Path to War (The Chosen Twins Book #2)

Chapter 15 - Discovery

Warning: Major heartbreak ahead for the readers. :) ;-;

Aniya Skywalker

The howl of an animal splits the otherwise silent night just as we ride around a final sand dune and spot a camp straight ahead. The Tuskens. We've found them. And Mom. Anakin backs the speeder around the dune so it will be out of sight. The light of the full moons could give it away otherwise. For that matter, hopefully it won't give us away. We both jump off and creep forwards through the darkness, darting between the shadows to stay out of sight.

It's not hard at all to figure out which hut Mom is in. Only one of them has two guards standing outside, and it's from there I can feel her the strongest. We dart around to the backside of the hut and Anakin ignites his lightsaber, cutting through the base of the wall.

I'm honestly a bit surprised that the guards didn't hear it. Or maybe they did but weren't sure what it was, so they ignored it. Once there's a large enough hole in the wall, Anakin deactivates his lightsaber and climbs through. I duck in right behind.

I know the kinds of things Tuskens do, and I know that Mom has been badly hurt, but nothing at all prepared me for the actual sight of seeing her like this.

There are candles all over inside the hut, along with a larger fire burning. Moonlight is streaming in through a hole in the roof. Although the lighting is still dim, it's enough to see.

In the center of the hut is a wooden frame... with Mom tied to it, covered in blood. She's obviously been beaten very badly. Anger burns inside me at these creatures. They hurt our mother. They tortured her.

We hastily walk over to her and untie the ropes on her wrists holding her onto the frame. Anakin lowers her to the ground, and I crouch down beside them. Her injuries are extremely serious. If we don't get her taken care of soon... No. I can't think about it.

"Mom..." murmurs Anakin.

"Mom," I call softly when she doesn't respond. After a moment, her eyes open slightly.

"Ani?" she mumbles, "Is it you?"

"We're here Mom," I breathe, "You're safe." The Tuskens are never going to do anything to her again. If they even try, they will sincerely regret it for the rest of their very short minutes.

"Hang on," murmurs Anakin, "We're going to get you out of here."

"I'm so glad ... to see you both, Ani," Mom manages to speak with difficulty, "Now... I am complete..." No. No, she can't leave now that we just found her. She can't die! Tears fill my eyes at the thought. The thought of someone I care for so much dying is too much to handle. She can't leave us like this.

"Just stay with us, Mom. We're going to make you well again," insists Anakin.

"Everything's going to be fine," I add, trying to make myself believe it's true.

Mom stares at both of us for a long moment. "I'm so proud of you, Ani," she murmurs, as the strength slowly fades from her. Every word is taking extreme effort to say, and I can sense our bond becoming more and more strained by the moment. "So proud... I missed you both so much... I love you." She falls silent and her body goes motionless in Anakin's arms. Our bond wrenches apart, still impossibly strong despite the decade of not having seen her. I can feel life fade from her. She's... she's gone. Our mother is gone. No. Nononono!

There are no words to describe the agony flowing through me. She's gone. Really, truly gone. There is no return. Of course, I know it, everyone dies eventually. Even stars burn out. A decade of our life of hoping, waiting to see her again is ripped away, thrown into nothingness. There is no going back. She's gone, and we'll have to spend the rest of our lives knowing we failed her. We failed one of the only people we care about. They killed her. They killed our mother. The tears I hadn't even realized started, suddenly stop as a raw, blind fury overcomes me.