Page 14 of Pisces Rising

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.

Chapter

Twelve

The silence that enveloped the cottage was deafening. Pisces found herself trapped in Aries’ gaze, those piercing eyes holding her captive in a way that seemed inescapable. She crossed her arms over her chest to still her heart, but it thundered rebelliously within her ribcage.

Aries shifted his stance, dominating the room with his presence. Pisces couldn't help but feel small in comparison, a mere minnow caught in the wake of a mighty leviathan. Yet, beneath the surface of his imposing exterior, she sensed a stirring of emotions—a turbulent vortex of frustration, determination, and something else she couldn't quite put her finger on, something darker and more primal that both terrified and enticed her.

Despite the harsh treatment he'd dealt her on their last encounter, she couldn't stop the stirring in her core, the hypnotic pull that made her want to be near him, to plunge into the depths of his smoldering intensity.

Before her thoughts could drift to that dangerous place anymore, she risked another kind of danger by boldly saying, "I'm not going with you."

"Pisces," Aries began, his deep voice echoing her name like distant thunder, sending a shiver down her spine. "I am not playing these games with you." He advanced on her, his movements predatory, each step deliberate as he closed the distance between them.

The clues she'd been given to the enormity of her previous power emboldened her. Gemini had said this bullying behavior had never worked for him before. Perhaps if she handled this wisely, it wouldn't work for him now. "I'm not playing games, Aries. I may not remember who I am, but I've seen enough to know who you are." Her voice trembled with a mixture of defiance and something else, something deeper that she dared not name.

As soon as the words left her mouth, she knew she'd gone too far because he was a hairsbreadth from her in an instant. His powerful frame loomed over her, his scent enveloping her senses like a thick, intoxicating fog. "You do, do you? You've figured me out, starfish?" His dark eyes bore into her, making her want to wither in his shadow and surrender to his dominance. "You know nothing of yourself—or me. You know nothing of the sacrifices I've made for you." His tone was as scorching as his glare, laced with a bitter resentment that only fueled the simmering tension between them. “You may claim not to remember who you are or where your power has gone, but I know your duplicity. The others may not have figured you out yet. But I know you.”

Pisces took a few steps back to breathe and gather her thoughts, but he flowed with her like lava, forcing her backward until her back hit the rough walls of the log cabin.

“You’re frightening me,” she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut and turning her face away.

“Good,” he said, coming close enough to the flesh of her neck to breathe in her very essence. “If you’re frightened of me, maybe you’ll do what I say this time.”

There it was—that splinter of who she used to be from his mouth. There was a time when she didn’t fear him. Opening her eyes, she lifted her chin and attempted to challenge his stare. His very proximity was unraveling her, but she had to hang on to whatever thread she could. “I was thrown from the stars for my defiance. I’m not about to give it up now.”

A dark smile played across his lips as he lifted a lock of hair from her shoulder, his thumb grazing the skin. “Are you sure about that, little starfish?” The sultry tone of his voice nearly made her collapse at the knees. “We used to have so much fun together.” A feral growl crept up his chest as he appraised her like the predator that he was. Then his hand slid up her waist, over her curves, and stopped right at her breast. Her breath hitched, his touch igniting her. Aries’ body pressed closer, threatening to crush her into oblivion. “Maybe that’s why Scorpio is chasing you too.”

The insinuation made her blood boil with a new kind of fury, and she instinctively slapped his hand away, which drew a dark laugh from the dominant ram, but he didn’t retreat. “Careful, little starfish, you may have been powerful before, but now I can crush you like a moth.” His hand shot to her throat, his grip firm enough to make her realize he could and would end her right there if he wanted to.

She rallied her nerves and said, “I’m guessing whatever game we played last...” She fought for enough courage to sound defiant and mustered a look of disgust. " You lost.” Her words had struck their target, and she saw the wound flash in his eyes before he released her. He stepped back, unsympathetic, as she panted, her body trembling.

When she’d composed herself, she saw he’d taken a seat on Cancer’s sofa, his arms spread casually on the back as he watched her with a menacing smirk. She stood and glared at him, unsure if her hatred was yet enough to dull her attraction.

“Very well, starfish,” he said, his tone deceptively light. “We can play by your rules.”

Before she could ask what that meant, Sag, Gemini, and Cancer walked through the door. Their conversation stopped as they looked from Pisces to Aries, sensing the darkness between them.

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