“Anastasia, watch your stance.” Tony held his sword out and she tapped hers to it.
“Tony, I remember.” She smiled lightly and got her footing. He stepped towards her and she dodged, swinging her sword and knocking his out of his hand.
“I see I don’t need to go easy on you.”
“Let’s be serious, Tony, you weren’t going easy on me.” She laughed lightly, and Tony grinned. It had taken two months, but she was beginning to come around to herself again.
“Again.” Tony charged her and she dodged again. This time he spun around her and knocked her sword to the ground. “Not quick enough.”
They laughed and sparred for an hour before she was exhausted. “I feel useless.”
“You are many things, Anastasia, but useless is not one of them.”
“Hey girl.” Anastasia smiled and rubbed Kaley’s soft coat as she rubbed against her. “I see you made time for me today.” Since Anastasia had come back, Kaley had spent most of her time tailing Dakota.
“Seems she does have a bit of a crush on our Dakota, doesn’t she.” Tony laughed, but when he looked at Anastasia, his smile vanished. “What is it?”
Her face had grown serious, and the light in her eyes had dulled some.
“Nothing,” she assured him with a light smile. “I’m still having some trouble, is all.”
“The nightmare again?”
She nodded. Tony had been the only one she had told about the nightmares that she had started having. In them she woke up back in the house she had been in during the illusion Vincent had put her in. Only this time Brutes came in and destroyed it. She had watched them kill Dakota and kidnap Annabelle every single night since a week after she had been brought back.
She was beginning to have trouble coming out of the nightmare, even after she woke up. It was much like it had been in her illusion, where she was having trouble distinguishing real from fake, only this time there were no images of reality to pull her out.
“Still haven’t told Dakota?” he asked her, serious.
She shook her head. “We have enough to worry about. Besides, I haven’t really spent a lot of time with him recently.”
“Why not?”
“There’s so much going on that it’s not a distraction we need right now.”
“Oh, Anastasia.” Tony shook his head. “There is no better time for the right kind of distraction. You two need each other, and if you lose sight of that, then what is it exactly you are fighting for?”
She smiled, remembering when Elizabeth had told her that same thing after she had found Dakota again, or rather after they had found each other. “You sound a lot like Elizabeth.”
Tony grinned. “She is one wise woman.”
“Speaking of.” Anastasia smiled and turned to face him. “What is going on there?”
“Nothing. Yet,” he added, laughing. “I have fallen head over heels for that woman, but she is taking her time. It’s okay, I will wait. I'm very patient.” He winked.
“I’ve noticed.” Anastasia laughed, and Tony wrapped his arm around her.
“Your father would be so proud of you, Anastasia. You have come a long way.”
“Thank you, Tony.”
“Anytime. I am going to head to town and check on my woman.” He winked at her again as he stood. “You know where to find me if you need me.”
“See you, Tony.”
Anastasia sat on the steps of the training cottage and watched him disappear into the thin line of trees that blocked the view to the village. She took a deep breath and looked down at her hands. She could feel the magic in her blood. Magic that she hadn’t used since the night she sent Dakota back, for fear that she would go dark again and not be able to come back.
The coldness she had felt that night when she embraced it had stuck with her, and just the memory of it made her feel like shivering. She remembered how it had felt to have the power surging through her, how she had wanted nothing more than to gain more at any cost.
Anastasia closed her eyes when the vision of Dakota’s death came into her head. After she had killed Mitch, it had taken her a few days to come back around. It was Carmen’s visit and mention of Dakota that had pulled her out of the void, but once it had, Vincent had done everything he could in order to take away her light and plunge her back into the darkness.
He had killed Dakota sixty-two times in front of her. After the first two she had known it wasn’t really Dakota, but each time hurt as if it truly had been. She had been forced to watch as the light went out of his eyes each time and felt a piece of her die when it did.
When that hadn’t worked and he resorted to the beatings to try and get her to access her magic, she had been grateful. Had even hoped that they would kill her and then all of the responsibility she had would be gone, her pain would disappear, and in death her life would be simple again, but each time she had felt that way, Dakota’s face would come into her mind and she knew she had to hang on for at least one more day.
The thing that stuck with her most, however, was the illusion Vincent had weaved for her. She had told Dakota how a part of her had been angry for leaving, but she hadn’t shared with him that sometimes she longed for that version of her life. It didn’t matter that it hadn’t been real, only that it had been simple and happy. Only now the nightmares were ruining that as well.
She supposed it was her punishment for leaving. She now had to watch her dream life be torn apart by the same monsters that gave it to her.
“Hey.” Dakota’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts.
“Hi.” She smiled lightly at him.
“I was wondering where you went off to.” He leaned down and petted Kaley. “I was going to go for a walk outside of the walls, check for some damage. Want to join?”
Anastasia took a deep breath. She hadn’t been outside since she had been back, and wasn’t sure she was ready just yet.
“If you don’t want to, it’s okay.”
“No, I’ll go.” She was scared, but the thought of him being out there alone bothered her more.
She stood, sheathed her sword at her back, and then she and Kaley followed Dakota to the gate.
“How are you doing?” he asked once they were out of the village.
“Good,” she responded quickly.
“Ana, it’s me.” He stopped and turned her to face him. “Please tell me the truth.”
“Dakota, I’m fine. Not perfect yet, but a whole lot closer than I had been.”
She watched the anger flash across his face. He knew she was lying, and she knew he was going to call her on it, just as he had always done when they had been kids and she had lied about how she had gotten yet another black eye.
“You have to stop lying to me, Anastasia.”
“What do you want me to say? I don’t know how to act Dakota, I don’t know what we are to each other anymore.”
“How can you say that? We are exactly the same as we were when you sent me through that damn portal. At least I am.”
Anastasia looked to the ground.
“Do you love me?” he asked quietly.
“You know I do.”
“Then what is the problem?”
“I don’t know!” she yelled, and covered her face with her hands. “I just don’t know, Dakota.”
“You had better figure it the hell out.” He turned and continued walking.
They spent the rest of the time outside the gate in silence, and when they finally walked back into the village, he headed towards the cottage where his mother was staying.
“See you tomorrow,” he said without looking back, and the amount of anger in his words cut through her like a knife.
For the first time in as long as she could remember, Anastasia walked back to the training cottage alone. The silence of the darkness was overwhelming, and she sat on the steps for a while before finally going in.
She washed up and climbed into her bed. “Come here, girl.” She patted the bed and moved over so the large cat would have enough room to climb up with her. Kaley gladly accepted her offer, and although she had hoped it would help, Dakota’s absence only sank in further.
“What am I going to do, girl?” Tears filled her eyes, and she cried herself to sleep.
“Good morning, my loves!” Dakota greeted Anastasia and Annabelle with a smile as they came down the stairs.
“Daddy is making waffles!” Annabelle yelled in delight as she smelled the cooking food.
Anastasia took a moment to take the scene in, knowing it wouldn’t last long. Happiness never did for her.
“Honey, what’s wrong?” he asked, narrowing his eyes at her.
“Nothing, I’m just having a bad dream, is all.” Tears streamed down her face.
“You’re awake now, Mommy. It will all clear up soon.”
“I hope so.” She smiled and kissed Annabelle’s cheek. “Let’s go somewhere,” she said to them.
“Where would you like to go?” Dakota asked her, amused.
“Anywhere, let’s just get out of the house,” she pleaded, hoping to hang on to the happiness for a little longer. “Now, let’s go now.”
“Well, hang on, Ana,” Dakota said on a laugh, “I just made breakfast.”
“Yeah, Mommy! I love Daddy’s waffles!”
“Me too, but please let’s just go. Please,” she begged them, but it was too late.
“Dakota, move!” she screamed as the Brutes came barreling in through the door. She grabbed Annabelle and reached for Dakota, but saw she was too late when the dagger buried itself in his chest.
“Daddy!” Annabelle screamed in horror, and Anastasia turned to run up the stairs. She felt the blast of magic in her back, and Annabelle fell just out of reach.
“No!” she screamed, reaching for her, but it was too late. The Brutes grabbed her and carried her out.
Anastasia woke on a scream, the tears streaming down her face. She gripped her pillow and screamed into it again. When she looked up, Dakota stood in her room.
“Want to tell me what’s going on?” he asked.
“Dakota, I’m sorry, it was just a nightmare.”
“Was it?” he asked, and when she looked down at his chest, she saw blood pooling on his shirt. When he fell to the floor, Argento stood behind him, smiling.
“No!” she screamed as she lunged for him.
“Ana, wake up.” The familiar voice filled her head.
Anastasia opened her eyes to see herself standing at the foot of her bed. It was a younger version of her, and she was wearing her favorite pajamas from her high school years. The same ones she had been wearing in the illusion Vincent had woven for her.
“There you are.”
“H-How are you here?”
“We both know I’m not, not really, anyways.” She smiled at her. “You have to stop.”
“Stop what?”
“Pushing Dakota away. You have to tell him what is going on. He needs to know. You are wasting time.”
“I can’t.”
“You are wasting time,” she repeated again, anger filling her voice. “We need him, we always have.”
“Wasting time? What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean, I’m in your head,” she said as she started to fade away.
“I don’t understand, wait!” Anastasia lunged towards her, but she was already gone.
“Ugh!” she yelled, and punched her wall, immediately regretting it. She rubbed her knuckles and looked into the mirror. She wasn’t entirely sure which version of herself she was seeing, but she knew she was losing her mind. Seemed appropriate, since in the last few minutes she had seen three different Anastasias.
“Which one am I?” she asked the emptiness. Her eyes settled on the photo of her and Dakota that she had brought with her when she first came to Terrenia. Whichever version she truly was, she knew she was nothing without Dakota. He was her anchor, and without him she didn’t stand a chance at figuring any of it out.
Anastasia stood and walked into the living area of the small cottage. She knew he wouldn’t be there but had hoped that maybe she had been wrong. She headed for the door and pulled it open.
He sat on the edge of the porch staring into the night.
“Dakota?”
“Yeah,” he grunted.
“Are you really there?” she asked, and he turned to face her, a worried look on his face.
“Yeah,” he repeated.
“Good.” She sat down next to him and looked out at the stars. “I’m sorry I haven’t been myself.”
“It’s understandable after everything you went through.”
“But it’s not fair to you.”
“Ana, I—”
“Please just let me finish.” She put her hand up and continued. “I love you, Dakota. Even when everything around me is falling apart, you are what keeps me centered, and I need you. I’m just afraid.”
“Afraid of what?”
“Losing you.” She looked at him now, tears shining in her eyes.
“I’m not going anywhere.” He cupped her face and crushed his mouth to hers. It was the first time they had kissed since the night Vincent had taken him. Her mouth opened under his, and she took what he had to offer and then gave him even more. She climbed onto his lap and he lifted her, carrying them into the cottage.
He laid her back on her bed and removed his shirt while she pulled her own off. Her body was hot with anticipation, and she felt as if she would die if he didn’t take her now. His mouth found her breast, and she arched up into him, moaning with pleasure.
She felt her pulse quicken as he pulled back and removed her shorts and then his pants. He looked down at her and she saw the love in his eyes. Her body suddenly felt cold, and she reached for him. He covered her body again and she cried out with pleasure when he drove into her.
After a moment of stillness he began to move, and she wrapped her legs around him and met him thrust for thrust. He was her everything, and she had been wasting time, she realized, but she refused to waste any more.
“What are you still doing up?” Tony asked Elizabeth as he walked past her cabin. She was leaning against a post on her porch staring out at the night sky.
“I could ask you the same question,” she said with a smile when he walked towards her.
“I like your hair,” Tony said gently, touching the short pixie cut she wore now. “Did you do that tonight?”
“I did. Selena helped me. Seemed to get her mind off Brady.”
“Well, I like it,” he said again, smiling.
“Thank you.” Her cheeks flushed as she ran a hand over her hair to smooth out the strands she feared were running wild. She had been up nearly twenty-four hours unable to calm the anxiety plaguing her.
“How is Dakota?”
“He is good, went off to Anastasia’s cottage about an hour ago.”
“Good. Those two have been driving me crazy.” Tony laughed, and Elizabeth smiled and nodded in agreement.
“They have been driving me crazy since they were teenagers. Those two have wasted so much time dancing around each other.”
“They aren’t the only ones,” Tony said, and Elizabeth became very aware of him standing so close. The heat from the evening surrounded her, and she felt her pulse quicken.
Why was she so afraid to take their relationship from flirting to the real thing? she wondered. He was so handsome and sweet, he reminded her so much of George, and then it hit her. That was why she was having such a hard time. George’s death had nearly been her own. Could she risk that kind of loss again? Could she survive it if something were to happen to Tony as well?
Could she survive not taking this chance? Would she be willing to risk her happiness and spend her life alone just because she was afraid? Dakota and Anastasia had lost each other twice, and they still believed that love was worth the risk. Wasn’t it time she took the fall towards her own happiness?
“Ready to stop dancing?” she asked seriously, saying a silent prayer that she wasn’t making a mistake by letting her guard down.
Tony took a step towards her, and she could feel the nerves rolling off him in waves. “Woman, I’ve been ready since the moment I laid eyes on you.” He ran his fingers down her face, and when he cupped her chin, she sucked in a deep breath.
He pressed his lips to hers and she felt her heart nearly pound out of her chest. She wrapped her hands up and around his neck and let herself sink into him. He deepened the kiss, and she opened her mouth under his.
He smiled against her mouth and lifted her. “I think we can start a new dance tonight.”
She laughed. “I think we can come up with a few moves.”
He carried her into the house and she left her fear out on the doorstep.