Blood in the water

CHAPTER 15 - COMPROMITE

The sunset of Hunedoara painted orange strokes over the faint-blue sky, and the image brought peace to Sorin's eyes as he sipped on his wine glass. Closing his eyes, he let the wind dash through his face and hair, breathing in and out in hopes that would help set his thoughts in order. Once he opened them back up, Sorin noticed a figure approaching the balcony and sitting on the iron chair that the table separated from his own.

— May I? — came the course sound, and he looked over to nod at Dagon, who held up an empty glass.

— Is this the "big brother threatening talk"? — Sorin suggested while returning his sight to the speck of sun, and heard Dagon chuckle.

— Not really. I haven't had to worry about those in a while, actually.

— Something tells me that would make Alina threaten you with a talk of her own — he smiled. — Making sure she can stand up for herself.

— Exactly — the brother nodded. — If someone were to hurt her, I don't think I'd be quick enough to beat her to it for the payback.

After Dagon took a few repeated sips of the beverage, Sorin imitated the motion and that gave him the opportunity to try and figure out what was going through the demon's mind. It was his sister's favourite game to play, so he thought he might give it a shot. Maybe it was a family talent to have half a conversation in the studying of body language to only then sound out words. But Sorin, he was hard to read. Dagon thought that maybe, just for Alina, he might let his guards down and grant her something deeper. But now, there was nothing on those vast blue eyes of his, or the wrinkles on his forehead. And sure enough, it made sense; the man had gone through then and some to get where he was now. But when it came to Alina, Dagon knew he was right to guess that Sorin was in love. That she made him stop thinking and acting objectively, that she had changed his views, that she had given him new chances.

And most of it, he knew the impact the man had on his sister, too. Alina was open with who she chose to be, when she chose to be it. But with Dagon, it wasn't even worth trying to fake it; he knew her like the back of his hand. He'd seen her grow and become a woman, and way too soon at that. When she was stripped of her innocence and had to fight for her life, for her safety, for her freedom. But whenever someone special came along, and she let them see her heart, Dagon knew. He knew because he could see a sparkle in her that had always been there, no matter how good she was at hiding it. It had been there, actually, from the moment she was born and his tiny fingers touched her even smaller ones. Alina could carry herself alone in this life if she had to, and Dagon knew she could; but it didn't mean he would let her.

— It's not revenge, you know — Dagon broke the silence in a low voice, clearing his throat as Sorin stared back at him. — If I went to Ali right now and told her that I just killed the men who killed our brother... that wouldn't be the end of it. She can't just move on and start a new life... this has become her life mission, to protect her people from the stingatoare. And right now — the man leaned forward, leaving his glass on the table as if to better focus on the message he'd be delivering. — You're just an obstacle.

— What do you mean? — Sorin frowned.

— I mean... I didn't come here to have the "big brother talk" because I don't think you're a danger to her, I think it's the opposite — Dagon returned, watching the other swallow dry. — You need to be careful because she will stop by no means. And if you try to stop her... you'll eventually become a threat.

— Do you really think she would do that?

— Look at what happened when she thought you were one of them — the man sighed. — But look, I'm not saying you should run away and not look back. I'm saying... if you guys are on the same side, this can go a lot better.

— Yeah — Sorin breathed out, biting his lip.

— And listen, for what it's worth — Dagon brought a hand to Sorin's shoulder, gently squeezing it. — I'm not a big believer in this destiny stuff or whatever, but you and Ali, I... I feel like you were meant to meet. And who knows, maybe the whole reason for it is to help each other heal from your pasts.

Down at the castle's gym, the punches against the bag and her low grunts were the only sound that permeated the low-lit room — only the front row of light bulbs had been turned on, leaving Alina in a penumbra. Taking a break, she closed her eyes and heaved, letting fall the hands that were encapsulated by the large black gloves.

Even without seeing it, she took in the room around her. It was well known to her, of course; whether she was trying to distract her brother from his pull-ups, gazing at Manish or reluctantly doing some workout of her own. Nonetheless, she never thought it'd become a safe haven for troubled times, and yet, it was where she'd run straight to after the fight. With every breath she took, however, more and more worries came. Exhaling didn't bring the ease and calmness she'd expect, it just made it clearer in her mind how much she wanted to fight. As the anger festered through her veins and ran down her arms, still with the eyes closed, she took a right-hand punch to the bag in front of her, following it with shorter jabs as she moved closer to it. Once she opened her eyes, the figure standing by in the shadow was caught by the corner of her sight, and she looked over to see Sorin approaching.

— I can't talk right now — she cleared her throat, adjusting the position of her feet in order to get back to practising.

— Can't or don't want to? — Sorin asked in honesty as he walked carefully her way.

— Can't physically stand to hear reasons why I shouldn't do what I've been training my whole life to do.

— You're not a soldier, Ali — he replied, earning her gaze. — And this isn't war.

— You're right, it's survival — Giving up on getting back into the mindset, Alina walked back to the front of the gym and began to take her gloves off, Sorin following. — I'm not looking to give a big, inspiring speech about how we're going to eliminate all evil off the Earth, save the children and protect the planet. I just want my family alive — she looked back at him, letting show her frustration but also looking for mercy in his eyes. She just wanted him to understand. — I want to see Dagon needing sunglasses to read. I want Lari and Cairo to be two old ladies playing chess on the balcony. I want to see Manish and Ganya bickering about the weather and how things used to be when they were young. And you know what? Maybe that's just as naive and utopian as going into battle with a kick-ass soundtrack playing in the back, but I don't care. So if you can't accept that I'm going...

Alina took a beat. She'd been on a roll with that speech, and quite proud of herself for delivering it, but when making her point, her throat turned into a knot and no other sound would come out. And, god, how she hated losing control. And that was what always seemed to happen when she was around him.

— It's okay — Sorin took her now free hand into his own, and the second he did, her eyes filled with tears. — I understand. I realized I was trying to be rational about a war that has nothing but emotional reasoning. It's high stakes for every single person here. It's not just surviving, it's pride, it's protection, it's... family.

Caving in, Alina wrapped her arms around Sorin's neck, and he pulled her in for a tight hug. But while she sighed in relief and thought of how good he felt embracing her, Sorin kept his eyes opened and his temples clenched. No matter how much he tried to deal with his past and let go of the stingatoare, the stakes just got higher and higher. And he didn't want to lose anymore.

— Is this the chip? — Alina stroked the pink scar she'd just noticed on the inside of his arm, near the height of the elbow.

— Yes — Sorin replied as she looked at him. — Lari put it in yesterday.

— You can't run from me now — she joked, but the man remained serious.

— I don't want to.

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hi everyone, just wanted to let you know i've been meaning to add some scenes to the beginning of the book bc i feel there's some underdeveloped stuff i'd rather fix now than wait to have the whole thing done. if and when i do it, i'll put a warning in the next chapter for those of you who have already read the current version to go back :)