Three years, eleven months, two weeks, and six days. That’s how long I’ve been trapped in hell otherwise known as the Fortress. It’s a prison in the Legion realm for badasses who commit crimes against humanity and the Republic. Ever so often if you’re unlucky-or you just like to spice things up a bit, like me, you get carted off to the city of Purge. Purge is where do-gooders known as Thrones decide whether you’re guilty or innocent of a crime. They’re considered to be the cleansers of our world who carry out whatever punishment their God, the Epsilon decides.
Shit…Eleven hours, fifty-eight minutes and fifty-one…fifty-two…fifty-three seconds. Staring at the time is driving me insane. I have to get out of here. No one has ever escaped the Fortress but I was determined to put its reputation to the test. Forty-three. That’s how many times I’ve tried to break free from this hellhole. Each time I failed, but each failure helped me learn something new. For example, a Principality makes its rounds every minute and a half. A Principality is a celestial being that guards the Fortress. It takes the form of a ray of light, so you always know when its coming. If caught, a Principality would pursue a prisoner relentlessly until the prisoner is caught or killed. I’ve been caught each and every time. My last cellmate wasn’t so lucky. She killed a guard to obtain her freedom, which in the eyes of Principalities is punishable by death.
Footsteps…I hear footsteps. Without my powers, I’m not strong enough to take on the beings of this world, so I don’t bother trying, but I can still pack a mean punch. My first cellmate found that out the hard way.
“Aria Bliss.” The Warden, Sin Bane calls out my name.
I cut my eyes at him and he casts me a warning glance not to try anything. He signals for me to put my hands through the holes in the door of my cell. I comply and he shackles my wrists with Fury. Fury are handcuffs electrified by the wrath of Epsilon. They sizzle and crackle as I wait for Sin to open the door to my cell. Staring into his eyes I see apprehension. Whatever he was sent here to do, he doesn’t want to do it.
“Let me guess, your wife is busy washing her hair and I’m the only decent girl in this hellhole willing to put up with you.” I tease.
“Shut up and follow me.” He retorted.
Sin is unusually quiet today. Usually he’d torment me or mock me, but today…today he’s quiet and reluctant. “What is this all about?” I ask.
“Just shut up and follow me.”
I follow Sin down the dimly lit, cold, dank halls of the prison until we get to an elevator. Thirty floors. That’s how many floors we’ve gone up. The doors to the elevator open and Sin takes me to one last door I know leads to the outside. Is he letting me go? Have they finally realized they got it all wrong?
The doors open and a piercing light invades my retinas. A piercing headache ensues. I’ve been surrounded by darkness for years without ever seeing the light and now that I have, I wish someone would turn down the damn brightness. “What is this?” I ask as my eyes adjust.
“We’ll take it from here.” Another familiar voice calls out. Kris. Kris is a Dominion or Domination as some call them. They sort of act as middle management. They receive orders from the Seraphim or the Cherubim and then they carry them out. What would they want with me though?
I start to ask questions when a veil is placed over my head. A veil renders you both motionless and speechless. It literally paralyzes both the body and the mind. I stay this way for Alpha knows how long before the veil is finally removed.
The Magistrate. I’ve been taken to the Royal House of Superious, but what do they want with me? The last time I was here, they decided I should be tried for a crime I hadn’t committed. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. When I tried explaining that, no one would listen. I guess that’s what happens when you become known as the deadliest assassin within the Legion. Everyone automatically assumes the worst.
Kris shoves me to my knees in the throne room of the magistrate and forces my head down. If I had my weapons or my powers I’d make him pay, but in this watered-down form, I’d have to work way too hard to mar that pretty-boy face of his.
“Aria Bliss, today is your lucky day should you choose to accept.” Lord Bolton, otherwise known as Xavier addresses me. His son Alarec and I used to play together as kids. We went to the same schools. “Not only will it mean your freedom, but your powers will be returned to you as well as your wings.”
Now he’s got my attention. “What say you?” Alarec asks. I’m tempted to make eye contact, but I know better. Until I am reinstated, I’m not considered an equal.
“What is it you want me to do Lord Bolton?” I ask with my eyes still on the floor.
“I want you to reprise your role as a member of Muerte. As Lieutenant General, I want you to help your team activate the first weapon.” He answers.
My team…the cowards who turned their backs on me when I needed them the most. I didn’t want to have anything to do with them, but if it meant my freedom, I would swallow my pride for now. No one is worth being stuck in that void. “Lieutenant General?” I grimace. “Before being thrown in prison, I was our General. You can’t possibly expect me to play second in command, and to whom?”
“Since your sentencing, Thien has been promoted to General and you will play second fiddle or you can return back to the hole they pulled you out of.” He spoke with authority.
Thien. His name provoked so many emotions that I didn’t know which to respond to first. “I accept.” I bowed reluctantly. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for this. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to see him.
Ready or not, I was yanked back to my feet and the veil was placed over my head for the second time. More time passed and once again the veil was removed. Petrem. My home. I’d been taken to the Royal House of Bliss. I was escorted through the halls where everyone stopped and whispered, or stared at me in wide-eyed astonishment.
Kris dragged me to the throne room where I came face to face with my parents. It felt like I hadn’t seen them in ages. They hadn’t changed a bit. Age didn’t exist here. Here we peaked. When our kind peaks, our bodies reach its maximum capacity and then it stays that way for eternity.
“Aria.” My mom’s voice broke. She tried to come to me, but my father stopped her. He calls it tough love. I call it child abuse.
“By the order of the Magistrate, Aria Bliss, you are reinstated as a member of Muerte, you’re title as the Princess of the Royal House of Bliss has been restored, but you’re position within Muerte has been demoted to Lieutenant General. May our God Alpha bless you with wisdom, courage, and everlasting life.” My father ordained. He placed his hand in holy water and traced the Alpha’s name on my forehead. Upon its completion I felt my powers return to me and my wings were restored. “Don’t make us regret this, and always remember, the Alpha is watching.” He warned.
“Yes father.” I nodded. With both my title and my abilities restored, I could now look at something other than the floor. Once again I was worthy of the Surname Bliss and everything its legacy would bring.
“Now that you’ve been reinstated, you must report to the House of Muerte at once.” My father commanded.
“What, no hellos? I haven’t seen you in four years and I don’t even get a warm welcome?” I scoffed.
“Mind your tongue.” My father spoke with authority. “Earn our affection and you will find it in abundance, but you must first prove yourself.”
I nod, not wanting to press the issue. It wouldn’t have done any good anyway. The voice has spoken. That’s what my siblings and I would call my father whenever he exerted his authority over us. I missed Lucas, Syria and Azury-my twin. Azury was the quiet, shy type, but me…I was all talk, all balls and fire, ALL THE TIME.
Kris clears his throat and motions towards the door. Tossed out my first day back home. It wasn’t the warm welcome I was hoping for, but when your father is the authority and he does EVERYTHING by the book…what more could you expect?
Kris takes flight before me and dares me to keep up. I’ll show him. I take flight and quickly realize I’ve forgotten how to fly. I came crashing down to the ground, HARD, and cried out in pain. Kris doubled over laughing, hovering above me in the sky. “Serves you right.” He chortles.
Angry, I blast into the air towards him, but I’m still rusty and I can’t quite steer myself. In short, I look like a newborn baby bird whose trying to take flight for the first time. I SUCK. Not just a little bit either, like, I REALLY suck. It takes some getting used to, but I finally figure out how to fly without looking like I need some V8. An hour later Kris and I land at the gates of Muerte. I hold my hand up to the orb next to the force field shielding the entrance and the force field drops.
“This is where I get off and you get your ass kicked.” Kris smirked. Little does he know I’ve been practicing every day for four years. Every hour of every day in fact. I only stopped when I need to mend.
I step inside the gate and the force field immediately goes back up. Now the only way out of here is with the permission of my Sensei or my first in command. I wasn’t ready for this. I wasn’t ready to face him. I looked back beyond the gate and Kris motioned for me to keep moving.
Willing my feet to move forward, I walked through crowds of students who all stopped and stared. It could have been my massive silver wings or it could be the Eye pendant on my jacket sitting just below that of three stars signifying me as a Lieutenant General. Or maybe they’re staring at me because they think I’m a murderer.
“Holy house of Bliss…look what the cat drug in!” I’d know that voice from anywhere. Blaze. She’s the fiercest pyromaniac in the entire Legion, and she has the fiery red hair to prove it. Man it feels good to be free.
She collides into me and holds me for what seem like an eternity before she lets go. “Shadow, please tell me you didn’t break out of prison.” Blaze pleads.
“I wish. The darn Fortress is just that…a fortress. I tried to break out over forty-times and failed every single time. The worlds greatest assassin will have to take a rain-check on being the worlds greatest escape artist.” I joke. “God I miss you.”
Blaze was the first friend I made here at Muerte. One of the Alumni was giving her a hard time because of her freckles and it bothered me so badly that I punctured his face with a pin needle, REPEATEDLY, giving him a set of freckles of his own to admire ever time he looked in the mirror. Everyone just assumed I was crazy after that. Blaze was the only one who believed me and stuck by my side during sentencing.
“Have you seen him yet?” Blaze’s eyes were wide with amusement.
“Who? Havoc? No, and I don’t care to.” I lied. She knew I was lying. I wasn’t very good at it. In a hostage situation I wouldn’t be able to lie my way out of a paper bag.
“Well Havoc isn’t the same Havoc anymore.” She beamed.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that scrawny wing, with the long hair and acne doesn’t look like that anymore. Havoc’s got swagger now, and a trail of drooling girls with broken hearts to prove it. You’re going to die when you see what he looks like now.”
Darnit! Now I’m curious to see what he looks like. Not that it matters. Havoc is a freaking jerk. Always has been and he always will be. Still though…where the heck is he?
“Everyone is going to flip when they see you, come.” Blaze grabbed me by the hand and practically dragged me past all the gawking students in training and into the alumni building. There were more familiar faces in this building. Some of these faces I’ve either trained or trained with. They’re mouths drop open when they see me, and every single eye in the room darts over to the far right corner. It’s exactly where Blaze is taking me. It’s exactly where I’m one hundred percent sure HE is.
Please Alpha; don’t let me get swept up in his pale gray eyes. I need to stand firm. I hate him…I have to remember that. We stop a few feet away from them, my team, and I can feel his aura before I even set eyes on him. “Oh. My. God.” Tech’s mouth drop open. One by one my team stands up to greet me. “Shawshank! They finally broke you out of prison!”
By my count, there’s still a hug missing. I finally make eye contact with the bane of my existence and HOLY MOTHER OF ALPHA…I. About. Died. Thien used to be shorter than me, but now he towered over me like the God he was set to ascend to. He was no longer the scrawny kid who would do anything to bulk up he’s arrived. You could see the clearly defined cut of his well-sculpted abs, and the planes of his chiseled pecks through the muscle shirt he had on. Even his dreamy eyes looked like they’d gone a paler Gray only adding to how sexy this jerk was. As if Thien needed any other excuse to be an arrogant jerk. And his hair…DEAR ALPHA, KILL ME NOW. I practically begged him to grow his hair long and he’d done just that. THIEN YOUNGBLOOD GREW UP TO BE A HEARTTHROB.
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