The moon’s brilliant glow lit up the garden. On any other day, this would be a perfect night for Trixan. But Pheleraz’s presence simply made her skin crawl. She kept a calm demeanor, though, silently listening to the Zoleris.

“I just received a report,” Pheleraz said, his hands behind his back. “Hellstorm’s been spotted in Nairobi. He escaped with yet another lowblood.”

Trixan tilted her head. Hellstorm escape was no surprise, but why would Pheleraz consider this good news? No, there must be more to this. And just as she had thought, Pheleraz added with a grin, “The vanquishers put an energy tracer on him. That’s right, Yvis. As soon as Hellstorm uses his sacred energy, we’ll find him.”

“Hmm,” Trixan gazed at the full moon, “finding him is one thing, capturing him is another.”

“Worry about what you’ll say to him once we capture him… and bring him here.” Trixan raised a brow and sharply turned her gaze to Pheleraz. He chuckled. “Oh, you haven’t heard,” said he. “I convinced Rhodine to let me interrogate Hellstorm here in Draghein School.”

Trixan rubbed her knuckles. “I see.”

Without another word, she walked away leaving Pheleraz alone in Rahsun Garden. Pheleraz was doing this to make her angry, she knew it. He came here with the purpose of humiliating Draghein School. Losing her temper would only make things worse for her vanquishers. There was no need for that anyway — if that man was truly Hellstorm, the only way they could catch him was if he let them.

Good luck to them.

----------------------------------------

“You need to rest,” said Narvari, tucking Pheera in bed.

The doctors had discharged Pheera from the infirmary and she was now back in her dormitory. She’d made a lot of progress in her recovery, however, she still needed to rest a lot.

“Always finding an excuse to get me in bed.” Pheera smiled innocently, though there was nothing innocent about her soft voice. Blood rushed into Narvari’s face and her ears heated. Pheera giggled, the sound of it washing over Narvari like cool summer rain.

“Have you eaten anything?” Narvari said quickly. “I’ll go get you something.” She tried to leave, but Pheera held her hand.

“I just want you to stay with me.” Narvari’s knees went weak as Pheera’s intense blue eyes drank her in. No longer able to resist the girl who made her heart ache so much, Narvari pulled up beside her in the bed. She felt a great sense of peace when Pheera rested her head on her chest. “So a lot has happened while I was in a coma,” said Pheera. “They say Hellstorm is back from the dead. And he’s a demon.”

Narvari nodded. Zemeron must have told Pheera about it. Had he told her about Pheleraz too? Narvari shuddered at the thought. She didn’t want Pheera worrying about things like that. She wanted her to be safe. But was Pheera safe, especially from Narvari herself? Her wound had regenerated like a demon. What if her blood had been tainted by demon energy? Or worse, what if she had turned into a demon? Will Pheera be safe around her? What if Pheera — 

“Narvari.” A concerned expression grew on Pheera’s face. “What’s wrong? You didn’t hear anything I said about my elema.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Narvari bit her lips. “I’d love to learn more about your elema. Wait, did you unlock elema?”

Pheera cupped Narvari’s cheek. “Don’t change the topic. Something is bothering you. What is it?”

Narvari sighed. After a moment of silence, and knowing very well that Pheera wouldn’t let this go, Narvari asked, “Why did you forcefully order up? You could have died.”

“But I didn’t.”

“But you could.”

“It was the only way to save you and everyone from the demon.” Pheera pressed her hand against Narvari’s chest. “My only regret was that I didn’t order up quickly enough to stop that demon from stabbing you. You could have died.”

“But I didn’t,” Narvari whispered.

Pheera nodded. “And I’m grateful for that.”

“But what if I’m not what you think I am? What if I’m… different?”

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Without missing a beat, Pheera said, “You’re still the same Narvari to me.”

“No, you don’t understand. My body… It’s… it’s different.” Narvari sighed internally at Pheera’s unfazed expression. Pheera didn’t understand — Narvari had to try harder. “Pheera,” she said, “what would you do if I were a demon?”

“Are you a demon?”

Narvari’s throat dried at once. “I-I don’t know.”

“Well, it wouldn’t matter to me if you were or weren’t.”

“Pheera, this is serious.”

“So am I.” She almost sounded offended, as if she couldn’t believe that Narvari would think any differently. “Where’s this coming from anyway? What’s going on?”

“My chest wound… after the demon stabbed me, it healed on its own. It regenerated.”

“You’ve always healed quickly.” Pheera shrugged. “The first time we met, you suffered extreme sacros shock when you fought the wraith lord. The doctors said it would take at least a month for you to recover but you recovered in barely a week.”

“But that’s my point,” said Narvari. “I’ve never always been like that. That changed after what the wraith lord did to me. The demon energy — ”

“Narvari, the wraith lord didn’t turn you into a demon. He was only a lesser demon.”

Narvari paused. Why had she not thought about that? The possibility of being turned into a demon had haunted her so much that she had completely forgotten that only royal demons had the power to turn humans into demons.

“Then how — ”

“It doesn’t matter. You’re okay alive, and that’s all that matters.” Pheera smiled at her. “Besides, the doctors could have used reclamation surgery on you. That’s probably why you think you regenerated. It’s nothing to worry about.” Narvari nodded slowly. Maybe she had been wrong about the whole thing. “Even if you’re a demon,” Pheera’s face was now a few inches away from Narvari’s, “the way I feel about you will still not change.”

Narvari’s heart hammered in her chest. In a breathless voice, she asked, “And how do you feel about me, Pheera?”

Pheera stared at Narvari’s lips. Something seemed to pull them together like a magnet. Narvari was completely transfixed by the goddess staring at her and all she wanted to do was have a taste of Pheera’s lips and savor every inch of her being. Narvari leaned in. Their lips barely brushed against each other when a loud knock on the door knocked them right out of their enchantment.

For god’s sake. Narvari pulled away and glared at the door. At least, the universe should be more creative in cockblocking her. Maybe an explosion. An earthquake. Even a zombie invasion. Anything but a fucking knock on the door.

The knock came again. Jesus.

“I’ll get it.” Narvari walked to the door. Was it Trixan? Narvari’s face flustered when she remembered the last time Trixan had walked in on them almost about to kiss. Maybe Trixan had found it awkward too which could explain why she was knocking now.

The smile on Narvari’s face suddenly turned into a scowl as soon as she opened the door. What the hell was he doing here? “What do you want?” Narvari glared at Pheleraz.

“Where’s Pheera?” he asked in a demanding voice.

“Resting. She’s not in the mood to talk to anyone. Bye.” Narvari tried to close the door, but Pheleraz stopped it with his hand. The door would not budge.

“Whoever you are, child,” said Pheleraz, “you better get out of my way.”

“Or what?” Narvari blocked Pheleraz’s path with her body.

The man towered over her, but she did not flinch. Pheleraz’s angry blue eyes annoyed her more than intimidated her. For every second that passed, Narvari sensed the man’s annoyance growing. But she didn’t care. She couldn’t let an unwanted visitor stress Pheera.

“Everything okay, Narvari?” Pheera suddenly spoke from behind as Narvari shut the door and locked it.

Quickly turning around, she took Pheera by the waist and let her lean on her. “You shouldn’t be going anywhere without your wheelchair. Come on, I’ll take you back to the bed.”

“Who’s at the door?” Pheera asked.

“Nobody.”

The knock came again. Narvari sucked in a deep breath and balled her fist. Pheera opened the door. And there, stood Pheleraz. The two siblings silently stared at each other for a long time. It seemed they were having a conversation without words.

“Can I come in?” Pheleraz finally broke the silence. “I need to speak to you.”

Pheera’s shoulder tensed and her grip tightened around Narvari’s hand. Just before Narvari could say no, Pheera said, “Sure. Come in.”

Upon entering and looking around the room in disdain, he glowered at Narvari and said, “What are you still doing here? Leave us now. I need to talk to my sister in private.”

“Not going to happen,” said Narvari as she helped Pheera back into her wheelchair.

“And who the hell are you?”

“Narvari Shar.” She sauntered towards Pheleraz until they were standing face to face. “You better remember this name. I will be the worst nightmare of anyone who hurts Pheera.”

Pheleraz laughed. Directing his cold gaze toward Pheera, he said, “You’re friends with this nobody? What has Zemeron done to you? You’re a Zoleris. Why are you mingling with a nonentity like this one?”

“What did you — ”

“Narvari.” Pheera’s voice instantly halted Narvari’s words. Slowly, Pheera wheeled herself between Pheleraz and Narvari. In a calm but firm tone, she said to Pheleraz, “I don’t care if you speak to me that way. But I’ll not tolerate you disrespecting Narvari. Ever.”

The tense silence in the room seemed to swallow them up. Pheleraz sighed. “Very well. I came here for something important anyway. Let’s talk in private.”

“I’m not leaving you alone with Pheera.”

“Well, I’m not asking, child.”

“Oh yeah?” Narvari laughed mirthlessly. “And who’s going to make me leave? You?”

“Narvari, I’ll be fine.”

“What?” Narvari narrowed her eyes. She knelt beside Pheera so they were at eye level with each other. “I’m not leaving you alone with this guy.”

“He’s my brother,” she whispered. There was something in her eyes that meant the exact opposite of her words.

“Just say the word and I’ll get him out of here. You don’t have to talk to him if you don’t want to.”

“I want to.”

Narvari paused. Then she nodded. “Okay then.”

“No eavesdropping.” Shit.

“Fine.” Narvari stood up. “I’ll see you later.”

Before leaving, she gave Pheleraz a warning look. I’ve got my eyes on you.