The Rise of Venus

Rising Stakes

Song: Sad Emotional Music Mix by Premium Music HQ

"Are you sure about this?" Leo asked. He chewed his bottom lip, watching Pride wearily as he finished casting a circle. Whatever that meant.

"I am."

Flora and Reign followed Pride's orders diligently as the morning sun beat down on us. Sky's large wolf watched from a safe distance, her gaze fixed on the dirt road behind us but no one ever came.

It confused me as to why there were no Witches here like all the other times.

"It's the only thing we can do to find Fergus," I continued. Taking Leo's large hand in mine, I smiled for his benefit. "We have to try. If not, we'll never get that torch or unite the Two Stars."

"I know but-"

"I'll be fine," I interrupted him. "I know you're worried about Pride and me being alone. A small part of me is worried about it too."

"But?"

"I trust him not to explode like that again." Leo drew circles over the back of my hand, his worry seeping into my cold skin. "Pride's many things. Many things that I never even knew existed...

"But I know that he didn't enjoy hurting me like that. Pride protects his Pack and I'm his Pack. Hurting me hurt him." As Pride waved me over, I squeezed Leo's hand one last time. "He's been holding so much inside and I never even noticed. I failed him, Leo. I won't do so again."

Letting go of Leo's hand, I joined Pride at the center of his perfect circle. He'd certainly gone all out with five different colored candles surrounding us. Each one had their own separate carvings. There were bells and feathers. Bowls of water and even a small knife.

The ironic thing was that it looked like a lot. But the reality was that he'd barely made a dent in the supplies he kept the trunk stocked with.

"Drink this." I took the flask from Pride, swallowing the bittersweet wine.

"What's that?"

"Cherry wine with some extra seeds and herbs to knock us out," he replied. Pride drained the rest of the wine and handed it back to Flora. "Lay down."

We laid down side to side, our shoulders pressing against each other. I avoided Leo's worried stare, choosing instead to gaze upon the white clouds. Streaks of orange and pale pinks brushed the fluffy layers of pristine white.

"Remind me again why we can't just summon his spirit?" Leo asked.

"Because there's no way to summon a spirit," Pride sighed. "They come and they go when they please. So, we have to do this and find out where he died."

"Why can't I go instead?" By then my eyes were growing a little heavy, the warm tone of Leo's voice grew faint.

"Because you don't have a connection to Fergus," Pride drawled. There was a shuffling of sheets before Pride pulled out the papers he'd been scribbling on earlier. "The circle I set up makes it so that we're going to possess their bodies. Got's to have familial connection to do that."

Pride's slurring made me giggle. The pinks and oranges became fuzzy and there was a popping in my ears. I widened my eyes, trying to chase away the blurriness.

Listen to me.

I turned my head to the side, meeting Pride's murky green eyes.

When we possess their bodies,
there's nothing we can do.

We can't change anything,
we can only follow history.