Chapter 7
1125 Words
TATIANA POV
Gloomy light flickered like a dying ember in the ominous silence of Red Moon Manor, weighed down by the impending pressure of the mission and the storm outside. Beside me stood Raphael, his jaw muscles set in determination. Lorenzo clung to my leg, trembling in fright.
“There must be a plan for us to infiltrate Silver Fang lands, Tatiana,” Raphael said, his voice firm yet urgent. “We cannot afford mistakes.”
I nodded as a thousand possibilities flitted through my mind. “To blend in, we'll need disguises. I know my way around the paths, but we'll need to avoid all the patrols. Otherwise, if we fail, it won't just be us who will pay.”
“Agreed,” Raphael said, deep furrows running across his bulging forehead. “Supplies? We need more than just the herb.”
“I can manage some basics,” I said, feeling the pressure of time pounding hard on my chest. “But we have to hurry; the longer we take, the worse things will be for your mother.”
“Mommy, is that woman going to be okay?" exclaimed Lorenzo.
I squatted down and hugged him tightly. “We will do everything we can to help her, sweetheart. I promise.”
Raphael’s expression turned grimmer as concern had mixed with something more serious. “Tatiana, how was it that you knew she was poisoned, just by looking at her?”
I certainly hadn't anticipated the question. Memories flooded back to a time when my own son had been poisoned, and I stood there hesitant. “The same poison was used against my son a few years back—he was almost killed from it.”
Raphael's eyes widened in surprise and understanding. "You never told me..."
"Well, there was no need for me to," I said coldly. "I never intended for you to carry the weight of my past. I just... I just want to help your mother."
"But if you know this much...," he said. He let the words trail off as realization crossed his face. "Who would do something to her? Who would poison my mother?"
I opened my mouth to respond, but the atmosphere changed suddenly. The door burst open, and Harper stood there, shooting daggers with her eyes. "What the hell's happening in here?"
"It's really not the time," Raphael said with obvious annoyance.
"No, I want to know!" she yelled, pointing her glare back toward me. "What are you two plotting now? More lies? More deceit?"
"Enough, Harper," I said, my patience at an end. "We are trying to save your mother, this isn't about you."
She stepped forward, her expression contorting into an ugly sneer. "You think you can waltz in here and take over? You're nothing but a healer playing important games."
Raphael stepped between us now, his tone rising. "Harper, stop. We need to stay on task here. Tatiana knows what she's doing, and we don't have time for your jealousy."
"Jealousy?" Harper let out a bark of a laugh that bounced painfully off the walls. "This is about survival, Raphael! You're trusting the wrong one!"
"Why should I trust you?" I retorted, voice steady. "You've done nothing but stir dissension and distrust ever since I walked in the door."
"Because you're not trustworthy!" she spat, stopping. "You have things to hide, and I will not let you mislead my family again."
Raphael turned to me, his expression an odd mixture of indignation and concern. "Tatiana, if you know who poisoned my mother, you have to tell me.”
A taut, furious silence enveloped the room as my mind was diligently preparing for the risks I had considered in my exchange with Raphael. "Someone in her circle-I would say at least one of them wanted her removed from power. Did you feel that opinion at all?"
"Who?" Raphael was barking at me, with an urgent note in his voice.
Before anything else could be said, Harper came charging toward me, the slap of her hand across my cheek reverberating around the room, momentarily stunning me.
"Don't you dare accuse my family!" she shrieked, the very embodiment of rage. "You think you can just walk in here and tear us apart?"
I rocked back, almost losing my footing as her slap sparked a fire of rage within me. "You don't know what you're doing, Harper! This is bigger than power; it's about life!"
Raphael, caught between us, was eyeing us with shock and anger. "Cut it! You guys lay off! This is not helping!"
"Oh really?" Harper spat, moving closer to me and her voice slowly dripping venom. "You thought you could play tricks on us? Without that healer title, you're nothing."
I clenched my fists, boiling mad. "I am trying to save your mother! I'm trying to save this family while you seem too busy with your insecurity to see it!"
"Stop it!" Raphael screamed, silencing the rowdy atmosphere. "If we are really working to save her, all our efforts in keeping together must be placed in saving her. Don't let this feud eat us alive!"
"Dark-eyed with hatred, staring straight at me, Tatiana," she continued, "You're playing with fire. Don't you think that should the chips fall, I won't expose you?"
"Expose me?" I shot back, generally matching her glare as I stepped closer toward her. "Well, I'm the only one here trying to save lives! You are the one who is poisoning this family with hatred!”
The boiling point could not be set anymore; the air with silence between us was close to impossible to bear. The more we looked at each other, the heavier the seconds seemed to grow. I swear to you some moments, I could feel how it fell upon my chest, knowing that words spoken between us could have devastating consequences.
Raphael inhaled to the very bottom of his lungs as he tried to master himself. "Let us concentrate. There is much more at stake than letting ourselves fall apart."
But before he could finish the sentence, more tension-filled air had to pass from Harper's mouth: "Tatiana, I don't trust you, never will. If anything happens to my mother, I will make sure you pay for it."
With those words, she stormed out of the room, leaving a deafening silence behind. And I could still feel the heat of her slap on my cheek, a harbinger of the strife set to break out.
Raphael turned to me, distressed. "I didn't think she'd go this far. I'm so sorry, Tatiana."
"It's all right," I replied, trying to temper my fury. "Your mother is what matters now. We need to prepare for our mission, and time is running out.”
- Writer
