Page 4 of Pisces Rising

His admission filled her with confusion and only fueled her curiosity. Pisces’ heart rate quickened as she leaned forward, desperate to understand without triggering more contempt from him. "What do you mean? What were we?"

Aries held her gaze briefly, calmly, as if considering how much to reveal. Then he shook his head slowly. "We were..." He paused, choosing his words carefully. "Intense. Powerful. Charged with forces neither of us could fully control."

Desperate to grab the moment of calm, she said, "Whatever it was between us, I’m sure I never meant to hurt you.” She let the words out like a lifeline, suspecting that the mask he wore was hiding a wound she had inflicted.

Aries' mouth was set in a hard line, but Pisces could have sworn she saw a flicker of conflict in his eyes. She opened her mouth to pry further, but Aries shut her up with one last command: "Get some rest." His voice was firm but not hateful. The discussion was over. “We have a long journey ahead of us."

Pisces was too tired to push anymore. Bunching his shirt under her head, she lay on the cave floor. Whatever cataclysmic history she’d forgotten, one thing was devastatingly clear—the bond she and this creature might have once had was now in tatters on the wind, along with her memories.

Chapter

Four

Pisces drifted into a fitful slumber, her mind slipping into the realm of dreams. Within the confines of her subconscious, visions danced before her, weaving threads of a tapestry she couldn’t yet make out...

The menacing scorpion morphed into a man—tall and tan, with deep, penetrating eyes that pierced through her very soul. His expression was arrogant, his presence ominous as he loomed over her like a silhouette of impending doom.

Bound by magical shackles in what appeared to be a dungeon, Pisces struggled against her restraints as Scorpio advanced with a gleaming knife in his hand, his intentions clear. But to his frustration, he couldn't get near her. Something about her power, or his, kept him at bay. It was a force he couldn't overcome.

Her energy was weak. Something or someone had stripped her of all but the last fragments of her power.

She growled and kicked as Scorpio tried to pierce her with the knife once more, but the blade glanced off an invisible shield of energy surrounding her. It was as if her remaining power had instinctively formed a protective barrier that even Scorpio's dark magic couldn't penetrate to end her life. Cursing, Scorpio retreated from the cell, locking the door behind him. Pisces strained to hear the conversation beyond. Frustration dripped from Scorpio’s words as he spoke to someone—someone she knew all too well. Her heart sank. She recognized the other voice. It was Aries. Scorpio may as well have stabbed her in the heart with the pain this caused her.

Their profiles came into view as they moved nearer to the door. Aries’ voice carried a tone of urgency. "You can’t eliminate another Zodiac. It’s not possible. We need to find another way."

Scorpio's response was laced with impatience. "We can't afford to let her live. She's a threat to everything we've worked for."

Aries stood before Scorpio, his features twisted with betrayal. “Now is not the time, and you know that. We can’t kill her...yet.”

Pisces’ mouth dropped open, and she struggled against her restraints again. The noise caught the men’s attention, and Aries looked at her—right into her eyes with an unfamiliar coldness. A tear rolled down her cheek, and she thought she saw a hint of guilt come over him. He quickly looked away, and she listened in horror as Aries made a suggestion that sent a chill down her spine. "Let's send her down to Earth," Aries suggested coldly. "What little power remains will be non-existent there."

Scorpio nodded, a sinister smile distorting his features. “Then we can end her.” The dungeon door creaked as Scorpio opened it. “But first, I’ll scramble her mind. She won’t remember who we are or who she is.”

The realization crashed over Pisces like a tidal wave, drowning her in a pool of anger. She had trusted Aries, trusted in him with every fiber of her being. But now, it seemed he had betrayed her, conspiring with the enemy to bring about her destruction.

As Scorpio stood over her, his hand held up, extracting every last memory in her mind, Pisces screamed loud enough to loosen the stars.

With a gasp, Pisces jolted awake, her heart about to burst from her chest as she gained her bearings. The darkness choked her. She was in a cave. Not a dungeon. But her memories and her power were indeed gone. Her eyes shot to the sleeping form of Aries and narrowed as anger burned within her, fierce and unyielding. He was a liar. He was trying to manipulate her, to make her think he was rescuing her, when really...He was the reason she was cast down to Earth and her memories taken. For all she knew, he was leading her into a trap. What they were to each other in that forgotten life no longer mattered. The only certainty she had was that he couldn’t be trusted.

"I won’t let you destroy me..." she whispered, her voice thick with contempt.

She needed to get away from him—now.

Night was approaching as the sun hung low over the horizon. Quiet as a whisper, Pisces slipped out of the cave, her bare feet padding softly against the rocky terrain as she descended the mountain. Each step was fueled by determination, driven by the need to escape the betrayal and the betrayer that threatened to consume her.

She looked for the best path to escape. The forest to the south beckoned her like a siren's song, its ancient trees whispering secrets of hidden paths and sanctuary. That was where she needed to go.

She climbed down a small cliff, dangling as her fingers clung to the edge. “Don’t be afraid,” she whispered to herself, looking down, she let go and landed hard on the raw skin of her feet. Ignoring the pain, Pisces pressed on, each step leaving Aries farther behind her. She scaled down another rock face, her breath coming in ragged gasps. As she pushed herself to the brink of exhaustion, doubt crept into her mind—was she making the right choice? As awful as he’d treated her, Aries was the only reason Scorpio hadn’t ended her on the beach. But the visions from her dream painted a very different picture—one where Aries also wished for her demise.

Her instincts screamed at her to keep running, to put as much distance between them as possible. Yet a small voice in her mind wondered if she was wrongfully judging him and if there was more to the story than she understood.

Gritting her teeth, Pisces pushed those doubts aside. She couldn't afford to second-guess herself now. Aries had been there when her memories were taken—of that much, she was certain. Until she knew the whole truth, he could not be trusted. With renewed determination, she quickened, the forest a sanctuary calling her forward.

She couldn't stop now, not when her very survival depended on it.

As the last light of day vanished, Pisces found herself on the edge of a precipice. One more cliff to descend. Rushing water below promised to catch her, and then the forest would spread out before her like a vast sea of emerald green. But her respite was short-lived, for she heard the sound of pursuit in the distance—the unmistakable echo of footsteps drawing ever closer and Aries’ frantic voice carried on the wind.

With a sinking heart, Pisces realized she was in grave danger of being caught—that Aries had awakened, and he was coming for her. Panic surged through her veins, urging her to flee, to disappear into the depths of the forest.

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