he’s alive.”
Zaal turned away and I saw his shoulders shaking. When he faced me again, I knew. The desperately sad expression on his face told me everything I needed to know. My legs too weak to take the news, I collapsed to the floor.
Cries racked my body as it felt like someone was twisting my heart and lungs in their tight grip. Strong arms suddenly wrapped around me, a large body pulling me to his chest. I fell into his hold, and his familiar scent took me back to when we were children. Minutes and minutes passed by. I cried until I was sure I couldn’t cry anymore.
Obviously hearing I had calmed down, Zaal pressed a kiss on my head and said, “I have missed you, Zoya. I still have you. We still have each other.”
I gripped him tightly and whispered, “I missed you, too, sykhaara.”
I took courage from his hold. Eventually I pulled back, my cheeks flushed, feeling the eyes of strangers watching me.
When I looked at Zaal’s face, I said, “You look just like Papa, sykhaara. You’ve grown to be handsome, just like him.”
Zaal’s lip hooked into a proud smirk. When I touched his long hair, I then touched mine. “We have the same hair now,” I remarked.
A gruff laugh burst from Zaal’s lips. I laughed, too. He nodded his head, “Your hair is longer than mine. At last.”
I shook my head, remembering my annoyance as a child that my brothers had longer hair than I. I quickly sobered as I saw Zaal’s scarred and tattooed arms. “You look so different, sykhaara, yet exactly the same, if such a thing is possible.”
Zaal’s head dropped, and he admitted, “I’m not the brother you remember, Zoya.” I lifted his chin, my stomach turning when I examined his beaten face.
His eyes met mine and I replied, “And I am not the same sister you knew, either.” I sighed and said, “After everything that we have been through, how could we be?”
Silence hung heavily between us. The climbing flames of the fire caught my attention; then I asked, “How did Anri die and you survive?”
The tension crackled between us. Zaal said, “Jakhua tested his drugs on us, drugs he created for obedience—”
“I know about the drugs,” I said, then frowned when I tried to remember why I knew about the drugs.
“The drugs,” Zaal continued, making me refocus on him, “the drugs worked on me immediately. They took away my memories”—Zaal sighed—“and even my recognition of Anri.”
“No!” I exclaimed, trying to imagine my twin brothers as strangers. It was impossible. They were always together.
“Almost as soon as Jakhua killed our family and took us into captivity, I no longer knew Anri. I was rescued from Jakhua last year and discovered Anri had been taken from me as the drugs failed to work on him. He was used in underground death-match rings.”
I felt nauseous listening to the story of their lives. It was surreal. “Death matches?” I asked, “Did he die in a death match?”
Zaal nodded his head, and his gaze flicked to the other man in the room. Suddenly, as if my brother reminded me we had an audience, I looked at the other people.
Zaal’s hand tightened on mine, and in a low voice I asked, “Where are we? My mind … nothing is too clear. I’m finding it hard to gather my memories and thoughts.”
“It’s the drugs, Zoya. They take a while to wear off.” I was about to question Zaal on what he was talking of, but Zaal shifted to his feet and he offered me his hand before I could.
With another nervous glance at the strangers, I placed my hand in his and let him pull me to my feet. Zaal put his arms around my shoulders, protectively pulling me to his side. I kept my eyes to the floor; too many years locked away in isolation had made me feel uncomfortable in the headlights of their intense stares.
“Zoya,” Zaal said carefully, “I was rescued early this year by Luka.” Zaal’s hand pointed to the blond man. I flicked my eyes to look at him, and when I did he nodded his head. I nodded back and then looked at the woman beside him. She was beautiful, all long brown hair and bright blue eyes. She too nodded her head and smiled.
Zaal took a deep breath and next turned to the blond woman on the couch. Zaal held out his hand and the blond woman threaded her fingers in his.