Hesitate

Sylvin

I couldn't do it. After I returned to the facility I went to see Audra. I was going to take her out to the garden, but when I saw her, sleeping, curled in a ball. My heart started to break. Her hair was charred. Her body was covered in burns that weren't healing. Cuts and scrapes littered her whole being. And she was skinny, practically a walking skeleton. I gently picked her up. She did not wake, or move. I took her down to Luna. Once I stepped into the lab luna looked at me her gaze flickered towards the beaten girl in my arms. She looked in horror. "Sylvin! What happened?" She rushed over taking her from me placing her in a bed. She got to work spreading enchanted aloe all over her burns. I shake my head. "Acheron has gone to far. He will kill her before the ritual does." I say pinching the edge of my nose. Something flickered in her eyes. She nodded along, absently. She treated her and sent me to put her back in bed. I took her small frame, holding her gently as I walked back up the stairs. She slept all day, undisturbed. I head to Acheron's office. Rage bubbling deep in my chest. My boots clacked on the tiled floor as I walked down the hall. I approached his door taking in a deep breath. I knocked. "What!" His voice cut through the silence sharp and angry. I stepped in, the door clicking shut behind me. "Ah, Sylvin, what did you find." He said dropping his pen and looking at me expectantly. "Well, I was able to get his plan." I say hesitating. "He's waiting. He won't do anything for another 4 months. He doesn't have enough forces." I say finally. He looks at me. Folding his hands and leaning back into his chair. "Good, that's good. So we will plan to have the ceremony in 4 months then. I will take her power, killing her. And then, when Malik shows up to rescue her, he will find her dead, and then I will kill him. It's perfect." He said evily. His lips, pulled into a smirk. "How are the preparations coming?" He asked. "They're going well. The alter has been cleaned and set up. Most of the ingredients have been gathered. So far we on on tack." I say, informing him. He nods and waves his hand dismissively. I quietly leave the room. I let out a breath. My anxiety finally catching up to me. I had to stabilize myself on the wall. My heart ached.

Audra's POV

I sat up from the bed, my body wrapped in patches of yellowish-white gauze. My skin stung with every movement, the dull ache of half-healed wounds a constant reminder of my weakness. I reached inward, searching for my magic, but it slipped through my fingers like water through a cracked vessel. Frustration bubbled in my chest. I used to feel my magic coursing through me, an extension of my own body. Now, it was a whisper—faint, distant, barely there. I swung my legs over the bed, gritting my teeth as pain lanced through me. My body protested, but I forced myself to my feet and slowly crept toward the bathroom. The cool water of the bath filled the room with soft echoes, and I stripped away my clothes, my gaze landing on the scar that marred my reflection. My fingers ghosted over it. A wound from that day. The day that changed everything. I tore my eyes away from the mirror and stepped into the water, sinking beneath the surface. The weight of the water wrapped around me like a cocoon, I fully submerged my head muffling the world above. Here, I could breathe. The tension in my limbs eased, and for the first time in days, I felt it—a flicker of my magic. I called it forward, willing it to heal me. The water curled around my body, swirling as it obeyed my silent command. A faint glow shimmered beneath the surface, tendrils of energy stitching my wounds together. My skin tightened as the burns faded, but exhaustion struck fast. I closed my eyes, letting the water cradle me, and drifted into a light sleep.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed when I felt someone watching me. I opened my eyes to see Luna sitting at the edge of the tub, her piercing gaze studying me like I was some kind of mystery she was trying to unravel. "How do you do that?" she asked softly. "Do what?" My voice was hoarse, my body still sluggish from healing. "I came in here an hour ago," she said, tilting her head. "You were completely submerged—your head under the water the whole time. And yet… you're breathing." I blinked, only now realizing that she was right. I hadn't even noticed. "I don't know," I admitted. "It's like I'm pulling air from the water itself. I don't think. I just… do it." Luna hummed in thought, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "That's unheard of," she murmured. "Your power is truly beyond understanding." Her lips pressed into a thin line. "That makes you all the more valuable to Acheron, you know." A chill ran down my spine. I knew that. I had known that from the moment I woke up in this place. But hearing it from Luna's lips made it feel so much worse. She sighed and stood, offering me a hand. "Come on, you should get out before you pass out in there. You're already pushing yourself too hard." I hesitated before taking her hand, letting her help me up. She inspected my body as I wrapped myself in a towel, her sharp gaze flickering over my healing wounds. "You used your magic," she said knowingly. I nodded. "I had to. The water replenished me just enough to heal some of the worst of it. But I got tired… so I just stayed under." Luna exhaled through her nose, shaking her head. "You're reckless." I offered her a small, tired smile. "It worked, didn't it?" She huffed a quiet laugh, then perked up. "Hey," she said suddenly, "do you want to play a game?" I raised an eyebrow. "A game?" She nodded. "One I used to play with my daughter. It's called War." A flicker of sadness crossed her face, but it was gone before I could place it. I hesitated, then shrugged. "Sure. But I don't know how to play." "I'll teach you," she said, already walking out the door. "Grab a sweater. Let's play on the balcony." Luna shuffled the deck with practiced ease, the worn edges of the cards curling slightly as they flicked against each other. "Okay," she said, dealing me half the deck. "Keep your cards face-down. On my count, we both flip the top card. Whoever has the higher number takes both. The goal is to win all the cards." "That's it?" I asked, picking up my deck. "That's it," she confirmed. "Sounds simple, right? Just wait. It gets frustrating." I smirked. "I think I can handle it." We flipped our first cards. Luna grinned. "King beats six. I win." I groaned as she took both cards and placed them at the bottom of her deck. "See?" she teased. "Frustrating." I narrowed my eyes in mock determination. "I'll win the next one." We kept playing, flipping cards and laughing whenever one of us groaned in defeat. Luna was oddly lighthearted, her usual stoic demeanor replaced by something… warmer. I found myself relaxing, the tension of the past few days dulling just slightly. "This is fun," I admitted after a while. "Maybe next time, we can invite your daughter?" The moment the words left my mouth, Luna froze. Her fingers tightened around her cards, her gaze dropping to the table. The air shifted. "I'm sure she would have liked that," she said quietly. A terrible feeling twisted in my stomach. "Luna…?" I hesitated. "Did . . . something happen to her?" For a long moment, she didn't answer. Then, in a voice so soft I almost didn't hear it, she said, "Acheron took her magic." I sucked in a sharp breath. "She was only nine," Luna continued, her hands trembling slightly as she set her cards down. "Her body… she couldn't handle it. She died a year ago. A few months before you arrived." A lump formed in my throat. "Luna… I—I'm so sorry." She shook her head, exhaling slowly. When she looked up, her eyes burned with something fierce and unshakable. "You understand, don't you?" she said. "He's going to do the same thing to you. He's going to kill you." I nodded, my voice barely a whisper. "I know." Silence stretched between us. Then, suddenly, she reached across the table, clutching my hand in hers. "You can't stop this," she said, voice low, urgent. "But I can." My heart pounded. "What do you mean?" Her grip tightened. "Meet me in the lab next week," she whispered. "Thursday. 2 AM. Come alone." Before I could ask what she meant, she stood and walked away, leaving me alone on the balcony—staring at the place where her hand had just been.

And for the first time in a long time,

I felt something close to hope.