DAGON MANSION

CHAPTER TWELVE: DEPRESSION

WARNING: This chapter refers to depression and attempted suicide.

Brisa arrived in Glouminster over the weekend. Xena was waiting for her at the airport, hands tucked into the pockets of her coat, her dark hair swept by the wind. As soon as Brisa saw her, she ran forward, her eyes lighting up with that familiar spark.

"Amor, cuánto te extrañé!" Brisa exclaimed, throwing her arms around Xena.

"Yo también, Brisa," Xena replied, smiling against her shoulder.

Brisa kissed her deeply on the lips, uncaring of the curious glances around them. Xena pulled back, a faint blush on her cheeks.

"Let's leave this for when we're alone," she murmured.

Brisa laughed softly. "You're always shy — that's one of the reasons I adore you."

They drove through the quiet streets of Glouminster until they reached Xena's small, elegant house. Inside, Brisa didn't waste a second; she took Xena in her arms again, pressing her lips to her neck. The days apart had left her hungry for touch. Xena yielded, feeling the familiar warmth rise between them — that gravity that always pulled them together.

Brisa's passion was a storm that swept through the room. Xena had missed it — that urgent, burning devotion. And yet, beneath the pleasure, a faint unease flickered: she had changed. Her heart felt split between two worlds — Brisa's bright, consuming fire and the shadowed tenderness she had begun to feel for Mia and the little girl.

Still, when Brisa whispered, "I love you more than words can express," Xena believed her. Their bodies intertwined until the night blurred into silence, their breath the only sound in the dimly lit room.

For a few hours, everything was simple again.

The next evening, Mia sat by Scarlett's bed, gently brushing a strand of dark hair from her daughter's forehead. Scarlett had fallen asleep easily, her small fingers wrapped around a stuffed dragon. The house was quiet, too quiet. Mia felt the emptiness of it pressing against her chest.

A knock sounded at the door.

When she opened it, she found Xena — and behind her, a woman she hadn't expected.
"Mia," Xena said, "Brisa has arrived."

Brisa's eyes widened as she stepped inside. "Wow... this house is gorgeous. Much more luxurious than I imagined."

"Welcome," Mia said politely, though her voice was distant. Her pallor didn't go unnoticed.

Xena studied her carefully — the dark circles beneath her eyes, the trembling in her hands. She decided to keep the visit short. Brisa seemed oblivious, chatting about travel and the weather, but Xena's attention never left Mia. Something inside her whispered that the young woman was unraveling.

In his prison cell, Ryan lay awake, unable to escape his thoughts. He pictured Mia and Xena together — laughing, whispering, touching. The image tore through him like a blade.

Jealousy was poison, and he swallowed it in silence. He had told himself he wanted to let her go, to keep her safe from his curse — but the truth was crueler: he could not bear the thought of anyone else near her.

"Why am I like this?" he whispered into the dark.

His fists clenched until the knuckles whitened. The cell seemed to close around him, the walls breathing with his anguish. In that spiral of shame and longing, Ryan thought of ending it all. Anything to stop the pain. But something — perhaps the faint echo of Scarlett's laughter — pulled him back. For now.

By Monday, Brisa had returned to Artshel. The house fell silent again.

Xena found Mia in the living room, her gaze lost somewhere beyond the window.
"I know you've been hiding something all weekend," Xena said softly. "What's wrong?"

Mia didn't answer — not with words. Instead, the air in the room shifted. The lamps flickered. Objects trembled, then lifted, hurled by an invisible force. The table struck the wall, glass shattered, and Xena shielded her face as a gust of psychic energy rippled through the room.

Then, as suddenly as it began, it ended. Mia collapsed to her knees, trembling. Xena rushed to her side.

"Mia, please, tell me something."

"I'm sorry," Mia whispered. "It's terrible... everything is too much. I can feel Ryan's pain. I hear him crying at night."

Xena's expression softened. "Mia, your last visit before vacation is in a few days. You'll see — he's doing okay."

Mia wept, clutching Xena's hand. The bond between them deepened in silence, a fragile understanding forming in the shadow of their shared grief.

Meanwhile, Rogers was released from prison for good behavior. The psychologist's testimony had saved him, explaining his violent outburst as the result of trauma and stress. Before leaving, he apologized to Jake and Aaron, promising never to interfere again. When he returned to work, Theolinda greeted him warmly — relieved to see the rough-edged man she had once trusted restored to himself.

Mia's final visit to Ryan never took place.

When she arrived, the guards told her, "He's in the infirmary."

Her heart froze.
"What happened? Please tell me," she begged.

"I'm not allowed to discuss it," one of them replied, avoiding her eyes.

But she already knew. The moment she heard the words, she felt it — a cold shock through her soul, as if a part of her had been torn away.

Ryan had tried to end his life.

If Jeremiah hadn't found him in time, he would have succeeded.