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The gates in front of me opened and it took everything in me to calm down. My heart hammered in my chest more with every step I took. I held my head high on my shoulders not letting anyone see how terrified I am.
In any other situation I would stop to admire the beauty of the room I was in, but my brain didn’t know how to register any of that. It was fixated on the center of the arena where the golden ring on the marble was waiting for me.
I’ve watched every student that entered before me and I know what will happen. What concerned me was, some of them looked like it was nothing while other writhed in pain. Not knowing what to expect wrecked me.
I felt my brothers’ familiar eyes on me which calmed me a little. They were here and everything would be alright. Then, as if on command, my body started to tingle and I knew exactly whose electric blue gaze I would find on me if I looked up.
The arena that was filled with light murmur became silent as I reached the ring. One more step and I would enter it. Inhaling deeply, my body took position at the middle of the ring.
For a second, nothing happened. Then suddenly, golden lines on the floor started to dance before my eyes; they moved in every direction until finally they started to rise to create a misty veil around me. I looked up at the huge crystal that looked like it would crash on me every second now.
I saw it fill with energy, shining more and more brightly with every second it passes until it finally exploded. The blast of energy hit me straight in the head, blinding me for a few moments. I felt instantly something in me change- a new substance entering my body, filling me with new kind of air. It went from my face and hair, down my arms and stomach and finally all the way to the tippy toes.
I felt something strange trying to form on my back. My organs started to move and suddenly pain hit me like a ton of bricks. I crashed on my knees, trying to hold in my shrieks of pain but it was all in vain. I felt two sharp bones getting bigger and bigger. They ripped through my skin and continued to grow.
At the same time, voices entered my head - thousands of them. They were all whispering to me: men, women, kids, old, young. They were all there, trying to find little bit of space in my mind. Then, it wasn’t only voices, there were pictures of events from thousands of years back flashing through my mind.
There was an understanding in the back of my mind that the events are the knowledge passed down to me from someone who lived all of them personally. My brain soaked it all eagerly, every little detail, every little skill. It was so loud in my head that I thought it would explode any moment now. Then, something foreign reached out to me from the side and I embraced it.
I was at my breaking point when suddenly…it all stopped. The pain, the voices, the images. I only felt buzz of power in my veins, a new weight on my back and a feeling of thousands of years of life and experience in my body and mind.
I stood up on my feet and looked around. The arena was completely still.
***
Valerian
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I watched as she fell on the floor screaming. The bright light of the crystal disappeared and the golden glow vanished. There was only her, on her knees, screaming. People watched in shock, not daring to move.
Confusion overtook me but then it started to happen and I recognized it immediately. No way is this happening right now. My confusion transformed to anxious excitement as I watched small bones rip through her skin and robes. I heard my heartbeats in my ears as I watched them grow wider and wider.
As the they grew, her hair started changing from the root. It lost its blonde color. Now her long waves turned gorgeous silvery-white. Her face was turned towards the floor, so I couldn’t see it, while her hands and nails were practically scratching the hard marble underneath them.
My own hart began to ache for her, I knew exactly what kind of pain she felt. She suddenly let out such ear-piercing screech that something in me broke. A magnetic cord started to form in my chest and on its own, it trailed all the way to her. In one single moment I felt everything she did and then, a feeling of peace formed inside of me. At the same time, the screaming silenced.
So very slowly, Theia stood from the floor and turned. She was…magnificent. Her once black eyes were now mismatched. One was black as a night while the other was glowing like the brightest gold. Her snowy curls enveloped her face making her plump, reddish lips stand out. But the thing everyone was looking at? Enormous black wings, sprayed with white and gold lines from the bottom of her feathers, upwards.
Her gemstone was also the mix of three. Representation of demon and archangel combined in one. That realization and what it implied hit me hard at that moment. She lifted her head and our gazes met – her perfect fusion of black and gold and mine electric blue. I nodded at her, acknowledging and confirming what could this situation mean for both of us.
“This is impossible.” Evander said under his breath. “This cannot be.” He continued louder.
People turned their attention to him but mostly, they were waiting for my reaction. I stayed silent, wanting to hear what all Evander had to say. Knowing thoughts of those around you on matter like this one was important. After all, if anyone should dare harm Theia now, I would take it beyond personal.
“Tell us, Theia” Evander said curtly “how is it possible for demon descendant to suddenly have powers only those of angelic blood are worthy of?”
I felt the anger and disgust rising inside Evander. But however much he tried to hide it, emotional waves radiated from him more with every second. Theia on the other hand, watched him coolly through those illuminating eyes. None of her gifts manifested for others to see, so I had to wonder what is it exactly that she knew now, because that stare was far from confused, nervous one she had before.
I know a lot of things now, Valerian. Have no worry about that. Theia’s melodic voice echoed through my mind. My lips widened into a small smile. This shall come in handy.
“Theia?” Evander urged. “If you don’t answer me, I shall consider you did something you’re not allowed to do.”
“And what would that be?” her head tilted almost daring him to tell everyone what she must already know. “Need I remind you I was a girl with no power just moments ago. You’ve all seen me awaken. I’m not sure what you’re implying here I did, headmaster.”
Evander’s jaw tightened. “There is no record of demon bloods possessing angelic gifts. I shall need to inform Descendant’s council about this and investigate it further.”
“There is nothing to investigate here.” I said in low, final voice. Every head in the room stopped to stare at me. “The answer to why she is what she is, is pretty obvious. Don’t you think, Evander?”
“You’re certainly not implying…” he shook his head like I was speaking rubbish. “There was no sightings of archangels on Earth since Rafael’s descending. What you’re saying couldn’t be true.”
“Look at her eyes Evander.” It was one of the men on Evander’s left. “At those wings. Have you ever seen a descendant that look like that? You did, we all did. Only once. And he’s standing right next to you.”
He tightened his lips and with haughty look at Theia, he said “I shall inform council of these events and they shall decide what will happen next.”
“Nothing will happen.” My voice was even, and yet, they could all hear the warning in it. I turned my head towards him and let my eyes show the full extent of my words. “If she is hurt in any way, I will consider it a personal insult. Think carefully what that means for you.”
***
Theia
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I watched as color leave Mr. Ashleight’s face. He was defeated for now, but I’ve heard his thoughts and I know he has something on his mind. What though, I’m not sure just yet. Seeing Valerian unquestionably on my side was a strange surprise.
Now that my powers are awakened, I feeling surprisingly calm. Even though Mr. Ashleight is a possible future problem for me, the knowledge I got just minutes before made me feel like this is just a minor inconvenience. For now, at least.
“There is no need for this.” A man that spoke before interrupted. “The council will need to know about this anyhow, and besides, no one is planning on harming the girl.”
I wouldn’t be so sure about that. The thoughts in headmaster’s head are jumbled right now, but I can sense I ruined something he’d planned. “Right, right.” Mr. Ashleight said. “I meant no harm.”
I didn’t know how long I was standing there, time slipped my mind, but my back began to hurt. I guess having enormous wings did that to a woman. My eyes searched for Valerian’s, pleading him to get over with this stupid confrontation because if I had to stand here a little longer, I will definitely fall on my back.
“I think we should continue this conversation some other time. If you’ll excuse me, the girl needs help.” Valerian teleported right next to me and started leading me to the door on the other side, making me lean on him for support.
We weren’t even two steps through the door when my brothers appeared. They looked completely shocked, raking their eyes over every inch of me. They lingered on my wings but after a few seconds they broke from their trance.
“How you’re feeling?” Elek asked, taking me into his embrace. I winced with pain when his arms touched my back. “What is it?” he sounded panicky.
Andras was next to him, watching me with concern. “Uh, my back hurt. I feel like these fucking wings are going to rip them open and fall out.”
“Don’t worry, that’s completely normal.” I almost forgot Valerian was there. “It hurts because your body isn’t used to having something as big and heavy attached to it.” Unlike earlier, he now spoke gently, as if he feared he would scare me away.
“Can you help her?” Elek asked. “I don’t know what gifts she has, but I have a feeling she’s going to need you. Will you help her?”
Valerian watched him in silence for a while and nodded simply. “I will. But she needs to come with me now. She’s barely standing.”
The twins engulfed me in a big hug. “We’ll need to leave and tell mom about this. She’ll want to know. We’ll be back as soon as we can; I don’t know if we would be needed at the unit.”
“It’s okay, go. I’ll be fine here. As soon as I get rid of these.” I waved in direction of my wings.
“Okay.” They kissed me on the forehead one more time and then turned to Valerian. “Watch her. If something happens to her-“
Valerian cut him off. “Nothing will happen. Go now.”
With that, the twins left and Valerian teleported me to my room. I didn’t even want to know how he knew where to go. I just wanted for pain to stop. “Sit.”
I sat on the chair near the bed and waited while he looked closer at my back. “I’ll need to tear through some of your robes to clean the wounds. Hold still.”
Now that I was sitting, I started to feel the pain more strongly and my vision began to blur. I heard the tearing of the fabric and my arms instantly shot up to hold the front part of the robes. It was a huge mistake on my part, because my muscles started to scream in agony.
“How bad is it?” I asked. I couldn’t imagine what my back looked like. “And don’t lie to me. Those fuckers hurt like hell.”
Valerian chuckled lowly. “Don’t worry, hellcat. Your back would be just fine.” His hand landed in the middle of my wings and I couldn’t help my whimper. It was a whimper of pain and joy at the same time. The heat started to spread from the spot where he touched me, all through my back muscles. The pain began to ebb and my vision cleared. Little by little, the weight on my back loosened until it completely disappeared.
I turned my head to see the feather thingies gone. “Oh, thank god.” I moved my shoulders up and down to relieve some of the tension in them. “Are the scars too big?”
“There are no scars, Theia.” His eyebrow rose and his eyes laughed at me.
“What? What do you mean?” My hand, once again, shot over my shoulder to inspect the area and I winced immediately. Ugh.
“Please stop moving. You’re back is still sore.” He slapped my hand away. “I mean, I healed your back, there is nothing there.”
“Soo, does that mean the wings won’t leave the scars at all?” I asked hopefully. Please say yes, please say yes.
“No. The next few times your wings come out, it will hurt. And you’ll have two identical lines on your back where the wings are growing from.” I heard him walk around my room but I didn’t much care, I was too tired. Moments later he appeared in front of me with my pajamas and a glass of water. “Here.”
I took the water gladly and down it at once. At the meantime, Valerian made himself comfortable on my sofa. He sat there, casually watching me. “What? You expecting I’m going to change here in front of you?” and the old me was back apparently.
He smirked, unbothered. “I’m not. But I’m certainly not going to stop you.”
“How did you know where to teleport us?” I asked now that my head was a little clearer and the pain lessened.
“I saw you exit the room earlier.” He lied. I don’t know how I knew that, but I did. The question was, did I want to know the real answer? Well…no.
I raised both my brows and nodded. But just before I entered my ensuite bathroom, I decided to let him know he ain’t fooling no one. And just so you know, I know you lied. Then I closed the door behind me and went to put my pajamas on the counter.
As I turned to go into the shower, my eyes caught my reflection in the mirror and I stopped in my tracks. From all the pain and drama that’s happened, I completely forgot they mentioned something about my eyes.
I was standing in shock, watching how my now white hair that fell down to my chest in messy tangles, framed my pale face and two mismatched eyes. The black one gave off that same creepy feeling as my brothers’, while the other one swirled around like molten lava.
I still saw parts of my old self, but I didn’t expect such drastic changes. It felt surreal that that was me, my reflection, in the mirror. Exhaling loudly, I shook my head and proceeded to take of the rest of my bloody robes.
The moment I did, I noticed awakening marks swirling their way up my thigh all the way to my hip. They looked similar to vines. A gold and black vines.
When I exited the bathroom a few minutes later, Valerian was still in his seat. I took a second to admire his whole presence. I’ve never seen someone who made my heart beat so fast in fear and excitement. The way he casually sat there, like it was exactly where he wanted to be was kind of a turn on. The fucker was too much.“Are you planning on staying there the whole night?”
His gaze turned my way and lazily raked over my bare legs, thanks to my shorts. When his eyes finally met mine, the intensity in them threw me off. He stood up and with slow, predatory steps approached me. He stopped a few inches away from me and gently grazed his finger along my markings.
He leaned forward to whisper in my ear; his breath along my neck making me shiver. I don’t know if he was doing something, but his closeness set my heartbeat wild. His smell, his confidence with which he carried himself….too fucking much. “You should cover your markings in front of me, Theia, if you don’t want me to know exactly what you’re thinking when you look at me.”
His low, seductive voice left me brainless for a second before his words registered. “W-what?”
Valerian lifted his head so he could look me directly in the eyes as he towered over me. “Ah, little cat, no one told you our markings glow when we feel strong emotion?” he asked through seductive whisper. “Tsk, pity. For you.”
“Cute.” I answered. “But honestly now, are you asking I cover them so I wouldn’t be embarrassed or…” my hand lifted on its own and traced his lower lip, “So you wouldn’t be tempted? Think about that.”
I took a few steps back and headed towards bed. I dared a look at the window reflection and saw Valerian was still standing there, watching me watch him with a satisfied smirk on his face.
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