Page 37 of Pisces Rising
As they parted, Aquarius approached, giving Pisces a brief but genuine hug. "You're looking much better," Aquarius remarked as she studied Pisces appraisingly. "Tell me, what do you remember from our visit at the club?" A flush crept up Pisces’ neck as fleeting glimpses of Sagittarius's intimate encounters with Aquarius flashed through her mind's eye. She chanced a furtive glance at the archer, who suddenly found the ground very interesting.
Aquarius smirked, seemingly picking up on the unspoken undercurrent. "Yes, yes, all that nonsense aside," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Do you recall my warning about Gemini?”
“I only have fragments now,” Pisces admitted.
Aquarius nodded. “Well, you were right to call on Cancer and me for help. You don’t need to know your history to follow your intuition. Trust in that.” She gave an affectionate wink.
Before Aquarius went to take her seat, Pisces put a hand on her arm. Aquarius leaned down, her eyes flicking to Aries with a flash of distaste.
“How did you know she had gone Dark?” Pisces asked, not voicing her second question, which was, why didn’t you intervene then?
Aquarius leaned a little closer. “My link to the gods is capricious. They only send me clues. And sometimes, I’m not meant to interfere with destiny. This journey is part of yours.” She patted Pisces on the shoulder. “But you’re not alone in this, which is why we're all here. Scorpio and Capricorn have some information that may shed light on Gemini's...shall we say, split personality." With a nod toward the open floor before them, Aquarius gestured for everyone to take their seats.
As the assembled Zodiacs settled in, the air grew thick with tension and unspoken questions. Pisces, flanked by Aries and Cancer, drew reassurance from their protective presences. Her gaze flicked to Scorpio, who leveled an enigmatic look in her direction. Through Sag’s memories, she knew Scorpio could be ruthless in his ambition. As a fellow water sign, they shared a connection, but Scorpio’s energy was more like a tsunami compared to her serene, lapping waves. Whatever secrets he harbored now, she had a feeling they would shake the foundations of everything she thought she knew.
Sensing her trepidation, Aries laced his fingers through hers, his thumb brushing over her knuckles in a soothing caress. She offered him a small smile, steadying her resolve. She was no longer the fragile, fractured version of herself that had fallen to Earth.
Aries glared at Scorpio, his fury palpable. "I haven't forgotten what you did," he growled, his muscles coiled with barely restrained aggression. "If you so much as look at Pisces wrong, I'll rip you apart."
Scorpio met Aries’ gaze unflinchingly, a hint of amusement playing at the corners of his mouth. "Careful, Aries. We're all here for the same reason—to stop Gemini. Let's focus on that, shall we?"
Squaring her shoulders, Pisces leveled her own determined gaze at Scorpio, silently urging him to lay his cards on the table. The game was afoot, and she had no intention of faltering—not when regaining the Cerulean Tear was the key to overcoming Gemini's dark plans.
Chapter
Twenty-Nine
Scorpio leaned back in his seat, an air of arrogant nonchalance cloaking him like his well-tailored suit. His dark eyes glittered with thinly veiled amusement as he surveyed the assembled Zodiacs, clearly unfazed by the weight of their scrutiny.
Aries was blazing beside Pisces, his entire body tensed like a loaded spring ready to unleash its pent-up fury. "If you've been plotting something this whole time, Scorpio..." he growled, the threat evident in his low rumble.
Scorpio's lips curved into a condescending smirk. "Always so quick to assume the worst, Aries. Your celestial immaturity is precisely why so few trust you with matters of true importance."
A derisive snort escaped Capricorn at Scorpio's barbed words. Pisces’ eyes narrowed on the female Zodiac, which was met with an imperious arch of one shapely brow.
Sensing the rising tensions, Virgo cleared his throat loudly. "If we could focus on the matter at hand?" He threw a nervous glance around his carefully constructed observatory. "I'd rather not have this place reduced to cinders before we uncover the truth."
Aries’ energy simmered beside Pisces, though his jaw remained tightly clenched. Sagittarius shifted uncomfortably, clearly wishing to avoid any further conflict.
“First,” Aries said to Virgo. “Tell everyone why Dark Gemini was in that mirror realm in the first place and why you chose to keep it a secret.”
Virgo sucked in a breath and nodded, expecting to be first on the chopping block. “You all recall Gemini’s nature in the early days of our kind. She was volatile, like a comet hurling through time. She is a twin, after all, two opposing sides connected as one.” He leveled his gaze on the group with an appeal for understanding. “Centuries ago, I was exploring beyond the borders of our universe. That’s when I discovered the mirror realm. It hung like a twin universe to our own.
“I knew it would be the perfect place to contain the dark side of Gemini. So I invited her with me to explore this astonishing realm, and when we were there, she enticed her dark side to come forth.” Virgo let out a breath, his face full of regret.
“When I pulled her back through the portal, only her light side had come through. Her dark side was entrapped forever.
“She begged me to keep it a secret, to never let any of you know just how wicked her twin could be, and to leave her there forever.” He adjusted his glasses and shook his head. “It seemed like the best outcome at the time. And many of you,” his gaze lingered on Aries, “Were too young in your evolution. It wasn’t wise to reveal the location of this darkness.”
Sag leaned forward, his arms resting on the table. “And the supernova cracked the realm?”
Virgo nodded. “It caused a tear in the fabric of the universe next to ours. Dark Gemini found the opening and escaped.” Turning his attention to Scorpio, Virgo fixed the enigmatic male with a level stare. "What is your involvement with the Cerulean Tear's disappearance and Dark Gemini?"
Scorpio met Virgo's gaze without flinching, his expression infuriatingly unreadable. "My involvement with her conspiracy to overthrow our dear water siren here is nonexistent, I assure you."
Drawing on the snippets of Sagittarius's memories, Pisces leveled an accusatory glare at Scorpio and Capricorn. "That's a lie." Her hands clenched into fists. "I know you two have somehow had a hand in this—in stealing my power, in unleashing Dark Gemini's chaos."
Scorpio's infuriatingly calm veneer didn't so much as crack under her heated gaze. "Is that what the wanderer's disjointed glimpses have shown you?" he mused, his tone rich with patronizing amusement.