~RYDER~

^“I swear to Starlight, I hate that greedy, self-centered headmaster. I’ve never seen someone so consumed by the change in his pocket. How can King Arthur deal with him?”

Marcus and I had just finished our meeting with the Headmaster. Thanks to him, I was currently on campus instead of being by Mako’s side like I promised.

He requested an update on Mako’s condition, aka, ‘tell me if the big fat direct deposit that goes into my account every rotation is going to get cut thanks to my pathetic protection capabilities.’ Nope, he had to hear it from me, the leader of our group, as Matthew’s daily check-ins with him didn’t mean shit.

“Honestly, I can’t wait for us to leave this place and go back to Heila. We get treated with respect and dignity. Not over here where these professors think they’re better than us. You do realize the headmaster only speaks so kindly to you cause he’s sucking up, right? You should see the way he talks to me and the others. We’d be lucky for him to rotate in his chair to face us,” Marcus complained; his hand reached up to remove the hair tie holding up the neat man bun; the caramel strands of hair scattered down his back.

His hair was even longer than when we first found Mako, going past its usual mid bicep length to surpassing his elbow.

With everything that had been going on the last two weeks with Mako being in a coma, we all needed a good clean up and I’d spent a few hours prior to this useless meeting, cleaning up my appearance.

It was worth the look on Mako’s face when she saw me.

I couldn’t stop the smile that spread across my lips as Mako’s vibrant turquoise eyes lifted up from the new e-reader Marcus bought her, taking a moment to stare at my clean-shaven face and quick haircut. She practically threw the e-reader to the side, stretching her arms out.

“Come here sexy,” she purred, and her eyes softened as she smiled seductively. I didn’t know my legs could move as fast as they did. Within a second, I was in her arms, kissing her as those soft fingertips caressed my smooth skin.

“You like it now?” I asked, wanting to hear her approval once more.

She pulled back, staring into my eyes for a moment. “I approve. Muuuucchh better than before. You looked like a cave man,” she admitted happily; her hand gliding through my new hairdo.

“A caveman, really? How about Marcus? His hair has grown longer, and he has a beard too.” I couldn’t help but point out Marcus’ new look. His long, brown locks didn’t change too much of his appearance, but the newly grown beard made a dramatic difference. I thought his popularity would have calmed down with the female shifters, but it only escalated.

Whenever he returned from Knightwood after giving the headmaster a report, he’d have a frustrated look on his face, a bunch of confession letters and gifts in his hands. With a loud groan, he’d walk straight to the garbage bin, throwing them all out with not even a pinch of remorse. Our poor dragon knight and his attractiveness.

Mako tilted her head to the side; her plump lips pressed together as she took a moment to think about my protest.

“Marcus looks hot with or without hair,” she replied.

“I don’t look hot with a beard?” I replied, frowning on purpose.

Her eyes widened before; she pressed her hands gently against my cheeks. “Hmm, not like you aren’t attractive...it’s just...uh...well...it doesn’t suit you,” she replied honestly, avoiding my stare.

I laughed at her embarrassment. “Mako, I love your honesty. Don’t feel shy to tell me if I look like shit,” I whispered.

“Okay. Well, if we’re going to be honest then yes, you looked horrible.” She laughed as I shook my head.

My hands slid down to her stomach.

She froze; her jaw dropped as her eyes went wide. “Don’t. You. Dare,” she warned.

I grinned before I began my tickle raid. She shrieked; laughter escaped her as she tried to wiggle away from me in the queen-size bed, which felt small with both of us in it.

“Stop! I surrender. You’re hotter than the sun, hehe, Ryder!” she begged, tears of joy formed in her eyes.

I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her into an embrace. “That sounds better. It’s about time you admit I am the hotter one. The sun can’t even stop my sex appeal,” I boasted.

“Don’t get cocky. Or the sun may get jealous and burn you.” She relaxed in my embrace, reaching out to retrieve her e-reader.

“Hmm, if that’s what you want Princess. The sun should be jealous; I get to hold the universe in my arms while he only gets the sky above. I think I have the better bargain.” I whispered against her flesh before pressing my lips against the sensitive spot on her neck.

She moaned; her back arched slightly as she tilted her head. “When were...you such a romantic? Mhm...stop distracting,” she commanded, but her body froze in place as I continued kissing her.

“Always have been, but I stay true to my statement. The others would agree,” I whispered, tightening my arms around her as I rested my head on her shoulder. Her smell intoxicating.

Even now, her vanilla scent still lingered on my clothes; the scent gave me enough patience to deal with the amount of time wasted with the headmaster.

“Who’s with Mako?” I questioned as we stepped out of the building; the fresh warm air flowed past us as the sun’s bright rays attacked my vision; I lifted my hand to block it out.

“I left her beside the pond. Eli is keeping an eye on her. I don’t think Elias is ready to confront her yet,” Marcus confessed.

I sighed. I couldn’t agree more. It had already been four days, yet the tension between those two hadn’t changed a bit.

When Mako woke up, we all had our moment to hug and kiss her, thanking the Starlight gods she was finally awake and slowly recovering. Elias’ reunion with her was the shortest.

I could feel the multiple emotions going through him as he walked out of her room, frustration written all over his face. I could only imagine how EliaseAnne was feeling. I figured Mako was angry at all of us for keeping the fact that Eli was Elias’ spirit, a secret. I hadn’t even thought to tell her, thinking that Elias would reveal it to her after exams.

Now that she was awake, her sudden change of mood when Elias entered the room, proved us wrong. It didn’t take a person like myself or Daniel, to sense her emotions with our gifts. She was an open book; her face revealed her disappointment and anger.

Even when Mako abruptly decided to go for a walk, her body desperately needed to leave the room. Elias reached out and stopped her; I could see the hurt in her eyes. I knew her well enough at this point to know she wanted space. She’d need time to process everything before listening to their reasons. It was just hard to watch and difficult to ignore the feeling of rejection that slipped through our knight bond.

Myself and Daniel struggled with the multiple emotions lately. My ability or “gift” to feel emotions was the strongest within our bond, versus Daniel’s ability to feel and manipulate one’s emotions at a distance.

With the current situation and our own emotions to deal with, it was a lot of stress to carry and the overstimulation of emotions was getting to us. I was glad that Mako was okay, reducing that particular problem by sixty percent.

“He’s going to have to do it sooner or later. She deserves an apology from both of them. He should get it over with before Mako get—” I wasn’t able to complete my sentence as a wave of worry hit my senses, prompting me to stop in my tracks.

A groan escaped me as I closed my eyes; my heart soared to life as it crashed against my chest.

“Fuck, Ryder you okay?” Marcus questioned; his hands pressed on my shoulders, stabilizing me.

Shit, I need to sit.

As if reading my mind, Marcus tugged me forward, pulling me into the nearest building. Thankfully, this side of the school was quiet throughout the day, giving us an opportunity to be unseen by the multiple students dying to get a glimpse or picture of us.

I managed to make it into the empty class room, the door shut before I leaned against the cold cement wall, trying to catch my breath.

“What the fuck was that? Whoever owns those feelings better dampen them down. Ryder can’t handle it.” Marcus roared through our bond; his anger enough to make me feel even shittier.

“Marcus...not helping,” I complained through our bond, letting out a groan.

I centered my mind, attempted to visualize our bond in our mind. I was in the centre, surrounded by the others. I could imagine their bodies in their designated colours; blue, gold, green, orange. A line from each of them stretched out to me, connecting me to them.

I noticed the green line flickered, the usual straight-line wobbled as it began to change into a dark purple colour; the combined mixture looked a sickly green.

“Elias? What’s wrong?” I questioned. Marcus put my arm over his shoulder, assisting me to the desk. I sat in relief, glad that I could be off my feet.

“Can’t talk right—” he began, but trailed off.

I noticed his colour flickered, descending from sickly green to a bright pink. EliaseAnne...shit, that’s probably not good.

Eli never took over unless she got permission from Elias. The only other reason she would take over is in a protective manner.

“Eli?” Marcus called out, which was greeted by complete silence. I sighed, as their emotions stabilized, giving me a moment of calm.

“I’ll explain later. I need to calm Mako down.” Her usual high, mellow voice was filled with seriousness before she pulled out of the bond.

I had enough energy to open my eyes, lifting them to stare at Marcus who was frowning.

“That doesn’t sound good. You okay? You’re as pale as Mako’s usual complexion,” Marcus pointed out, his arms crossed over his chest.

“I’m fine. Let’s make our way back,” I encouraged, pushing myself off the desk. Before we could head out the room, the door slid open, a pair of orange eyes, framed by black rimmed glasses, locked onto ours.

“I knew I saw you two,” Matthew acknowledged, closing the door behind him before walking towards us. He took one glance at me and frowned. “You’re as pale as a sheet,” he commented.

“Elias. My best guess is he confronted Mako and it didn’t go too well. Eli took over before she pulled herself out of the bond. We’re heading back now,” I explained, trying to compose myself. I still felt unstable on my feet.

Matthew walked towards me, his hand landed on my shoulder, urging me to sit down. I stared at him, frowning in defiance. He raised one of his eyebrows as we continued our staring match. I let out a huff before sitting back down.

“Give yourself a few more minutes. We can’t have you passing out on campus. It would be bad for your image. If your assumption is correct, Kai and Daniel should be somewhere near the house and can assist in de-escalating the situation. They will summon you if they need anything,” Matthew reassured me.

I looked up at the first commander of Heila, a hint of his authoritative nature came through his voice. Not like his powerful aura didn’t make you shiver with concern. He did a fair job hiding it during classes and walking through the halls, but when with us, he couldn’t help but leak small bits of his energy, reminding us of where we stood in our group.

I may have been the leader of our expedition, but he was still our leader and teacher back at Heila, deserving much respect and praise with his position alone.

“While you rest up, I have some news.” He walked towards one of the desks, pulling out a chair and dragging it to place beside the table I was resting on.

He sat down, leaning back as he lifted his right leg to relax on his left. He pulled his black rimmed glasses off his face; his hand roamed through his hair as he sighed.

Marcus and I shared a look. This didn’t look like good news.

“Remember when I told you that I was going to contact a good friend of mine? Well, I explained Mako’s situation to her, especially with the discovery of Midnight,” Matthew began.

We both nodded, urging him to continue his explanation.

“Winterlya is making her way over here as soon as possible. She should be here within a few days,” he admitted. His stern face emphasized the sudden development.

“Winterlya? Please don’t tell me it’s that tall, repulsive woman with the annoying aura.” Stryker’s annoyed voice filled my mind.

I smirked at his comment.

Winterlya was one of the strongest necromancers in all of Heila. Not only did she know practically every spell, she knew about almost every spirit species, traveling across the realms to acquire knowledge and learn from each dimension. She had even gone to Realm One before it perished. She was our teacher throughout our teen cycles, assisting us in learning how to perfect our strengths and abilities.

“Why is she rushing over here? Is something wrong with Mako’s health?” Marcus inquired, unable to hide the worry in his voice.

I was concerned, too. Sure, if she was simply taking her sweet time to get here then I wouldn’t be bothered, but speedy to Winterlya meant four days flat and that was only because she hated using the portal.

“Mako’s faint spells...they’re a problem. Mako shouldn’t be fainting and switching to Midnight like she has been the last three days. Winter and Karen both agree that something was triggered mentally when Mako surpassed her magic limit. They both believe if we don’t do something, the fainting spells are only going to get worse,” Matthew explained.

I clenched my hands, trying to calm myself. Thanks to King Aspen, Mako’s mental stability is unstable. I was concerned about her and Midnight. What could happen if the problem wasn’t fixed?

“How is she going to fix it? Is she going to place a spell on her or something?” Marcus inquired, both of his fists clenched as he gritted his teeth. He was more than a little upset by the news; his emotions of anger flowed through me.

I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to ride the feeling out, not wanting to show how affected I was by it. With Elias’ previous emotional tornado, my ability was in a hypersensitive state.

Marcus must have noticed my struggle, taking a large breath, before sighing; his hands spread out as he wiggled them.

“Sorry, Ryder,” he apologized.

I smiled weakly, nodding in acknowledgment.

“Winter has a theory. After explaining it to myself and Karen, I think she potentially may be right about her hypothesis,” Matthew acknowledged, his face grew grim.

“What’s this theory?” I questioned.

I needed to know if Mako’s life was in danger or if it was something that could be fixed.

“When Nightmare professed Mako’s future, she stated that Mako would carry four spirits, correct?” he questioned. We both nodded. All of Heila knew about the prophecy, the Princess of Heila who would carry four spirits and save the galaxy from darkness, alongside her star knights.

“Mako has explained she has four spirits – Roseline, Hopefilinia, Lilylusha, and Lexinalla. We simply assumed she had fulfilled her requirement, her part of the prophecy in that department. Winter, however, begs to differ,” Matthew concurred. He stood up then paced around the room as he continued on.

“As we’re all aware, Mako dealt with some major problems at the facility; one situation, in particular, was how she acquired her third spirit, Lily. When her best friend was murdered, she released her spirit before her death. Instead of her spirit ascending to Starlight as written in various scriptures, she entered Mako. I can only assume the Starlight gods had allowed such events to occur. However, Winter believes Lily isn’t Mako’s fourth spirit in relation to the prophecy,” he concluded, stopping in his tracks to face us.

I blinked a few times, the words seeped into my brain as I absorbed everything he’d just explained. He doesn’t actually believe...

“If Lily isn’t her designated spirit, then Mako’s going to get one more? But the prophecy stated she would obtain four spirits by adulthood. Mako’s twenty-two cycles, she couldn’t possibly receive one more spirit. Plus, we all know how difficult it is for the brain to carry that many spirits. She already talks out loud as a coping mechanism; I can only imagine what a fifth spirit will do to her,” Marcus lectured; his arms returned to cross over his chest as he continued to control his emotions, being wary of my current state.

“That’s the thing...Mako already has five.”

Silence.

“WHAT!” Marcus and I yelled.

I glanced at Marcus, seeing his body shiver in anger.

“So, I guess what Rose had said was true...” Stryker announced.

True? What the fuck is true? What did Rose say? Stryker, this is kinda a BIG FUCKING DEAL!

“Hmph, no point crying over spilled milk...well, except if you’re Mako...but whatever. Can’t worry about something when you don’t have enough information,” he retorted, leaving my mind.

I huffed, rolling my eyes. Matthew and Marcus glanced my way.

“Stryker has decided to inform me that Rose mentioned something regarding Mako’s spirit problem,” I muttered.

“Don’t tell me that…Midnight—” Marcus began, but trailed off. It was as if the idea was too fantastical to believe.

“Winter believes Midnight is supposedly Mako’s fourth spirit. But, she needs to see it herself. Midnight doesn’t show ANY signs of being a spirit. She’s powerful yes, but that has been due to vigorous training. All spirits when shifting have a distinct characteristic that gives away their spirit’s species. Midnight has yet to show such an appearance,” Matthew revealed.

Marcus’ eyes landed on Matthew before he responded. “Therefore, this can go two ways; Winterlya comes over and finds out her hypothesis is invalid, OR she confirms that Midnight is Mako’s fourth spirit, thus resulting in Mako having a grand total of five. Anything else?”

“There is one more thing,” Matthew confessed.

Marcus groaned; his hand on his face. I bet he’d love to trash something with how rigid he looked.

“What is it, Matthew?” What else could possibly be wrong with our Firefly?

“We’re gonna need Elyion.”

“You mean EliaseAnne,” I argued.

“Nope, I mean Elyion.”

Marcus opened the door, holding it open for me to enter when we were greeted by three loud shifters.

“She broke down and used magic,” Kai stated.

There was a moment of silence between them. I surveyed the room; my eyes landed on a sleeping Makoto, laying on the sofa.

I held the growl that wanted to escape, Stryker’s anger hitting me hard. I think having one unconscious person in the room is plenty. Don’t contribute to the already, troublesome situation.

Stryker pulled back; his anger eased off my mind. Fuck, I need a nap after this.

“Fuck, I don’t know what happened when she was in a coma, but it had a big effect on her emotionally. She blames herself for the scar on my chest and doesn’t want to forgive herself for putting us all in danger. She got mad that I didn’t tell her about Eli, that none of us told her. We basically didn’t trust her, and that simple thought hurt her. She got angry and her magic reacted to her immense desire to shield herself. She summoned a wind funnel, hiding within it to protect herself from everything. Eli shifted to her fairy form to calm her down and apologized. She accepted it and fainted, out of exhaustion.”

I braced myself for the wave of emotions that would hit me, but Marcus moved forward, walking straight to Elias. He placed his hand on his shoulder, causing Elias to lift his head from his hands, meeting his gaze. “We just finished talking with Matthew. You can explain in detail what happened in a moment, but we’re going to need your help,” Marcus announced, catching the other two shifter’s attention.

Elias sat quietly, waiting for Marcus to continue.

“Mako’s faint spells – they aren’t simply because of her body attempting to recover from surpassing her magic limit,” he proposed.

Kai and Daniel both turned to glance his way, confusion morphed onto their faces. I made my way to the black bookshelf, allowing my body to lean against it for support, exhaustion pulled at my consciousness. Just a few more minutes and I’ll be able to rest.

I felt the tension grow as the silence continued.

“You leaning here doesn’t make them feel any better. Just so you know,” Stryker mused before taking his leave.

I didn’t bother replying to him. I merely needed something to support my heavy limbs while we went through this conversation. I wasn’t upset at any of them, especially Elias. I could guarantee he probably felt opposite, but the darker side of me didn’t care.

“If it’s not that, why does she keep switching in and out?” Daniel questioned.

Marcus turned himself to face all of us. I crossed my arms to rest on my chest and gave a stern look as my eyes narrowed, power oozed out of them by accident. The revelation we just learned was enough to make me want to rage out in Mako’s and Midnight’s defense.

Hadn’t they suffered enough?

“Midnight isn’t a split personality: she’s a spirit,” Marcus announced; his words lingered in the air as we stood there in silence.

Fuck it, I can’t deal with this right now.

Of course, I was intrigued to find out that Midnight was a spirit, but that only escalated my worries – the possibility of Makoto’s mental health suffering tremendously as literature predicted. I also worried as to whether Midnight was a gift from the gods or a creation of Aspen’s in an act of revenge.

I pushed myself off the bookshelf, making my way to Mako. I took a moment to stare at her peaceful expression, her paler complexion worrying me. Sleep would do her good. Would do us good, too.

“I need a nap and can’t stand any more emotions for today. I’m gonna go crash. You can go wild once I fall asleep,” I grumbled, starting my stride again before I stopped.

“Oh, and I’m taking Mako,” I stated. I waited for them to voice out their dissatisfaction with my actions, but was greeted with complete silence. I had her in my arms in one smooth swoop, before I made my way to my room.

Once I walked into my paradise, I used my foot to close the door behind me, using a bit too much force, resulting in a loud BAM. Oops

Nightmare was relaxed on the bed; her tails waved back and forth. Her little head lifted up; her mismatch eyes stared at us.

I nodded to her, not having enough energy or patience to smile. I just wanted to close my eyes and allow sleep to whisk me away from this burden. I sometimes questioned why the Starlight gods thought feeling other people’s emotions was a good thing? How was that possibly beneficial? The only thing it seemed to do was drive the user insane.

I’d lost count of how many times I’d broken down from the overload of emotions I experienced from the others, before my own chaotic mess of feelings within me.

I approached the bed, Nightmare jumped up and picked up the e-reader in her mouth, before jumping off the bed.

I gave my thanks, laying Mako down on the farthest side of the bed. She let out a soft moan before her body relaxed. I smiled, kissing her forehead. I’ve fallen so hard for our Princess.

I pulled off the black golf shirt I wore and threw it straight into the laundry bin on the other side, the ball of fabric hit the rim and fell straight into it. I walked towards the drawer, pulled at the top one, multiple pink and white attire greeted me. I smirked, grabbing a dark, magenta shirt.

I made my way back to Makoto, taking a moment to admire her sleeping figure. I noticed the Fairy Queen crop top she wore.

“I can guarantee Elias snuck that into her wardrobe,” Stryker suggested.

I nodded.

I don’t know when it became a habit, but Elias and Eli loved to sneak stuff into our wardrobes, usually putting a glamour spell on the piece of clothing so that the hidden words wouldn’t reveal themselves unless in the sunlight. I guess this time around, he just slipped it into her designated drawer. Knowing Mako, she would wear anything we bought for her, such actions being rewarded with her bright, wide smile as she held the piece of clothing like it was a glass of milk.

I took my time changing her; my eyes attempted to not linger on her exquisite body for too long. It was hard to not get distracted. Her body was perfect, from those amazing curves to the intricate markings across her body.

Within two minutes, she wore the oversized maroon shirt, long enough to cover her round butt. I slipped off my pants, threw them into the laundry bin and slipped between the sheets. I usually slept with shorts when I was with Mako, but I didn’t care at this point. I’d probably wake up in three hours tops.

My hand fell across her waist as I pulled her into a side embrace, wary not to move her too much in the chance of waking her. She rotated in my embrace; her hand slipped to my waist as she relaxed.

“Mine,” she declared in her sleep.

I kissed her on the cheek, before closing my eyes. I took a moment to enjoy Mako’s vanilla scent, the soft, blissful aroma soothed my tense body as I relaxed in bed. My mind began to drift, as I felt the darkness tug at my consciousness. Yes Makoto, I’m yours.

I allowed the darkness to take me away.