Chapter 23
Twenty-Three
Aries marched into Virgo”s lab with commanding strides, Pisces trailing behind him. They found the studious Zodiac hunched over a series of computers with Sagittarius at his side. The natural wanderer and explorer was practically vibrating at the prospect of exploring new realms and portals.
Off to the side, Gemini lounged in a computer chair, idly tossing a coconut into the air. ”You need more entertainment on this island,” she drawled. ”I”ve been to Nassau—would it kill you to have Taurus build some water slides? Or get Aquarius to open a club?”
Virgo huffed, sparing her an indulgent glance. ”That would require allowing humans to set foot here, and I don”t think either of us is interested in that.”
As Aries stepped into the room, their heads turned, and a heavy silence fell over them as they stared at their resurrected ruler. Virgo was the first to speak as he rose from his chair. ”Aries...Pisces...” he began hesitantly. ”I”m relieved you”re...”
”Restored from the oblivion you all abandoned me to?” Aries cut him off, jaw tensing as he glared with smoldering eyes.
Pisces hung back, giving Aries space to confront his dubious cohorts. The accusation hung heavy in the air. Virgo held up a placating hand. ”We couldn”t intervene,” he stated evenly. ”You know our powers are limited here compared to the celestials. Especially against...whatever that was.”
Aries exhaled through his nostrils as his eyes blazed across each of them. ”It was an illusion, you fools. It wasn”t real. I knew it when I thought I”d killed it, and it vanished.” The Zodiac stared in stunned silence until Sag finally spoke up, his face shadowed with reluctance. “Aries, it was as if we couldn”t move.” He cast a glance at Virgo and Gemini. ”Like our minds were frozen, our bodies turned off.”
”It”s true,” Virgo said, seeming embarrassed to admit it. ”It was like we were watching a dream.”
Gemini nodded. ”We were only able to react when it was far too late. So we brought Pisces back here to keep her safe.” She arched an auburn brow and added, ”With the serpent spawning from the sea?—”
”Enough of that,” Aries barked. ”Pisces didn”t cause that creature to form.”
Pisces was shocked that he was defending her against Gemini”s accusations, but she was grateful that the untruth was now extinguished. Aries” voice rolled like thunder, causing the others to flinch. ”Your secrets, your realms—whatever you”ve been playing at...no more. Do you understand? No more secrets, no more deceptions.” His penetrating stare bored into each of them in turn. ”This ends now.”
They all nodded, humbled. Aries reached behind him, grabbed Pisces by the wrist, and brought her forward. ”Tell them,” he said simply, falling back and leaning on one of the desks.
Pisces” nerves fired as she stood before the Zodiacs. She looked over her shoulder. Aries gave her a reassuring nod. ”Tell them,” he said again. There was a momentary glint of confidence in his eyes, and she realized this was a test to see if she truly was loyal to him.
Pisces raised her chin. ”I know about the mirror realm,” she said to Virgo and Gemini. ”The one you”ve been hiding from all of us.”
Without a moment’s pause, Gemini said, ”That”s because it”s irrelevant.”
”It sounded relevant when you and Virgo were discussing it in secret.” Pisces crossed her arms over her chest and smirked as Gemini appeared slightly dislodged.
”What about these realms, Virgo,” Aries spoke up, taking long strides across the room.
”Ah, well,” Virgo began, his brow furrowing. Some of the realms outside our galaxy act as mirrors, creating an illusion of time and space.”
Aries rubbed his chin. ”And why is that a secret?”
Virgo”s eyes were wide, and for the first time, he genuinely looked nervous in Aries” shadow. ”It”s not, exactly.”
”I”m the one who asked him not to reveal the mirror realms,” Gemini said. ”With how Scorpio has been acting these past centuries, I didn”t think him finding out about them was in our best interest.”
Aries threw her an irritated glare. ”How many mirror realms are there?”
Virgo”s gaze lingered on Aries for a moment before he swiveled in his chair and typed the keyboard. ”There are 3,200 star systems within our galaxy, and from my research, all of these systems contain some form of realm. ”
A crease formed between Aries” eyes as he pressed on. ”You mentioned disturbances in the realms. How many have you checked?”
”All 3,200. There have been no signs of fractured portals.”
”So then there are no fractured portals?” The irritation bubbling in Aries’ tone was clear.
Virgo”s eyes were locked on the computers. ”It”s more complex than that.”
Aries’ shoulders tensed. ”Why, Virgo?”
Before Virgo could respond, Sagittarius intervened, ”Because the supernova that occurred just before the Cerulean Tear was stolen happened outside our galaxy, in the Canis Major Dwarf galaxy. There are billions upon billions of star systems surrounding us, each with potentially triple the number of portals and realms.”
Aries nodded, his eyes narrowing on Virgo. ”How did you miss an event like that?”
Virgo stiffened in his chair. When he turned, Pisces saw a mix of irritation and fear. ”A star explodes every second somewhere in the Universe. I don”t spend my eternal existence meticulously mapping each one.” He turned his attention back to the computer systems. ”Besides, we Zodiacs are meant to remain within the confines of this galaxy. Venturing beyond is forbidden by the gods.”
The implication hung heavy in the air, and Pisces could not resist the question that bubbled up from somewhere deep inside. ”But you have explored outside our galaxy, haven”t you?”
Virgo gave the smallest of nods. ”I”ve...ventured a little beyond our boundaries.”
Sagittarius seemed amused at Virgo’s forced confession. ”The good news is that since not even Virgo is foolish enough to stray too far, whoever took the Cerulean Tear couldn”t have gotten far either.”
Virgo cleared his throat. ”I”m afraid that isn”t good news at all.”
A sense of foreboding rippled through Pisces at his ominous tone. ”Why? What”s wrong?”
Virgo”s expression was grave. ”It’s hard to explain.”
“Explain it,” Aries barked.
With a resigned sigh, Virgo continued, “The hidden realms outside our galaxy act as mirrors, reflecting outwards and inwards, creating the illusion of a twin universe on each side. If a portal to one of these realms is opened or becomes fractured in any way, you can enter it.”
Pisces frowned. ”But why is that a problem?”
”Because getting into the realm is one thing. The portals are easier to spot. But getting out of a reflective labyrinth of stars is virtually impossible.”
Gemini spun in her chair. “This is boring.”
Pisces sensed the increasing tension beneath Gemini”s tone but kept her focus on Virgo. ”If only a Zodiac could have taken my Tear, and they hid it in a mirror realm, wouldn”t they still be trapped there?” Her gaze flicked to Sagittarius, who opened the glowing map with a knowing nod.
”She”s right. All the Zodiacs are accounted for in this universe.”
But Virgo”s demeanor remained heavy with an unspoken burden, and his eyes flickered toward Gemini before locking onto Pisces again. Beneath that weighted stare lurked the shadow of a truth he dared not voice.
Aries must have felt it, too, because the temperature in the room spiked as he cast Pisces a stern look. She met his blazing gaze and held out her hand, silently asking him to stand down.
As her mind put the pieces together, echoes of ancient wisdom stirred in her soul”s depths. The fire serpent in the water wasn”t real. Aries insisting she betrayed him, when she knew in her heart she hadn”t. The rift between the Zodiacs, tearing them apart by a thousand invisible cuts...
She recalled Aquarius”s cryptic warning again: ”The wind can carry whispers unseen. Things aren”t always what they seem.”
”Wind,” Pisces said to herself. She could feel Aries drawing near, feel his eyes focus on her. ”The wind isn”t what it seems,” she whispered to Aries, who watched her intently. Then her searching eyes swept past Aries, landing on the one Zodiac who might be capable of such treachery. The airy twin, mistress of illusion herself, who knew about the mirror realm. ”It was you,” Pisces said.
Gemini”s familiar face darkened as Pisces” intuition screamed a single, devastating word: Foe.