Aria's pov;
Nothing in my head was going the way I wanted. The repeated pounding in my head that kept striking every few seconds begged to be attended to and I was all too happy to attend to it.
But then, every attempt at trying to even see was futile. Darkness enveloped my whole being, leaving me with nothing but to walk in the dark and to find my way.
Soon, my mind seemed to register what exactly had led me to this situation and it was only then did I finally know what to do.
Suddenly, my eyes stung as a source of light seemed to have been unleashed on my closed eyes, making it difficult for me to remain where I was.
Who knows where Celeste had dumped me now? I shook my head sighing to myself before gradually opening my eyes.
"It's about time. I was starting to consider pouring a bucket of cold water on you but it seems like that won't be needed anymore…," came Kael's already familiar voice.
Immediately, every form of relaxation that had been embedded in me evaporated in an instant. How? He shouldn't be here. Why was he the one speaking to me? I must be imagining things now, isn't it?
I mentally nodded, coming to the conclusion that I'd imagined Kael's voice. After all, even with the short time I spent with him, it was difficult not to think about our interaction every now and then.
"Or would you like to have my lips on your body instead?"
Warmth rushed straight to my ear. This time, there was no mistaking it was Kael as the warmth of his mouth brushed against my ear.
Immediately, I forced my eyes open, moving away from him with my eyes going on high alert.
"Where am I?" Was the first question I asked as I slowly began to digest my surroundings.
Kael didn't answer my question right away. Instead, he stood from the seat beside the bed I now found myself on, his tall figure casting a long shadow across the room as he moved toward the window and I could feel the change in his aura.
"You're back at the castle," he finally said, his tone flat, but I heard the controlled anger beneath it. Maybe even… concern?
I blinked, adjusting to the room. The familiar scent of his presence wrapped around me like a blanket. I was back. But how?
The pounding in my head returned with full force, and suddenly, flashes of what had happened came back in disjointed, painful fragments.
Celeste.
The pressure around my neck as my mother watched with a smile.
But the image that struck deepest had been Celeste's hands choking me… then those same hands helping me up and whispering, "I'll tell Kael you fainted. Then, I would finally get to meet him. And…voilà! Using your face, I'll make him gradually hate me while you make him love mine…"
It all connected.
I had thought I was dreaming when I felt arms dragging me, a voice calling for help. But it had been her.
The same hands that tried to kill me had carried me back here and had been so concerned. I would have totally been fooled too if I didn't know her better.
A sharp, bitter taste filled my mouth. Leaving me with the urge to spit it out in rejection, refusal or denial.
I clutched the sheets tightly, hiding the shiver that passed through me. Did Karl know anything? From the look of things, he seemed to be the type that wasn't easy to fool with either words or actions.
The door creaked open, and right on cue, they walked in; my mother and Celeste, side by side, both of them wearing masks of concern and their hands holding each other with their lips already wobbling rapidly, as if trying to form words but failing miserably.
Well, it was safe to say this was how I had been fooled by them for the past years, thinking they would one day change.
"Oh, thank the goddess, you're awake!" Celeste gasped, hurrying forward as if I hadn't just remembered her trying to kill me. "You scared us. I was so worried!"
Her voice dripped with fake warmth, and she reached for my hand, her caked face full of so much concern that I'd have been fooled. Looking at her, it was obvious she had dressed like me, and even her face had been caked with powder to look like me.
I didn't have to look in the mirror to realize she had already done my makeup to look just like her.
I yanked my hand away right before she could show mock concern.
Kael turned slightly at the gesture, but said nothing. His eyes flickered between us, carefully blank and appearing very oblivious.
Marissa forced a smile, standing beside Celeste and looking down at me. "You've always been the delicate one, Aria. But no need to worry anymore. Celeste stayed by your side until the castle guards helped bring you back. We thought you weren't going to make it. At least you're okay…"
A lie. A total lie; that was what this was.
Another performance she'd possibly be getting a clap for.
"She fainted," Celeste added quickly. "I panicked. I didn't know what else to do but get help."
I stared at her.
My twin was definitely insane and there was no doubt about it. The same person who had nearly ended my life was now playing the role of a nursemaid in front of Kael.
Kael didn't respond to her words, but the cold glint in his eyes deepened. Still, he let them talk. He let them lie.
Not that he'd know but from the way he moved, from the way his eyes didn't even move even as they fabricated lies that would have touched anyone's soul, it seemed to me like he didn't believe them one bit.
"Can we have tea brought in?" Marissa said too quickly, stepping toward the fireplace to stoke the flames. "This is an awkward little moment, but we're all family now. That's what matters."
Family?
A surge of nausea rolled in my stomach. If the way I had been treated meant we were family, then I wanted out of it!
Kael's voice broke the fragile silence. "I have duties to attend to. I'll leave you be…" he spoke with his hands in his pocket and with the kind of look that said he didn't want to be bothered.
I didn't miss the repeated twitching of his eyebrows and the tick in his jaw.
No.
My heart dropped as he turned toward the door.
He couldn't leave me. Not now. Not here. Not with them.
My mouth opened, but no words came out.
As if sensing my fear, Kael paused. He turned his head slightly, his voice cool but sharp.
"She's not to be left alone."
"What?" Celeste barked, almost too quickly.
A knock sounded on the door, and a guard stepped inside, bowing slightly. "As ordered, Alpha. I'll be stationed here with Luna Aria."
Celeste's eyes flashed. "With all of us?"
"Yes, my lady," the guard said stiffly. "Those were the Alpha's orders."
Kael didn't wait for further reactions. He gave me one last look; one I couldn't decipher before disappearing through the door.
The moment he was gone, the air turned thick and oppressive. I could feel Celeste's evil intent even as we sat apart.
Celeste slowly sat on the edge of the bed, smiling too brightly for someone who had just been humiliated by a guard's stoic answer. "You heard him. We're not to be left alone. What a shame."
The guard took a stance near the door, straight-faced and expressionless, playing the part of a guard that he was.
Celeste leaned closer. Her whisper was like poison on silk. "Play your role well, sister. Or next time, I'll make sure there's no one to save you."
I didn't respond.
Celeste leaned closer, her lips still curved in that practiced, plastic smile, and whispered through gritted teeth, "Play your role well, sister. Or next time, I'll make sure you don't get to see the next day and no one would be coming to save you."
I didn't flinch.
I didn't look away.
I just stared straight into her eyes. Those icy, dead things we shared and for the first time in my life, I didn't feel fear. I felt rage. A new type of anger I'd never felt before.
White-hot, seething rage that pulsed through my limbs and made my fingers twitch with the urge to strike back at her. To repay her for all of the marks she'd left on my body while my mother had just watched, not stopping her. Not with tears. Not with begging. But with the fire I had been forced to bury for years.
I smiled back.
But mine wasn't sweet.
It was the beginning of a war. A silent war she knew nothing of. One that I was going to be bringing to her when she least expected.
As she stood and turned to walk away with our mother in tow, still putting on their perfect act for the guard standing near the door, I stared at the both of them, my chest rising and falling in slow, controlled breaths. Not attacking today. Not today. Not now.
"You should've finished the job when you had the chance," I muttered under my breath. My voice was low, not meant for anyone but myself. A silent promise that was just meant for me.
Because next time, I wouldn't be on the floor gasping for breath.
Next time, they would be. They would scream and beg, pleasing to be freed but I wasn't going to listen.
I wasn't the girl who cried and begged anymore. I wasn't their puppet. I wasn't their weakness.
They had tried to kill me. And now?
Now, I had nothing left to lose. This time, there was no more plan to follow but mine. I wasn't going to be controlled by them anymore.
I would play their game.
But I'd do it my way.
And this time, the ending wouldn't be theirs to laugh about. And now, my first step was going to be SLEEPING WITH KAEL and ruining Celeste's plans.
And I was going to be seducing him tonight!