Anastasia sat staring at her reflection in the mirror. She looked the same on the outside, her hair still curled and fell to her waist, and her eyes were the same shade of blue that they had always been. She looked just as she had every single day since she had arrived in Terrenia, and yet she felt nothing like herself.
She had shut out the only person in the world who had been there for her even during her darkest times. Dakota had never let her down, not one single time in all the years she had known him, and yet she had let him down in the worst way.
“Dammit!” she yelled, and slammed her fists into the mirror. She felt the pain from the glass shards in her hands, but it was nothing compared to the gaping hole where her heart once was. She turned and let herself slide to the floor. She cried until there was nothing left in her, and eventually she slept.
“What the hell?” Dakota asked, rubbing his hands over his eyes.
“Feeling better?” Elizabeth asked loudly.
“Jeez, Mom! Could you be any louder?”
“Oh, I think I could muster up a notch or two.” She slammed a glass down in front of him and turned for the kitchen area, where Tony sat looking incredibly amused.
“Sleep well, Dakota?” he asked cautiously.
“Sure.” Dakota lifted his glass and stumbled over to the table.
“Want to tell us what happened?”
“Not particularly,” Dakota muttered into his glass. “What is this stuff?” he asked, looking disgusted.
“Just shut up and drink it, Dakota George. And you damn well better tell us something, or you can find somewhere else to stumble into drunk in the middle of the night.”
Dakota ran his hands over his face. “I’m sorry, Mom.”
“You and Anastasia have a fight?” she asked.
“Something like that.”
“What do you mean, ‘something like that’?” Dakota noted the worry on Tony’s face.
“She’s fine, Tony.”
“What happened, Dakota?” Elizabeth asked, taking a seat next to him.
“We are taking a break,” he said sarcastically, standing. “I need to get some fresh air and check in on a few things.”
“Already have the Fighters doing a walk through our defenses. We will be prepared for a fight should one come this way again.”
“Thanks, Tony. We have buried one too many of our own lately.”
Dakota stepped out into the light and shielded his eyes. His head was throbbing, and the ground still seemed to be spinning slightly.
“Good morning, Dakota. How are you this day?”
“Just great, Argento, thanks.”
Argento smiled lightly at Dakota. “We are meeting at Tony’s cottage this morning to go over a few things.”
Alarms went off in Dakota’s mind, and as he still wasn’t quite awake yet, he knew he hadn’t masked it well.
“Everything is fine. We found a few more Brute camps nearby and just want to be sure everyone is aware of their locations.”
“I just saw Tony, and he didn’t say anything about a meeting.”
“That’s because he isn’t aware yet. I am on my way to tell him now. The camps were discovered late last night, and Tony had already turned in for the night.”
Dakota nodded and turned to head for the training cottage so he could gather his things. “Great, I’ll see you there.”
He had expected her to be there, had hoped that she would have been waiting for him to come in. When he opened the door to the empty cottage, it hit him harder than it had the night before. Who the hell did she think she was? She was seriously going to turn her back on him now? They were best friends at the core of everything, and she had no right to decide without him that they couldn’t be together. Who was he without her? He had felt as if he had died after she disappeared, and it wasn’t until after he found her again that he felt alive. So what was he supposed to do now?
“Hey girl.” Dakota patted Kaley’s soft fur as she nuzzled his stomach. “Sorry I didn’t come home last night. I sure did miss you.” He smiled at her when she started to purr. “I just need to grab some things and I’ll be on my way.” Dakota pushed open the door to the bedroom and he knelt next to the broken glass.
He picked up a piece that had blood on it and he began to look around the rest of the room for any indication of a struggle. Had Vincent found her? Was she hurt? Had the Brutes snuck in last night? He stood and ran for the door, forgetting why he had gone there in the first place.
“Have you seen Anastasia?” he asked one of Argento’s men as he passed.
“I have not. The meeting is about to start, maybe she will be there,” he grunted, and continued walking.
Dakota ran for Tony’s, praying that Anastasia was all right. He stood on the porch and waited for her.
When he saw her, he immediately began looking for injuries. The only ones he noted were on her hands.
“What happened to your hands?” he asked, grabbing them to look them. “Were you attacked?”
“I’m fine.” The shortness in her voice had him stopping. For a moment he had forgotten their argument last night.
“The mirror?”
“I fell into it, it’s not a big deal.” She dismissed him and headed inside.
How could he be so intoxicating? she wondered angrily as Argento filled in the Fighters about the Brute camps. It had only been one day, and still she yearned for him. He had shown such concern over her hands that she had nearly told him “screw it” and dragged him back to the cottage.
She knew that what she was doing was right, felt that if she didn’t get some distance from him, then more people would die. Still, did it have to be so painful? She hoped he hadn’t noticed when she turned away that she had only been hanging on by a thread.
“What do you think, Phoenix?” Argento interrupted her thoughts.
“Oh, I agree with you, I think that’s a good plan of action.” She hoped that she hadn’t just made an idiot of herself, since she had absolutely no idea what he had been talking about. Judging by the looks on everyone’s faces, she had given the correct answer.
“Very well.” Argento’s voice filled the room again. “We shall head out at dawn.” The other Brutes in the room grunted in response, and the Fighters pounded their fists against their chests.
“I want to go out with you.” Dakota followed Tony into Elizabeth’s cottage.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Dakota.”
“What do you mean? I am damn good with a sword and I can handle myself, haven’t I proven that?” he said angrily.
“Yes, you have, and then some. But with your current situation, I don’t know that going into battle is such a good idea.”
“Because of Anastasia?”
“Exactly. You are not in your right frame of mind. Anyone who looks at you can tell you are angry.”
“Hell yeah, I’m angry. I haven’t tried to hide that, but you aren’t leaving me behind on this one, Tony.”
“Your mom will never forgive me if something happens to you.”
“I’m a grown man, Tony. I am perfectly capable of making my own decisions, and whether you want me there or not, I’m going. So don’t you think it would be better to have me lead a group as well?”
Tony considered Dakota’s words for a moment. He knew better than to believe the boy would stay behind even if he was ordered, and if he was in charge of a group then maybe he would take more care and not endanger their lives as well.
“Fine. But you had better not be out for blood, Dakota.”
“Aren’t we all?”
“You fight with anger in your heart, and you will lose. Don’t make me tell Elizabeth that her only son was killed.”
Dakota nodded. “Fine.”