Shira sat in her bedroom, her thoughts spinning. Her orders had been to taint and destroy Eris, not fall in love with him. Because of that, she had to endure the wrath of the Goddess of Darkness, her mother. She was supposed to kill Selene, not return her to her brother. That was the last thing her mother wanted.

Shira not only let Selene live, but she also encouraged the thought, and now Selene was back, allowing the light in Eris to bloom. She should be pissed off by that fact, but wasn’t. Eris was happy, and that made her happy. Shira liked that he had a little sister; begrudgingly, she liked Selene.

“Damn it to hell,” she muttered to herself. When had things become so complicated? The plan, the original design, had been to kill Jason, separate the siblings, kill Selene, and lead Eris back to darkness. But it all fell through, and the more she thought about it, the more she wanted to fight with her creator. Selene and Eris had something special, a bond that she now saw and understood. Three hundred years ago, she hadn’t cared because she had still been grieving over the loss of her last bond, her own bond with her brother.

“Senid, why can’t you help me?” Because I’m gone. The voice wasn’t real, just a figment of her imagination, something she pretended to hear to remember what her brother’s voice sounded like. Of course, she knew her brother and knew exactly how he would react. Senid would scold her, tell her that she was being stupid, letting her emotions get the better of her. Shira preferred her emotions over her vengeful goddess. It was her mother who had led Senid to his demise. Although the way her life was going, she was probably headed in that same direction.

The heel of her black boot tapped nervously against the wood flooring, asking herself the same question over and over again: did she really love Eris? It was a stupid question; she already knew the answer to. Shira would always love him. But he loved her more, and he always would. Maybe…

A sudden throbbing in her head attacked, filling her eyesight with little dots. It was her mother, punishing her for her dismal thoughts.

“Shira?” Shira composed herself and looked at her door.

Evida was peeking in with that dead look in her eyes and a blank face. Looking at her made Shira want to scream.

“What do you want, Evida?”

“I’ve been knocking, but you did not answer.”

“I was preoccupied.” Sighing, she massaged her temples, looking away from her. “What do you want?”

“I have news from our Goddess.”

“Well, spit it out.” Leaning back, taking a deep breath as the last of the dismal attack faded, she sighed. You reap what you sow.

“She says to give up on Eris. She forgives you for letting Selene live. She says things will end perfectly. It still seems, however, that she is displeased with you.”

Shira’s lips pursed into a cynical smile. “And yet I still live.”

“For now.” It was a matter-of-fact statement. Evida lacked the emotional capability to be mocking.

“You think I’ll die.”

“I believe that you’ve tried her patience,” she said, cocking her head to the side like a bird.  “She told you repeatedly to hunt down Selene and kill her. Instead, you returned her to her brother.”

“It was the decent thing to do.”

“We are not decent.”

“Oh, will you get out of my room, you wraith! I will do what I want when I want. I don’t wish to kill Selene, so I will not.”

“Mother will not be pleased.”

“Get out of my room!” The shell that was Evida bowed her head and left the room, closing the big black door behind her. Why more plots, she asked herself. Why more death and deception?

You’re overthinking it.

“Shut up, Senid.” It was official, she was finally going insane.

***

Ettore stood alongside Void on a cliffside of the mountain range near the Reborn Palace. Stormy winds hit the side of the cliff, and the storm clouds in the distance darkened the horizon, closing in on the palace. Void bent down and stared into the depths of the dark canyon below. His hair and jacket billowed around him.

“How long do you think they’ve got?” asked Void.

“Not long. Selene will blind herself at first, but she’s a bright girl; she’ll figure it out.”

“Much to her despair.”

“What a pity. She’s such a pretty girl, too, could have had anyone really.”

“She is beautiful.”

Ettore rolled his eyes. “Good lord, I wasn’t serious. I mean, I was, and yes, she is beautiful, but…Well, I guess you are lonely, aren’t you?”

“I don’t know what I am.”

“Evida is gone, man, accept it.”

“I did.”

“So why so down?”

“I don’t know,” said Void, shrugging, eyebrows furrowed.

“You need to use more words when you talk,” exclaimed Ettore, exasperated.

“You need to use less.”

“Perhaps, whatever.” Ettore bent down next to him. “War is coming, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” The winds grew stronger, and thunder sounded as lightning flashed on the horizon.

“Thought so. Who do you think will lead it?”

“Shira…should she live. If she doesn’t, then Evida, she is, after all, nothing more than a puppet.”

“And the side of the light?”

Ettore watched Void’s face break into an expression that he had never seen before. A smile. “Selene, of course.”