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Agatha snarled as her magic ripped the life of another witch sharply from her tongue, making her blood roar and her ears ring. “Come on,” She growled. “Come on.”
She pulled another, and another, and another - taking each life like a hit of adrenaline, rage boiling in her veins and fury blackening her heart. Bodies fell like dominoes at her feet, piling up around her. She didn’t even care for the magic, she didn’t want it. What she wanted, who she wanted -
“Come on, I know you’re there. Rio!”
Another burst of purple splintered two more witches from their souls and Agatha writhed at the feeling of their magic seeping into her.
“Stop hiding! Come and face me.”
The village peered into view at the bottom of the hill, just poking out beneath the outskirts of the woods. Agatha formed a ball with her hands. She would burn it all to the ground if she had to.
“Stop.”
Agatha whirled, the anguished scream already erupting from her throat as she threw the ball of energy behind her. Rio merely sidestepped it, the purple lighting up her green cloak and blazing past her eyes. Agatha didn’t let up, immediately forming another and blasting forward.
She sent one at Rio’s head, another at her feet, as many as she could at her heart.
Each attack Rio simply swerved, her face impassive and her lower lip trembling. She didn’t defend and she didn’t attack, simply waited for Agatha’s screams to stop hurting. Above them, the sky was turning purple.
“You took him from me! You didn’t even let me say goodbye! You just took him!” Agatha advanced, seething, magic sparking like flames at her fingertips. “Give him back.”
She pulled her hand back, ready to hit. Rio merely raised her chin and closed her eyes as though she were waiting for it. Just as Agatha’s hand came forward to connect, it stopped just centimetres from Rio’s face, held there by some unseen wavering force. It shook, fighting the magic that held it there.
Rio’s eyes opened again, full of tears. “You think I wanted to?” She spat. Her voice was broken, uncharacteristically thick with emotion, her mouth trembling, her body shaking. “You think I wanted to take him now any more than I wanted to take him then? You knew I could only give you time, my love, not an eternity.”
“You should’ve taken us both at that goddamn lake all those years ago. You wanted this! You wanted this to hurt! You should’ve let us both die! You couldn’t let me have him, my…my boy.” Another roar devolved into a ragged sob and Agatha’s hand dropped to her side. Tears splashed onto her corset as she dropped to her knees, her fingers digging into the grass, her sobs wracking her entire body. “You should’ve taken us both. You should’ve let me die with him.”
Rio knelt, her voice close to Agatha’s ear. “And you think I could’ve lived with that? Without you both?”
Agatha raised her head, tears acid-streaking her skin bone white. “I hate you.” She hit the ground again, her body shaking with anguish. “I hate you I hate you I hate you.” Then she looked up again, defeated. “Make it stop hurting, Rio.” She whispered. “Please.”
Rio closed her eyes, letting her own tears slip down her cheeks, unseen. Her face crumpled but she did not make a sound, couldn’t. Not in front of Agatha. She couldn’t let her love hear how the screams broke her, Death itself. My love. Mi amor.
Rio’s hands reached forwards and each one found Agatha’s temple. “Sleep.” She said softly. “Please, my love. I’ll be with you.”
And Agatha did sleep but as she fell under Rio’s spell, a faint spark in her mind flickered, and she wondered if this was what Nicky thought of as he slipped away.
•
Blood of the fire, walk with me.
Agatha wept as Rio kissed her sweating forehead, whispering a thousand praises into her ear, her nose nudging against the edge of her cheekbone, her arms wrapped around her body. You did so good, my love. I’m so proud of you.
Agatha’s thumb ran over the bloodied infant in her arms, held him close against her damp shirt in the cloak from Rio’s shoulders. His eyes, big and brown and wondrous. His hands, tiny and wrapping themselves around her fingers. His smell, warm like the forest around them. She sighed out an exhausted smile. Here she was, in perfect peace, by a lake that did not stir and amongst trees that swayed gently in the breeze.
Here she was with her love, enshrouded in green.