wither into the truth;
❛ BRINGER OF DEATH ❜ ↷ fate
❝ stay the fuck out of my head ❞

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Sabrina woke up around three in the morning. The sound of Beatrix's screams filled her nightmares. And there was no way that she could sleep with the knowledge that the air fairy was currently being tortured by no one other than the Headmistress whom she trusted more than her own mother.

She pretended to be asleep when Tecna's alarm went off and when her best friend got up five minutes later to hover over her like a stalker. Sabrina realized she was debating if she should wake her up or not but ended up just leaving the room.

Beatrix got locked up and Stella left eight days ago. Everyone in the school was talking about both of them and the fact that they were officially getting ready for war now. Specialists and fairies were training together and Sabrina knew that it was going to be a disaster. Especially because she was paired up with Riven who she still has not talked to since he told her he had feelings for her.

"Hey, Brina!" Bloom's annoyingly loud voice from the doorway made her groan and open one of her eyes. She barely slept all night so she was still tired and the light in the room was only making her want to hide under her bed until everything around her was over. "Everyone is at breakfast already and you need to get up because we immediately have training after we eat. And you need to have energy for tonight."

Sabrina reluctantly sat up and narrowed her eyes at the redhead, "Just because our souls and emotions are linked does not mean you get to give me nicknames. And what's happening tonight?"

"Dane is on guard duty tonight. As in, guard duty for Beatrix. He is going to let us talk to her and I am not going in there without you." Bloom explained and sat down on her bed in order to slap her knee. "Now, get up. We don't have all day and we are going to be late."

-

Training Day was going terribly. Sabrina got paired up with Brandon last year but he was currently paired up with Tecna while she and Riven were going through every "war game" that Dowling, Harvey, and Silva organized.

They were awkwardly sparring while Bloom and Sky were miserably failing at fighting an illusion of a Burned One. Sabrina was no one to judge since she refused to even go near that maze because she was worried that her fear of Burned Ones was only going to make her lose control. Sabrina let out a frustrated sigh and watched as the shadow that came out of her hand a couple of seconds ago slowly faded. "I need a water break. I'll see you in five."

"Sweet moves, Riv." Dane jogged up to them just before she left, "I've never seen somebody die so many different ways so quickly." He smiled at Sabrina. "You crushed him."

"Sure." She rolled her eyes and walked past him without another word. Her powers were usually so much stronger than this. Or at least they were when she wasn't even trying to use them.

Maybe what she needed to do was focus on the fear of people around her instead of her own as a better fuel. Sure, it might have been an invasion of privacy but her powers didn't work as a way to expose someone's fears. She just used fear as fuel.

"You need to get your shit together." Sabrina deadpanned as she walked over to Brandon who was sitting down on a bench while Tecna stared down at him with an annoyed glare. "I know that you are a mess, we all are, but this isn't like the Training Day that we had last year. We are getting ready for war."

Brandon actually looked offended and there was a hint of anger when he responded. "Why am I the only person who seems upset that Stella left Alfea?"

"You aren't." Sabrina snapped, "She was our best friend too. But we have our priorities in order. If she wanted us to know what is going on she would have texted us or answered the hundred phone calls from me but she didn't. She is focusing on what is important to her and we should focus on what is important to us. And I don't know about you, but my priority is keeping the school safe."

"You want to keep the school safe?" Brandon scoffed because she 𝘰𝘣𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 hit a nerve. "It's ironic since you are the one that has been sleeping with the enemy."

Her cousin was not usually the one to spit out accusations and insensitive comments directed her or anyone else's way. He was kind, a golden retriever really. Sabrina understood that he was hurt but that did not give him the right to be an asshole to her.

"How about you talk to me when you get your shit together?" Sabrina suggested and slapped the back of his head. She looked at Tecna and nodded, "I'll see you later."

-

Sabrina managed to get enough courage to drag Riven over to the simulator. She knew that she was going to have to do it eventually because Dowling marked it as something that was impossible to skip.

Riven had a spear in his hand and she had her fists clenched by her side as they stood next to each other and waited for the Burned One to appear.

The creature appeared a few feet in front of them and Sabrina tried to gage out any hint of fear from Riven. He was usually the person who calmed her so finding a sore spot in him was not easy and not something she looked forward to. Her veins were visibly turning dark and shadows went blasting out of her hands and into the Burned One. At first, they pushed him back, and then they started surrounding him. The Burned One was trying to push out of the circle of shadows around him but failed and Sabrina's eyes widened when they started to absorb it.

Riven's mouth was open in shock and they could do nothing but watch as the shadows left him and the device that created the illusion of a Burned One fell on the floor. The shadows flew in the air and then confused them by forming a figure.

The more she looked at it, the more the figure looked like 𝘩𝘦𝘳.

An involuntary gasp left her mouth and she hurriedly lifted her hands in the air to draw the shadows back to herself. She took in a sharp breath as they slammed into her body and the black veins disappeared from her body.

Reluctantly, Sabrina lifted her gaze off of the floor to let her eyes connect with Riven's.

He was staring at her in pure disbelief. He scoffed and shook his head, slowly taking a step back in the process, "Stay the fuck out of my head, Sabrina."

-

Sabrina never hated herself as much as she did after training was over. She managed to lose ninety percent of the people in her life. First, her father died, and then her mother left her in the care of her uncle. Then, Roxy left the school. That eventually led to Stella's mom pulling her out of school because of her lack of control. Riven hated her because she broke his heart and couldn't even admit that she loved him. Beatrix betrayed her. Brandon was angry at himself because he let Stella leave so, therefore, he was mad at Sabrina for trying to help him.

She only really had Tecna by her side. And Sabrina was sure that she was not going anywhere.

"I have to admit something." Tecna spoke up, making Sabrina tear her eyes away from the ceiling in order to look at her best friend. "I know that it's not something that I or anyone else should have to worry about in the middle of everything but I think I ── I know that I . . . like girls." A small smile appeared on Sabrina's face which was something that the Peeks was completely oblivious to. "I used to have a thing for Roxy but she was totally in love with Sky and now I think I like Musa."

Sabrina didn't say anything. She rose to her feet and took slow steps towards Tecna who was sitting on her bed. The tech fairy's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by Sabrina tackling her into a tight hug and making both of them fall down onto the bed. A surprised laugh left Tecna's lips and she immediately hugged her back, a feeling of relief filling her chest.

"Thank you." She whispered. "I needed that."

Sabrina pulled away and smiled at her. "Tecna, this isn't something that isn't important just because we are at war. It's equally important because it's about who you are. And I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks." She smiled, but it looked a little sad. "I'm just kind of depressed that another girl that I like is in love with a straight guy. Again."

"Well, she is an idiot then." the Jackson immediately said, "One day you will find someone who fits with you and gives you their full attention." She smirked. "I'll even be your wing-woman."

Tecna scoffed without missing a beat. "Oh, please. You can't even find yourself someone who is emotionally available."

Sabrina let out a breathy chuckle. "True."

The doors of their room opened and Terra gave them an awkward wave which caused them to smile at her. "Sorry, can I take the plant from your window? I'll get you guys a new one, I just need one more for Stella's empty room."

"Sure." Sabrina shrugged and sat up, watching as Terra took the plant and gave them a silent "thank you" before she left the room with the door behind her wide open.

Sabrina rolled her eyes at the open doors and returned to her bed, one of her ears listening to Musa and Terra's conversation while she skimmed over her Potions essay.

"We have to accept that she's not coming back, no matter how much we wonder how she is doing or text or call or check her Insta," At the mention of Stella, Sabrina forgot where she was at in the essay and just ended up staring at the piece of paper with a blank look on her face. "Snap, Tumblr──"

"Wait." Musa cut Terra off. "Do you miss Stella?"

"No. She was mean and insulting and, and left without saying goodbye which is actually the meanest thing she could've done."

"Would you like me to insult you?" Musa asked her roommate. "Would that make you feel better?"

Sabrina threw the essay down and quickly sat up. She threw her shoes on and grabbed her phone and headphones, not even sparring Tecna a glance as she made her way towards the door. She merely called over her shoulder and said, "I'm going on a walk."

Everyone in the dorm room flinched a little bit when she shut the doors a little bit too harshly behind her. While going down the stairs, she texted Bloom to tell her when Dane gets on guard duty so she could meet her there. For now, she needed a break from her own head.

-

Five minutes after Sabrina left the fairy dorms, Bloom texted her that Dane's shift started so she immediately met up with her so they could go see Beatrix.

Sabrina's eyes widened when she saw that there was another specialist that was guarding Beatrix with Dane. Dane picked up on the way her eyes widened and rushed to assure her, "It's okay. He's out."

"What did you do to him?" Bloom asked, mirroring Sabrina's facial expression.

"Relax." Dane said, "It's a minor sedative. He will be awake in an hour. She's waiting." He gave them a nod and gave Sabrina a brief strained smile before he led them inside.

Beatrix was sitting on a makeshift bed in a huge cell in the middle of the room. The first thing that Sabrina noticed was the eyebags under her eyes and the next were the red wounds on her hands which were probably caused by the magical restraints there.

"Somebody took their sweet time." Beatrix smirked. It didn't look like her old smirk. That one was mischievous and knowing but this one . . . this one looked almost evil. She rose to her feet to stand in front of them.

"Did you kill Callum?" Sabrina asked her immediately, not wanting to beat around the bush. They did not have time for any mind games.

Beatrix's smirk widened. "Right at it, then. Good girl."

"Did you?" Bloom pushed while Sabrina's jaw twitched in annoyance.

"Short answer, yes."

A shocked chuckle escaped Sabrina's lips, "I definitely know how to pick them, then."

"You sure do." Beatrix shrugged and tilted her head, almost as if she was daring her to lash out at her. Hell, she looked like she wanted that to happen.

"What the hell, Beatrix?" Bloom asked with wide eyes as Beatrix refused to meet their gazes. "Do I want to know the long answer?"

"How about the medium one? Callum wasn't just some stuck-up assistant. He wanted the same thing I want."

Bloom's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "He was here to break Rosalind out?"

"It's a bit more complicated than 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘹 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵. That's the story the faculty is going for, right?" Beatrix raised a knowing eyebrow. "I mean, I get it. Who wants to deal with nuance?"

"Dowling, Harvey, Silva, they haven't told me the truth about a lot of things, but just because they haven't doesn't mean you have." Bloom snapped, already getting impatient.

Sabrina added, "And you have definitely told me more lies than truths."

"Oh, I haven't lied to you, Brina." Beatrix said with a look of faux innocence, "You just haven't been asking me the right questions. You two don't believe me that they torched Aster Dell?"

"If they did. If they killed my birth parents . . ." Bloom hesitated before continuing, "I have to actually find out what happened that day."

Beatrix hummed. "I know somebody who could help you."

𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘥.

𝘍𝘶𝘤𝘬.

"Where are they keeping her?" Bloom asked, instantly realizing who she was talking about.

"I can show you how to get to her." the air fairy said, "Rosalind."

Sabrina gave her a cold glare. "And what do you want in return?"

"These lovely accessories Dowling gave me hurt like a motherfucker." Beatrix explained and lifted her wrist in the air. "On your way out, Dane will give you a trinket that can help you get rid of them. Think of it like a fairy battery. You can use your magic to charge it at the Stone Circle."

"You want us to free you?" Sabrina raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

"You don't trust me." Beatrix said in a monotone voice, "You shouldn't. You shouldn't trust your friends, you shouldn't trust your dumb boyfriends, and you shouldn't trust the faculty. The only person you should trust is Rosalind. And if you want to see her, this is your only option."

Bloom let out an angry huff and grabbed the dark-haired girl by her wrist to pull her out of the room while the second year muttered, "Fuck me."

a/n: thank you guys so much for 10k reads!!