Chapter 31
Thirty-One
Squaring her shoulders, she straightened to face Scorpio fully. ”I saw the truth,” she said, her voice ringing with conviction. ”And now I know what must be done to stop Dark Gemini”s reign of deception once and for all.”
Aries stared at Pisces with mounting concern, his brow furrowed. When she didn”t immediately respond to him, he turned his attention to Sagittarius. ”Show me,” he demanded, his voice a low, dangerous rumble. ”I need to see what she saw.”
Though Sagittarius was clearly reluctant and on the brink of coming undone, there was no dissuading Aries once his mind was set. With a weary sigh, he reached out and pressed his fingers to the ram”s temples, reopening the floodgates of Scorpio”s anguished memories.
Pisces saw the impact hit Aries like a physical blow—his entire body went rigid, his handsome features contorting in a frantic blend of rage, horror, and gut-wrenching betrayal. When Sagittarius finally broke the connection, Aries staggered back, his chest heaving as if he”d run for miles.
”You...” he snarled, rounding on Scorpio with blistering fury in his dark eyes. ”You knew. You saw everything and did nothing!”
Scorpio met Aries’ wrath with unflustered calm, though his amused arrogance was gone. ”And what would you have had me do?” he asked, his tone laced with reason and petulance. ”Interfere with the fated dances decreed by the cosmos itself? You know this.”
”Don”t feed me that destined bullshit!” Aries roared, his power crackling around him like an inferno begging to be unleashed. ”You”re just a coward who was too craven to act!”
Disgust flickered across Sagittarius”s features as he looked upon Scorpio. Even gentle Cancer seemed sickened by the revelation of Scorpio”s willful inaction in the face of such treachery. As Aries moved to strike, Cancer set forth her calming tide, watching as it settled on the room. With a growl of frustration, Aries narrowed his eyes on her but took his place beside Pisces.
Scorpio remained unmoved, his jaw set in a stubborn line. ”I did what I had to do to gather the truth,” he stated firmly. ”With Dark Gemini”s illusions warping reality itself, any overt action on my part could have played right into her twisted schemes. I needed to observe and wait for the right moment to strike.”
”The right moment?” Aries echoed incredulously. ”While Pisces was being tortured? While her power was stolen?”
Aquarius shook her head at Aries. “There was no good that would come if he intervened. Dark Gemini couldn’t be contained forever. There is a lesson in this for us all.”
Scorpio tilted his head to thank Aquarius. ”While I trailed Pisces’ descent to the mortal realm,” Scorpio clarified, his obsidian gaze cutting to Pisces. I was the one who appeared before you as the Scorpion on that beach, trying to guide you back to the truth.”
Realization bloomed in Pisces’ mind—those fragmented memories of her telling Sagittarius about the scorpion beast, the strange familiarity it...it had all been Scorpio, cloaked in astral form.
”But you fled before I could reveal myself fully,” he continued. ”Which is when I recruited Capricorn to aid my cause.”
The sleek female Zodiac arched one thin brow, her expression one of haughty disdain. “All these years, and you still doubt me,” she said to no one in particular.
”While I tracked you to this realm, Capricorn followed Dark Gemini”s path through the mirror realm,” Scorpio explained. ”It was Capricorn who witnessed the cosmic witch enter the void housing the Cerulean Tear. We”ve been searching for you ever since, waiting for the right opportunity to share what we”ve uncovered.” He fixed his intense gaze on Pisces, his features softening with sincerity. “My actions are motivated by loyalty, my dear, not deceit.”
Pisces nodded. “I saw the truth.” Her voice cracked, and she could not offer more, still reeling from the visions.
A heavy silence hung in the observatory as Scorpio”s tale sank in. Pisces studied the enigmatic Zodiac, seeing him through new eyes. Though his nature exuded an unmistakable aura of darkness that contrasted starkly with her own peaceful essence, she could no longer deny the truth woven through his words.
Scorpio had been a silent sentinel, sacrificing the chance to intervene in order to gather the pieces of this cosmic upheaval. His methods were unorthodox and morally dubious...but rooted in the greater mission of thwarting Dark Gemini”s depravity.
Slowly, she lifted her gaze to meet his piercing stare. A look passed between them—not one of warmth or trust but of grudging respect for the roles they had each played in this cosmic game of deception.
Scorpio seemed to accept her unspoken gratitude with a slight dip of his head. Squaring his shoulders, he leveled his gaze on the gathered Zodiacs. ”The time for waiting is over,” he declared, his voice resonant and decisive. ”We know where the Cerulean Tear resides, and we know the face of the enemy who has claimed it for her own. What remains is to formulate a strategy to infiltrate the mirror realm and wrestle that power back from Dark Gemini”s grasp...before she turns her illusory reign into a permanent shadow over all of existence.”
The weight of his words hung heavy in the air, their implications staggering. But Pisces felt a renewed surge of conviction drumming through her veins. She was the rightful wielder of the Cerulean Tear, and Dark Gemini”s betrayal would not go unanswered. Raising her chin, she met the gazes of her celestial brethren, her eyes blazing with determination.
”Then let”s start planning,” she said, her voice ringing with quiet steel. ”It”s time to take back what”s mine and restore the cosmic balance—no matter the cost.”