Torn Between Souls

TWIN

My heavy eyelids open, and I yawn, stretching my body softly. I blink slowly and see Matteo, asleep next to me, and smile. I’ve never seen him so peaceful before. His hard, strong features are relaxed. One arm is still under me, supporting my head, but the other is thrown to the side, away from him.

I reach out to touch him but hesitate. He doesn’t get to sleep often, and we have both been under immense stress lately. Instead, I decided to let him rest and slink away from him. He doesn’t stir in the slightest. I smile, before moving to the bathroom, blushing as I realize the sticky residue coating my thighs.

I suddenly recall the pleasure his deft fingers brought me last night, and I feel a heavy red spread across me. The things he made me feel were intense. I was no virgin, but being touched by him started a fire inside me I didn’t know was possible. Every graze of his fingers had the ability to bring me to my knees. I knew I wanted more, and I knew last night was just the beginning.

I wanted to know more about the Fated. I had never even heard it before Elisa brought it up, and last night we had barely touched on the subject. But the thought of belonging to someone in such an absolute way, soul to soul, was something that intrigued me.

It also scared me.

I was meek, small, and of a different breed. I couldn’t help but think that without….whatever this was, Matteo’s piercing eyes would never have given me a second look. I grimace slightly, but as I gaze upon his resting face, I decide something.

I don’t care.

I don’t care if some unsung force had brought us together. I loved him. Deeply. That scared me too.

I sighed and decided to take a shower, assuming Matteo would be awake after, and we could eat breakfast together. Maybe he’d tell me then.

I took a long, hot shower, washing my curls. Strangely, I’d noticed they had started to smoothen out, becoming less unruly. It made me happy, but I wondered what was causing it. Maybe it was Marianne’s cream. She used it in my hair often.

After the shower, Matteo was still asleep. I dressed in a pair of black leggings, and a camisole, deciding I would go to the study and read, so I was close when he woke up. I read for a while, nothing exciting, just a few chapters of Romeo and Juliet.

My stomach grumbled and I looked at the clock. Where was Marianne with breakfast? It was usually done by 8:30, but it was almost an hour later and it was nowhere in sight. I hated that I was now expectant of my breakfast being served, but I was. I pulled on a pair of slippers, and a soft, warm cashmere sweater that belonged to Matteo, and decided to go in search of Marianne. She wasn’t in the kitchen, and I considered making myself something, but there was no way I was going to cook in her kitchen without permission. I floated down the long hallways and stepped into the garden. Maybe she was looking for herbs?

The garden was colder than usual this morning, and there was a heavy coat of frost on things. The air felt still, and sad. The frown returned to my face, as I walked the path. I tightened my arms around me.

“Marianne?” I called out, “Marianne?”

Nothing. No answer. Just still, stagnant air. I rubbed my temples, sighing. The hairs on the back of my neck stood, and I froze, my entire body tensing. I heard a low growl behind me, and I turned around, slowly, my voice caught in my throat.

In front of me stood a giant, grey wolf. His teeth were bared, drool dripping from his curled lips. His eyes were terrifying. Feral.

“Hi, Rose.”

My eyes snapped to the right, meeting a pair of honey-brown ones. It was a woman. Her hair was cut into a short, brown, pixie cut, and she wore a pair of dark jeans and a brown turtleneck. She has a pretty face, but there was a large, angry scar that ran from the tip of her eyebrow to the same ear, down her neck.

My mouth opened, but she raised a hand.

“Don’t scream, or this will end worse than it has to.”

The wolf growled in warning and then took off running.

“Fly,” she said, her voice harsh.

I shook my head, dumbfounded. Fly?

“Stupid girl, can’t even fly…” she trailed, and then a smirk crossed her face, and all at once, she lunged.

She grasped me, wrapping her arms around me, before she took off into the sky, the ground disappearing from under me.

I screamed.

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Voices.

Coming out of the darkness that was the first thing I was aware of, was voices. The second was my instincts screaming at me that I was not safe. I stayed completely still. There was a burning in my throat, but other than that I couldn’t feel any other injuries. Without moving a muscle, I strained to hear the voices.

“You can get her to talk?” a deep, husky voice said.

“I told you I can get anyone to talk,” a woman's voice snapped.

It was familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on it…

I heard a deep, rumbling growl.

“Figure out what that Leech has done, Seda. My brother, the Alpha, has been searching for her smell for months, but I refuse to walk in blind,” the same man's voice echoed through the room, which I could tell was large.

Seda. Who was Seda?

I listened to the heavy retreating steps of what I assumed was the man, I released a small, shaky breath I didn’t know I was holding, and suddenly felt my hair being roughly yanked up.

A scream ripped out of me as I was pulled up to my knees by my thick hair. My eyes flew open and were met with a familiar pair of brown ones, a brown pixie cut framing her face.

“Good morning, Rose,” she said with a sneer, before releasing my hair and floating away.

My eyes followed her, tears prickling in the corners of my eyes. She ghosted across the room, and I was able to take in my surroundings. I was in an old stone building. It reminded me of the great hall of the manor, but it was a large square. The ceilings were as high as those in the tower, and there was one door at the far end, as well as a large trap door in the center of the room. Other than that, there was not a single piece of furniture in the entire room.

The woman who I understood to be Seda was walking in a large circle around me, watching me. When my eyes met hers, she chuckled.

“Before we get started, did you have any questions, young witch?” she seethed, yet with a smile.

“Wh-” I started, but my voice was hoarse.

I cleared my throat and started again, “Where am I? Who are you?”

“My name is Seda, dear,” she replied, a matter of factly, “We are in a Chateau, deep in mountainous France. It belongs to an old family of werewolves that are very interested in you.”

I shuddered. They did it, I thought, closing my eyes, They found me.

Suddenly, Seda laughed, “If only they weren’t so trusting, those mutts.”

My eyes opened and met her. Wasn’t she helping them?

“Confused, dear? I suppose I understand that. You see I am a witch. I knew your parents,” she smiles and evil smile, “I knew your sister.”

My breath catches in my throat and I freeze, her smile only widening.

“I...I don’t ha-”

“Yes dear, you do.”

Suddenly, she waves her hand around a few times, and seemingly invisible chains bind my hands, yanking me towards the ceiling by my wrists. My shoulders pop uncomfortably, and I scream again. My toes are barely touching the floor. Seda smirks.

“I’m not surprised you don’t remember her. It’s too bad, really. You were both just newborns. However you mother and father lied to our coven!” she growled, “They were suspicious of us, rightfully so, and chose not to share they were pregnant with not one, but two tiny witches.”

I’m panting heavily, and all of a sudden, I feel a burning and look down to see my leggings literally evaporating in flames beneath me. I stand before Seda, in only the silk camisole, and a pair of panties.

“You were both born, within minutes of each other. Your poor elder sister, she was taken to the NICU almost immediately, and the witch that intercepted her nurse was not aware your mother was still in labor. I killed her for her mistake later.”

From thin air, a whip materialized in Seda’s hand. She stroked it gently as if it was a beloved pet. I was almost too absorbed in her words to care, but my breath still caught, a whimper coming from me.

“Back to your sister...when she was brought to me, I couldn’t help but be stunned by her beauty. I truly believed I had discovered the key to destruction in her and yet when I flayed the skin from her body, there was no magic contained there as I had expected.”

I suppressed the urge to vomit, retching, and dry heaving, my arms aching against my bods as I lost the ability to hold myself on my toes for a moment, and I yelped at the pain.

“Dear, don’t you understand? All of your magic is stored under that pretty skin,” she chuckled, and instantly I felt the white-hot burn of the whip across my back, tearing through my camisole and skin.

“Your mother and father...they kept you hidden well, for many years. Even when we finally tracked them, the werewolves tearing apart your parents, they would not tell us about you. I searched for details in your mother, and all I knew was that you existed, and amazingly, thanks to the magic of her very own, when I killed your sister, all the magic she had, entered you.”

I was breathing heavily, and I screamed again as the whip came down on my back once again. Tears leaked from my eyes. Yet my resolve was steel. This woman killed my parents. A baby. My sister.

As she came around to face me, she grinned, “And then all of a sudden, about six months ago, something changed. I felt you. Your presence. It’s as if you were beginning to awaken. The werewolves knew too...and an alpha approached me.”

Though she still stood in front of me, I felt the whip striking me again. Once. Twice. A third time. With each lick I screamed, ending with a whimper. Sweat ran down the bridge of my noses, muddled with tears.

“He asked for my help in locating you, little did he know I didn’t care about the silly bond he felt with you, but it did allow me to use him, and his resources, to locate you after all.”

Another lash. I clenched my teeth, refusing to scream again, as more tears leaked from my eyes. Seda hissed at me and instantly slapped me across the face.

Hard.

I yelped, And she did it again, but I refused to make another sound.

“And here you are...filled with endless secrets. Endless magic. And I plan to take it.”

I met her eyes, feeling a ferociousness burning inside of me. I spit into her face, causing her to gasp.

“You will never...take anything else...from me,” I heaved, watching as she wiped my blood-tinged saliva from her face with her sleeve.

She lunged at me, ripping me upwards, high into the ceiling rafters.

“Too bad you don’t know how to fly then.”

She dropped me.

A scream left me as I dropped the 50ft drop, crashing into the stone floor beneath me. I tried to catch myself and one of my arms buckled at an irregular angle, causing my hip and ribs to hit the ground. The pain was blinding, and I saw darkness in the corners of my eyes.

Seda stood over me, breathing hard. I could feel her breath fanning the open wounds on my back. I heard my camisole tear, and without a moment to rest, an intense, burning sensation and unimaginable pain erupted along my spine.

My screams were ear-splitting, and I could faintly hear Seda shouting above me. I felt like I was on fire. The dark spots grew larger as the burning continued.

You are water.

A familiar voice breathed in barely a whisper in my mind. Confusion contouring my face with the pain.

Show her she can’t have you.

I didn’t know what was happening to me. Was I dying? I was surely hallucinating. The burning in my back continued, but my screams had ebbed, despite the incredible pain.

Matteo’s sleeping face entered my mind, and a sob left me. Not from the pain, but from the regret. Oh, why did I ever leave his embrace this morning? He must be worried to death, the man I loved.

I didn’t want to leave him. I wanted to return to him.

I closed my eyes and thought of water. The water everywhere. The water in the air around me. The water coursing its way through my blood, in my veins. I pushed it all towards my back. Towards the fire erupting in my skin.

Seda roared in frustration, but she continued. The pain grew stronger, but I clenched my teeth, thinking of nothing but water.

After an endless amount of time passed, Seda finally screamed, and my body was thrown across the room like a rag doll.

“Fine! You want to fight me!?” she screamed, and I watched as the trapdoor flew open.

She kicked me hard, in the rib that already felt broken. A woosh of breath left me and I gasped painfully.

“This is the pit!” she cackled maniacally, “Empty. Dark. A perfect place for you to wither. To waste until you give me what I want!”

I was propelled a few feet above the ground and then dropped into an endless abyss. When I hit the ground, I blacked out, my body, and mind finally giving in.

I woke up, slowly. Painfully. Every part of my body ached. I was in the dark. It was pitch black. For a moment, I thought it was just because my eyes were closed, but even with them open, the darkness held fast.

I had no idea what size the room I was in. The ground under me was soil. The air was damp, but not stagnant. The smell was off, but not awful. It was, however, cold. Freezing actually. I shivered and went to wrap my arms around myself, but a gasp of pain and I realized I couldn't. I dragged myself into a side-lying position, on the side without the broken ribs.

My stomach rumbled, and I thought back to this morning- wait, was it still this morning? I had woken up, twice. Who knows how long I had been out each time. My stomach grumbled again and I winced. I was starving. I should have just stayed in bed.

My mind drifted as I let myself revel in the pain. There was pain everywhere. I was naked in nothing but panties. Alone. A sob escaped me. And another. I cried softly, my tears streaming down my face. How did I get here?

I cried myself back to sleep, allowing the pain to overcome me.

The next time I woke up, there was a soft white glow behind my eyelids. I pried them open. Slowly. My vision was blurry, but as I focused, I saw her there, in front of me. My breath caught in my throat as I drank her in, ignoring the burning in my eyes.

Big, gray eyes framed by light lashes. A heart-shaped face with a spattering of freckles. Spiraling red hair, tied loosely into a knot at the base of her neck. She sat criss-cross, facing me, a small, sad smile on her thin lips.

“Mama?”