The Unveiling

Chapter Five

The following morning I was dressed in my turquoise sports bra and matching gym leggings. Even beneath my large hoodie it was damn freezing. I stood on my front step in the hazy darkness and bounced from foot to foot to warm up. Sunrise was due to start in another five minutes and I didn't want to piss this Chase guy off. It was one thing pushing the government's boundaries, and another thing entirely to push the boundaries of a full blooded Fae male from another realm.

As the morning light slowly cast shadows on my street, making everything somewhat visible, I spotted him standing across the road staring at me. I wondered if he had been there the whole time, shielded by the darkness or if he simply winked into existence, right across my doorstep.  

He motioned for me to follow him as he turned and walked down the street. Hurrying forward, I walked two steps behind him taking in his broad shoulders. Today he was in the same leather uniform, and I wondered if all Fae wore them, or just him. He walked at brisk pace, as if simply being here, within this realm, was an annoyance. 

"Well that wasn't predictable at all," I muttered as he led us to the park. 

He turned around so swiftly that I almost walked into him, his eyes narrowed in annoyance, "I don't see an abundance of options, do you?" He hissed. 

I should have been scared. I should have been meek and mild and all things inbetween. I should have run away. Instead, I squared my shoulders and looked him in his grey-silver eyes and said, "I thought you could produce more options." 

His nostrils flared as he tried to hide his surprise. 

"Today, this is the option," he emphasized. 

There was no kindness in his voice. No softness. No understanding. Only unyielding stubbornness expressed through the hard planes of his face. 

"We will train all three of your gifts," he said, with an arrogance and demeanor that saw my hackles rising, and underlined that it wasn’t open for discussion. 

"What?" I spat out. 

"What is it that you're not understanding Reya," he spat my name out, as if it burnt his tongue. 

"How do you even know that I have three gifts?" I demanded. 

"Your body is your first gift," he spoke matter-of-factly, but his eyes roamed, scanning me from my trainers, lingering on my waist and chest, and finally settling back on my face, his eyes meeting mine with a knowing smirk as I blushed. 

It annoyed me that I blushed. I wasn't the typical blushing type. Usually I was simply one of the guys. Sure, I'd had a few rolls in the hay with one of Shay's friends called Thom, but it wasn't serious, and certainly not something to gush about. You see, when girls spoke of their toe-curling experiences, and the guys boasted about their skills, I somehow felt lacking - simply because I had never experienced it. I wondered briefly if the religious fanatics of the past were right, and that due to my angelic bloodline I would never find pleasure in the bedroom, unless I was meek, mild and shackled to some man. 

"My body?" I asked hesitantly, half afraid to have a full blooded Fae male's attention in that way. 

He smirked. Bastard.

"Yes Reya, your body. It needs to be honed and trained, because it's a weapon, and judging from your posture you've put a zero sum effort into it." 

Didn't this man know what it was like to simply survive here? Shay and I had hustled jobs to get food on the table at the best of times. Some nights we didn’t even get that right, so with food being in scarce supply, one wasn’t going to burn through it (or lack thereof) with ridiculous training exercises. 

"And what exactly is wrong with my body?" 

I regretted asking the question as soon as it came out of my mouth. 

His sole focus zeroed in on me. And I should have found it terrifying, not exhilarating. 

"Reya, from where I stand there's nothing wrong with your body. I think you would do well to eat a little more, but it hasn't seemed to affect your curves. Any hot blooded male even marginally inclined towards women would agree. The problem is that your stance is sloppy and I would bet good gold that you're a crap fighter." 

I swallowed my retort, knowing that he was right. Up to date I had simply been lucky. I had had a few brushes with some rival street rats in an alley, and the memory reminded me that being able to fight, no matter how poorly, would always be a benefit. 

“But make no mistake Reya,” he continued, “when you’re ready to come and play in my realm I’ll only be too happy to show you around.”

I wondered then how many people from our realm actually received an invitation, and moreof, if he was serious. But, I got the impression that Chase was rarely not serious. 

Sighing, I asked, “Fine. What are the other two gifts?”

He looked delighted, as if he had been expecting a small whimpering girl in my place. I knew I needed to learn to fight. I knew that I needed to either put a lid on my powers or hone them, but what I was currently doing was unsustainable. Ignoring my situation wasn’t serving anyone. Shay had said so himself not too long ago. 

“Your second gift will probably be around the use of lightning,” he said scratching his head. 

“Probably?” 

“Well it has been the Angel’s weapon of choice for millenia, so I’m going with what I know.” 

I stared at him, waiting for a little more. 

“Look, I’m not an angel, I’m Fae, and while we may have similar attributes, we are not the same - not in the least. So we’ll have to work it out, but I can promise you that when you unleash your lightning, it’s going to be me you want around, because none of your hybrid friends will know how to stop it or deal with it’s consequences.” 

“What do you mean ‘its consequences’?” I asked, dread pooling in my stomach. 

“Sometimes, depending on an Angelss strength, they can send lightning through a person with delayed shock value, so the person will walk off the battlefield, participate in the celebratory feast and die from a delayed lightning shock at the table. The lightning can be delayed so that it only runs through the body hours later, seizing the blood flow and creating organ failure. Other Angels smite their enemies by burning them from the inside. So you see Reya, when I say that you are going to want me around when you unleash your lightening, it’s because no one else even has the remotest idea of what you could be capable of, because if they did, they wouldn’t be lining up to have you as their prized possession.”

He spoke about the Angels as if it were from experience. Honestly, I didn’t know what to say - controlling or manipulating lightning seemed pretty far-fetched to me, but then again, if you had told me a week ago that I would have a full blown Fae male as my trainer, I wouldn't have believed you. 

I noted that he also thought I was being kept as a prize possession - but for how long? 

My shoulders sagged as I swallowed the lump in my throat, “Is it that bad?” I asked. 

His gaze softened slightly. “No,” he spoke firmly, “it’s not bad, it’s just about balance and control. In the end, it will be up to you to decide what to do with this power. You could decimate mountains or simply light a bonfire, the choice Reya, is yours. And, whether I am here or not, your power will emerge, untamed and untainted and uncontrolled, and I suppose there is something to fear about that - but only if you’re not you.” 

I pushed forward, needing to come to terms with this information on my own. 

“What’s the third gift?” I asked, almost hesitant that it would somehow be worse. 

He grimaced. If a full blown Fae male grimaced, you had to know that it wasn’t going to be good news. I shut my eyes at the onslaught of emotions running through me: despair; fear; self loathing; anger; hate. Not one good emotion, not one. 

“Are you having out-of-place dreams?” he asked, in a forced casual manner. 

“What do you mean?” I squinted up at him. 

He stepped closer, highlighting how much larger than me he actually was. The thin leather material stuck to his abs, outlining them neatly - if you were the ogling type. 

“Those dreams, presumably with angels, probably aren’t dreams at all - it’s a way of communicating with you from their realm without physically having to be here.”

“What?” I screeched, unable to control my emotions, “But they haven’t spoken to me directly!” I said as I started to pace. 

He furrowed his brow as if working something out. 

“Have they shown you scenes?” 

I shuddered at the memories of anxiety and ecstasy that they brought out of me. I didn’t really want to discuss those emotions with Chase. 

“Reya?” he pushed. 

“I don’t really want to talk about the scenes that they show me,” I said quietly, but with force. 

“How can I train you if I’m not privy to the messages you’re receiving! There could be code in those dreams about your gifts.” 

I thought back to my experience and realised that I would have to revisit those dream-like visions and turn them over to examine them with a fine tooth comb - alone. 

“I will go over them and if anything seems worth mentioning I’ll tell you,” I challenged. 

His silver eyes flared with annoyance and he barked, “Do twenty laps around the park, we need to increase your stamina and lessen that attitude of yours.” 

I ground my teeth. With his arrogance returned, any slightly tender moment we may have experienced had been erased. 

“And Reya,” he added, “When the messages come through that are of importance, you will tell me.” It was a demand. It was a demand from someone accustomed to receiving what he asked for without argument or complaint. It was a demand from someone accustomed to being served. It was a demand from a Fae male who somehow held importance over a girl. A slow heat coiled within me, like an asp ready to attack. I pushed it down. I would much rather run ten laps than discuss my angel dreams with him, so without saying anything further I kicked off and ran with the park’s perimeter. 

Halfway through my laps, I ripped my hoodie off, clad only in my sports bra and gym leggings. He didn’t even acknowledge the movement. He didn’t even look at me. Which somehow only made me feel worse about my body. With so much going on I was clearly confused, especially if I was disappointed at the fact that this full blooded fae male wasn’t looking at me like a woman. 

By the time I was finished I had worked up a sweat and was panting. 

“You should be able to complete that task without even breaking a sweat,” he said, and somehow that made me feel worse. 

Without giving me more than a minute to catch my breath, he demanded pushups - three sets of fifty. I felt nauseous from the exertion, and yet I refused to give Chase the satisfaction by telling him that. 

I wiped the sweat off my brow, taking a sip from a water bottle.

“I thought you were going to hone me into a weapon?” 

“Reya,” he spoke in a patronizing tone, “I can’t even begin to teach you how to fight with your current lack of stamina.” 

I blinked. 

“Another twenty laps,” he commanded. 

It seemed our conversation was over as I took off again, pushing myself harder. I still wasn't sure what was happening here. It felt like I was constantly on uneven footing, so I was going to take every advantage I could  - even if it came in the form of a Fae trainer. 

By the end, I was soaked with sweat and shaking slightly. 

He looked over me with disdain and said, “I will see you at dusk to work on your other gifts.” 

Without even waiting for my response, he faded out of existence. 

As soon as he was gone, I fell to my knees and heaved up the contents of my stomach. I thought back to Miss Winters and how she had arranged for Chase to train me. But, to what end? What was she gaining? A half-angel weapon?

I was part of a game that I simply didn’t understand, and the truth was, I had lost the game before I had even begun, because I simply didn't know the rules to start with.