Chapter 20 #2
My boots dragged in the tall grass as I made my way up the small hill, gaze fixed on the sky above.
The night breeze caressed my skin through my torn clothes, and I welcomed its cool touch.
My hair was matted to my face with sweat, and I ran a hand through the damp strands to unstick them from my cheek.
My limbs felt heavy, and I knew I should have felt sore, but my body was numb.
Sighing, I scanned the field at the top of the hill.
Lana was supposed to be looking into Cynthia.
We hadn’t seen her since I dropped her off in Territan four days ago.
No one had heard from her, and her usual check-in was missed.
It was putting me on edge. If Morgana sought her out, if she…
I let out a snarl at the thought—at caring.
But I did. Care. And now, because of me, maybe her life was damned too.
My gaze continued to sweep through the thick trees at the forest's edge, drifting over the hanging branches, but I saw nothing.
Cursing, I turned back toward the village, watching the distant flames, the crowd. Their cheers floated on the breeze, and that hopelessness flooded me again—the rage.
The moon cast an eerie glow across the field, and I looked back up to the vast sky and its glittering dark expanse.
Taking a deep, calming breath, I crouched low, pulling at a piece of grass and chucking it aside.
I eventually sat, the tall grass hiding me from the outside world as my gaze stayed fixed on the glittering expanse above.
Voices carried on the wind, and I tilted my head. They weren’t coming from the fights below but from behind me. I twisted toward the forest, straining my ears—there. Getting to my feet, I wiped the stray grass from my pants and headed in its direction.
Stepping through the treeline, I wove between trunks. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but whoever they were, they were arguing. Leaping over roots, I went deeper into the forest and eventually their voices became unmuffled.
“Enough!” a deep male voice sounded, and I ducked behind a nearby tree.
I knew that voice.
“We have already had this fight, Lex. It’s done.”
Lana’s voice drifted to me, and I blinked. What was Lana doing here with Lex?
My sister was in trouble. Snarling, I moved, leaping from behind the tree and sprinting forward.
It had gone silent. Their voices now muffled by the wind whipping past my ears.
I had to slow down again to figure out which direction to go, and my heart hammered against my ribs.
My breath came in heavy gasps as I picked a direction, my shadows coiling around me in anticipation.
A branch snapped and I turned, heading in that direction.
As I pushed through the thick woods, my shadow created a protective barrier around me, as branches snapped loudly. I silenced them with a spell, continuing my way through the forest.
I saw movement ahead and ran faster, skidding into a clearing and… I blinked. Once, twice. Then I shook my head at what I was seeing, because what the actual fuck?
Lex had Lana pinned against a tree, and they were… they were… holy fucking fates!
I spun around, unable to comprehend what I was seeing. Lex, the leader of the rebellion, and Lana… Lana, who had caused so much death and destruction in Velra, to their people, were…
“Fuck, Zara?!”
Lex’s voice echoed around us, a curse following as I turned back to my sister.
Lex was scrambling for his shirt, discarded on the ground next to them, haphazardly pulling up his pants that had been around his ankles.
And my sister—my sister was stalking toward me, wearing nothing but her shirt and a deadly expression.
Her pants and boots were thrown to the side of the tree she had just been pinned against.
“What are you doing here?” she snarled, fists clenched at her sides. Her shirt was open, displaying the red lace undergarments she was wearing, not caring that I saw. Her scars caught the moonlight as she walked, and they glinted menacingly as she stalked toward me. “Who else is with you?”
I scoffed. “What am I doing? What in the bloody realms are you doing?” I shouted, looking from Lex’s amused smirk and Lana’s furious gaze. My sister stopped so close to me I had to lean back slightly so her nose wouldn’t touch mine.
“Who else is here?” she commanded again, and I gritted my teeth.
“No one,” I barked. “Just me.” Lana’s eyes were blazing, not with rage, but with fear. I’d seen many emotions from her… but never that. I shifted my weight, but didn’t dare look away. “What is going on, Lana? You and Lex? Are you out of your mind?! If Morgana finds out—”
“If you say a single fucking word to her, I swear—”
“I’m not going to tell her, are you mad?” I huffed irritably, practically spitting the words at her. It would do none of us any good if Morgana found out.
Lana took a step back from me, her fear melting and turning back to her usual heat and anger.
“And you can control that?” She laughed bitterly.
“If she wanted to know something, you would tell her. She can sense your lies, always could.” Lana’s pupils were blown, and her hands were clenched at her sides.
Lex approached slowly, reaching for her hand.
The tension seemed to drain from her shoulders as he turned her to face him, his large, calloused hands cupping her face.
Lex’s gaze flickered to mine, and I noticed a slight flush on his cheeks.
But that’s when I also registered something else, something I should have seen, should have picked up on.
I took a step back, my eyes widening as my stomach plummeted and the blood drained from my face.
I reached out to the nearest tree, placing my palm on the trunk for support as I looked between the two of them again.
“You're mated,” I gasped, as if struck. His face, his scars… standing side-by-side, I saw the resemblance, the accuracy. They were identical to Lana's, every single one.
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck,” Lana swore, recoiling from Lex, panic and fear coloring every note of her voice.
“I don't understand,” I whispered, feeling dizzy, unsure what to think or do. “You are his enemy.”
Lex's face twisted, his eyes hardening, his lips curling into a sneer. “The only enemy we have is Morgana.”
My gaze snapped to Lana, and another realization hit me. “You're how they knew our plans, our shift schedules.”
Lana only looked at me, her eyes like the whitest, purest flame, their yellow glint barely visible. A low growl filled the air around us, and large, shimmering eyes shone in the dark—Rasha.
“How long?” I commanded, ignoring her beast and growling back.
“My whole life, Zara. Ever since you came to the castle, Morgana hasn’t looked twice at me. Why would she, when she had you?”
“That sounds an awful lot like jealousy, sister.”
“It’s not jealousy, Zara,” Lana’s lips curled into a snarl as she stepped closer. “It’s pity. Your sorry excuse for a life, her obsession with you, gave me the opportunity to help them. To do some actual good, unlike you. And it wasn't me who gave Lex that potion, but Bubba.”
Her words sliced through me, striking me like a blow.
Emotions crashed through me—resentment, anger, that hopelessness—and I lunged, tackling my sister to the forest floor.
She had been ready, her knee lodging into my stomach and launching me off her.
My back slammed into a nearby trunk, and the air rushed from my lungs.
Lana stood, and I laughed at the ridiculousness of this, of her. Of what I had found out.
I was so fucking tired.
My vision blurred, and something wet fell to my cheek. I growled, wiping it away, and stood, glaring.
“So,” I threw my arms in the air. “What now, Lana? What is your grand plan? She will never let you leave. She will kill you and him for this.”
“Morgana? Do something?” Lana laughed cruelly. “When has she ever lifted a finger? You on the other hand,” she spat, “the good little pet that you are.”
I snarled, taking a step forward. “I wouldn’t.”
Lana laughed again. “It doesn’t matter. At least when I die, I can say that I tried, that I fought. Which is more than you can say about anything in your life,” Lana growled, and Lex stepped to her side, his eyes narrowing on me.
“Do you think I have a choice in any of this?” I demanded, my voice strained.
“She has my soul, Lana! I'm powerless. She can compel me, force me to do anything she commands!
If you think I don't fight back…” I shook my head, laughing.
My skin felt tight, and my breath came out in ragged gasps.
“You know nothing of what I go through, of what it's like.”
“I know a lot more than you,” Lana snapped.
“She might have been able to control you before when she had all of you, but you have part of it back. You are bonded with your mate, have his magic, his soul to pull from now. You aren’t trying hard enough,” she snarled.
“You have given up Zara. You gave up a long time ago, and I have tried to help you—”
“Help me?” I shouted. “When have you ever helped me!”
“Who do you think forged the documents to bring Cynthia to Kinsdale? Who do you think gave Jaxon the knowledge to open that realm? To prolong your time in Nexia so you could see how good your life could be, to give you time with your mate, to make you want something to live for!” Lana was yelling, and I blinked.
She what?
Lana scowled. “I gave you time, information she took from you. A glimpse of the life you should have, Zara, not this. Not her. And even after seeing it, feeling it, you still fight against it, still don’t see what’s right in front of your fucking eyes.”
My chest tightened and my mind couldn’t comprehend what she was saying.
“You didn’t—” I began, but Lex cut me off.
“She risked everything for you, Zara,” he growled. “Don’t you dare say otherwise.”