Seven years later…
Deianira secured her blindfold and stood in the center of the room. She had rolled out of bed just as Cade fell asleep to come to the training room. It was where she was most at peace.
Since the Dome came down and the population almost quadrupled, she felt like she never got a second alone. There was always something going on.
It had been six years since she abolished the Prima Act and took down the wall but while most of her people adapted, some were still ignorant and couldn’t see past their differences. At times, it made for a very hostile environment and came with a plethora of disputes for her to settle.
That was why Deianira cherished these few moments of silence.
Tuning into the feeling of the mat beneath her bare feet, the slight breeze across her face, she raised the remote towards the arrow launcher, thumb over the button and ready to press.
“Absolutely fucking not!”
“Ugh!” Deianira groaned as she tilted her head to the ceiling, ripping off her blindfold. “I just want to train!” she whined.
“Woman, I swear to the Gods, you’re gonna give me a heart attack.”
Deianira rolled her eyes at his blatant exaggeration.
Cade stormed into the room, grasping the remote from her hand and shutting down the machine.
“Baby, nobody’s stopping you from working out,” he said, bending down so they were at eye level, clasping his hands together in a pleading motion. “You have a room full of those wrist weights and yoga balls and…”
She glared at him and smacked his shoulder.
“Are you trying to be funny? Yoga balls, Cade? I’m pregnant, not senile,” she hissed as he rubbed his shoulder.
“I know that, but you can’t keep sneaking off in the middle of the night by yourself. Next time, just wake me up and I’ll come with you.” He pulled her close and kissed her forehead. “I just don’t want you getting hurt. Either of you.”
Deianira softened at his tone.
“Fine,” she mumbled. “But you can’t just hover over me either.”
“Got it. Just an observer,” he smiled as he pressed a quick kiss on her lips.
Bzz. Bzz. Bzz.
If Deianira rolled her eyes any further, they’d stick to the back of her lids. She just wanted a second of peace.
“We’ve been summoned,” Cade said, looking down at his wrist. Deianira quickly checked hers.
Emergency meeting – High Council
“It’s probably another dispute.” She yawned. “Let’s get it over with.”
Cade
As Cade walked behind Deianira into the Council’s study, he flicked his eyes over everyone there.
“Your Majesty. King Consort.” His head enforcer nodded at them sarcastically. “Pleasure to have you finally join us. It’s not like we have lives to get back to or anything.”
Deianira didn’t spare him a glance as she padded, barefoot, over to one of the two head chairs.
“If my timeliness is an issue, Jacobs, I can easily demote you. Solve both of our problems.”
Cade snorted as he took his seat beside her.
“What’s the latest issue?” she asked promptly, simultaneously signing her question for Salem’s benefit.
Most of them were still in their sleep clothes and it was obvious that they didn’t want to be there any longer than necessary.
“I called the meeting,” Lia said, her voice edgy, signing shakily. The tone of the room seemed to shift. “I was out scouting and I found something. It was washed up on shore, miles away from here. I would’ve brought it, but I doubt any of you would want to see that in person.” She tapped the bracelet on her wrist and an image appeared.
Cade had to fight to not look away. It was a head, and its eyes were gone. Not cut out, just gone.
“Who would do something like that?” Deianira asked, disgusted.
“Who could do something like that is the real question?” Cade retorted. “There’s no blood, no scratch marks, no cuts. Look closer.”
“No thanks,” Deianira replied, a hand over her mouth.
Over the past few years, Cade had gotten even better at honing his abilities. He was able to distinguish an individual’s specific emotions, even when he was around multiple people.
That’s how he could see the waves of apprehension coming off his head enforcer.
“Devin,” he called.
Devin flinched and flicked his eyes up. “What is it?”
Cade had seen many sides to him but fear rarely ever made an appearance.
“Azraels,” he said, as if that explained it all.
Deianira’s hand clutched her bump. “What do you mean azraels, Devin? There are no other azraels. I don’t remember decapitating that man,” she said slowly.
He sighed. “There are no other azraels here,” he stressed. “And these aren’t the ones you’re thinking about. These are… purebred.”
Deianira was signing manically as she asked, “What do you mean, purebred? And what do you mean ‘here’? Devin, you’re not making any sense!”
Cade rested a hand on her thigh and she took a deep breath. “Explain.”
“Patriam,” he started with his head down. “It’s where we’re really from. These Gods that we learned about in school: the God of Magic, God of Foresight,” he said, turning to Lia, “God of Empathy,” to Cade, “God of Psionicism,” to Salem, “and the Angel of Death.” His gaze landed on Deianira. “Well, they weren’t really Gods. They were immensely powerful beings called primas. Tens of thousands of years ago, primas and humans lived in Patriam, but the humans didn’t live how they do now. They were like animals. Born to be hunted and slaughtered by the primas. Some primas didn’t agree with this way of life so they started a resistance, took as many humans as they could, and fled overseas. To here. To Terra,” he sighed as he carried on. “We were told that the gifted are at the top of the food chain, but we’re basically a watered-down version compared to them. They’re our ancestors.” He pointed at the image still projected from Lia’s wrist. “That’s how the azraels hunt, how they feed. They suck the life out of you. Literally. Whatever did that, is the real deal. And if that washed up here, then they’re not far behind.”
Everyone sat still, open-mouthed at Devin’s words.
Salem was the first to question him.
“Why is this the first time we’re hearing of this?” she signed.
“The primas in the resistance wanted a fresh start. They wanted to integrate with humans but the actions of the primas in Patriam were so barbaric, it was bound to create problems, prejudices. So the resistance banned people in Terra from speaking about it. It was practically erased from history.”
“Then how do you know about them?” Deianira demanded with a little more bite than she probably intended.
Devin’s hands shook. He wouldn’t get away with lying with Cade in the room but he was truly petrified now. So petrified that he opted to sign instead of speak.
“Because Emori’s one of them.”
