The hall was silent and still. Moonlight cast its glow on the portraits and paintings along the wall. Their eyes were all open. All watching.

  The bathroom was tucked away in a nook to my right.

  A chandelier hung overhead, with candles in its intricate branches. A pool installed in the center, surrounded by floating clawfoot candles and petals. To the left of the pool stood a gothic style washbasin made of carved onyx and adorned with various sea-shell motifs, topped with an ornate, platinum tap. I took in the sight, unable to stifle a small gasp as I marveled at its extravagant design. The entire room had the aura of something from a bygone era of grandeur.

  I didn't actually need to reprieve myself, but I certainly felt as though I did. My thoughts felt tangled and tangled up inside my mind, trying to figure out why the sight of a simple doll had been so difficult.

  It had felt so easy to agree, and yet now, it felt almost impossible. I turned the platinum tap and watched the water flow down, reflecting my own face in its surface. Cupping my hand to splash water over my face, I felt it wash away some of the anxiety, leaving my cheeks wet. I inhaled deeply.

  I heard footsteps.

  And when I looked up, I was startled to find myself face-to-face with someone I had hoped to see, yet wasn't ready for.

  "KiAera," the girl whispered. I turned completely to have a good look of the girl. Just to see a spitting image of myself. Younger. And unlike me, the girl had short, dark hair… taut black-rabbit ears and her school uniform was as immaculate as her posture.

  "This place... really is a hospice for ghosts."

  My throat felt dry, a thousand questions vying to be heard. "Why are you here?"

  Her face softened with an apologetic smile. "Is that really the only question you have for—"

  "Wailfiend this isn't funny! Why are you guising as my sister…!" I nearly shouted, my hands balling into fists as my stomach coiled in a mix of grief and rage. "This isn't—this isn't fair to me!"

  My voice trembled as I choked back the tears. I didn't know if it was Wailfiend trying to mess with my head. But if this was her, she'd done her research. The resemblance was eerie, almost as though Aria was looking straight back at me.

  The figure shook her head, her brows furrowed. "Fool… I am your sister. This isn't some disguise. I just wanted to see you… even if it was in a place like this."

  I didn't want to believe it.

  "That's impossible. You're—" I tried to keep my voice steady, but the words came out weak, almost inaudible, "...gone."

  Aria tilted her head in an uncharacteristically mechanical fashion. "It is the truth. You know it, Aera." She reached out, taking my hand in hers. Her grip was gentle but cold, much colder than the water in the wash basin.

  I blinked back my tears and returned her grasp.

  "What does this mean, then?"

  Her expression turned somber. "I think we both know." Her hand shoved hard into my chest, the force tremendous enough to drive me through the sink and the wall behind. The blow left me gasping as I slammed onto the ground, my eyes staring at the cracked ceiling.

  The chandelier above shook, a few of the candles falling with a clang and splutter against the floor. I lifted myself to my feet, staggering back.

  I saw Aria step slowly foward. She motioned her hand in a deliberate manner. In that act, her nails unsheathed into frighteningly sharp claws. Her mouth opened to reveal fangs like daggers. She hissed a sound that made the very air shiver, and the hair on my skin stood on end. Her once light blue eyes had now gone completely crimson and glowed like flames.

  I wasn't prepared. She could not have been real, but the throb of my rib cage told me I had not dreamed the strike.

  I tried to gather myself as best I could, to be ready to move if she came closer. My gaze darted around, taking in what details I could to understand the situation, when Aria let out a sound akin to a snarl and leapt, claws raised.

  I darted back. Parried her hands, but never dared to harm her. It didn't matter. My hesitation made the situation even worse. The blows were hard and heavy enough to pressure me down the hallways. We were a blur of acrobatic movement. Aria pressing her advantage as a flurry of afterimages in our struggle, never leaving me a chance to grasp a detail to stop her.

  "Aria," I pleaded, hoping that using her name would break her out of this madness. "It's me—it's Kia! You don't have to—"

  The claws missed me, barely an inch from my cheek. The pain stung from where I had blocked the blows. Her teeth were bared in a sinister sneer, eyes burning with heart wrenching ire. Then the tail. I didn't expect her tail. It grabbed my hair and she raised her claws to strike—

  My instinct was to act. I had already committed to having my own hair to ensnare her. She thrashed in my grasp. She was so strong. But I was stronger than before. My eyes darted over her body. No sign of a Mark. "I don't want to hurt you, but—"

  "Hurt me?" She said in an echoing, almost sibilant tone that chilled the blood in my veins. She wrenched her clawed hand from my grasp and I tried to stop her with my tail. She bit down hard on my tail. The pain seared through me, but I refused to let it weaken my hold on her.

  I was caught off-guard when Aria suddenly wrapped her legs around me, the momentum slamming me onto my back. Her claws found the bare flesh of my abdomen. She began to slash in a frenzy of vicious blows. I raised my arms to defend.

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  "You killed me! You killed me! You killed me!" Aria assaulted me with those words with each strike of her claws. The rage and grief in her tone made each word a stinging barb that made my eyes prick with tears. I felt myself grow weaker and weaker under each assault, but I kept my defense, refusing to strike back.

  My limbs ached as they became sluggish under each blow, my thoughts becoming foggy with the strain. "I had no choice—you were too far gone—"

  "And now I'm this damn beast," she screamed in my face as her claws came at my throat.

  I grabbed her arms. Her eyes widened at the unexpected movement.

  "Then why come to see me again? You must remember what it was like! The pain! You must know why I couldn't—couldn't bear to keep you like that! You had lost yourself to the madness, targeting us and would've wiped us all out! Yet… Aria… I know you were not a cruel soul—and I do understand why you hate me so much."

  Tears trailed down my cheeks as my voice broke in the confession. Aria's eyes had a flicker of something soft in the scarlet fire.

  She struggled to break my hold on her arms. "I don't want to hate you, Aera. You have always been kind and patient, always taking care of me. You even played with my dolls even though you disliked them." She stopped thrashing. "But I wanted you to see this. It wasn't enough that you allowed Emma to kill me, Kia—now you've made a new sister for yourself and cast me aside!"

  A polite cough cut through the hallway.

  "Ahem. Ladies. If I may ask? Would you two have the decency of not going around destroying my master's manor."

  We both turned toward the owner of the voice. He looked like a boy, probably no older than his mid-teenage years—somewhere around Aria's age. I recognized him on the spot. He was Vaida—if I recalled correctly. Not that I knew him, but I had acquainted myself with him during another intervention. He had blondish-hair, complimentary fox ears, and a bouquet of nine tails tied together with arcane bands. He adjusted the front of his silver tuxedo as though smoothing out his fur as he drifted toward us.

  "Miss Aria, as you know, as your benefactor you mustn't become an uncontrollable creature, wreaking havoc in myteacher's residence," Vaida spoke in a very diplomatic and calming manner.

  I felt a faint smile curl at my lips as I found myself growing drowsy from the fight and exhaustion. I trailed my gaze toward Aria who seemed ticked off by Vaida's presence. I knew what Aria was like. I knew the real Aria and the monster I had slain. And what was staring at me in the eye now was the Aria that I knew—and I saw no hint of the madness or rage she'd had earlier.

  I felt her clawed grip loosened and the weight of her body eased off me. She stomped toward Vaida and clasped her hands onto his collar and attempted a shake. "Why is she fucking here, you prim prick? This was my trial!"

  "Aria, calm down. Let us be reasonable. There is a very logical explanation for her presence," Vaida answered calmly and carefully as he looked away and back to his silver pocket watch, and adjusted the tiny gears at the back of it.

  I was starting to get the idea that there was something that went down between the two. I brushed my tattered sleeves, as I observed the scene with great interest. I was going to make my presence known but held off.

  I watched as Vaida tilted his head back to avoid Aria's wrath. "Miss Aria, it is as I mentioned in our initial discussion. There had been some... mishaps during your summoning and well..." Vaida sighed and continued as Aria's expression darkened in rage. "Your trial will take place on a different day."

  Vaida turned and gestured to me with a bright smile. "In the meanwhile, it has been an honor to have Miss Aria and KiAera at my teacher's manor. I thought it would have been well suited for a reunion between two sisters who have been through much and apart for a while."

  I glanced over to Aria. Her body seemed to tremble as if trying to hold back. "Aria..."

  Aria spun toward me. "And why are you acting all docile when you can't even defend yourself! I have every right to hate you—but why… are you always so... so... kind?! It just makes everything worse! You can't make this all better with your gentle voice and...and...fuck you!"

  Aria turned back to Vaida and began shaking him by the collar again. "And why are you still here? I thought you'd be more useful than this!"

  I saw the struggle in Aria's body as she attempted to maintain her composure. "Forget it. Take me anywhere else, anywhere but here." She spun, stomping down the hall. "I want to be alone."

  I heard a click of a tongue from Vaida as Aria took a corner. I turned toward the passage, wondering how things would play out if I were to pursue Aria.

  I didn't need to dwell on the thought when Vaida cleared his throat and spoke with an amused tone. He extended his hand. "Shall we, Miss Aera?"

  I raised my gaze back to the fox-boy. "Aria—I mean... you knew?" I questioned in disbelief.

  The fox-eared boy had an amused grin on his face. "There is a lot one could learn in the vast knowledge of my teacher."

  "Szylla, huh? So, you're another one of her students?"

  "The most important and senior apprentice among my peers, Miss KiAera." He said while adjusting his collar with a contented smile.

  "No you're not!" Wailfiend had blurted out as she phased her head through the wall. "The Sovereign and I go way back, you frat fox. Don't let your head swell from your newfound fame!"

  Wailfiend floated in front of me and wrapped her arms around mine in a pouting manner. She stuck her tongue out at him.

  I was surprised when I glanced over at Vaida. He seemed calm but was visibly irked by Wailfiend's remark. I glanced to Wailfiend and noticed the corners of her mouth twitching into an amused smirk. I looked back and forth between the two. Wailfiend was obviously messing with Vaida.

  A smile crept onto my face as I tried to contain the laugh in my throat.

  I could have sworn Vaida was glaring daggers at the smug banshee beside me, who was doing her best impression of an innocent smile.

  "And why are you two so friendly with each other? Did you already get through your stage of mutual destruction? You've got some nerve being so intimate with our new friend, Wailfiend. Have you forgotten what the Sovereign told us?"

  Wailfiend huffed, tossing her hair in dramatic indignation. "Of course, I do. Dr. Szylla says the key to a lasting friendship is the ability to bicker, vixen-boy, and occasionally stab each other in the back!"

  Vaida raised an eyebrow and tilted his head with a frown.

  "Wailfiend," I said. I watched the corners of her mouth curl upward into a grin. "Please don't rile Vaida up." I nodded toward the way the entire hallway trembled as I said it.

  Wailfiend gasped, but Vaida didn't even flinch.

  "Yes, Miss Aera. It is best to avoid the inevitable destruction if possible," Vaida agreed and glanced at his silver pocket watch before shifting his eyes to us.

  Vaida was much older and wiser, and significantly stronger, and would have won in a confrontation, but we all had other priorities for the time.

  I felt Wailfiend's grip tighten. "Vaida... if you so much as touch one hair on my bunnycat—"

  Vaida turned back, looking as though he were about to lose his cool, his fox tails flickering around his feet as they were poised and ready. His lips then tugged into a smile. "Right. I have my own to attend to. I have more cardinals tasks to attend to. Enjoy yourselves ladies, Lady Szylla has invited you both for tea."

  With his gaze fixed on Wailfiend, he handed us an envelope signed with a spiral of active ink. "Until next time, jezebel," he turned to me and bestowed a small bow, "toodle-oo!"

  And gone from the spot, into an overdone spectacle of motes and mist.

  Wailfiend and I took a look at the letter, and on the blank paper, words scrawled themselves across the sheet. Somehow it seemed to acknowledge the state of my attire. In fact it was Szylla who was addressing me; informing me to get tailored for my new dress in the upcoming tea ceremony.