- Serena -

My ankle was giving me a hell of a time.

I had to cover it with ice just to stop it from giving out when I walked.

"Don't hold us up Serena, timing is critical. Get ready for a fight, I want to settle this fast," Shawn cast a glance over at me and Ben glared at him.

"She hurt her ankle Shawn, cut her some slack."

It was only the three of us storming over to our positions because the rest of Shawn's men were already there and ready.

But we couldn't go any faster because of me and the worst part was, Shawn wasn't letting anyone help me.

"Then she should have thought of that before jumping off the truck in a pair of heels," Shawn rolled his eyes and even after all this time, I felt my heart break.

Where was the brother that actually cared for me?

"You know what, I'm staying with Serena. Screw your plan and whatever crap, I'm staying by her side till this fight is over," Ben reached out to me and held my waist, holding me up and easing the ache from my ankle.

I gladly leaned on him and let him support most of my weight, at least Ben cared.

Shawn spun around and stared at us, his eyes darting to where Ben's arm was wrapped around my waist and groaned, "Fine, stay with her but at your positions. I have to go, they're expecting me."

Shawn went off down the dark path and emerged on the other end, turning right towards the waters.

"Where are we supposed to be stationed?" I asked Ben and he turned to me.

He pointed up and I realized he meant up on the stacked up containers.

"How are we supposed to get up there?" I gestured to my ankle and he smiled.

"Okay Serena I'm going to teach you a little trick. You can control your ice though, right?"

I rolled my eyes, "Ben, I'm not as weak as you think."

He chuckled and nodded, "I know just checking."

He shushed me before I could argue and he pointed his palm towards the ground, "Ah right you gotta stand on your own for this, I might burn you."

I pulled away from him and stood aside to watch him.

A circle of fire appeared on the ground that he was standing on, bright, red, beautiful glowing flames.

Then he caught my gaze and gave me a boyish grin, "Now raise your hands upwards and pull the flames up. I mean your ice."

And I saw him float above the ground a few inches and I gasped.

"We can fly?!" I screeched and he laughed.

He landed back on the ground and the fire fizzled out, "Well we can control our elements. I can control fire, so I can control it to make me fly. 

So for you, it's the same thing, just ice."

I looked at my hands, "I never thought of that before."

He nodded and held my hands in his, "Just focus, concentrate on what you want and let it do its work."

I looked up at him, his eyes warm and earnest. For now, I wanted him.

"Go on, give it a try," he stepped away from me and I shook my arms to relieve the tension I didn't know I was feeling.

I closed my eyes, focus.

I felt the chill seep out from my core to my hands and I opened my eyes, using my hands to create a circle of ice beneath me.

"Make sure your ice is stable Serena, when you're sure it's secure just pull upwards," Ben instructed and I nodded.

I thickened the ice slightly and when I felt that I had good footing, I turned my hand upwards and started pulling up.

I struggled a little at first, I had to use my energy to pull my own weight up and it was a little tiring.

"You okay there?" 

Ben's voice was a distance away and I realised I was floating above him without even knowing.

I gasped suddenly and the ice under me vanished into thin air.

I started falling but landed in his strong arms. Ben's muscular arms.

He held me close to him and I could hear the relieved sigh that escaped his lips, "God you scared the hell out of me."

I clung to his neck, shock plastered on my face and I breathed out, "I'm sorry."

He chuckled and pulled away to look at me, "It's okay babe, you did great. Think you can do it again?"

I shivered slightly, not from the cold though.

"I don't think I can," I mumbled and his brows furrowed in confusion.

"Did you hurt yourself? Where does it hurt?" He got worried and I laughed.

"I'm not hurt, but I can't do it again if you're going to carry me like a baby," I gestured to our position and a knowing look crossed his face.

"I'm not carrying you like a baby, I'm carrying you like my bride," he leaned close to me and I was going to faint from his sweet intoxicating scent.

Wait. Did he just call me his bride?

The sound of a gunshot broke our little bubble and I froze, what the fuck?

"They're here, it has started. Get up now," Ben put me down as gently as possible and I quickly created the ice underneath me.

"Careful, don't worry, I'm here to catch you," Ben kept glancing in the direction of the gunfire and another gunshot sounded through the space.

The sounds of the men fighting with their guns and knives could be heard from where we were and I knew we weren't that far away from the commotion.

I looked down, the ice firing out from my palms and pulling me upwards, I was above the first container, another two more to go.

Then I heard a gunshot and my ice dropped slightly, someone shot my ice.

I looked to where the bullet came from and saw the guy whose knee I broke the other night.

"You're the monster that did this to me!" He yelled and I saw the gigantic cast on his leg.

Ben fired a flame in his direction and lifted him up, flinging the guy somewhere back to where the fight was going on.

"Serena, up now!" Ben shouted and I pushed myself up to the top of the container and stood up there.

I turned to where I could hear the fight and saw Shawn among the group of guys fighting.

You couldn't miss him, he was glowing a bright blue. I had no idea how powerful he was, but the intricacy of his ice was astounding.

He fired his ice towards a guy that was running towards him and the man froze like a statue, he didn't even bother crushing him or throwing him aside, he just left him there mid-step.

I looked around, I had to find Tyronne.

I could hear a commotion happening beneath me and saw Ben firing some people away from where we were.

I heard a roar and a group of men ran out from behind Ben. He couldn't see them coming.

I reached my hand out and blew out a huge wall of ice to block them from getting anywhere near Ben.

They started shooting my wall of ice down but it will buy Ben some time.

I looked at the group of men and aimed my palm towards them, I pushed out a wave of sharp icicles and it pierced and shot through each of them.

Ben blew up a wall of fire too, to block off the men that were coming from his front and he flew up to me.

"You okay?"

I nodded, "I'm fine. I can't find Tyronne."

Ben scanned through the area and I heard the sound of water washing through the area under us.

I gasped, my ice was melting because of Ben's fire. The water was washing the men away.

I closed my palm and Ben stopped too.

The melted ice drained out into the open waters and the men who were affected were spluttering and coughing water out of their lungs.

"Oops," I muttered and Ben turned to me.

"You cause a lot of floods Serena."

"Well I'm sorry mister but it's not my fault you can melt my ice," I put my hands on my hips and he chuckled.

I spotted a quick movement from a distance, there was a man standing on the docked ship, pointing his gun toward Shawn.

"No," I raised my hand and shot out a giant ice cube at the man just as he pulled the trigger.

I could almost see it happen in slow motion. The bullet flying through the air, aimed at my brother's head.

I can't use my hands, it'll be too slow.

I thought of the ice within me, freezing the bullet in mid-air.

I have to protect my brother.

I felt a wave of the cold rush out from me and everything around me flew a distance away from me.

Ben was flung off the container, a shocked look on his face.

I imagined him landing in a bed of soft snow and he did.

He grumbled from the snow and brushed it off him before looking back at me, a proud grin spreading across his handsome face.

I felt my face turn red and turned to where my brother was, the bullet frozen in mid air just before it hit my brother's head.

He looked at the bullet then up at me, before nodding in thanks and throwing the bullet aside.

I felt exhausted, it wasn't the first time my powers blasted out of me like that. But it took a toll on me.

I heard a scream and saw Tyronne dragging someone along with him.

"There!" I shouted out and Ben looked to where I was pointing.

He ran forward and I quickly hobbled after, creating the ice for me to float down to ground level.

I was getting the hang of this.

I didn't want to strain my ankle, so I kept the ice with me, I felt like I was cruising through the air.

Then we reached a wide-open space. There was nowhere to run.

Tyronne's eyes were crazed, he held a gun to his captive's head and I stared in horror.

"Tasha," I breathed out.

He won't, no he won't kill his own wife.

Ben had his hand raised at Tyronne, but he wouldn't burn him.

He didn't want Tasha to get hurt.

"Tyronne, let Tasha go, you don't have to do this," Ben started and Tyronne seethed.

He aimed the gun at Tasha's leg and shot her.

Her cry echoed through the wide space and I instinctively raised my hand up too, "She's your wife Tyronne! Let her go!"

His glassy eyes found mine and he chuckled menacingly, "MY WIFE?! Yes yes, she is mia moglie. My beautiful sweet precious wife WHO LOVES SOMEONE ELSE!"

What the hell is he saying?

He choked her in a tight grip and the ice ran down my arm.

"No Serena," I heard my brother's voice.

Shawn emerged from behind me, a huge wall of ice blocking the five of us off from the gang of men behind us.

Tasha's eyes were wide and her face was turning a sickly purple from the lack of oxygen.

Tyronne's leg started freezing into ice and for a moment I thought I was the one doing it. Then I saw Shawn staring dead at Tyronne and knew what he was trying to do.

He's going to kill him.

Tyronne screamed in horror and he pushed Tasha away from him.

She collapsed on the ground, blood oozing out from her leg and I ran forward to get to her.

I saw a flash of blue and red and stopped in my tracks, not knowing what to do.

Ben was firing his flames at Tasha, Shawn was blowing his ice at her too.

The mix of ice and fire was so magnificent I almost forgot I was in the middle of a fight.

What were they doing?

"Let her go Shawn," Ben nearly growled at him and I could hear the menace in his tone.

"Give her to me," Shawn mumbled weakly.

I watched Tasha, still bleeding on the ground. Surprisingly she wasn't burning or freezing up.

Both men managed to control their powers enough to ensure they won't hurt her. And yet, what the fuck was going on?

I turned to Shawn and saw a determined look in his eyes as he stared Ben down.

Tasha kept her eyes on my brother and she reached out for him.

Then it clicked.

"Oh my God," I covered my mouth and Tyronne struggled violently against Shawn's ice.

"TASHA! LOVE ME! Come back to me!" He yelled and Shawn pushed out more ice to freeze him up to his waist.

Shawn was getting tired, I could tell. The amount of ice coming off him was getting less intense.

"Ben stop, let her go," I called out to Ben but he wasn't listening. He was hell-bent on getting Tasha away from Shawn.

"Ben let Tasha go," I pressed but his flames were closing in on Shawn's stream of ice. 

"BEN!" I screamed and I fired a wave of frost towards him and he flew a few feet away. I fell to the ground, feeling my core burning inside me. Shawn's stream of ice hit the ground weakly and melted almost immediately.

Shawn didn't even look at me, his eyes were trained on Tasha. Her thin and bruised body lying on the ground in a small pool of blood.

He ran over to her, his body soaked with sweat from draining his powers and skidded right next to her.

He held her face in his huge hands and was whispering stuff to her. 

The way they looked at one another, the way he was holding Tasha so delicately, Tyronne said Tasha loves someone else.

"Shawn and Tasha are lovers," I whispered as exhaustion crept on me.

I breathed out heavily, all along my brother wanted to save Tasha.

I swallowed a huge lump in my throat, I was not expecting this.

I looked around and found Ben groaning in pain a few metres away from me.

I limped over and saw that his left leg was icy blue.

"Oh God Ben! Are you okay?! Shit I hurt you!" I shouted and held on to him but he only groaned louder.

My hands were ice cold, I shook them and calmed my crazed core to get back some warmth in me.

I held his shoulders and pulled him up into a sitting position, I rubbed my hands and held his face. 

His nose started bleeding and he was clutching his ribs, how badly did I hurt him?

I started tearing up, "Ben please, can you hear me? I'm sorry I didn't mean to hurt you."

He coughed and spluttered blood all over me and I stared at him in shock, "No no no please. SHAWN! Help please!"

I heard the cocking of a gun and froze. I turned slowly, seeing Tyronne holding two guns in his half-frozen position.

One gun at Ben, the other at Shawn.

"My two assistants. My two biggest traitors. One fakes his death and the other steals my woman," he laughed an evil laugh, making my core stir up again.

I turned to Shawn, he looked tired and used. He looked at me, then cocked his head.

I stared wide-eyed, that was our own way of saying we'll meet one another again later. Somewhere.

Then Shawn leapt forward towards Tyronne as I heard the firing of both guns.

I crouched over Ben, physically shielding him from the bullet that was aimed at him.

I didn't feel anything until a moment later. I felt the warmth of my blood staining the back of my blouse as spots started appearing in my vision.

I took in a painful breath of air and pulled away from Ben slightly, seeing his blood-stained lips gasping for air.

The spots were invading my sight and I blinked harder to see Ben's face.

He was breathing, at least he was breathing. 

I pulled him to me again, hugging his limp body, "I'm sorry."

I used whatever I had left in me to close the distance between us and press my lips against his. 

Then everything went black.