Song: a playlist for slytherins by philocaLY

"I realized there's a theme in finding the artifacts," Reign said. The tan wolf pinned a map of Salem to the wall with black tacks. Using a red marker he colored in five spots on the map before turning to us.

Leo brought my cup of jasmine to where I sat on the couch. The living room's atmosphere was light with Sky still in her room. At first I debated bringing her out here to hear the new information. But I decided against it as soon as the idea popped into my head.

She needed more time to calm down.

Leo squeezed beside me, placing my legs over his lap. I drank from my perfect cup of tea whereas he sipped on his sugary iced coffee. Leo, like Flora and Reign, drank coffee constantly. All three of them claimed to have been drinking it since a young age so the caffeine was lost to them. Now, they simply drank it for the taste alone.

They were all coffee addicts in my opinion.

"What's the theme?" Pride asked from the kitchen. Pink smoke curled upwards then vanished into a purple mist. He watched it with interest, recording something in my journal. Keeping his attention on our discussion, Pride continued to brew his magickal concoctions.

"The Apple of Eternal Life was found in Mage's Orchard. The orchard's where Mage gained elemental powers from Terra," Reign explained.

AKA, the Goddess of Magick and the Life God.

"Pridesong Library was built on the land of the first battle between the races."

"Which was where we found the Blade of War and the Chronicle," I said. "Makes sense. The sword was placed there as a nod to the fight. But why was the book there?"

"Gwendolyn said that Jupiter created the Chronicle after the first battle." Pride looked up from one of his many cauldrons, his eyes dimming at the mention of his racist grandmother. "If she's right, and it was created there too, then the Oracle hid it there hoping it'd get lost alongside all the other books."

"Was the library really that big?" Leo asked.

Pride nodded, taking a sprig of lavender from Flora. He broke a few pieces off before stirring the sweet smelling thing. "There's a glamour placed on the outside of the library. It looks really small from the outside but the inside is huge. It took me forever to find the Chronicle because there are thousands of books down there."

Damn.

And here we were about to lose our collective minds over a few hundred.

"The museum we found the Dagger of the Mind in was built by Mercury," Reign continued. "It's where she kept all of her conquests of knowledge. And the Ring of Love was found at the fountain where the first pair of interracial Mate's met."

Taking off his glasses, Reign rubbed his tired eyes. They were sunken and dark just like Sky's. The button nose he also shared with Sky twitched before he pushed his thin frames back over his face and spoke. "All of these things were found in places related to Witches and Werewolves. But, they also coincided with an important place tied to the Gods and what they represent."

That, actually, made a lot of sense. Looking at his map and skimming through the information I knew, I saw the pieces falling together.

We were finally back on track.

"Where do you think Uranus' object is?" Leo asked. Reign's blank face flickered with uncomfortableness. He eyed Pride and I. Raising my brows, I shared a look with Leo, nodding for him to press harder. "Reign? Where is it?"

Tapping his pointer fingers together, Reign switched to a blue marker and made a dot at the edge of Salem. It was beside a body of water and I pictured another cliff in my mind.

"There's a lighthouse in Salem that, according to legend, has a blue light that never goes out." Reign pulled some crumpled papers out of his slacks, rifling through them with his head bent. "The Ever Burning Torch represents the light of rebellion. It gives its user the will to never stop fighting."

Finished sorting through the sheets, Reign pinned the sketch Jericho gave us next to the map.

"I read in one of the books that rebellion meant something a little different back then."

"What?" Pride asked. "And while you're at it, do explain why you're giving me some side eye."

Sparks erupted from one of Pride's bubbling cauldron and he cursed. A string of profanities filled the air while he raced to put out the green fire. I was half worried Pride was going to blow up the cottage one of these days.

"Well, probably because it concerns you and Venus," Reign replied.

Leo stiffened beside me, his warm eyes narrowing. "What're you talking about?"

"Catherine Glowingstone and Fergus Pridesong were the first pair of interracial Mates." Glancing at me, Reign asked, "Ring any bells?"

"Well, the Glowingstone's are one of the five families descended from the Moon Goddess." Making them my relatives. Pridesong meant Pride's lineage was in the story too. Seeing the pieces of the puzzle come together, my eyes went wide at the new information. "Are you saying me and Pride are related?"

"No."

"But you said-"

"They were murdered before they could have children," Reign said quietly. He scratched the back of his head, suddenly uncomfortable under my scrutinizing stare.

"Murdered?" A wounded expression overcame Pride's exhausted face. Crossing his arms, he stood in the archway between the kitchen and living room. The tension returned to his stiff body once more as his waves of anguish overwhelmed me tenfold. Flora stood beside him, mindful of his upset nature. She kept quiet beside him as Pride fell deeper and deeper into his warring emotions. "Does the book say why?"

"Um, people didn't want them to be together-"

"So they murdered them," Pride interrupted. A dark chuckle erupted from his pursed lips as a twisted smile overcame his face. His swampy eyes glowed an enchanting green, just like Rowena's, and he shook his head. "Nobody wanted them to have bastard kids, eh? Would've been like me."

"Pride-"

"Don't Pride me, Venus!" Pride snapped. Leo's grip tightened on his iced coffee, shifting his narrow glare to Pride now. "This is exactly what I mean! They couldn't just let them be. No, they had to go and kill them. And for what? Because the Moon Goddess went and made them Mates? Fucking bullshit."

"I agree with everything you said." Setting my cup down on the coffee table, I edged closer to Pride, doing my best to appear non threatening. "I just think you should calm down-"

"Calm down?" Pride repeated, venom dripping from his voice. "Calm. Down?"

Pride's chest sparked with blue lightning. The air turned cold but I refused to back down.

This was what I wanted before, right? For Pride to open up more? Well, I was about to get it right here and now. The least I could do was stand my ground and take everything he gave.

"How'd they die?" Pride asked Reign. Reign, who was a little tense at the sight of Pride's magick, and trying to slip out the room. "How did they die?!"

"In a fire!" Reign jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding the shattering window. "They died in a fire, ok? Your family cornered them at the lighthouse and tried to get Fergus to leave Catherine. When he refused they burned them at the stake. Apparently the lighthouse is haunted by their spirits..."

Definitely something that Pride shouldn't have been told.

The lightbulbs in the surrounding lamps burst. Flecks of glass flew everywhere and I placed protective shields around the others. A small piece nicked my arm but I didn't react to the tiny flash of pain.

All I could see was Pride.

All I could feel was Pride.

Sky emerged from her room then, dazed by the shaking house. Not having time to deal with her and Pride, I pushed Leo towards Sky as soon as her dark eyes met Reign's. Leo rushed forward and scooped up the furious she-wolf. She was beating on his back, screaming for the ring and cursing Reign all in one breath.

Focusing on Pride once more, I came closer, offering my hand to him. "You need to breathe. Control your emotions. Pride, you're going to destroy the cottage."

"Might as well," he mumbled bitterly. "There's nothing here but emptiness and a family that doesn't even want me. They don't even want me."

Flora ran into the kitchen trying to keep the teetering cauldron's from falling over. Spearing Reign with a glare, he rolled his eyes before brushing past a rigid Pride to help her. One of the black pots crashed to the floor and Flora's loud shriek pierced the chilling air. Loud crackling and sparks of black jumped from the spilled liquid. The smell of death filled my senses and I had to fight the urge to kneel over and puke.

Unfortunately, Reign wasn't so lucky.

The Beta was on his knees and vomiting blood.

Rushing forward, I shook Pride with all I had, yelling at him to snap out of it.

"There's no point. No point," he muttered. Fogginess overcame his brightening eyes as thin cracks zigzagged up the wooden walls. "No matter how hard we try, no matter what we do, there's no point. There was no point then and there's no point now. Our races will never get along."

"That's not true-"

"If we fail, wolves go back to being slaves or get wiped out," Pride continued like he didn't hear me. "If we win then the wolves will go after the remaining Witches and Warlocks. Hybrids will never be accepted by either side no matter how hard we try. All of this, there's no point. There's no point..."

"Yes there is!" I shouted over the noise of the groaning ceiling. The crashing of hand painted dishes made my ears ache with their sharpness. "Unity! Pride, we just need to stick together. If we get these artifacts and bring them together, destroy them, then I know we can fix this."

I grasped his cold hands tightly, willing my gift into his empty shell. But nothing happened.

"Pride," I tried again. I cupped the side of his cheek, making him face me. "Pride, please. Stop. I know it hurts to hear-"

"You don't know anything!" His booming scream shattered the rest of the house's windows. The fumes of death grew stronger and I choked on the lack of clean oxygen. "You don't know what it's like to have to hide half of who you are because it makes other people uncomfortable! You don't know what it's like to hear people belittle your mother everyday behind her back! You don't know what it's like to feel like you've never belonged anywhere!"

Pride's elongated canines emerged from his gums. His green eyes merged with the amber hues of his white wolf. Taking my wrist in his ironclad hold, he gripped me so hard I thought I'd bruise. My back slammed against the trembling wall as Pride threw me off of him.

"Stop trying to relate to me, Venus! I told you I hate it when you manipulate me," he spat.

Despite the fear settling in my stomach, I focused on Reign's retching body. I forced myself towards Pride once more with one goal in mind.

I needed to stop this and end whatever was tormenting Reign. Only Pride really knew what was in that cauldron. Meaning only Pride could make whatever was happening stop.

"I'm not trying to manipulate you," I replied calmly. Throwing my shoulders back, I stood tall and took careful steps towards him. "And I'm so sorry you've been made to feel that way, Pride. I really am. I didn't know. If I had-"

"If you had you wouldn't have done shit." Pointing his finger into my chest, I jumped at the spark of electricity that shocked me. The skin he'd touched burned and I stumbled backwards in shock. "You don't know. You don't know..."

"What don't I know?"

"Anything!" My foot fell through the cracks in the foundation and I yelped. I scrambled to the side, pressing against the quivering wall. "You-"

Growling in frustration, Pride lurched forward and snatched my hand in his. Fear coursed through me as he pushed my hand against his chest. Sparks of blue lightning struck my skin but that's not what I noticed. Pride opened himself to me in a way that was impossible for normal Werewolves to do. He showed me his heart and I realized then why the story impacted him so much.

Pride's heart wasn't beating.

And that, that could only mean one thing.

A cold heart meant that Pride met his Mate. A quiet heart meant that Pride met his Mate and their hearts synched into a perfect song. A dead heart meant that his Mate was no longer alive to sing their song.

Our hearts perished when our Mate's took their last breath. It's what made Mate's so sacred. They really were our other half.

Without them we were miserable.

"All you've ever seen me as is a fuck boy," he whispered. Raw grief shined deeply within his changing eyes. "You don't know what it's like to have your Mate for a moment before they're gone. You don't know what it's like to watch Leo push you away for months to spare your heart. You don't know what it's like to be rejected at every turn with no promise of even friendship. You don't know what it's like to watch Leo die while knowing nothing but his name.

"Can you imagine it?" Pride's voice softened, the shaking of the cottage stopped as well. "Imagine Leo dead. Imagine never feeling his touch again. Think about it. Think about spending the rest of your life alone-"

"Stop it!" Tears spilled over my cheeks as a powerful ache gripped my hammering heart. It was something beyond this world, and it was twisting my insides. Images of Leo vanishing, leaving me for the stars, made me sick to my stomach. I broke under the thought of him gone. The twisting within my heart deepened as I slumped against the wall, taking pieces of my kindness with it.

I knew then what the Oracle meant. I knew then that Sin didn't have to kill the Orb to strike her down completely. No. All he had to do was break her heart beyond repair, taking away her will to keep on fighting.

"Stop it." The taking and twisting from within reminded me of the star Pride showed me on the plane. Only this time, it was wild with greed. It was the stars. It had to be.

The stars were taking me away from me.

"Pride..."

You're hurting me.

Pride's swampy green eyes returned. A loud growl pierced the air as Leo placed a hand on his shoulder, jerking him back. The broken hearted wolf fell into Reign's pool of blood, my eyes continued to swim with tears.

With the connection broken, I felt everything that was taken only seconds ago return to me. Leo shielded me from the other's using his shaking hands to wipe my tears away. Not knowing what else to do, I sank into his warm embrace, and ignored the bleeding emotions of the Six Stars.

My hope for unity was waning just like the moon did in the night sky. The only difference was that now, for me, I wasn't entirely sure if that hope would return like the moon did.

"It's ok," Leo murmured. "We'll go to the lighthouse tomorrow and get the torch. We'll work over time to get the other two artifacts, Venus. We'll bring the unity back."

I wasn't so sure about that anymore.

"I won't let you fall to him." Leo pressed a kiss to my head saying, "I promise."

I wasn't so sure he could keep that promise either.

The stars, oh the stars, were trying so greatly to break us. How laughable it was to see that with every step we took forward, they were prepared to send us three steps back.

And if it weren't for Leo's touch, I'd have descended into madness right then and there.

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QOTD: Tensions were going to snap sooner or later. Were these the secrets you expected of Pride? What are your thoughts about Fergus and Catherine's brief love story? How do you feel about Pride almost striking Venus down?