However, as Elaine continued to practice, Caelio noticed that the expression on her face began to become more tense. She almost seemed in the throes of mild annoyance, as if something was bothering her.
“Elaine, are you okay?” he asked, approaching with a worried look.
The demigoddess hesitated for a moment, before nodding with a forced smile.
“Yes, yes, I'm fine. It's just… these new powers take more effort than I thought.”
She laughed, but didn't seem to be able to completely convince him with her answer.
“If you feel tired, we can stop and take a break. We've been here for almost half an hour, I don't want to overwhelm you.”
“No, no, I'm fine, really!” the girl insisted, determined to continue training.
“I want to learn to control them as soon as possible, so that I can surprise my companions when they return. I need to be able to make a difference.”
“You don't have to exaggerate.”
“Don’t worry! I can do it! Then I'll introduce them to you, Shirei too!”
Caelio nodded slowly, still uncertain, but decided to please his friend. Elaine seemed so eager to prove herself that he didn't have the heart to fight her.
Having a pretty girl around him didn't displease him at all as well.
As time passed, however, Caelio noticed that Elaine began to show more and more signs of tiredness. Her face had grown paler, and her efforts to maintain control over the lightning seemed to become increasingly laborious. The intermittent signs in the clearing only reinforced his concerns.
“More than an hour and a half has passed, we can stop for today,” proposed Caelio, delicately squeezing her right arm with his hand. “You don't have to exaggerate.”
Elaine looked at him with pleading eyes, her breathing labored. “Please let me try again. I have to… I have to live up to it.”
Caelio looked at her with concern, seeing in her an anxiety and desperation that brought back memories of the past.
It was like looking in the mirror.
A skinny boy with a bad haircut, at the end of his strength to show his mother that he is special. Stupid of him, every child is special to a mother, at least that rule was valid for mortals.
“Elaine, you don't have to prove anything to anyone. Your friends wouldn't want this, I'm sure.”
Caelio’s words seemed to touch a sensitive chord in Mardi's daughter, who felt her eyes fill with tears.
“But I... I want to make a difference. I want to be useful, not just Mardi's daughter. I don't want to see my friends suffer while I hide behind them.”
“Don't push yourself beyond the limit, it's not worth it. Dumb!”
After saying that last word, the demigod gave her a friendly punch on the head, in a reproachful gesture.
Elaine walked away, holding her head with both hands. He had actually done it, he had messed up her hair. Her expression went from shock, to smile, and finally to anger.
“Come here,” she ordered, “No more lightning, now I'll show you what I’m capable of”
The two embarked on a race through nature. The boy was fast, much more than Elaine, but he wasn't used to the place and ended up stumbling several times, until he fell. The demigoddess immediately reached him and held out her hand in his direction with a solemn voice.
“Last words?”
“Time out! I give up!”
The two burst into laughter, then the blond sat up and tried to remove the dirt from his clothes.
“I didn't think you were that unathletic, really disappointing.”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
The boy caught his breath. “I'm not used to running. How about we take a break?” he asked his student, “I think we both need it.”
Nodding, Elaine sat down under a tree, the blond followed her promptly.
“Thank you, Caelio,” she murmured, her voice low and tinged with emotion.
“You're welcome, I know you needed it.”
Sitting in silence, the two demigods let themselves be enveloped by the peace of the forest, each immersed in their own thoughts.
While the demigoddess seemed to have calmed down, Caelio couldn't free himself from the worry that had assailed him during training. He had noticed those signs of discomfort on the face of her new and only friend at the park, that strange feeling of fatigue that seemed to go beyond simple fatigue. Elaine had refused to open up, to share with him what was troubling her.
Caelio sighed, aware that he couldn't force her to confide in him, he himself preferred to keep many things inside. He just had to be patient and wait until Elaine felt ready to talk.
What a pain, why don't you ever talk? I say that, then I always end up talking!
He snorted. For the moment, the important thing was to be close to her, support her and watch over her, as he had been asked by the goddess of love.
At least I can console myself with the fact that she's pretty.
Hidden behind some trees, Aena, goddess of love and queen of the gods, was carefully observing the scene taking place in the clearing. Her amber eyes peeked out from her mask and were fixed on the two demigods, while they rested.
The deity's face was engraved in an expression of profound disappointment, always hidden by the presence of her golden mask. Shaking her head slowly, she let out a heavy sigh and murmured under his breath, “Oh, Emion, why did you have to ruin one of my precious lilies again?”
Aena had always watched over the demigods who lived in the park with love, considering them as her own children. But the intervention of her husband, the god Emion, had once again upset the balance of that enchanted place. He wanted the king of the gods to deny such a rash step, as any deity would have done. The practice of passage was so rare in the modern era as to be obsolete.
Aena knew that many of her flowers had tempted it with the intention of keeping it a secret from her, yet the number of those who had succeeded in the last century did not even reach double digits. The transition was, in fact, attempted only with the greater gods, who used to refuse to lend their powers to those who could not learn how to manage them.
Now Elaine, Mardi's daughter, had been hit with dangerous force, putting her own life at risk.
“And all because my husband didn't listen to me.”
With her keen gaze, Aena noticed subtle incisions lining Elaine's imperial system, ominous signs that her divine core might soon become damaged or, worse, explode. The goddess shook her head again, worry making her heart clench.
“I can't leave things as they are…” Aena murmured, the tone of her voice a clear sign of regret. “Now this poor girl is in serious danger because of you.”
Watching Caelio patiently teach Elaine, Aena could see the young demigoddess' determination and commitment to mastering her newfound powers. Despite the difficulties, the girl seemed animated by a strength of spirit that Aena had never noticed in her before.
“I haven't seen her like this in a long time...” the goddess mused, a small smile curling her lips. “Perhaps Caelio will be able to guide her better.”
But as she watched, Aena noticed the negative symptoms in Elaine again. Her face was growing pale, and her movements were becoming more and more awkward and labored. The goddess sighed deeply, knowing that the worst was yet to come. Seeing her so happy, truly happy, broke her heart. Elaine had always been the sunniest and kindest of the Equinox Flowers, but many times her nature had been forced to balance the gloomy Ada. At that moment, however, Mardi's daughter was giving rise to real feelings.
“Her divine core won't last long,” Aena noted, almost on the verge of tears. “It will explode soon, and we won't be able to save it.”
Pressing her lips into a thin line, Aena lurked, continuing to observe the scene unfolding before her. Although her heart was heavy with worry, she could not intervene. It was an inviolable rule, not to interfere with her husband's will. The last word was always Emion's. No one, not even her, could disobey.
However, Aena couldn't help but feel a deep uneasiness. She knew that Elaine would soon be in grave danger, and she feared for her safety. The goddess of love wondered if Caelio would be able to help her friend, or if she would ultimately have to stay and watch the end of one of her precious lilies.
With a resigned sigh, Aena continued to watch, her eyes alert to the slightest change in the girl's condition. There had to be a way to help her, to prevent her divine core from exploding with catastrophic consequences. But for now, all she could do was wait and hope that Caelio could guide the young demigoddess the right way.
Time seemed to pass slowly as Aena remained hidden, her gaze never straying from the two friends in the clearing. With each passing minute, the goddess's worry grew, until it became an anguishing weight on her heart.
Suddenly, Aena noticed the girl falling prey to a strong malaise, her face transfigured by tension and effort. Caelio, with a worried look, approached her, wrapping her in a protective embrace.
Aena gritted her teeth, knowing that the dreaded moment wouldn't be that far away.
“Hold on, beautiful lily,” she whispered tensely.
With a final look full of concern, the goddess of love slowly withdrew, disappearing into the woods. She had to prepare, she had to reverse that process before it was too late. For now, all she could do was wait and hope that Mardi was on her side.
“First, I will warn Lyceum to interfere. The less Elaine uses her powers, the longer we will postpone the inevitable.”
The future of her beloved lilies hung by a thread, and Aena would not allow them to be destroyed. Whatever needed to be done, the goddess was determined to protect her demigods. She couldn't break Emion's rules, but she could get around them through the demigods.
They were originally born for that and it was time to exploit their peculiarity in her favor.
Aena was shaking, but she didn't realize it.
The fear of the future had managed to grip even a goddess.