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Hekate shakes her head, her fingers gripping the steering wheel so tight that her knuckles turn white. She takes a deep, shaky breath.
“This was the last straw, Helia,” Hekate tells me, still not looking at me.
But I see her. The tension in her muscles, the icy anger in her forceful yet neutral tone. We might be as different as a day and night, but at the end of the day, she is my sister. My twin sister.
“You’ve always been too caring and kind for your own good, but that was fine while it was directed at the witches and humans. You crossed a line when you started sympathizing with the wolves. You lost my protection when you started sleeping with one. You lost your coven and your family when you picked him over us.”
I want to tell her that I didn’t pick him over them. I want to tell her that it didn’t need to be a choice at all. I try to tell her all that, but I can’t because of the stupid spell.
“But don’t worry, little sister,” Hekate says and briefly glances back at me with an eerie smile on her face. “There’s still hope for you. I’ll make sure to bring you back to us and to help you reach your full potential just like our parents intended.”
If my body wasn’t paralyzed already, the tone in her voice would definitely reach that effect. My eyes are the only part that I can move, and they widen to comical proportions.
“Unfortunately,” Hekate continues, seemingly oblivious to my terror, “progress comes at a cost. You must be stripped away of your sins before you get cleaned up. While birth is a painful process, it has nothing on rebirth. I promise to be there every step of the way. I’ll make sure that you succeed. We’ll prove to everyone that no amount of pain can break a Payne. Your endurance will be enough to earn you forgiveness and possibly even a little bit of respect and admiration. I want you by my side, and together, we will lead the Ultra Coven to a war that will finally put an end to all wolves.”
A lone tear falls down the side of my face and onto the leather seats. I was a fool for thinking that Hekate could be anything more than the Venerable Superior. I was so desperate to have my sister back that I blinded myself from what was right in front of me. Now, I have to pay the price and a very costly one at that.
CHAPTER 15
Helia
Hekate didn’t waste time and chained me up the moment we arrived in the basement of the old and rotted house in a rather nice-looking middle-class urbanization. I don’t need to be a genius to know that she’s used a soundproofing spell around the property to make sure no one would hear me screaming.
My own sister chains me up to the ceiling, locking my wrists and pulling me on a leash short enough that I have to strain my toes to touch the floor, otherwise, my entire weight would be on my shoulders.
It hasn’t even been an hour, and I’m already aching all over. My muscles are screaming in pain. The worst part is that the torture hasn’t even yet begun. The true agony is yet to follow.
Hekate disappears upstairs for a minute, then returns down with a chair. She sets it in front of me and sits down.
“We’re all alone here,” she tells me and crosses her legs. “I’ll make sure that while your cleansing will be well known, it won’t be witnessed by anyone but me. There’s no need for the other witches to see this shameful embarrassment.”
The paralyzing spell is wearing off because I can move my lips. My throat is still locked up because no sound comes out of my mouth no matter how hard I try.
“I urge you to embrace the pain,” Hekate continues, sounding like a maniac. I never realized just how insane my sister was. “It will be your salvation.”
I try to speak again, and this time, I manage to whisper but it’s too low for her to hear. Hekate notices and raises her brows in question. Curiosity must get the better of her because she gets up and walks up to me, putting an ear near my lips.
“What will you do to me?” I repeat, channeling all my strength to this attempt to speak.
Hekate pulls away and grins. “We’ll start with the burning. Fire’s the purest form of cleansing.”
My eyes widen in horror. My vision blurs as the silent tears fall down my cheeks. Surely, this isn’t what our parents would want for us. There must be another way. A better one.
Hekate looks at her watch and frowns. “We’ll have to postpone this for a couple of hours. I have to attend the Ultra Coven meeting now, but I promise that I’ll be all yours later.”
Without another word or a glance my way, she walks up the stairs, leaving me strung up like an animal with no food or water. The spell is still too strong for me to try to call after her. I can’t even ask her for mercy.
When she closes the door behind her, darkness settles in the windowless and damp basement. Along with despair and hopelessness, it’s my only other companion.
The minutes seem to drag on, flowing into the longest hours of my life. My body feels numb, my mouth is dry, and my heart is broken.
All I ever wanted was for everyone to live peacefully. Meaningless inter-species killings should’ve died with our ancestors. The hateful flame should’ve burned out a long time ago.
I’m struggling to find a light in this darkness. There is no excuse for treating me like this, for having me strung up like an animal. Fuck that. Even animals shouldn’t be treated this way.
With another hour gone, my thoughts turn darker, soaking in the deep shades of my pitch-black surroundings. Maybe I deserve to be here, but not for the so-called betrayal that I’m being accused of. No, I deserve to be here because I didn’t do more to stop my sister. I didn’t do more to advocate for peace.
The worst thing good people can do is to stand by with their arms crossed as evil takes over.
