Path to War (The Chosen Twins Book #2)

Chapter 20 - Aftermath of War

Aniya Skywalker

Horror does not even begin to encompass my emotions as Anakin is thrown across the room, unconscious. Both my brothers are injured. Obi-Wan's wounds will heal, but Anakin... the damage done to my twin isn't something that can be undone. Lightsaber burns can heal even if they do scar, but there's no way to recover a missing limb. Sure, you can get a replacement, but it's not even near the same. I stumble to the ground as their pain overwhelms me. I failed Mom, and now I failed my brothers. No one touches them and lives.

Everything adding up is just too much for me to handle. A raw, blind fury overcomes me, bubbling to the surface and demanding repayment for what they've done, just like it did when Mom died. I jump up without even registering it – almost in the same state as I was last night – simultaneously using the Force to grab Anakin's dropped lightsaber while jumping at Dooku.

I attack him furiously, my blades clashing with Dooku's in a blinding blur of red and blue. The Sith is on the defensive, but it's not long before the Zabarak comes to attack me from the other side. I spin sideways, blocking her blow with my left lightsaber. I struggle to keep them both away, then duck downwards out of the saberlock, standing again a few feet away. The Sith turn towards me calculatingly.

I inhale sharply, anger surging, though the pain in my left arm from the blaster bolt earlier is still more than obvious. The fight is making it hurt worse, and the burn might not have become cauterized properly, judging from the wetness of the upper part of my sleeve. And there's still the lingering pain from the lightning. It's making me angrier, like the Dark Side always does with injuries, but there's only so much I can fight through. Across the room, Qui-Gon stirs slightly, telling me he'll be up in moments. Good.

"I would have thought you had learned by now," chides Dooku as I come at the two again. I don't care what happens to me. I'm too furious to care.

"Aniya," Obi-Wan calls urgently. I barely even register the voice, but I pause at the concern in it. Somewhere deep beneath my haze of rage, I know he's worried about me. Jedi are supposed to be calm. My eyes dart over to him, but the sight only serves to reignite my anger, and I meet the Zabarak's next attack with renewed strength. I shove her back, then spin to attack Dooku. The timing was slightly miscalculated. She slashes her lightsabers towards me, this time not quite in unison. I twist slightly to block her blow, but only manage to parry one. The other cuts into my right arm.

I stumble aside, jerking out of the way, gasping at the burning pain running through the injury. I'm in no place to keep fighting, but of course the Sith don't care. Their focus is escaping before reinforcements arrive. The Zabarak moves towards me again, and I jump over her head, only for Dooku's blade to slash deeply across my leg. I hit the ground, a cry escaping me.

Everything blurs out of focus, and it takes sheer will power for me to remain conscious. Despite how badly everything is hurting, I still somehow managed to make it out all in one piece. When I manage to look up again, I spot a blue lightsaber stopping the Zabarak's from hitting me. Qui-Gon. He's up again, but a little too late.

If I had been more calm, if I had been more focused... we could have stopped them together. Now... The reality of what just happened crashes in on me. I failed. Again. I promised to make Mom proud, I'd promised not to fail her again. But I just did. I wasn't strong enough. Both my brothers are injured, and my master only will be able to hold out so long. He'll never be able to win, even as good as he is. Which could easily mean near death for him to. And I used the Dark Side again, and this time, Obi-Wan saw. He saw. I don't look at him. Can't. If he rejects us, I'd rather not know. No. He won't. Of course, he won't. He loves us too much. But maybe he shouldn't. We've failed him and everything we've worked for so long.