Heart Asunder (Dear Dahlia Season 2)

Chapter 23

CONTENT WARNING: Physical violence and near drowning

In her dream, Dahlia was in a forest.

It was dark. The trees were twisted in strange shapes. The ground was littered with dark-coloured leaves. "Hello?" Dahlia asked, taking a tentative step forward.

There was a rustling. Dahlia whipped around to face three drüskelle, all painfully familiar. Dahlia realised, with a start, that these were the people she killed. They bore the wounds she'd inflicted on them. The otkazat'sya's heart pounded.

"We are not monsters," the first one said.
"You're monstrous humans," Dahlia replied. "That's worse."

There was something in her hand. She looked down and saw she was holding the pole she'd used to kill the first drüskelle. Dahlia wanted to drop it, but didn't.

"You killed us," the second one stated.

Dahlia clutched the pole tighter. The second drüskelle tilted his head to the side. "Will you attack us again?"
'Only if you attack me first,' Dahlia wanted to say, but what good would that do? They'd hate her anyway. She planted both her feet on the ground, keeping herself steady.

"Yes," Dahlia replied. She stepped forward and swung the pole.

The third drüskelle grabbed it. At his touch, the weapon shattered into pieces. Dahlia's eyes widened as she stepped back.

"You can't do that."
"Can't I?" the first drüskelle asked. Then, he jumped at her.

Dahlia woke with a gasp. Her eyes were wide. She couldn't breathe properly. She stood up, trying to gather her bearings. It was dark. Was she still in that saintforsaken forest?

A few seconds passed before her heartbeat suddenly dropped, and Dahlia collapsed to her knees.

She focused on her breathing. It was irregular. Then, she tried to focus on the ground, but it hurt to look at it. Finally, Dahlia looked up and saw Saida's hands moving.

"What...are you...doing," Dahlia managed to ask through gritted teeth.
"I was practising on myself," Saida rushed to explain. "I didn't realise I'd-"

The sound of Saida's voice felt very far away. All Dahlia could think of was her body being controlled. It had never been about Saida having powers, but what she could do with them. Dahlia already had problems with movement: she couldn't even walk in a straight line, for Saint's sake. But her body was hers to control. Not another's.

Saida moved her hands again, and Dahlia could move again. She started to stand. The heartrender rushed towards her to help her up, but Dahlia put up a hand. "Don't," she said quietly.

"Let me expl-" Saida started.
"Don't," Dahlia repeated.
"I was practising on myself," Saida continued anyway. "To stabilise my power."
"Practised that in the mirror, did you?" Dahlia asked.
"Dahlia," Saida started, but then she shook her head, and raised her hands again.

This time, Dahlia couldn't push down the flashback. Remembering the sensation of falling down, unable to control herself, made Dahlia's breathing come out ragged. She clenched her fists. Seeing Saida move her fingers made her panic, and she leapt forward to stop her.

Once glance from heartrender was all it took for her to see what was happening. Before Dahlia could grab Saida's hands, Saida's hand darted out and gripped her wrists. Dahlia recoiled at the touch, but Saida didn't let go. "Don't do this," Saida warned.
At that moment, pure hatred surged through the otkazat'sya's veins.