Page 15 of Pisces Rising

Gemini sucked in a dramatic breath.

“Hmm, so much for the healing Febreze vibes, eh, Cancer? I guess we're back to Plan Bickering...Now what?”

Cancer and Sag crossed the room, concern etching their faces. Sag took her by the elbow, and she leaned on him for support. “Are you okay?” he asked, casting a quick accusatory glance at Aries.

“She’s fine,” Aries said, his arrogance ringing like a bell.

Gemini looked around, turning in a circle before landing back on Aries. “Um, is fine in the room with us?”

With a smirk curling his lips, he waved her off. “She’s fine. Unharmed. We’ve come to an agreement.”

As Cancer led Pisces to a chair, their heads shot up.

“What kind of agreement?” Sag asked, his suspicion unmasked. He leaned on the wall, crossed his arms over his chest, and stared at his brother in fire.

Aries cast an uncharacteristically muted glance at them and said, “I’m abandoning my plan. You’re right, Sag. We should find out what’s going on here first.”

Sag, Gemini, Cancer, and Pisces threw confused, guarded looks at one another, but no one was brave enough to speak.

Aries smiled. “I’m going to join you all. We can find the traitor together.”

Stunned silence rolled in like a storm cloud. Pisces put her head on the table, defeated. She didn’t know if she could take the blazing waves of Aries twenty-four hours a day. It was exhausting.

As usual, Gemini was the first to break the spell. “Great...This is great...what could possibly go wrong?”

No one laughed. As Pisces rubbed the spot on her throat where Aries’ searing touch had branded her, she feared there was a lot more that could go wrong.

Chapter

Thirteen

Aries rose from his chair, his imposing frame silhouetted against the backdrop of the window as he gazed outside. "We shouldn't linger here too long," he warned, a growl lacing his urgent tone. "Scorpio won't be far off." He turned his fiery glare to Sagittarius with a commanding air. "We good?" An unspoken challenge was sparking between the two fire signs before Sag wisely opted for peace with a nod. “Good,” Aries rumbled. “You still have your map?"

Cancer settled into a chair next to Pisces, her features alight with a smile despite the waning stiffness in the room. She surveyed the assembled group. "This is nice."

“Like a fork in the eye,” Gemini muttered.

Cancer patted Pisces’ hand. “I know things are tense, but this could be a good thing.” Her tone was filled with a hope Pisces couldn’t find for herself. "Aries won’t let anything bad happen to you. And it's been so long since we've all been together."

Pisces nodded, not wanting to voice the thought that Aries himself might be the bad thing that happened to her.

Sagittarius responded to Aries with a deft flick of his wrist, conjuring the glowing map that had guided their journey thus far. "I guess we're going on another road trip, fam.”

As the map hovered before them, its twinkling lights beckoning them toward the next leg of their tour, Pisces couldn't help but feel a sense of trepidation mingled with a glimmer of hope. Perhaps Cancer was right. The Zodiacs working together was certainly easier than running from multiple threats. Now, if she could only figure out how to manage Aries.

Sag and Aries stood before the magical map, marking the vast distances between their celestial realm locations. Scorpio and Capricorn's markers pulsed near Aquarius’ trendy club back on Earth. "They're headed for Aquarius," Aries observed, furrowing his brow.

Sag cleared his throat, giving Aries a cautious glance. "I suggest we see Virgo. His interdimensional research could give us an edge."

Aries smirked. “That’s how I got here so fast.”

“Virgo’s portals?” Sag asked, shaking his head like he should have expected that earlier.

Aries nodded with smug delight. Sag had been right yesterday. Aries wasn’t just a hothead. He was a clever hothead.

Pisces threw Cancer a questioning look.

"Portals," Cancer whispered. "It's Virgo's power, among other things." She smiled thoughtfully. Across the room, Aries' eyes narrowed as he turned his stony gaze toward them. Cancer's smile faded as he stalked closer.