"Is the library just especially quiet on Sundays?" I whispered, trying to keep my voice low as we looked through the various books on the bookshelf in front of us.
"Not normally, or at least so the librarian said. Everyone is busy preparing for the trials, so no one is really concerned about studying or researching. If you try and train, however, all the rooms are booked and the fields are full of people exercising and practicing. I don't even know why we’re whispering when I’m pretty sure we're the only ones here," Hunter stated.
I smirked, pulling out a book that caught my eye. It was Sunday and tomorrow would be the first round of trials. All new recruits, regardless of rank, would have to participate in five different trials, either as partners or in groups. Recruits were put into groups of five to seven and one or multiple team members would have to go through these trials. If the designated team members failed, the whole group would be affected and lose points.
If you didn't maintain an eighty percent average, you were kicked out automatically and some trials were more heavily weighted than others. It reminded me of doing different projects and tests in school, with some being worth ten percent while others were worth seventy.
Team Misfit had been assigned together as a group, which I was totally grateful for. I had a suspicion that Magnor or Othello might have had something to do with that, but I wasn't complaining. Our team of uniqueness worked well together and it made me feel more confident knowing I’d be in the trials with my boyfriends.
We'd already heard the rumors of how intense these trials were. They could target any aspect of a person: physically, emotionally, mentally, or even spiritually. That was to put your quick thinking skills to the test, while some trials would put you in situations similar to what a hunter or huntress might experience on duty.
The last three weeks since starting at New Aslan, we'd learned about what was happening beyond the barrier wall. Many dimensions were dealing with an increase in the Forsaken, and had set up barriers to protect the towns and villages within. Even New Aslan had one, and many Forsaken were gathering around the school’s barrier in hopes of getting in and invading the place where hunters and huntresses were trained to get rid of them.
We learned how some Forsaken were much more intelligent than the others, some not losing their knowledge or memories from when they used to be human or shifter. It was a hard topic to discuss, to acknowledge that many Forsaken weren't just created from darkness, but had been people like us who didn't have enough strength to fight. Instead, they succumbed to the dark pull and now lived as one with the darkness, fated to be killed by one of us.
I wouldn't deny a hint of worry ran through me as we talked about being tainted and the signs and symptoms to watch for. I paid close attention to the topic and though Ms. Arcadia reassured us that becoming tainted was a fast process, taking only a few hours, or sometimes just minutes for a shifter or human to be taken over and turned into a Forsaken, I still wasn't convinced.
I'd been going for check-ups regularly, and aside from my grogginess in the mornings, everything seemed to be normal. The necklace was doing wonders at preventing whatever nightmares I had been having before and I made sure to wear it everywhere, just in case I happened to fall asleep.
During our Friday night class, we'd talked about people who had revolted against hunters and huntresses. There was an organization called Alpha Pure, a group of shifters who had abandoned the hunter and huntress life to fight Forsaken in their own way.
They didn't believe we had to kill the Forsaken if we could somehow figure out a way to heal those who still had their consciousness intact. It was an intriguing idea to learn about since I'd never heard of the group before, even back in Versa. Apparently, they roamed outside of the protective walls, risking their lives in order to prove if their theory was true.
Ms. Arcadia had explained that some members of Alpha Pure were good while others were bad, kidnapping those who accidentally wandered out of the barrier walls and using them for their own experimentation, claiming if they hadn’t saved them, they would have simply been consumed by the darkness, only adding to their growing numbers.
I was confused by their reasoning, seeing no benefit in either situation, but it was something that I didn't need to concern myself with. We had no business outside the walls of New Aslan and had been reassured we'd never have to go beyond the walls until later in our careers as hunters and huntresses, after we’d gained more experience.
Hunter and I decided to have a little date in the library, after realizing all the guys were napping. Finn and Orion had been studying in the living room when they fell asleep and Caio and Cairus had been sunbathing in their tiger forms while Theo was reading a book. I'd woken up only because Hunter wanted me to eat, and discovered them all to be fast asleep. Hunter said we should take advantage of it and voila, the library was the chosen date destination.
We could have gone exploring or headed down to the town near the school grounds, but I wanted to check the library to find out more about my race. I'd hoped after finding out about New Aslan, I'd be able to find more information about unicorn shifters. I'd tried multiple times during the last three weeks to get another chance to see Father, but he'd been super busy, and Magnor had been in and out of New Aslan on business trips and traveling to other dimensions, which was part of his normal routine.
I was fine with Magnor being busy and not having the time to discuss my concerns, but Father did say he'd try to make things work out, and I was a little disappointed in the results of that at the moment. I couldn't be too harsh because with these trials about to happen, the school seemed to be super busy and a little chaotic at many times of the day. As headmaster, he must have been working nonstop to make sure things went smoothly, just as any leader would have to do in his position. I just wished he could take even five minutes to talk with me, instead of telling his secretary to pass along the message he was busy with tasks A, B, and C.
I'd told the guys about my little dilemma and they encouraged me to check out the library. I suppose when you couldn’t get the answers you were looking for, you just had to find them yourself.
"I'm curious, is Sia hiding or something?" Hunter asked as he pulled out an old book that looked like it would turn to ash if he so much as opened it.
"Hmm? Sia hiding? What do you mean?" I questioned, uncertain what he was referring to.
"She just hasn't come out a lot lately. Maybe two or three times in the last three weeks, so I was just wondering if she just didn't like it here or something," Hunter explained.
"Really? Um...I don't know. She kind of does her own thing. Maybe she feels a little homesick or doesn't like how small our backyard is compared to the dorm in Old Aslan?" I suggested.
Sia loved training in the forest, but our new dorm was rather boxed in. Sure, it was even bigger than the dorm in Old Aslan, giving us a really luxurious living space, but the backyard was rather small in my opinion and didn't give you a lot of space to train outdoors unless you wanted to risk damaging another dorm's property.
We had three floors to ourselves like in the previous dorm but everything was more open and the training floor was massive. It even had a Forsaken simulation game where you could practice defeating them in preparation for the trials.
Either way, I did worry about Sia’s absence. "Maybe if you or the others see her next time you could ask? I honestly have no clue," I confessed with a sad expression.
"Hmm. Aren't you able to do that rewind thing?" he asked.
"Rewind thing?" I repeated, not following his question.
"Sia once said that she can do a quick rewind and view what happened while you were in control," Hunter elaborated.
"Oh. Ah...to be honest, I feel that only works for her. I used to be able to do it when we were younger and sometimes I still can if I try really hard, but it’s kinda like I have a block or something and can't manage to do it properly. I've asked Magnor about it and he wasn't sure what may have caused it. There are so few people with DEM that live as long as I have or have been documented as having it. I don't get why there's so little research on the matter, but there’s nothing I can do about that. I don't really mind since Sia does her own thing and that's something I respect. She doesn't check on what I do when she's asleep unless it deals with a battle or her needing the information from my previous conversation in order to confront someone," I explained.
"I guess that makes sense. I am curious why there's not a lot of research into DEM. Maybe people who experience it don't like talking about it or forget?" Hunter suggested.
"Hm...maybe? I think I read memory loss was a side effect, but I'm not 100% sure. It's been years since I last looked into it. Maybe after I find more about unicorn shifters, that will be the next topic I research." As I spoke, I put the book in my hand back on the shelf.
"I'll help," Hunter reassured me.
I smiled in appreciation. "Thanks, Hunter."
"Anything for you,” he whispered, putting the ancient text he was looking at back in its spot and moving past me to check the next row of books. I watched him quietly, my eyes appreciating his long brown hair that was currently braided back after he'd apparently lost a bet with Finn; the result was Orion braiding his hair, which I could only imagine had been a funny moment. I wished I'd gotten to see it; I’d have to ask Caio if he'd caught it on camera.
We continued our search and I sighed when I still couldn't find anything after the fiftieth book, returning it to the shelf with a frown. It made me feel so helpless in my quest to find more about my shifter race.
With Father being a centaur and Mother a powerful magician, they didn't have any background knowledge regarding unicorns. I didn't think so at least, but couldn’t ask since Father was currently busy and there was no way for me to get a hold of Mother at this point.
Maybe when I finally got a chance to confront Father, I'd ask about Mother and maybe get a chance to write a letter to her. Heck, I'd be thrilled to hear her voice. I tried not to let my mind linger on the subject, but with everything that was going on, it really hit me how much I missed her.
I sighed for the tenth time, closing my eyes and resting my forehead on the shelf of books, wishing I could find something, anything.
Were there really no other unicorn shifters left? Out of the many dimensions out there, was I really the only one? Orion did say there were very few alicorns left, the remaining ones choosing to hide their existence to avoid being hunted, but alicorns were their own branch of mythical creature and probably wouldn't give me the answers I so desperately searched for. Would I really never figure out what I'm truly capable of?
Arms slid around my waist and my back pressed against someone's chest. I immediately knew it was Hunter so I didn't even open my eyes, my body melting into his hold.
"What's wrong, Celestia?" His sincere tone made me lift my head and look up into his dark orange eyes.
"What if I'm truly the last unicorn in this dimension...or all dimensions? What if we can't find anything about unicorns here? How will I find out what I'm able to accomplish? I'm still so clueless about my abilities. Aside from sleeping glitter, healing powers, and strong magic capabilities, I don't know what else I can do. I've been trained by Magnor to utilize many of the physical combat and magical spells, which I can cast with ease, but I don't know any other unicorn specific skills that can help me grow stronger," I vented.
Hunter listened quietly, his eyes never leaving mine as I continued. "I feel like I'm at a standstill, Hunter. There's just so much going on, and with the trials starting tomorrow, I don't want to be a hindrance. I want to be able to protect and fight alongside you guys, but I feel I may not be enough. Every other shifter race has rows or even whole libraries dedicated to their kind. I have nothing. I can't even find a damn book and we've spent two hours here. I just...I'm scared I'll never know who I really am? What I can possibly accomplish and achieve?"
We stared in silence and he closed his eyes for a moment. "I understand. You want to be able to find out what your true potential is so you can perfect it. You yearn to avoid the mistakes past unicorn shifters have made and want to find out how you can contribute and add your unique abilities to the table while we walk this path of becoming people who can contribute to change, just like other special mythological creatures. I get it,” he whispered.
He took a calming breath and continued. "Don’t lose hope, thinking we won’t find anything, Celestia. This isn't the only library that holds books on shifters. We may not find much or anything here, but that doesn't mean no other dimension will hold information about unicorns. Orion seems to be knowledgeable, but he’s still slowly learning to trust us. Maybe eventually he’ll be able to assist you as well. All of us are willing to help you find the information you need to give you that peace of mind. So don't worry about it. Working by yourself to find answers is hard, but if we work together and don’t give up, I think we can discover exactly what you want to know and more." Hunter’s lips lifted into a smile as his eyes glittered with hope.
I slowly smiled back, knowing he meant every word and would help me, as would the others. It was another reminder that I wasn't alone anymore. I didn't have to hold everything on my shoulders and figure things out on my own. I had people who loved and cared about my wellbeing, and if I was struggling with something, I just had to reach out and ask for assistance. Knowing that option was there really helped calm my growing anxiety, replacing that feeling with happiness for having met these wonderful men.
"Okay. I'll lean on you guys when I need help. Thank you, Hunter. I really mean it." He always gave the best talks.
"I'm always here for you, Cutie Pie,” he whispered. I glanced at his lips, wondering if it would be wrong to kiss in the library. As long as we're quiet, it shouldn't be against the rules...I think.
Hunter must have read my mind, because he lowered his head until his lips met mine. I kissed him back, closing my eyes and enjoying how his lips dominated mine and the taste of him when he slipped his tongue into my mouth.
He moaned while his hand slid down to hold my thighs, lifting my skirt slightly so his hand could rest against my flesh. I moaned as anticipation thrummed through me, wondering if we'd do more than just kissing in this heated moment.
The sound of heels clicking on the wooden floor caught my attention. I wanted to moan in frustration as Hunter broke the kiss, removing his hands from where they were. We both moved slightly apart. Hunter quickly grabbed a random book from the shelf while I placed my hand on one of the spines of the books, making it seem like I was interested in the ancient text about phoenix shifters.
"Everything okay over here?" the librarian called out from the entrance of the aisle.
“We're fine. Thank you," Hunter replied, pretending to look through the book in his hand. I was impressed that his voice was normal, since I was desperately working to steady my breathing.
I took a quick peek and saw the librarian eye us suspiciously, but after a few seconds she shrugged, turning around and heading back the way she came, the sound of her heels fading away. I sighed. "That was close."
"Living on the edge." Hunter chuckled, closing the book he held and sliding it back into its slot. I grinned, then my gaze locked on the book my finger was currently on. "LEGENDS OF MYTHOLOGICAL CREATURES" was written in gold on the red spine of the book, which looked rather thin to be a collection of legends. I pulled it out, looking at the cover with different shifters on it.
Pixie, tiger, phoenix...wow there's even a bat shifter. This really reminds me of our group. I noticed the pegasus on the top right corner and a unicorn on the left. The sight of the two gave me a glimpse of hope that I might find something about unicorns in this book, even if it was merely a legend.
The current information about unicorns was all over the place, most shifters generalizing us as innocent, harmless creatures who sparkled glitter and would be more likely to end world hunger than to kill a living being or creature. Basically bullshit.
I opened it up, scanning the contents and noticing a legend about phoenix shifters. I didn't spend too much time reading it, but it did remind me and make me wonder why I hadn’t seen Hunter shift yet.
Finn said pixie shifters rarely shifted because being small wasn’t always an advantage and was really energy taxing. His magic was more than enough to prove his worth, though. If he needed to find something precious, pixies were perfect for locating anything lost or otherwise missing.
Theo said he could change to a bat, but felt he could do more damage as a human. I'd already seen Caio and Cairus in their tiger forms plenty of times, and I knew they didn't mind shifting back and forth.
Orion and I didn't like to shift, ‘cause it was too magic draining and frankly neither of us saw the point walking around the house all majestic if we weren't going to be fighting someone or something. Also, we still wanted to keep Orion's alicorn status on the down low.
"Hunter, do you not like shifting?" I asked. Maybe he didn't like burning stuff, but with a phoenix shifter’s ability to make their flames harmless, I really doubted that was the issue.
He was silent for a long time before he answered. "Reminds me of my brother when I shift. There aren’t many phoenix shifters left and our breed is the type to rely on bonding with other phoenixes. When my brother was alive, we spent a lot of time exploring and working to strengthen our flame, but when he died...I just couldn't keep up the routine we once had. Every time I shifted and entered the sky, the memories would flood my mind, making me realize that he wasn’t coming back. It's funny how they talk about phoenixes rising from the ashes, yet my brother couldn't even do that because there were no ashes left."
"Why...not?" I asked, struggling not to cry at the pain in Hunter’s voice. It was still hard for him to talk about his brother and my heart ached for him.
"When there's a high risk of you becoming a Forsaken after an attack, they...have no choice but to kill you...they take the body after you've said your goodbyes,” he revealed.
"And do what?" I questioned, a spike of anger going through me at his words.
"I don't know. Dispose of the body in their own way. We don't get anything. No urn with their ashes or anything. The expenses of their burial are covered by the Council of the area they died in. Phoenixes have the chance to resurrect like the legends say, but it’s a pretty rare thing. Regardless, it's still a chance the Council isn't willing to take." Hunter turned his head to meet my gaze.
He frowned, taking two steps forward to stand before me. He raised his hand to wipe my cheek. I blinked, not having realized I was crying.
"Hey now. Don't cry,” he whispered, giving me a sympathetic look before wrapping his arms around me.
"I...but that's so sad and infuriating. How does a family get closure that way? I know well enough that phoenix shifters are one of the races who take death the hardest because of how bonded your race is with one another. How can they take that right away from you?" I cried.
I'd done years of research on phoenix and harpy shifters on Arielle's behalf, wanting to make sure I could be the best Mistress for her and attend to all her needs she wouldn't otherwise receive because of her being abandoned. Their race took death the hardest out of all the shifters, dealing with lots of mental issues that came with losing a loved one, which made it hard for them to open up and trust people again. It was worse when multiple casualties occured in a phoenix's family or group. Some legends say a phoenix could even feel when one of their own passed on, sensing their flame burning out.
"I agree with you. Maybe one day the Council will realize that, or better yet, maybe there will be no more Forsaken. At least everyone would get the opportunity to bury their loved ones or keep their remains. All we can do now is accept that this is the way life is," Hunter whispered, tightening his hold on me and placing a soft kiss on my neck.
I nodded into his shoulder, knowing he was right and that there was nothing I could do to change what had already happened. All I could do was to help support Hunter any way I could, and hopefully one day he'd be able to shift without reliving the loss of his brother.
We separated and Hunter gave me a slow, tender kiss. Then we returned to looking through the book I had found. We found a small section on unicorns, but there was nothing detailed about my race other than some old legend.
"This sounds familiar," Hunter whispered, reaching out to stop me from turning the page.
"Huh? This one?" I looked down at the legend he was pointing to.
He nodded. "It's about three people who were best friends." He plucked the book out of my hand, making sure he didn't lose the page and slipped his free hand in mine. We moved down the aisle where there was a bench. He sat down and slipped his hand from my grasp to pat at his lap.
I grinned, not hesitating to sit on his lap and got comfortable as he positioned the book so we could both view it. "There were three friends. Two guys and one girl. The first guy was an amazing leader and very kind. He brought light and good fortune to people’s lives . The second guy was also an amazing leader. He had the brains and the looks, but he didn't like to share or do things for people unless it benefited him. Whenever he did do something, it ended up going sour in the end," Hunter explained.
"So like good and bad?" I clarified.
Hunter nodded. "Something like that. Kinda the impression I got when I heard the story when I was younger." He turned to the next page.
There was an image of the three of them, but the girl caught my attention. "Wow. She's beautiful."
Hunter chuckled. "You're better but yes." I giggled at his compliment.
"She was the town's beauty and was just perfect. Everyone loved her, both young and old, and her beauty alone could move mountains. She was powerful too and always wanted the best for everyone,” he continued, turning the page. I frowned, looking at the revealed image; black clouds and things that looked like tendrils seemed to dance around the woman.
"Both guys loved the girl and wanted to marry her. Though the girl loved both men, the first was her true love and she ended up marrying him without telling the second guy."
"She didn't tell him? But....but he was her best friend too! You weren't allowed to marry two people back then?" I questioned appalled by her actions.
Hunter snickered, so close to losing himself to laughter. "No, Cutie Pie. In this story, she could only choose one."
"That's silly. Why choose?" I mumbled.
He grinned, kissing my cheek. "I agree with you. But she didn't tell him because she knew he would be disappointed and potentially hate her. She didn't want that,” he revealed.
"My ass would have hated you more for not telling me. No faith in him," I commented.
At that, Hunter really laughed. "Sadly, not everyone is like you, Cutie Pie."
"True," I conceded, allowing Hunter to continue.
"The second guy was enraged that she'd chosen the other man without telling him. People mocked him, saying that he would always be second best. It didn't matter if he had leadership qualities, or worked twice as hard, the first guy would be favored because he was the light and now with a queen who was just as kind as him and was loved by many. It was the perfect match for the land, leaving no room for someone like the second guy. He tried to ignore the reality presented to him and years passed. Before long, he realized that everyone was right. He was also very lonely with nobody to love and not a single friend to give him comfort."
I frowned as my shoulders sank, feeling bad for the poor guy. "He must have been so lonely with no one to talk to," I whispered.
"Yeah. That's why he decided he didn't want to be alone anymore. That's when the darkness came in. He found that the darkness could be used as power and offered his soul in exchange. His goal was to take the woman he loved away from the first guy, but he couldn't during the day because he was a being of the light," Hunter explained.
I felt I'd heard this story before, but I couldn't put my finger on when or the details. "So instead of striking during the day, the second guy evaded the woman's dreams at night. He weakened her night by night, until she sadly died. The sadness of the land and its people mourning her only made the second guy stronger. He took advantage of his increase in power by taking the woman's soul and keeping it for his own. That's basically where the term reaper is derived from. A man who comes and takes our souls when we pass,” he concluded.
"Wait...this sounds different from what I've heard." I defended. Now that he was explaining this part of the story, it was triggering some type of memory, but I didn't know where it was from or why this story felt so familiar.
"The original legend is this one. It's been changed and altered over time. Some say the girl originally married the second guy and divorced him for the first guy. It's been changed and altered because some people felt it was too sad to be made into a fairy tale. So they changed it up. The fairy tale is called the Unicorn Queen because they believed these three were unicorn shifters. I don't know what type, but some said the second guy was a dark unicorn. Some call them Dark Riders or Dark Wings."
"Dark Riders...never heard of them," I admitted, curious to know more about them, but knew I wouldn't find any information about them now. Hunter closed the book and I was about to stand up, but his arm circled around my waist, preventing me from moving. I turned my head to face him and he lifted his hand to stroke my hair.
"We'll find more about them and unicorns in general. All I know from my childhood when I was curious about this legend is there are good unicorns and bad ones. Some don't mean to be bad, but are tainted, kinda like how Forsaken taint people and consume them, making them into their own? That's the idea I always had about it all, but once we finish the trials, maybe we can start looking elsewhere to find more information," Hunter offered.
I nodded in agreement and tilted my head to receive one last kiss from Hunter before we went back to the dorms, ready to prepare for the trails to come.