The Sun Dwellers

As I lean over the face of the man who I immediately know is not my father, the Devil’s eyes flash open, the gateway to a black and soulless human shell.

“Didn’t you know?” the President says. “Your father’s already dead. And you’re next.”

My heart is in my throat as the demon lifts his hand, which is now holding a long glinting sword with a diamond-encrusted hilt, which I either didn’t notice before or which has magically appeared.

As his white-knuckled hand darts forward, I scream. Although I don’t close my eyes, blackness surrounds.

* * *

I’m still screaming and seeing darkness when a pair of strong arms cradles my head. “Shh,” a voice says.

I quiet but I’m still breathing hard, panting like I’ve just run a long way, my chest heaving. An instant later there’s a soft glow as a lantern is lit, casting dancing shadows on the rough, brown tu

I close my eyes, try to will the frantic pace of my heart to slow, as I remember where I am. In a tu

I open my eyes and, despite my vengeful thoughts, say, “I’m tired of all the death.” I realize my hand is clutching my necklace, just like in my dream. Slowly, I release the emerald, watch it swing gently back and forth, wishing I’d never had to leave my mother.

Tristan’s face worries its way to a tight smile. “Only one more person has to die, right?” The ever-present buzz whenever Tristan is near me hums along my scalp and down my spine. The urge to get as close to him as possible tugs at my arms, but I hide it well, not even flinching.

Even after the disturbing nightmare, I can’t help but grin when I’m talking to him. “Yeah, just your dad—hope you don’t mind.”

He laughs. “He’s no one’s father.”

“Not even Killen’s?”

“Especially not Killen’s,” he says. “We were only ever puppets to him, used to do his dirty work, nothing more.”

It saddens me to hear Tristan talk like that, but I know it’s true. I’d rather have a dead father than a living one like his. I sigh, wishing I had the same boldness now as when I kissed him back in the Moon Realm.

“What was your dream about?” he asks.

I tell him, watching as his hands tighten into fists, curling and uncurling with each sentence. When I finish, I say, “I don’t know if I’ll be able to do it when the time comes.”

“You’re strong, Adele. I’ve seen it time and time again,” he says, his dark blue eyes never leaving mine.

“Does it take strength to kill?” I ask, almost to myself. “Is that what makes your father strong?”

His hands relax and he folds them in his lap. “It takes strength to defeat evil,” he says wisely. “In any case, I won’t mind being the one to do it when the time comes.”

Despite his more relaxed posture, there’s a thirst for blood in his eyes that I’ve never seen before, which both scares and comforts me. Changing the subject, I say, “So what’s with you and Ram?” I’ve been itching to ask Tristan about his strange relationship with the dark-ski

“What do you mean?” Tristan says, his eyes giving away his hidden laugh.

“Umm, I don’t know…maybe the fact that he threatened to kill you at the council meeting, and you seemed to find it fu

Tristan’s laugh finally presents itself, lighting up his face. I bask in it for a moment as I wait for him to respond. “Let’s just say our friendship has had its ups and downs. Right now we’re on an up.”

“C’mon, tell me,” I push. “What were the downs?”

“He hated me,” Tristan says bluntly. “He didn’t trust me, tried to beat me up a few times, tried to block me from trying to help.”

I guess it makes sense that he’d have opposition—even within the Resistance. Still, a smile plays on my lips. “He tried to beat you up? The guy’s a behemoth.”

Tristan looks away, cringing slightly, but then turns back, his lips turned up once more. “Okay, okay, he did beat me up, but it’s not like I tried to fight back—I didn’t want to upset anyone by getting into fights while trying to convince people to trust me.”

“Sure, tough guy,” I say.

We’re both quiet for a few minutes, but it’s not awkward, which is one of the things I like about Tristan. Just being near him feels right. It’s been that way since I met him. It’s like all the nerves and nodes and synapses in our bodies thrive on our nearness. At least that’s how it is for me, and how I hope it is for Tristan.

He must be thinking the same thing because he says, “Isn’t it weird that we’re here together?” He laughs and I’m silent, but I know exactly what he means. We saw each other across barren rock, through a barbed-wire, electrified fence, past hordes of his screaming, undergarment-throwing, adoring fans—me in freaking prison and him the prized attraction in a parade—and yet here we are, together; like together together. Weird is the perfect word for it.

“Have you ever thought that maybe it’s more than just coincidence?” he says, his eyebrows question marks.

“Like fate?” I say, trying to hide my surprise at his question. I haven’t told him what my mom said to me before we left the Moon Realm:

It’s no accident that you and Tristan met.

“Maybe. I du

My thoughts come fast, careening around in my head like fish in a cave pond. In my world, the only fate is illness or death. We don’t have much else. However, from the time I laid eyes on Tristan in the flesh, I have felt an indescribable pull toward him, like someone wants us to be together. But despite my mom’s declaration that it wasn’t an accident that we met, there’s no logical explanation for any of it, which doesn’t work for my pragmatic mind. I shake my head. “I don’t think so. It’s just plain random chance.”

It’s no accident that you and Tristan met.

Tristan frowns. “There’s something I have to tell you.”

I stop breathing. Here it comes. For a while now I’ve felt there was something he was holding back, something big—maybe life-changing.

“Did I ever tell you that I fainted once thinking about you?”

Huh? I’m guessing that’s not what he’s been keeping from me. What does that even mean? I sigh. “Umm…” Well. Hmm. No?

“I did. Roc and I were training, fighting with wooden swords. This was shortly after I saw you for the first time, mind you. The fight was over and your face popped into my head…” He ducks his head sheepishly and sort of cringes, like he’s wondering why he decided to tell me this, but knows he can’t go back now. “And, well, I passed out right then. In the time between fainting and Roc waking me up, I dreamt that my father murdered you right in front of me. It was creepy.”

My head spins. Why is he telling me this? So I made him faint? I don’t know what to say, but he’s not done yet.

“Then I nearly passed out again when I saw you the second time, when you were trying to break out of the Pen.”

I can’t help but laugh now. “Are you sure it wasn’t the fumes from the bombs blowing up all over the place?”

His face is dead serious. “No, it was you. I had a physical reaction to seeing you, almost like my body couldn’t handle it.”

This is definitely not the direction I thought the conversation was going. “I didn’t take many baths while in the Pen so normally I would guess it was my body odor that caused it, but I had just showered that day, so that can’t be it,” I joke.