~LEONARDO~

^“Dammit, why can’t I find this stupid orb! That headmaster said it was going to be easy. But where is it!”

I frantically continued my search; my eyes searched for the black orb I was required to retrieve to pass this exam.

I have to find this Orb. I need to pass this exam. I can’t afford to fail. Mama would cry in the sky above for me failing…yet again.

I’d never been good at anything; always struggled to achieve all of my goals. I didn’t know what I had done in my past life, but I was plagued with such bad karma that I wondered if I should even have goals. I never achieved them, but this was the first time I was so close to becoming a knight.

Sure, I still had one more rotation before the final exam, but as long as I passed this I’d have the motivation to do better – to become a graduate of Knightwood. At least it didn’t matter that I was a red rank. I could still graduate, though the jobs available for my rank would be shitty jobs like a waste collector.

I would make my mom proud. She’d finally get to see her son become victorious and walk proudly with such a title to our name. It wasn’t her fault we were poor. She was the hardest working person I knew, down to her very last breath, but I would bring prosperity to our family name, removing the disgrace that clings to me wherever I went.

I looked around the clearing again before another round of curses escaped me. Dammit, where is it! I don’t have time!

“It seems you need some help, Leonardo.”

I jumped at the calm tone as I looked over my shoulder.

“Professor Sepherant? What are you doing here? I thought you resigned?” I was confused to see his perfect appearance; his tailored suit didn’t reflect a wrinkle; his hands behind his back as he smiled at me. His eyes were what always scared me; those light purple eyes held a load of mystery to them and gave me the creeps.

“One can never get a break. The professor assigned to your exam bailed. He said he didn’t want to waste time supervising such a disgrace of a shifter. I guess he’s another one who hates on the Dulro’s family name.”

I gritted my teeth as a growl vibrated against the walls of my throat; the piteous expression on Professor Sepherant face only made me angrier. How dare that professor say such things? He knew nothing but rumors and lies.

“Thus, the headmaster summoned me for my aid. I was already in the town nearby. My servant needed to pick up some arts and crafts from that famous, jewellery store, when I got the message. I decided it wouldn’t hurt to help you out. I see how much you want this Leonardo. So, I’ll be kind enough to do this.”

His hand moved from his back, revealing a medium, black orb which shimmered in the light that peeked through the thick fog.

“You found it! Are you sure? This isn’t a trap, right?” I questioned, my suspicions overthrown with joy. I would pass.

“It’s not a test. I’m not held against their rules, remember? The fog is thick enough, so they won’t notice anything. Take it now,” he pushed, smiling.

I rushed over, taking the orb from his gloved hands as I took a moment to appreciate its sleek appearance before looking up to my savior. “Thank you, Sir. May Starlight bless you for such kindness.”

“No worries, Leonardo. To prevent the darkness, we must do kind to one another. I’ll give you one more tip before you go. I suggest you take the longer route back down instead of the way you came. I hear there are a few traps awaiting your return.”

Ugh, those bastards always have to make my exam harder compared to everyone else. I bet they did it on purpose, too.

“Thank you, Sir. I’ll take the longer route! I’ll be on my way. Makoto’s waiting, and I don’t want to delay.”

“Makoto, you say? I haven’t seen her in awhile. She’s at the bottom of the mountain?” he questioned, his eyes filled with concern.

Of course, he was concerned like all the professors at Knightwood with their fascination for the first female, pink rank. They heard an accident occurred during the exam, leaving Makoto in critical condition. I bet he was concerned for her well-being, especially with her helping me.

“Yes. She agreed to help me. I’ll be on my way Sir. Thank you, once again.” I bowed.

“No, Leonardo. Thank you. All the best.” He bowed, making me blush. No one ever showed such courtesy to me.

“I’ll be off. Farewell, Professor Sepherant.” I turned and began to run; the longer route would take me at least ten minutes if I ran the whole way. I didn’t mind, feeling energized at my dream being in reach.

One more rotation and I’ll live my dream.

~MARCUS~

I opened my eyes, needing to see how bad the situation was as we materialized, feeling the solid ground beneath me.

The dizziness was hard to ignore, my world spun from the sudden shift – Kai transported us from Matthew’s office straight to the exam area. Kai’s hand rested on our shoulders before the world began to dematerialize – everything became like pixels falling around us as the environment morphed.

The process was hella rougher than his usual teleportation’s; holding the same effects as when we walked through the portal, but ten times worse, making me feel sick to my stomach. If it wasn’t for my nerves, I probably would have thrown up. Now that we’d arrived, I had to fight the bile that rose in my throat as my eyes landed on the body of the woman I loved, a pool of dark red liquid beneath her. Blood.

Azriel’s and EliaseAnne’s spike in stress leaked into our bond as they called for help.

“KAI. Makoto isn’t breathing. Tell Winterlya and Karen they need to prepare to treat Nephilim poisoning. I need you here ASAP. If I restart her heart she needs medical attention. Eli’s slowing down the progression of the poison.”

“Where are you?” Ryder demanded, being the first to recover from the wave of panic that hit us as we opened up our bond.

“Mountain side of the exam. Eli, remove your hands, I need to shock her.”

Shock her?

The words alone sent chills down my spine as my left hand began to tremble uncontrollably. I knew I had to control myself or I’d shift, but the idea of Daniel shocking our Firefly – such words emphasized the reality of the situation and that Makoto wasn’t breathing. She wasn’t alive.

Stryker had taken over, Ryder struggled to keep awake from the imbalance of emotions as he closed his eyes; glowing orbs of black took over as he opened them. I knew he wouldn’t dare pass out when Makoto was in danger, but he wouldn’t be able to stay awake much longer with us struggling to keep our emotions from tearing him apart.

“KAI! Now!”

I heard Eli scream through our bond, her high, shrilled voice scared me. I hadn’t been so afraid since my time at the facility – afraid of death every time I felt his presence as my body jolted from the electricity going through me – I was shocked over and over again.

I glanced at Kai as Ryuu nudged into my mind, ready to take control if I needed him to. If we didn’t want to shift, we’d alternate until we could find somewhere safe to shift into our dragon form.

Kai’s eyes flickered back and forth as he struggled with control. Kai was the calmest among us, sometimes calmer than Daniel, but one could never underestimate a phoenix’s temper – their flames erupted from the depth of the earth to consume the culprit of such rage.

He didn’t look mad – he looked fearless and ready to destroy anyone who tried to stop him from his goal.

Now, Kai lunged forward as he knelt by Daniel’s side; he looked completely different. His hair was now long, ashy white blonde, floating gently in the air as if the wind kept the strands captive. His angel wings were outstretched, so white and pure I bet, simply with a touch, a feather could cleanse anyone of their sins.

The power that flowed off of him was a rare sight to see and feel; the most power I had seen Daniel display in cycles.

“Winterlya, Karen and the rest of the medical team are ready. The Queen has been notified as well and will assist in the treatment. Are you two ready? I won’t be able to make it as smooth a trip as usual,” Kai explained.

He must have used the emergency spell while we were teleported to speak to Winterlya telepathically – explaining the new development.

I bet he was the most shocked out of all of us. He’d used his foresight only fifteen minutes ago and had seen nothing. Something must have changed – someone interfered suddenly. But who?

My eyes trailed his body, exhaustion evident. I frowned, taking another glance at Makoto whose heart was already beginning to lose momentum.

“Kai, you’re pushing it,” Azriel warned, his singsong voice low and threatening.

We all knew how stubborn Kai could be. He would never admit he needed rest or help unless you threatened him. He gave Azriel a frustrated look, but sighed.

“Hinotori,” he commanded, his eyes closing before opening again, those amber eyes glowing with immense power.

“It’s been awhile Azriel, Elyion. Shall we? The Princess is already showing signs of decline. Let us not delay,” he announced. His accent was thick, indication that he was furious.

All three of them turned their gazes to us, Ryuu taking the opportunity to take control, allowing me to watch.

“Keep us posted on the Princess’ condition. We won’t take long,” Ryuu requested.

We had no choice but to hang back. There was no way Kai would be able to teleport us to Heila after doing three trips – one with Winterlya and Karen, another to return back and now taking EliaseAnne, Daniel, and Makoto.

Anymore would put his life at risk and we couldn’t have that.

“I’ll clean everything down here. Just focus on stabilizing her. We believe in you three,” Stryker acknowledged.

We stood there confidently as we reassured our friends that we’d be okay. We needed them to focus on saving Makoto. This must have happened for a reason; the Starlight gods approved such a change.

Regardless, we wouldn’t let this stop us. We’d save our Princess and fight against whatever darkness was trying to prevent us from fulfilling our destiny.

“May the Stars protect us on our path to salvation,” Azriel whispered as they dematerialized, vanishing from sight.

Only the pool of Makoto’s blood remained.

We stood there in silence. Stryker took a few steps to look at a large amount of blood lingered on the ground.

We followed, standing next to the demon shifter; my eyes glared at his trembling right hand – the quivering matched my left as it shook rapidly.

We placed our hand on his shoulder.

“Stryker. It’s not your fault. We didn’t see this coming. Even Kai didn’t see this. Something must have changed. Someone did this, and we’ll find out who soon enough.”

He lifted his head to face us; his blank expression worried us. That never was a good sign. He opened his mouth to speak, but the sound of footsteps could be heard, our heads glanced to our right – Leonardo’s figure appeared while the thick fog began to clear.

Ryuu retreated, giving me control as our anger spiked. You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.

“Huh? Ryder and Marcus. What are you guys doing here? What’s with the thick, red stuff on the floor? Is that animal blood or something? I thought EliaseAnne and Daniel were supposed to be here? Did you decide to take their place or something?”

The questions just flowed out of him as he tried to catch his breath; his hands went on his knees as he huffed; his right hand holding a black orb.

He glanced back up, smiling from ear to ear before he rose.

“Can you believe I found the orb! I’m one step closer to becoming a knight. I seriously have to thank Makoto for coming with. Where is she anyways? Maybe Professor Sepherant dismissed her,” he scratched at his chin, looking confused.

Did he just say Professor Sepherant?

“What did you just say?” I questioned, praying my ears deceived me.

He rolled his eyes. “What I just said. You know, Professor Sepherant? I swear, I thought he resigned, but my designated professor bailed out on me. Professor Sepherant was in the area on business and got contacted to help out. He’s the one who helped me find the orb and told me to take the longer route instead of the shorter one, which apparently was filled with traps. I swear, I would have been here awhile ago if it wasn’t for having to take that route. I told him Makoto was down here waiting for me. I guess he was concerned about her after what happened at—”

He didn’t finish, a fist slammed into his face as his body flew into the air, crashing into the ground a few feet away. I blinked before a wave of power I hadn’t felt in rotations hit me with such force I quivered.

I glanced to see Stryker lowering his hand before dark flames flickered to life, growing around his feet. His chest was rising and falling in a rapid pattern as he huffed, his eyes so black I was afraid he’d fully shift.

Leo struggled to get on his hands and knees, coughing up blood as his eyes landed on the shattered orb next to him. He looked up; the anger stormed in his eyes, but then flickered with fear as he trailed the flames that moved around Stryker’s feet in a circular pattern.

“A knight? You? Do you know what you just committed? Do you know thanks to you the Princess of Heila is on the verge of death because you couldn’t use that fucking brain of yours and put the dots together? Fuck Leo!! I swear to the gods above if Makoto doesn’t...if she doesn’t survive this ordeal. I. Will. Murder. You. Now, you have five seconds to get out of my sight, or these flames will have their fun with you,” Stryker snarled.

The flames grew bigger as they encircled his body, a large cobra emerging from the flames.

I didn’t know which one of us was more shocked – myself or Leonardo who paled as his jaw dropped, his teeth covered in blood.

“But...I...can’t go back? You broke the orb,” he began.

“5.”

“I’ll be a disgrace!”

“4.”

“I’ll be kicked out! I have nowhere else to go.”

“3.”

“You’re my friend! You can’t do this. Ryder?”

“2.”

The cobra rose higher as it opened its mouth to hiss, the black fangs large enough to plunge into his body, finishing him.

He staggered to his feet before turning and running as fast as his legs would carry him.

Stryker stood there, watching his figure get smaller and smaller until it was no more; disappearing into the fog that faded away, inch by inch.

He called off the flames – the cobra released a final cry before dissolving into smoke. Stryker retreated, Ryder took over as his eyes dulled.

I walked towards him; my eye began to twitch as the urge to shift raided my mind. Fuck, I need to shift.

Ryder glanced my way as I approached; his weak, dull eyes took a slow scan of me before he frowned.

“You need to shift.”

“We don’t have time.” I replied.

“One hour.”

“Ryder.”

“One-hour, Marcus. I can’t have you shifting on the transport ship. Let go, burn the fucking place down if you want. Just get yourself in check. You won’t be able to shift again till we get to Heila. Make this moment count. I’ll deal with the headmaster. I’ll meet you at the transport docks.”

He didn’t wait for my reply, turning before walking away.

“Make sure you get the stools,” I said quietly into our bond.

I watched his hand rise up in a wave – signaling me that he understood. I knew at this stage, he was done talking and was now focused on doing.

I took a look at the vast land around me, hesitating for a moment wondering if it would even be enough. The barriers wouldn’t go down until an hour after the exam time was up, giving me plenty of time to burn it to shreds. Did I care if I damaged this area of Minato? Nope. I didn’t give a flying fuck.

The thought of Makoto smiling at me flashed before my eyes, her cheeks flushed as she laughed, her long, curly hair whipped around as the wind blew by. The memory of our time on the beach down on Earthala returned to me – our play date together.

All of that was a memory and I didn’t know whether we’d get another chance to enjoy such time together. That was enough to send me over the edge – my mind drifted as I allowed the urge that ran through me to take over and I shifted. I wasn’t going to linger around. My mind needed an escape.

It was time to let my animal instinct take over and reign. Ryuu would decide when we had to go. I left it up to him, my mind drifted to the darkness.

Firefly, be strong once more. We can’t lose you. All of us need you. Please Starlight gods, if you hear this prayer. Save our Princess. She’s our only hope for what’s to come.