The sound of footsteps echoed through the dark house. Aria lay on the cold floor, still bound by Mara's unseen chains. Her body ached from the witch's magical attack, but her heart hurt worse. Elena was living, but she hated her.
"Get up."
Aria's head snapped up. Elena stood in the doorway, but something had changed. Her blonde hair was longer now, reaching her waist like spun gold. Her blue eyes burned with rage instead of tears. She looked older, stronger, dangerous.
"I said get up!" Elena's voice cracked like a whip.
The magical bonds around Aria suddenly vanished. She struggled to her feet, her legs shaking. "Elena, please listen to me—"
"Don't you dare say my name!" Elena stepped into the room, power swirling around her like lightning. "You lost the right to call me sister when you tried to murder me."
"I never tried to hurt you!" Aria reached out frantically. "I loved you. I still love you."
Elena's laugh was sharp and bitter. "Love? You call pushing a seven-year-old into a lake love?"
"That's not what happened," Aria begged. "You fell in by chance. I jumped in to save you—"
"LIAR!" Elena screamed, her eyes blazing with magical light. "I remember everything! You held me under the water. You watched me drown!"
She raised her hand, and blue fire exploded from her palm. Aria dove sideways as the magical flames scorched the wall where she'd been stood.
"You left me to die," Elena continued, stalking forward. "While you went home to play the innocent daughter, I was drowning in that freezing lake."
"That's not true!" Aria scrambled behind an overturned table. "I searched for you for hours. I nearly killed myself trying to find you!"
"More lies!" Another blast of fire burst over Aria's head. "Mara showed me the truth. She saved me from the bottom of that lake. She pulled me out when you left me there."
Aria's heart shattered. The thoughts Mara had planted were so real to Elena. How could she fight against magic this powerful?
"Elena, those aren't your real memories," she said, peeking around the table. "Mara put them in your head. She's been controlling you."
"Controlling me?" Elena's voice rose to a shriek. "She freed me! She showed me what kind of monster you really are!"
She hurled a bolt of sparking energy. Aria rolled away, but the magic caught her shoulder, burning through her shirt. She cried out in pain.
"Good," Elena said coldly. "Now you know how it feels to hurt." "Please," Aria gasped, clutching her burned arm. "I'm your sister. I would never hurt you."
"You're nothing to me," Elena growled. "You're just the selfish brat who tried to steal my life."
She raised both hands, power building between her palms like a tiny storm. Aria saw her death in those cold blue eyes.
"I remember how you smiled when I went under," Elena continued, her voice dropping to a whisper. "You were happy to see me disappear." "No!" Aria's voice broke. "I was scared! I thought I'd lost you forever!"
"You did lose me," Elena said. "The Elena who loved you died in that lake. I'm something else now. Something better."
The power between her hands grew brighter, more dangerous. Aria knew she had seconds before Elena released it.
"What about the swing?" she said desperately. "Remember how I used to push you on the old swing behind the house? You always wanted to go higher."
For just a moment, Elena paused. A flash of confusion crossed her face.
"You said it felt like flying," Aria pressed on. "You laughed so hard you got hiccups."
"Stop it," Elena whispered, but her voice was less certain now.
"And when you had dreams about the monsters under your bed, you'd crawl into my room. I'd tell you stories until you fell asleep."
"STOP IT!" Elena screamed, but tears were running down her face. "Those aren't real! Mara said they were fake!"
"They're real," Aria said softly. "Deep down, you know they're real."
Elena's power flickered and dimmed. For a moment, Aria saw her little sister again - scared, confused, lost.
Then Mara's voice echoed through the house like thunder.
"Elena! What's taking so long? Kill her already!"
The confusion disappeared from Elena's face. The hate returned, stronger than before.
"Nice try," she said, her voice cold as winter. "But I won't fall for your tricks."
She released her power in a massive wave of blue fire. Aria threw herself sideways, crashing through a window in an explosion of glass and wood.
She hit the ground hard, rolling through dead leaves and thorns. Behind her, the house exploded in flames as Elena's magic went wild.
"You can't run from me!" Elena's words carried through the night. "I'll hunt you down like the dog you are!"
Aria stumbled to her feet, blood running from dozens of cuts. Her shoulder burned where Elena's magic had hit her. But the physical pain was nothing compared to the agony in her heart.
Her sister wanted her dead. The sweet little girl who used to bring her flowers and tell her secrets had become a monster.
"Elena," she whispered, looking back at the burning house. "I'm so sorry."
Through the flames, she saw Elena's figure in the broken window. Her sister stood completely still, watching her with those cold blue eyes.
"This isn't over," Elena called out. "I'll find you. And next time, I won't pause."
Aria turned and ran into the dark trees. Branches tore at her clothes and scratched her face, but she didn't slow down. She had to get away before Elena came after her.
Behind her, the witch's laughing filled the night.
"Run, little wolf," Mara's voice echoed between the trees. "Run as far as you like. Tomorrow night, you'll come back to me. And this time, Elena will finish what she started."
Aria stumbled through the twisted trees, her heart breaking with every step. She'd found her sister, but Elena was lost to her forever.
The little girl who used to love her was gone, replaced by someone who wanted nothing more than to watch her suffer. She fell against a tree, sobbing.
Ten years of guilt and sadness crashed over her like a wave. She'd failed Elena twice now - first by not saving her from the lake, and now by not saving her from Mara's spell.
"I'm sorry," she whispered to the darkness. "I'm so sorry, Elena." But even as she cried, something stirred inside her chest.
Her wolf was waking up, reacting to her pain and anger. She could feel it getting stronger, feeding on her emotions.
Maybe she couldn't save Elena's love. But she could still save Elena's life. She wiped her tears and stood up. Mara thought she'd broken her completely. The witch was wrong.
Aria started walking deeper into the trees. She needed to find help, and she knew exactly where to look. There was one person who might understand what she was going through.
One person who might know how to break a witch's spell.
But as she walked, she didn't notice the shadow following her through the trees. Elena hadn't given up the hunt. She was stalking her sister like a predator, waiting for the right moment to strike.
The game of cat and mouse had begun, and only one sister