't know, but they have been completely drained of blood," Aurora states, sounding confused.

"I can't test them for anything without it, I don't know what to do." Roxie sounds defeated.

"What's going on?" I ask as I turn the corner, seeing the two of them standing over a table, cloths draped over the two bodies.

"You shouldn't be down here." Roxie sighs as she glances up at me.

"I'd rather be upset about seeing the truth than upset over what my brain is trying to scream at me," I state boldly, looking over the table.

"Fair enough." Aurora sighs and comes around to hug me. "I'm sorry you're going through this, I had hoped that after Justin we would never have to experience anything like this again," she explains, and suddenly, a sharp pain jolts up my spine as I hear his name.

"About that," I begin nervously, "Roxie, I need to talk to you about something."

"What's wrong?" she asks as she comes around the table. As I ponder what I know, I try to think of where to start, but one thing sticks out above the rest; Kai.

"Why didn't anyone tell me that my mother was pregnant before me?" I ask worriedly, scanning their faces for their reaction.

"What are you talking about?" Aurora asks, utterly confused. Roxie's face suddenly turns pale as she looks between the two of us. As she looks down at her feet, she takes a deep breath, searching for the words I'm guessing she had hoped to keep buried.

"How do you know about that?" Roxie asks desperately.

"Answer my question first." I demand "Please, I need to know." I try to remain calm, and Roxie sighs as she prepares to speak.

"She never wanted to be." she begins "When she found out that Gael had gotten her pregnant, she was still mentally healing from... what he had done and was barely staying sane. Finding this out broke her, and she was ready to end it all then and there. I offered her a way out, and after she thought about it for a few days, she took it." she explains solemnly.

"You helped her terminate the pregnancy?" Aurora asks, mortified "How could you do something like that?"

"She was scared and hopeless, what else was I supposed to do?" Roxie explains, sounding guilty of her actions "If I hadn't, she either would have ended her life, or been forced to raise a child she would have just resented or even feared. I didn't want to do it, but the alternatives would have been far worse."

"I can't believe this," Aurora states, seeming shocked "Why didn't she ever tell me?" she asks in disbelief.

"She was far too broken by the choice she made, and she didn't want anyone's judgment or sympathy. She had been through so much already, it would have been too much to bear." Roxie explains. "I helped make it so she wouldn't have to shoulder the decision alone, and I don't regret my choice. Whether or not she does is her business, not ours."

"Do you ever wonder what would have happened if she had the child?" I ask, taking another deep breath.

"I don't know, but I think they were better off this way," she explains solemnly. "No one should be forced to give birth after someone... forces that on them." she hesitates.

"I hate to say it, but I think you're wrong." I sigh "He would have been much better off being raised by my mother."

"He?" Aurora asks, her eyes widening.

"Breeze, what are you talking about?" Roxie asks, suddenly clutching the side of the table.

"You may have stopped the pregnancy, but you didn't stop his soul from being born." I explain nervously "His name is Malakai, and he became the adopted son of the Ancient Ones."