We settled in Ecate's room, their looks were upset by a deep anguish. I pattered my fingers nervously on the desk, eager to know what they were hinging from me.
"Then? Who starts?"
I received no answer but only a worried look that the two brothers exchanged.
"Now I'm in this situation too, how can I defend myself if I don't know which enemy is attacking me? Please tell me what's going on. "
Ecate sighed in agony, perhaps having realized that now it would be inevitable to reveal the great secret that troubled them.
"That ... that was my ex."
"Your ex?"
"Yup."
"And why did he attack us? What does he want?"
"Because I left him."
"So is this the reason for why you moved here?"
"Yup." Ares intervened. "And you can't understand what he's capable of."
"And what were those things? The tongue of fire, the earth that opens, that strange thing that Ecate did with her hand, your eyes that change color and I don't believe that the lion was entrusted to us by a friend of your family. "
I blurted out crossing my arms over my chest and looking at them questioningly. They exchanged a knowing look once more.
"Then? I am waiting."
I urged them on. Finally Ares opened his mouth and began to explain.
"We are ... strix."
"Gods what?"
"Strix. It's the real name of the witches. "
I opened my eyes and tried to answer somehow. Witches? Now all those oddities are explained, the colored eyes, the slow fall ... it was magic.
"Witches?"
They moved their heads to nod. I was a little perplexed and I was also a little scared by that revelation.
"Don't worry Selene, we don't want to hurt you."
"I ... you like ..."
"I read minds."
"Also..."
I felt my heart drop into my stomach. If Ares could read minds too, he knew how I felt about him. I felt an enormous sense of emptiness. If he knew, why hadn't he told me about it?
"Mmm yes, we have very similar powers, except those concerning nature."
"Do you have powers that can control nature?"
"Yup. This depended on the moment we were born. Ares was born during the day, so he manages to rule some qualities of the Sun, while I was born at night, so I dominate some aspects of the Moon; that's why they call us the twins of the Sun and the Moon. "
"Twins?"
"Yes ... we are twins but to sidetrack the traces we said we were only brothers."
"And the lion that is involved in all this?"
"He is our pet, as you would say, 'domestic'. We saved him a few years ago from a poacher and since that day he has remained with us ... "
"Ecate, will you come down for a moment?"
After Medea called her, she got out, leaving me alone with Ares. I didn't know how to start the conversation, what to tell him, after all, he already knew everything. I tried not to make my eyes meet hers, determined to hide the last thoughts that still remained secret from me.
"So you know everything?"
"Yup."
"Why didn't you ever tell me anything?"
"Why should I, you don't feel love. You are only "in love" with the very idea of ​​love, not with the individual. You are traitors and then you point us to us as monsters. "
"What do you mean?"
"I mean you don't really love me."
"If you can read my thoughts you can see that they are real."
"You'll get bored soon."
"It's not true."
"But yes, it is in your nature, in your nature, it is part of yourself. For centuries you have pointed to us as monsters to be avoided and feared and many have become so because whoever is treated like a horrible creature ends up really becoming one. You men do not appreciate the good that is done to us, you prefer to be betrayed, cheated, killed ... this is you. "
"We're not all like that."
I answered in a faint voice, my eyes misted with tears.
"You are all the same."
"It's like saying you are all monsters."
"Sometimes monsters show more humanity than humans themselves. Remember it! We help those who are in difficulty even those who have hurt us, while you betray your own benefactors. "
"You can't say that. You don't even know me but really if you can read my feelings please see they are real. I swear."
I placed her hand on my heart, tears streaming down my face.
"It has been beating for you since I saw you."
He ducked quickly and leaned against the window, putting a hand on his forehead. I closed my eyes trying to hold back the sobs, took the jacket that I had left on the bed and opened the door.
"Love requires risks and suffering is a part of it."
I slammed the door loudly behind me and quickly went down the stairs.
"Selene what's going on?"
"No Ecade, don't worry. Nothing happened."
I kept my head down and walked out of that house. I took a long walk but didn't go to my apartment, I wanted to clear my head a little, getting rid of all those thoughts that afflicted me. I went to the coast and sat on the beach. I knew how I felt about him. It was there and it was strong. But him? Did he feel anything for me? I put my head in my hands and burst into desperate tears, letting the tears wash my soul. Why is it so hard to love? Why does it hurt so bad?
"Hey, are you okay?"
I felt his sweet voice caress my heart, mending it from the lacerations that this strange disease had left me.
"Y-yes."
She sat down beside me and I rested my head on her shoulder.
"He wasn't like that."
"What do you mean?"
"We lived in the north, where snow falls profusely all year round. There, Ares, I and my family lived happily. My brother was always happy, cheerful, sociable ... he wasn't that cold and above all he didn't go with three women at the same time. He was engaged to a strix, her name was Daphne and she was beautiful, with her white hair and her green eyes. They were in love, when they were separated it seemed that they could not stay away from each other, a soul in two separate bodies. One day, a child was drowning and Daphne managed to save him but his father, frightened by what he did not know, pierced her with a metal hook. Ares died that day with her and from that moment on he lives like a lifeless shadow and the love that passes before his eyes. "
"Is that why you hate human beings?"
"Our species is a grudge against you. You are afraid of what is different, what you do not know the source of even if it is good. In past centuries you have burned many of us, even if they have always worked to help others, for this reason we had to take refuge in the North. I know that you really love him and I also know that he loves you, more than he wants to admit to himself. "
A deafening silence fell upon us. I watched the motion of the waves, admiring the colors of the sunset reflected on the crystal clear waters.
After a while, I broke away from her and went to my house. At the door my lovely sister was waiting for me, looking at me with a scowl.
"How did it go with Ares?"
"Listen Marika, this is not the time."
"Well apparently." He said bursting out laughing. "Anyway, I'm here to tell you that our cousin Ginevra will arrive tomorrow morning, she'll stay a few weeks with us."
"With us? Why? Don't you go to school anymore? "
"Their family moves near us and until they settle down our parents have agreed to host her."
"All right."
"Hi little sister."
I escaped to the room and threw myself on the bed. She bursts into endless tears, praying to die drowned in those tears. What is the meaning of love if it is not reciprocated?