The next day I did something I always swore I wouldn’t. I easily picked off three E ranked monsters early in the morning then booked it out of the Gate once my Daily Task was completed. The reason would be worth it.

Back at E Hostel I locked myself in my bedroom with the Fanged Snapper scales, a pair of needle nose tweezers, the leftover links from repairing Mom’s bracelet, and my kindjal for the next two hours.

By noon I was showered and dressed in my best clothes — jeans and a rarely worn forest green shirt — and standing at the Southern entrance to Eden. I shifted from side to side anxiously awaiting my little sis. I lost count of how many times I glanced at the walkway every time it opened and let someone in. It always led to a disappointment, but that didn’t keep me from jumping every time the iron gate swung open to let someone into Eden.

I glanced at the clock on my Menu screen. I did say noon, right? I hadn’t given her the wrong time, had I?

The iron gate swung open again and I looked up.

“Jyn!” Aliya squealed as she caught sight of me. She ran over and threw herself into my arms. “I missed you,” she whispered and squeezed tighter.

I smiled and let her hold as tight as she wanted. “I missed you too.”

I was allowed to bring one human family member into Eden once every six months, but this was the first time I’d taken advantage of it. I didn’t have the confidence to let Aliya know what was going on before. Now things were different. I might not be in a great place yet, but I wasn’t dregs in the bottom anymore.

After a second, I stepped back and motioned with my arms. “Welcome to Eden.”

She looked around, her hazel eyes bright as she took in the paved road, the red bricked buildings and the trees lining the street. She smiled and gave a small laugh. “It’s a lot more normal than I thought it would be. When I hear stories about Eden, it sounds like a fantasy land.”

I laughed and nodded to the side. “Yeah, it’s pretty normal.” On the surface at least.

I understood what she meant, what with the way that humans had romanticized Hunters and what they did in the Gate. Growing up, I'd even heard tales about how little magical lights dance in the air in Eden and how you could see cute little monster pets running around the streets, playing with each other in adorable ways. It would be cool if it was real, but it wasn’t.

“So it’s your first time here, what do you want to see first?”

She smiled and pointed straight ahead to the black arch looming over the buildings. “I want to see the Gate.”

I nodded slowly, not so surprised. “Okay.” I looped an arm around her shoulders and started to walk. I pulled her to a stop almost immediately as a thought came to me. “Ah, I need to warn you, Aliya.” I looked down into her eyes. “We can go over there, but sometimes the people coming out of the Gate are bloody. It’s not really a pretty sight.”

The curl of her lips flattened a bit and she sighed. “I know, Jyn. I wanna see it anyway.”

Since Aliya was a human, she couldn’t actually step into Gate Square. We stood at the border of the circular space and watched Hunters coming and going from the huge black arch.

My sister tilted her head back and gaped up at it. “It’s so … big.” Her face screwed up in a puzzled frown. “I feel a little weird standing so close. Like, a force is pressing against me.” She pressed a hand to her chest.

I frowned at her. Odd, I’d never felt that before. “Are you okay? We should go.”

She laughed and shook her head. “Nope, I’m good. It’s just … new.”

Her gaze dropped to the Hunters entering and exiting the Gate. She oohed and awed at them, pointing out individuals in fancy armor. “Oh my gosh, Jyn! Look at her!” Aliya gasped at a woman with long brunette hair. The woman’s mage robes seemed to float around her with every step she took. “Wow, all she’s missing is the pointed ears. I thought she was an elven princess at first.”

The A Ranked Hunter in bright white and silver armor beside the mage glanced over at Aliya and smirked in amusement then kept walking like it was nothing. The ‘elven princess’ didn’t look over, but she lifted a hand to conceal a small laugh.

I sighed and slapped a hand over my face. “My dear sister, Hunters have good hearing. If you’re going to talk about someone, keep it down.” Then again, my loud mouth caught me the unwanted attention of an S Ranked human monster. Did I really have any room to complain?

Aliya gasped, her face burning red. She peeked a glance at the mage’s back then hid her face in her hands. “Oh, right.”

I laughed and patted her back. “Well, Hunters also like their egos being stroked. Just don’t say anything bad outloud, okay?”

She gave a nervous laugh and dropped her hands. “Okay.” She looked back at the Gate, her eyes full of light.

I stared at her. How long had it been since I looked at the Gate like that? As if it was a treasure map I couldn’t wait to explore. Did I ever get a chance? I was so scared my first time going in with a group of Es from the hostel. It was the first and last time I entered the Gate in a party. That one hunt marked me as useless, and I was left scared and alone in the Gate. I wasn’t scared anymore, but I was still alone. But I’d never looked at the Gate in wonder like this beloved girl at my side. I doubt I ever would.

Aliya jolted and her eyes widened.

I turned my head and followed her gaze to the base of the Gate.

A couple Hunters walked out of the black arch, their bodies huddled together. It took a second to realize that two of the Hunters were supporting a third unconscious man between them. The unconscious man was bloody head to toe and missing half of his left leg. From this distance I couldn’t tell if the blood on the other Hunters were from the third man, or if it was from their own injuries. The one at the right had to be injured too by the way he limped.

Aliya’s face paled as she watched them hobble towards the hospital. “Will they be okay?”

“As long as they can live long enough to get to the hospital, they’ll be okay. Some of the best Healers are in there. Regrowing a leg is nothing to them.” Especially Jonovan.

Her head bobbed in thought. “I wish healing like that worked on normal humans too. That would save a lot of troubles, huh?” Her eyes wandered the square. She didn’t look at the Hunters, but focused on the buildings in the process of being rebuilt and the ground that had been power washed to get all the blood out from the Surge. “This is where the Gate Surge happened, huh?” Her voice was quiet and solemn.

I nodded. It happened only a couple weeks ago, but it felt like such a long time.

She looked up at me, her eyes wide and frightened. “Did you get hurt?” Her breath hitched. “I was so scared when I heard the alarm. Then Uncle Mark was pushing me and Aunt Mina into the bathroom. But all I could think of was that you were in Eden, fighting those monsters. Risking your life while I just hid in a bathtub.” She reached out and hugged me tight. “You kept dancing around the question when I asked earlier on the phone. Tell me really, did you get hurt?”

I sighed and patted her back. What could I say to make her feel better without outright lying? “It's normal for Hunters to get hurt in a situation like that. But Healers were there to help and patch up all the Hunters. Now things are great.” I smiled, trying to make her feel at ease.

Her lips quivered into a smile but her eyes remained dark. “I know that you aren’t in a Guild. I’m worried that you don’t have someone watching your back. Just wait a little longer for me to graduate and we can be a team. I’ll be strong enough to make sure that neither of us ever get hurt again.”

Oh, this girl. I hugged her tight and resisted ruffling her hair, but only because it looked like she actually put in effort to curl it nicely. “Nope, it’s the big sister’s job to protect the younger one. How can I hold my head high if I’m hiding behind you all day?” I laughed and stepped back.

No, by the time she’d graduate, I’d be strong enough to ensure that the light of wonder never died in her eyes. But that did bring up a new idea. The rooms in the hostel weren’t meant for two people and I’d never want her to live in that place anyway. Maybe I needed to start saving up a down payment for a two-bedroom place when I finished paying Henry back.

I nodded to the side. “Let’s grab a bite to eat really fast. Then there’s a place I want to go to for dessert. Deal?”

She nodded, brightening up like the sun again. “Deal! Then you said you wanted to go shopping for something?”

I led her over to a small café on the South Exit Main Street. Since it was so close to the exit, it was a no-man’s land, where Hunters of all ranks ate, mostly while visiting with humans. My turkey bacon avocado panini was good, but it wasn’t what I wanted to eat. As soon as we were done, I dragged Aliya over to A District. From there, I followed my nose to the pastry shop that I’d found a week ago.

“Wow,” Aliya looked in through the front window. “They look so yummy! And cute! Look, that one looks like a mouse!” She pointed to a chocolate cake bite that was pulled to a point with a pink dot. Two chocolate circles popped up like ears behind two icing-white eyes.

I smiled and pulled her in. “Come on. Today is a day to splurge and have fun. That’s what sister dates are for, right?”

We were immediately hugged with the smell of sweet sugar, chocolate, and baking pastries. The walls were painted in thick stripes of off-white and rose pink. Aliya’s shoes tapped on the dark wooden floors as she stepped in. Delicate white metal tables and chairs dotted the sides of the showroom, opening the way to the display of goodies lit up behind a glass shield.

Ailya took a deep breath and hummed in thought. “It’s a shame that we just ate somewhere else. I mean, we could have just had lunch here.” She smiled at the display window filled with nothing but sweets. “That might fill our stomachs.”

I smirked and tapped the back of her head. “Hey, I am a responsible older sister. And you’re too old to fill up on just sugar.” Go me. I was actually able to spew that with a straight face.

All my efforts were wasted when Aliya laughed in my face. “Yeah, you tell yourself that. And pretend like you didn’t consider it at least once already.”

I somehow managed to keep the guilty blush from my face. To distract her, I walked up to the counter where a middle aged woman stood.

The woman smiled at us. “Afternoon. What can I get for you?”

After an agonizing couple of minutes, we finally whittled the choices down to a chocolate tres leche cake in a clear cup, a large eclair, and a lemon bar. Armed with utensils and glasses of milk, we sat down to divide and conquer our spoils with delight. Ailya chose a table right by the window, so she could people watch while we ate.

Ailya talked away, telling me about her classes at school and how she joined the after school art club. I listened to her with a nostalgic smile.

“Oh, did you hear?” Aliya took a bite of the lemon bar and hummed in appreciation. “Aunt Mina got a job. Telemarketing, part time.” She gave a bland smile. “Aunt Mina doesn't love it, I can tell. She always looks so worn out when she comes home. But she doesn’t complain about it and they didn’t throw a fit when she had to call in yesterday because of a migraine.”

I nodded slowly. “That’s good. I’m glad to hear that.”

With her working, it would lessen the load on me. But I wasn’t going to rely on it too much. I’d heard that telemarketing had a high turnover rate and it was only part time. Knowing Aunt Mina, she would probably try making it to full time, but we’d see how that goes. At the same time, I didn’t want her to ruin her health, especially now that I was finally starting to make enough to support them. Speaking of health …

“How is Uncle Mark doing?” I asked quietly, poking at my half of the eclair with a silver fork.

Aliya took a deep breath and looked out the window. “I don’t know. He … I don’t think he’s trying to find a job anymore. He stays locked up in his room most of the time. Or he’ll suddenly just disappear. Once he didn’t even come home for almost twenty-four hours. The police finally brought him home after fishing him out of the water fountain in the city park.”

My eyes widened and my heart nearly stopped. “What? Why did he do that? And why didn’t you tell me?”

Ailya looked to the side and tapped her fork on her half-empty cup. “We didn’t want to worry you. The Gate is already so dangerous enough as is. We didn’t want you to be distracted and get hurt,” she whispered softly.

I sighed and covered my face with my hands. God, what a family we were. Each of us were broken, but so desperate to hide it from the other so they didn’t worry. Well, I guessed, not all of us were messed up. Aliya seemed normal at least.

“It’s just hard, you know.” I looked up at her when her voice cracked. Ailya took a sip of milk then cleared her throat. “Uncle Mark is the only father-type I’ve ever known. I don’t remember Dad. He only lived with us on the weekends and I was four when he died. I think my most clear memory of him is his funeral. And it was a closed casket because of … you know.”

I nodded. I did know. All too often, the deaths in the Gate led to closed casket funerals. If they found the body at all.

“Uncle Mark has been there for me basically my whole life. But now, it’s like I don’t even recognize him. I know that depression is hard on him. I understand that. And I don’t blame him for it. I just wish he’d think about our feelings a little first before he hurt himself. How much we’d miss him. Sometimes when he leaves, I don’t even know if he’s going to come back alive.” Aliya’s voice got quieter and quieter as she talked, until her words were barely louder than a whisper.

My heart broke hearing the pain in my sister’s voice and thinking about what was happening to my uncle. It hurt even more, knowing there was nothing I could do about it. It’s not like Uncle Mark’s depression was a physical monster I could kill. If it was, I would go through heaven and hell to get rid of his demon. But all I could do was listen about it from the other side of the Wall, as my family struggled with it.

I walked around and hugged Aliya tight but couldn’t think of anything to say.

Her hand shook as she gripped my shirt. She pressed her face into my stomach and took a few gasping breaths. After a minute, she pulled away and gave me a big smile, even though her eyes were still red. “I’m okay. Really. I’m not that weak. Besides, it's a shame to ruin these awesome sweets with salty tears.”

I smiled at her. “Right.”

She laughed and looked out the window. Suddenly her eyes widened and she gasped.

A jolt of awareness crashed through my bones. I turned and looked out the window. And met a pair of electric blue eyes.

*****