Ch 9: The First Guardian
982 Words
For the first time since meeting him, Dante Vale had no answer.
The silence itself became an answer.
Mira watched him carefully from across the private jet cabin. Rain continued streaking across the
windows while lightning flashed beyond the clouds, illuminating his face in brief silver bursts.
"Who were you to her?"
A simple question.
Yet it had affected him more than any monster or battle.
Dante looked away.
That alone told her everything.
"You loved her."
The words escaped before she could stop them.
The cabin fell silent.
Neither of them moved.
Neither looked away.
For several long seconds, only the sound of the engines filled the space between them.
Then Dante smiled.
A sad smile.
The kind people wore when remembering something beautiful that had already been lost.
"Yes."
The honesty surprised her.
No excuses.
No denial.
No attempt to avoid the truth.
Just one word.
Yes.
Something twisted inside Mira's chest.
An emotion she couldn't identify.
It wasn't sadness.
It wasn't anger.
Yet it hurt.
And she hated that it hurt.
Because the woman Dante loved wasn't her.
It was Nysera.
The queen.
The goddess.
The woman from another lifetime.
Not Mira Ashford.
Not the girl who worked a normal job and spent her weekends watching movies.
Dante loved someone else.
The realization felt strangely disappointing.
She immediately hated herself for thinking that.
The jet suddenly shook.
A warning alarm sounded.
Both of them looked toward the cockpit.
The cabin lights flickered.
Dante's expression instantly hardened.
"What happened?"
A voice answered through the intercom.
"Sir, we have company."
The pilot sounded nervous.
Very nervous.
Dante was already standing.
Mira followed.
"What kind of company?"
Before anyone could answer, the clouds outside exploded.
A massive black shape appeared beside the aircraft.
The entire jet trembled.
Mira gasped.
One of the Hunters.
Except this one was enormous.
Its dark wings stretched across the storm.
Crimson eyes burned through the darkness.
The creature slammed a claw against the side of the plane.
Metal groaned.
The jet tilted violently.
Mira nearly lost her balance.
"Dante!"
"I know."
The aircraft dropped several hundred feet.
Oxygen masks deployed from the ceiling.
Warning sirens screamed.
The pilot cursed loudly through the speakers.
"WE ARE LOSING ALTITUDE!"
The Hunter attacked again.
This time its claws ripped directly through the wing.
An explosion erupted outside.
Fire illuminated the storm.
Mira's heart nearly stopped.
"We're crashing!"
Dante grabbed her wrist.
"No."
"No?"
The aircraft shook violently.
"Absolutely yes!"
To her frustration, Dante remained annoyingly calm.
"We're changing transportation."
"What does that even mean?!"
A sudden burst of golden light appeared outside the window.
The Hunter froze.
Its crimson eyes widened.
Fear flashed across its face.
Then the storm split apart.
A figure descended from the heavens.
Golden wings.
Brilliant armor.
A sword made entirely of sunlight.
The newcomer struck the Hunter with unbelievable force.
The monster crashed backward through the clouds.
The jet stabilized.
Silence filled the cabin.
Mira stared through the window.
The winged warrior hovered outside.
Radiant.
Magnificent.
Impossible.
His golden wings stretched nearly twenty feet across.
Golden hair danced in the storm.
A glowing sword rested casually in his hand.
And despite looking like an angel straight out of mythology...
He was smiling.
Actually smiling.
As though battling supernatural monsters in the middle of a storm was perfectly normal.
The stranger noticed Mira staring.
Then he winked.
Mira blinked.
"What."
The warrior grinned.
Then he disappeared.
A second later the cabin door opened.
The same winged man walked inside carrying a bag of chips.
Mira stared.
The bag of chips somehow made the situation even more confusing.
The stranger looked around.
"Nice plane."
Dante looked completely unimpressed.
"You're late."
"I was saving civilization."
"You were eating."
The newcomer looked offended.
"I can do both."
Mira stared between them.
The winged stranger finally noticed her.
His smile slowly faded.
The bag of chips slipped from his fingers.
For the first time, genuine emotion appeared on his face.
Shock.
Disbelief.
Hope.
His golden eyes filled with tears.
The room became silent.
The stranger took one hesitant step forward.
Then another.
As though afraid she might disappear.
"Dante..."
His voice shook.
Dante didn't answer.
The stranger's eyes never left Mira.
A thousand emotions crossed his face.
A thousand years of emotions.
And suddenly Mira understood.
He knew her.
Not Mira.
The other her.
Nysera.
The realization made her stomach tighten.
The winged warrior slowly lowered himself to one knee.
Then both knees.
His head bowed.
A gesture of complete loyalty.
Complete devotion.
The cabin fell silent.
Even Dante looked away.
As though the moment was too personal to witness.
The stranger's voice trembled.
"My Queen."
Mira froze.
No.
Not again.
Not that title.
Not that impossible title.
The winged warrior lifted his head.
Tears shimmered in his eyes.
Yet he was smiling.
A broken smile.
A relieved smile.
The smile of someone who had spent centuries searching for a miracle.
And finally found it.
"You came back."
The words shattered something inside her.
Because the happiness in his voice was real.
Too real.
No one could fake that kind of emotion.
No one could fake a thousand years of waiting.
Mira looked toward Dante.
Silently asking for help.
Silently asking for an explanation.
Dante sighed.
Then he finally spoke.
"Mira."
She swallowed.
"What?"
The silver-eyed billionaire looked at the kneeling warrior.
Then back at her.
"This is Lucian Aurelius."
The golden-winged man smiled.
"The first of the Seven Guardians."
Lightning exploded outside.
The storm roared.
And deep beneath Mira's feet...
One of her seven shadows moved.
On its own.
The entire cabin suddenly grew cold.
Lucian's smile vanished.
Dante's eyes narrowed.
Both immortals turned toward the floor.
Toward the shadow.
Toward something awakening within it.
Something ancient.
Something powerful.
Something that had been sleeping for a thousand years.
And something that had just opened its eyes........
to be continued.......
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