Daughter of the Sky, Son of the Earth

Chapter Twenty-Six

Wind

I had to admit, the boy was cute. When my father told me there would be other Elementals there to help me, I expected to see some scrawny, sheepish children by my side who followed my every order. But no, Andrew wasn't like that. Not at all.

From the stealth way he moved it was obvious he was a trained fighter. He had a serious look on his face that made me wonder what he was thinking, the mystery that surrounded him was something I had never encountered. 

But he did seem genuinely worried about me. How sweet. But I was fine, and I would be fine. I was Zeus’ daughter. I had been preparing for this moment my whole life. I wasn’t scared of what was to come or the pain that I had been warned I would feel.

I was excited. I wanted to see what my full powers could do.

But there was still a nagging feeling at the back of my mind. Well, two.

The first one was related to James, or rather, Argus. He had talked so confidently about my parents, and I could hear the pure loath and hatred he had for the King of Gods. Were there other monsters that hated him as much as Argus had? And if so, why? My father was just and honest, nothing about him was dark.

Which brought me to my next worry. I didn’t know what I had acceded to when I had agreed to let the darkness inside of me roam freely. I could feel her lying dormant in my mind, what I didn’t know was how long that was going to last. And once she woke up, what would happen? I wasn’t sure I wanted to find out.

I had never been a goody-two-shoes. I had my rebellious stages, and I sure gave my parents hell for it, but I had calmed down and become more focused. I knew what I wanted, and I was confident about who I was. But I had a feeling the darkness wasn’t going to stay put, she was going to come out sooner or later and I would have to try and ease her into this world.

It felt weird. As if I had another person living inside of me with me knowing about her.

Shaking my head, I finished combing my hair before pulling it back into a soft ponytail and heading towards my bed. I had already changed into my pajamas, and I felt exhausted after all that had happened today.

The places where the blade had pierced my skin were still a bit sore and tender, and the white scars were beginning to vanish.

I got under the blankets and pulled them tightly around me before moving to my side and closing my eyes. I let out a deep breath as I let the quiet of the night echo in my mind.

…

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed the next time I woke up. It wasn’t like I had been planning on waking up, but I couldn’t help it. The pain in my chest made me wince and cough as I tried to reach for the lamp on my night table.

My jaw was clenched tightly together, and my breathing had turned ragged as the lamp illuminated the room. I had to remind myself that I no longer had a roommate and that was why I was alone. Cold sweat ran down my forehead as I tried to calm my racing heart when the pain in my chest subsided.

That was weird. I thought to myself as the pain became a throbbing sensation that was easy to tolerate. I could not believe I had started to hallucinate. That was unexpected and scary.  

I let a couple more moments pass before I sighed and closed my eyes. Slowly, I let my body fall back on the bed as I tried to make myself comfortable. My body was almost completely relaxed when another wave of pain coursed throughout my chest, and this time, it moved all the way to my toes.

Inhaling sharply, my arms instantly hugged me tightly as I let out a gasp. My stomach felt as if someone had punched me there and left me out of breath.

I knew what was happening. It was the transition process.

Closing my eyes, I tried to calm my breathing and my nerves. I had a feeling this wasn’t going to be as I initially expected.

My breath hitched in my throat when I felt my lungs start to burn from the inside. I coughed and coughed, every time sounding hoarser and drier. As my chest tightened, my muscles began to scream out in pain as they contracted, and I had more trouble moving.

After that, my eyes began to sting before they started to water. I had to blink the tears away to analyze my body and see what else was wrong. Outside, I could not see any sign of wounds or bruises which made me feel a bit better.

The pain eased again, and I was able to gasp for breath and look at my surroundings. The room seemed darker now and much colder. I shivered but let out a sigh of relief as I moved on my bed and tried to sit up.

After a couple of moments, my back was resting on the headboard, and I was looking at the other side of the room. It was dark and I didn’t know what I was looking for, my eyes were just glued to the other side.

Slowly, a shadow began to take form and I was suddenly seeing a big creature in front of me. The creature had the body of a man, but it was anything but. Where the head of a man was supposed to be, was the head of a bull. Its sharp horns shone under the dim light that streamed in from the window and its red eyes looked at me with so much anger and loath.

My eyes widened and I tried to get out of bed quickly when another wave of pain ran down my spine and I stumbled and fell on the floor. I winced as my hand took most of the fall and it began to throb.

The beast’s huff caught my attention and I quickly turned to look at it and noticed that he didn’t have feet. Instead, big, black hooves were popping out from the clothing he was wearing. And in his hands, he had a long, fire-covered whip.

I tried to call for help but my voice got stuck in my throat and the creature stepped closer. I tried to move but my body protested as bolts of pain hit me from every part of my body, making me gasp.

When I knew it was too late to do much of anything, I curled into a ball and covered my head as I felt the ground vibrate underneath my body as the creature moved closer. Closing my eyes, I tried to reach for my father, but I could not think clearly to reach him.

I’m sorry. I whispered in my mind as I waited for the inevitable to come.

But nothing happened.

I was still curled into a ball on the ground, but the ground had stopped vibrating. Slowly, I looked up in front of me and my eyes widened even more when I realized the creature that had been in my room was no longer standing in front of me.

With a pounding heart, I looked at my surroundings and realized I was alone in my room.

What the hell had happened? I thought to myself as I winced when I sat up.

The room was quiet and just like it had been before I ended up on the ground.

Using all the strength I could muster, I pulled myself back up onto the bed. I had to clench my jaw tightly together to keep from crying out and causing a disturbance in the other rooms. I was sure that if anyone heard me scream, I would be the talk of tomorrow and the medical staff would call my human father and he would make a big fuzz and have me transferred to the nearest hospital.

Yes, he knew I was going to go through a process like this once I turned seventeen and Zeus had reassured him and my mother that I would be fine. But that didn’t mean they wouldn’t worry about me. I was their only daughter, after all.

They had tried to have children before me but after four natural abortions, my parents gave up and it wasn’t until Zeus offered them the opportunity to raise me that they took me in. To say that they had raised me to be a spoiled child was an understatement. I could not think of a time my parents hadn’t given me something that I wanted as a child.

But as I grew up and gained more maturity, they became stricter and more serious, and I was able to take on different responsibilities that I wouldn’t have if I had continued on that path of getting everything I asked for.

 Another wave of pain made me jump out of my thoughts and I leaned forward with my hands on my abdomen as I felt breathless and weak at the same time. Sweat covered me and I took in deep breaths to calm my racing heart that had quickened as soon as the bolts of pain crashed against every part of my body.

Outside of my window, I could hear the sound of branches hitting against my window as the wind moved them vigorously. My eyes widened as they stayed fixed on the tree outside that was moving back and forth, its leaves were breaking off as the breeze took them away.

Under normal circumstances, this would be the part when I’d fear there was a tornado brewing nearby. The sound of the howling wind echoed in my ears, leaving a ringing sound in its path. I winced and quickly covered my ears and shook my head. I wanted it to stop.

But the wind outside kept on howling, each time faster and stronger and the trees moved dangerously. I feared the tree outside my window would break and tumble into my room.

Just like I feared, the tornado alarm began to go off and, distantly, I began to hear the hallway fill with murmurs of concern and fear.

Lights appeared outside of my room as everyone hurried to the nearest shelter. The staff was giving out orders outside, but their voices became dimmer as they moved away.

I stayed rooted to the spot as more shocks of pain coursed through me. I could not breathe. It was hard to even stay conscious.

My lungs felt as if they were being filled with hot air that burned through them and through my chest. My heart was thumping painfully in my chest and tears streamed down my face as I begged the pain to stop.

As if hearing my pleas, the pain stopped, and I was able to breathe again. I closed my eyes as my body trembled uncontrollably. Taking in deep breaths, I intertwined my fingers and placed them on my lap. But it was just the sweet silence before the storm.

Without a warning, a wave of jolts and pain crashed through me, and I couldn’t even gasp. My eyes opened wide as tears streamed freely down my face. The wind outside picked up as I heard the sound of branches breaking and swirling outside.

My lungs seemed to be on the verge of exploding and I felt as if my limbs were being ripped apart from a strong pressure coming from inside me. I was suddenly raised from my bed as I floated in midair with my mouth open wide.

My arms and legs were outstretched around me, and I felt my vision darken as the pressure got stronger. My thumping heart echoed in my ears and suddenly, I could no longer feel, see or hear anything. It was as if I was in a dark abyss with nothing around me but more darkness and silence.

After that, I could not remember what else had happened with all clarity. All I knew for sure was that the pain seemed to extend for hours and it wasn’t until I passed out that I felt relieve take over me.