Page 42 of Bearly Believable Romance

“I have to do this,” she said. “Ophelia’s been living in darkness with none of her loved ones around her. Without me. What’s a twin without their sibling? Half of a whole. I can’t just let her stay in the dark.”

Bram’s hand was warm and steady in hers. “I know, Tabby cat. We’ll all help you.”

They returned to Jasper, armed with the new information and a plea for help. The ghostly librarian listened intently.

“The Celestial Chalice,” he said at last. “It may be the key to changing your sister’s dark magic into light.”

Tabitha leaned forward, hope blooming in her chest. “How? What must I do?”

Jasper’s expression was grave. “It will not be easy, Tabitha. You will need to put your own life at risk to use the Chalice for this purpose.”

She didn’t hesitate. “I’m willing to do anything to help her.”

Bram pulled her into his arms. “Are you sure about this?”

She cupped his cheek and sighed. “I can’t act like this isn’t my family. She’s my twin. I have to try. I promise I’ll do whatever I can to stay safe.”

He hugged her tightly and kissed her with a deep, sending her love through their bond. “We’ll figure this out and keep you safe. I can’t lose you.”

The next few days passed in a whirlwind of activity, a blur of preparation and planning that left Tabitha feeling both exhilarated and exhausted. From the moment the sun peeked over the horizon until long after it had dipped below the trees, she and Bram worked tirelessly to learn the magic and practice the spells of the chalice.

Its magic was different than Tabitha had ever worked with. It was old with words she’d never spoken with tricky accents she worried she would say wrong. Perhaps that was why the magic killed her father’s sisters when the chalice was used on them. Would history be repeating itself?

On the third day of their preparations, Tabitha felt it – a sudden, sharp tug on the edge of her consciousness like a fishhook caught in the fabric of her mind. She gasped, her hand flying to her temple as a vision flashed before her eyes.

A house, abandoned and decrepit, standing alone on the outskirts of a neighboring town. A figure, cloaked in shadows, moving through the rooms like a wraith. And a pulse of dark magic, so strong that it made Tabitha’s teeth ache and her blood run cold.

“Bram,” she whispered, her voice hoarse with fear and determination. “I know where she is. We have to go, now.”

Bram’s eyes widened, but he didn’t hesitate. “Lead the way,” he said, his hand finding hers and squeezing it tightly. “I’m with you, always.”

Tabitha’s magic guided her to an abandoned house not far from Whispering Pines, a place that seemed to radiate an aura of darkness.

As they approached the dilapidated structure, Tabitha felt the weight of the magical traps that surrounded it. Drawing on her growing powers, she managed to disarm them one by one, her brow beaded with sweat from the effort.

Inside, the house was a labyrinth of shadows and echoes. Every step seemed to bring them closer to a confrontation Tabitha both dreaded and longed for.

And then, suddenly, she was there. Tabitha’s sister stood before them, her face a mirror image of Tabitha’s own, but twisted with anger and pain. The darkness that surrounded her was palpable, a choking miasma that sought to extinguish any light.

Tabitha stepped forward, her heart pounding in her chest as she faced the image of herself. The air crackled with tension, the weight of their shared history hanging heavy between them.

“Sister,” Tabitha said, her voice trembling with emotion as she extended her hands in a gesture of peace. “I’ve come to help you. To offer reconciliation.”

Her words hung in the air, a fragile offering in the face of the anger and hatred that radiated from her sister. For a moment, there was a flicker of something in those hauntingly familiar eyes – a glimmer of recognition, a hint of longing.

But it was gone in an instant, replaced by a snarl of rage. “Reconciliation?” her sister spat, her voice dripping with venom. “You have no idea what I’ve been through. What I’ve had to endure.”

Before Tabitha could respond, Ophelia’s hands shot forward, a blast of dark magic erupting from her fingertips. The force slammed into Tabitha like a physical blow, sending her flying backward. She hit the ground hard, the breath knocked from her lungs.

Bram was at her side in an instant, his strong hands gripping her arms as he helped her to her feet. Together, they faced the onslaught, their eyes locked on the figure of Tabitha’s sister as she advanced on them.

Light and darkness clashed in a dizzying display of power, the very air seeming to shimmer and warp around them. Tabitha sensed her sister’s emotions reaching out to her, the anger and hatred nearly overwhelming in their intensity. It was like standing in the eye of a hurricane, the wind and rain lashing at her from every direction.

But beneath it all, under the rage and the pain, Tabitha sensed something else – a deep, aching sorrow that seemed to resonate within her very soul. It was the pain of a life lived in shadows, of a heart that had never known the warmth of love and acceptance.

“Please,” Tabitha called out, her voice raw with desperation as she pushed against the dark magic with all her might. “Let me help you. You don’t have to live in darkness.”

For a moment, the briefest flicker of time, Tabitha saw something shift in her sister’s eyes. It was a look she had seen before, a look she recognized from her own reflection – the look of someone who had been fighting for so long that they had forgotten what they were fighting for.

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