[Biana]

 I wake up to blinding lights of many different hues. I wake up to see the healing center around me. When I open my eyes I see my mother, my father, and Keefe. I try to sit up but fail and lay back down. 

"You're awake!" They all cry in unison. 

"Where's Tam?" I manage to say, remembering Vespera's threat. 

"Did they take him? Vespera said.." I trail off.

"No sweetie. He's been here for days. But Elwin forced him to go home and get some rest." My father explains. 

I sigh in relief, "Is everyone else okay?"  

"Sophie and Maruca have minor injuries and are recovering at Havenfield. Linh and Marella are facing some injuries. Alvar hurt them. But they'll recover." My mom says, and I follow her gaze to the two beds just a few away from mine.

"I'll hail Tam." My mom says with a halfhearted sappy smile. 

Five minutes later Tam is sitting in the chair beside me.

"I'm so sorry Bia. I wish I could've helped you, but I was useless." He says. 

"I'm so glad you're okay. It doesn't matter, I don't want you to get hurt," I say. 

He looks at the newest scar on my neck, from Vespera, and yet another shard of mirror. I follow his eyes as he looks down at the floor.

 "Biana," he says, "your parents, they thought I was the best person to tell you this... but Fitz... he didn't make it through the attack..."  

"The Neverseen killed him at the end of the battle." 

I gasp. Even though we'd been arguing, I still love him. He'd been controlling, but only tried protecting me. He wasn't always the best brother, but he was still my brother, I still loved him so much. I still had hope for everything he'd become, the same hope I still had hope for Alvar. I have no more hope for Alvar, and no way to hope for Fitz. My own brother, who I'd snapped at the day before. Did he die thinking no one cared?

"He was stuck in a force field and at the end of the battle... they killed him... to send a message. It- it should have been me. They wouldn't have done it if I hadn't escaped," Tam says, his eyes clouded with tears. 

"Tam Dai Song, look at me. It's not your fault Fitz was killed, and it should not have been you in his place. It isn't your fault. It's no one's fault but the people who did it, I promise. As much as I miss Fitz and wish there was something or someone to blame to take it out on, there is only the Neverseen. We just have to work hard, and win it all for Fitz," I say, my voice cracks. 

"I wish I could believe you. You don't deserve me Biana, you deserve someone so much better. Who can actually help you through this," he says, "I don't understand what it's like to lose a sibling. You should talk with Sophie."

"Stay with me? Please? You know how mad and broken you would be if anything happened to Linh, I need you here, someone who understands," I say. 

"Get some rest Bia..." 

I nod and curl back into my cot, pulling the blankets to just under my chin. I nestle close into a ball and drift off. But I swear before I fall asleep I hear a whisper.

"I love you Biana."

+++

A/N Sorry for the short chapter! But I felt like I needed to give you SOMETHING after last chapter. So here you go! A small chapter filled with sadness and fluff. Thanks for staying with this story. 

~Isla

E/N I realized I was way too harsh with Fitz and I wanted to go in and alter it a bit to make it a bit less we hate Fitz, because he deserves better. More updates soon, just trying to make everything more readable, fixing dialogue paragraphs, spelling errors and little things about the plot. 

Thanks you all ilysm! 

<3