Metamorphosis—Day 50, hour 14
“Yeah, and then John came back two days ago,” I said to Sadie as I jogged beside her.
Well, Sadie jogged.
I walked.
It wasn’t even a brisk walk. I was moving at a slow stroll.
Sadie pumped her arms aggressively like that was going to give her momentum. Poor girl could enslave a man with her blood and shift into a monster cat but couldn’t move faster than a granny shuffle.
At this point, I was 80 percent convinced she was faking it.
It was physically impossible for someone to move as slowly as she was. It had to be a ruse.
Sadie gasped for air and said, “No way, so they really are twins.” She stopped running and keeled over with her hands on her legs.
So far, we’d run back and forth along the shore twice. Half a mile at the most.
Sweat poured off Sadie’s face like we’d run fifty miles. How is that even possible?
She needed medical help.
I kicked a pebble into the roaring surf and pointed out, “I don’t think leaning over will help you move faster.”
Sadie glared at me as she spat out a thick glob of mucus.
I stretched my arm above my head, needing to release some restless energy because watching my friend struggle with basic fitness was surprisingly boring.
“You’re such a drama queen,” I said.
“Sorry not all of us—” Sadie coughed and choked. “—have the body of a horse.”
I stared at her. “Did you just compare me to a horse?”
“Your—” She choked on a juicy cough. “—legs come up to my armpits.”
I put my hands on my hips and stared down at my vertically challenged best friend. “That doesn’t mean you get to call me a horse. That’s just rude.”
She made a stupid face and asked, “Isn’t that why you named your crow Horse?”
I gaped at the woman I called a friend. “I didn’t name my crow Horse because I thought I was a horse. How does that make sense?” I kicked another rock into the sea. “Super rude.”
“Grow up.” Sadie leaned forward and puked.
I rolled my eyes and moved aside. “You have an actual issue. This is literally disgusting.”
“That’s what—” Sadie vomited aggressively. “—a horse would say.”
I shook my head and turned my back to her as I said, “You know, a few weeks ago, we had to run fifty miles, then do more training afterward. And no one got sick like this. You didn’t even do one full lap.”
Sadie moaned, “No one cares.”
Dragging my fingers through wild curls, I surveyed the island and imagined what it would be like if I didn’t have friends.
Life would be peaceful.
The only blessing was at least I wasn’t having to train with the rest of my team.
A few yards away, they hoisted boulders alongside Sadie’s mates. Apparently, all the men had woken up today and thought, I want to lift something and put it down for literally no reason.
I’d said it before, and I’d say it again: men were deranged, and they should all be shot. On sight. No questions asked.
Once Malum had announced we were lifting, I’d spent the morning mentally preparing to impersonate a pack mule.
However, the sun god had intervened on my behalf.
Bless up.
I lifted one boulder, and all the stitches on my arm had pulled open. Blood had gushed down my arms, and I’d fallen to my knees, gasping.
Everyone had freaked out.
Malum had burst into flames, Scorpius had yelled obscenities, Orion had taken the boulder from my hands and tossed it away, and John had wiped at my arms frantically.
Zenith’s and Vegar’s wounds had also pulled open, but they’d smiled like they enjoyed the pain and hoisted boulders faster.
Malum had forbidden me from lifting and gone on a five-minute rant about how I needed to take care of myself, and blah, blah, blah.
Truthfully, I’d stopped listening as soon as I’d realized he was the one speaking.
When he’d concluded having his mental breakdown, I’d saluted him with my middle finger and walked away.
That was how I now found myself dealing with my best friend’s antics.
Since I was too injured to lift, and Sadie liked to pretend to be a weak woman to get out of any manual labor, the two of us were jogging back and forth across the rocks near where the men trained.
At least, that was the plan.
I’d forgotten that my friend had the endurance of an asthmatic suffering from tuberculosis.
Vomit splashed across the rocks, and I plugged my nose. This could not be good for her health. I joked about it, but I was concerned for her.
Sadie groaned miserably. I sighed and did what any good friend would do.
I walked fifteen feet away down the shore, lay down on some rocks, and pretended I didn’t know her.
Spreading my arms and legs wide, I inhaled deeply.
Salty sulfur burned my nose.
The howling winds pushed against the black cloud cover, and the dark sky rolled tumultuously.
The clouds seemed angry.
Black contrasted with red and made everything glow.
The supposed incoming storm was all that anyone seemed to want to talk about inside the academy. Students whispered about it like it was the coming of the sun god himself.
This morning, I’d watched incredulously as servants boarded up the windows with enchanted pieces of wood. There was literal lightning in the halls; I was pretty sure the academy could withstand a little thunder and rain.
My guess was that everyone was freaking out because there were never any weather changes in this realm.
Now, with the windows boarded, the black marble halls of the academy had a cave-like feel.
It was dark and peaceful.
I repositioned my neck to get more comfortable on the rocks. Closing my eyes, I sighed contentedly as the sea sprayed against my clammy, abused skin. Waves roared and hammered the shore.
Thunder boomed high above.
I opened my eyes, but it wasn’t the fabled storm.
It was the angels.
They were little specks amid the clouds that resembled the wind fae action figures other kids had played with. The crown princess hadn’t played with toys. Obviously.
Ice swords clashed, and a CRACK echoed loudly through the sky.
Crystal wings flapped, and feathers clattered.
I unfocused my eyes until the entire group of angels was a pretty blur of light blue.
The angel with the feline features and mismatched eyes folded his wings and plummeted downward toward the raging sea.
I refocused my eyes.
Inches from the waves, his wings shot out, and he hovered above the sea, glaring directly at me.
I scowled back.
He streaked upward like a missile, and his movement defied gravity.
I shivered at his little display of insane power.
From what I’d seen of the angels in the Legionnaire Games, there was nothing like them in all the realms. Wind fae could sustain flight but only for minutes at a time before it depleted them.
Other species had wings, but no other sentient creature could fly. Not like they could.
The angels were unique.
They were built to rule the skies.
Lying spread-eagle on the rocky shore while my best friend gagged a few feet away, I was hyperaware of how different I was from the angels.
What would it feel like to be so powerful that you could defy the laws of physics?
You could see it in the way the angel legion walked, with their chins pointed up and noses in the air, they knew they were better than everyone else. Leagues ahead. They were a species that was more myth than reality.
In every realm angels were synonymous with the gods.
The rocks beneath me dug into my enchanted wounds as blood continued to seep from the multitude of stitches I’d pulled.
I was a lowly ice fae.
I’d known the truth from the first second my back had cracked beneath Mother’s wounds—I wasn’t all-powerful like Sadie.
Was the feeling of strength euphoric? Maybe that was why I was depressed?
I was weak.
Above, an angel swooped downward with their wings expanded wide as they thrust their seven-foot sword straight in the air. Flames jumped off the blue ice.
I wished I had a paintbrush and artistic talent, to capture the moment of ice against clouds.
It was glorious.
How could they not be the chosen generals for the war? They were the perfect awe-inspiring symbol for the masses. A physical representation of hope and beauty.
The angels were proof that there was a greater civilization to be had. A more majestic one.
I’d follow the angels into battle.
Goose bumps erupted across my skin because I had a feeling I’d live to experience it.
“Okay, I’m good,” Sadie panted unconvincingly as she ambled over to leer down at me. “Let’s walk around the perimeter of the island. I need a cooldown.”
I shook my head and closed my eyes. “We can’t. I have to stay in proximity to the kings.”
Silence.
My eyes shot open as I realized what I’d inadvertently revealed.
Sadie’s catlike features seemed sharper as she asked softly, “Why can’t you leave their proximity, Aran?”
I sighed.
Pulled my pipe from my pocket and pressed it between my lips.
I held both hands up in the air in the universal “calm down” gesture. “No need to freak out.”
Sadie smiled. “Oh, I’m calm.”
Horse cawed and shot up. He streaked away toward where the angels sparred, like he was afraid of Sadie.
I sighed and tried to give off calm energy.
“Remember that life takes different paths for different people.” I chose my words carefully. “And some paths may seem more oppressive or unfair from a certain perspective. But it all works out in the end.” I pursed my lips as I thought about it. “Maybe. Probably not. But let’s just say for argument’s sake that it does.”
Sadie’s white hair whipped back and forth in the wind. Her ruby eyes glowed, and the outline of a saber-toothed tiger shimmered around her as she asked, “And has it all worked out for you?”
She smiled, and it wasn’t a friendly expression.
This was exactly why I could never find the right moment to tell her.
I blew out a smoking gun. Pop. The smoke bullet poofed harmlessly off my forehead.
“No, Sadie, it obviously hasn’t,” I said sarcastically.
“You have five seconds to explain, or I’m going to leap to”—a low rumbling roar rattled her chest—“some terrible conclusions.”
I studied my cuticles.
Clucked my tongue.
Pursed my lips and blew out a raspberry.
Sighed.
“ARAN, EXPLAIN!” Sadie alpha-barked.
I scoffed and watched an angel spread her wings and spiral on a column of air. “I’m not a shifter. That doesn’t work on me.”
Horse mimicked the angel’s movement on the breeze. He spun out of control, and I gave him a thumbs-up.
I inhaled smoke.
Sadie snatched the pipe from my lips and held it in the air. “Explain or I’ll snap it.”
I stilled. “You wouldn’t.”
The outline of foot-long teeth flickered on her face. “Don’t test me.” I’m pretty sure that was a new thing for her.
I hit my head backward so my skull knocked satisfyingly against the rocks. “You’re such a cunt.”
“Aran,” Sadie warned and grabbed the pipe with both hands.
“Aren’t you supposed to be all tired and exhausted after”—I held up two fingers and made air quotes—“running?”
The rumbling noise in her chest intensified.
“Fine, I’ll tell you.” I caved. “Give me the pipe first.”
“No.” Sadie bared her teeth. “Tell me and I’ll give you the pipe.”
I hit my head harder as I tried to stall. “Sun god, you don’t have to be such a bitch about it.”
Sadie bent my pipe between her hands.
“Simmer down.” I winced as I ambled to my feet and sighed heavily. “You want to know the truth?”
Sadie bent my pipe until it was in a U shape.
I closed my eyes and got it all over with.
“My-father-is-Lothaire-and-he-made-me-get-a-tattoo-on-my-hip-that-enslaves-me-to-the-kings-so-I-can’t-leave-their-presence-without-pain.”
Sadie blinked, and her shoulders lowered. “Was that so hard?”
I narrowed my eyes.
Her posture was relaxed.
She seemed calm.
I snatched the pipe from her hands and inhaled greedily. “I’m surprised you’re taking it so well. I was afraid to tell you because, you know, sometimes you can be a little…” I spun my finger in the air around my ear.
“I don’t know what you mean?” Sadie smiled.
I rubbed at the back of my neck with chagrin. “You’re right. I forgot that between the two of us, you’re the pleasant one.”
She chuckled.
“Sorry for projecting,” I said as I felt like a fool for waiting so long to tell her.
Sadie smiled bigger. “Yep, I’m the happy friend, and you’re the grumpy friend. That’s why we work.”
I nodded and twirled my pipe between my lips and tried to change the topic. “So what do you want to do now?”
Sadie turned slowly and faced where both our teams were lifting boulders. “I want to return the favor.”
I paused, my pipe dangling from my lips.
Sadie rolled up her sleeve and dug her fingernails into her forearm. The blood coagulated into a ball and hovered in the air, and her ruby eyes glowed so brightly it was hard to look at her.
Her spine straightened.
Her posture wasn’t natural, and I knew without a doubt what she’d done.
The bitch had flipped the switch in her brain that she called the numb. The one that made her an emotionless killing machine.
“Come on,” I whined and stomped my foot. “Don’t do this. This is why I didn’t want to tell you things!”
Sadie snarled and sprinted toward the men.
Fast.
“Now you can run?” I shouted as I sprinted after her. “Don’t you dare do this.”
“You!” Sadie ignored me and pointed at Malum.
He looked behind him and pointed at his chest with confusion.
“What are you doing, Princess?” Ascher asked as he stepped in front of Sadie.
Sadie hooked her leg around his and used her momentum and the element of surprise to send his tattooed body flying through the air. It was comical with their size difference, and I would have been proud if she weren’t having a full-scale meltdown.
That was the thing about my best friend.
She was my opposite—sunshine and happiness, full of jokes and laughter.
Until she wasn’t.
Then she was death incarnate.
When she snapped, it was like looking in a mirror. I recognized myself in her. She was unfeeling. Cold.
“Can we talk about this?” I yelled over the wind.
Sadie raised her arms forward and flung her blood at the kings.
Bone slammed against rock.
Malum, Scorpius, and Orion fell to their knees.
“Sadie, let them go.” Jax rubbed his hands over his face with exasperation. “We’ve talked about this.”
John and the demons backed away from Sadie slowly.
Cobra arched his brow and sauntered over to her. “What did they do?”
Sadie spoke slowly, and her scratchy voice was raspier than usual. “They’ve enslaved Aran.”
Cobra stopped walking. Like a snake, he went perfectly still, and his round pupils flickered to slits.
Before I could blink, Ascher and Xerxes stood on either side of me.
“Is that true?” Ascher asked me, and his horns expanded.
Shhhhhhhhk. Xerxes sharpened his daggers.
I rubbed at my temples. “It’s not like that. Lately, they’ve been better about it. I mean technically, yes, but—”
“Kneel. Kiss the ground. Beg for forgiveness,” Sadie’s booming voice echoed across the island.
Scorpius and Orion kissed the rocks.
Malum started to lean forward, but he stopped midbend. Flames exploded across his body. With veins popping out of his neck as he strained, he slowly climbed to his feet. Steel-grey eyes flashed.
“Release my mates,” he growled.
My eyes widened.
No one had broken Sadie’s weird blood mind control before. I was slightly worried that she was all-powerful. I mean, she was forged by the moon goddess herself for war.
Yet Malum was snarling before her.
Enraged.
The knife tattooed on his neck glimmered like it was real metal.
It took a second for all of us to process what was happening, then I moved in tandem with Sadie’s mates.
All five of us flung ourselves in front of her protectively.
“I’m sorry,” Scorpius said mindlessly as he kissed the ground. Orion whispered the same words and also kissed the rocks.
Malum’s flames shot higher into the air until he was an inferno.
Sweat dripped down my forehead.
The heat increased.
“Let them go,” I ordered my friend as Jax reached for her face. She blocked his arm and glared at the bowing kings.
“If he wants to fight—” Sadie laughed hoarsely. “—I’ll fight.”
I gritted my teeth.
Malum took a step closer, embers flew through the air, and the black rocks around him caught fire.
He was a storm.
Of fire.
Red flames expanded until he was an inferno.
There was only one thing left to do.
I swore.
And stepped forward into his path.
