Chapter 11
Eleven
The tension in the cottage was suffocating, the air thick with unspoken questions and lingering fears. Aries towered over them all, his imposing presence casting a long shadow across the room.
Aries’ revelation that he intended to bring her back to the stars sounded like a threat. In what way, Pisces didn’t yet know, but she was grateful to have Sagittarius as a buffer between them. The two male Zodiacs may have differed in size, but she suspected they were nearly equal in power. “I don’t think it’s safe for her there right now.” Sagittarius spoke to Aries in a respectful tone that carried the edge of a warning.
Aries chuckled. “I didn’t ask for your opinion, Sagittarius. She’s coming back with me.”
“Hang on a second,” Cancer interrupted the two fire signs and raised her hand. “You haven’t even heard them out, Aries. Isn’t it better to work together on this?”
Like ocean mist, Pisces felt the faint energy of Cancer’s calming waves brush her skin. Cancer threw her a quick wink and turned her attention back to the fire she was trying to quell.
“I don’t need your help,” Aries responded, his dark energy receding slightly. “For all I know, you could have had something to do with this.”
Sagittarius made a face, expressing how ridiculous that statement was. But before he could respond, Pisces jumped to her feet, feeling emboldened or possibly drunk from Cancer’s mist, and declared, “It doesn’t matter what you think. I’m not going with you.”
A growl rolled through Aries’ chest. It seemed he wasn’t used to being refused.
Suddenly, Gemini”s melodic voice cut through the tension like a knife. “I’m pretty sure Taylor Swift wrote a song about this.”
“Gem,” Sag warned, tilting his head toward her.
“What?” Gemini shrugged, her eyes sparkling with mischief. She leaned forward and rested her elbows on the table, ready to mediate the battle between fire and water. “Okay, okay, everyone, just settle down. This back-and-forth won’t get us anywhere.” She pointed to Aries. “So, you’ve got a plan,” she pointed to herself and Sag, “and we’ve got a plan.” Then she looked at Pisces. “The problem is whether you like it or not, our little fish here is the one to decide.”
Aries’ eyes narrowed on the green-eyed sprite, who challenged his gaze with a placating smile. “You can’t just burst in here like Tarzan and haul her back to Star Castle, Aries. That’s never worked for you before, so don’t start trying to take advantage of the situation.”
Gemini and Aries stared at each other as if unspoken words had passed between them until, despite his hard stare, Aries” energy shifted infinitesimally.
Pisces’ mind wandered back to the haunting memory of Aries standing on the other side of the dungeon door, her heart breaking with the weight of his duplicity. But what did that heartbreak mean? Had she loved him, trusted him? Slowly, Pisces raised her eyes to meet Aries” gaze, bracing herself for the anger and contempt she expected from the fiery warrior. But to her surprise, his fierce expression had cooled, and instead, a determination burned within his dark eyes, a resolve that she couldn”t quite measure.
”Maybe you need to hear him out,” Cancer urged. Her calming effect had done its job; now, she was trying to broker peace.
Pisces found herself powerless to acknowledge Cancer, her gaze drawn inexorably to Aries’ imposing form as if he were a magnetic force defying her every attempt to look away.
”There”s more to this than you know,” Aries rumbled, his voice a deep, resonant timbre that sent shivers racing down Pisces’ spine. She searched his face, her heart and mind waging war as she weighed the consequences of her decision. On one hand, the sting of Aries’ betrayal still lingered. Even without the full scope of her memory, the details she did know were enough to cut deeply. But on the other, an insatiable curiosity tugged at her, a desire to unravel the threads of the mysterious man standing before her.
With a resigned sigh, Gemini pushed away from the table, her movements fluid and graceful as she rose to her feet. ”Come on, Sag.” She caught his shoulder and tried to tug him with her. “Let”s go check out that river rock fire pit outside.”
Sagittarius held Pisces’ gaze, his eyes conveying a silent question—did she want to be left alone with the fiery warrior? With a tentative nod and her heart thundering, Pisces granted him the reassurance he sought. He offered her a wink. ”Well, just be outside.”
Sag and Cancer followed Gemini to the doorway as she spewed casual banter. “Did you haul all that rock yourself, or did you like…hire a gardener or something?” Gemini”s eyes danced as she turned her gaze toward Pisces, a playful smirk tugging at the corners of her lips. ”He”s not going to kill you here,” she assured her. There was a twinkling glint in her eye that spoke volumes of the trust she placed in Aries. “If he tries anything, I’ll scramble his brain and turn him into Cancer’s personal landscaper. Those muscles gotta be good for something.”
Aries’ low, rumbling voice cut through the air, his words carrying a weight that exposed his irritation. ”I”m not going to kill her at all. Anywhere.”
Gemini strolled out of the cottage, her footsteps light and carefree, while Cancer followed closely behind, casting one last cheering glance over her shoulder before disappearing.
And just like that, Pisces found herself alone with Aries, the weight of her lost memories and her connection with him hanging in the air like a veil, obscuring the truth that lay just beyond her reach.