My Sister, The Chosen One

Twenty-Five

Above & Beyond ft Aname- Gratitude

Sasha:

The sound of her cries echo through the house, bouncing off the walls, and ringing in my ears. Everyone is on standby waiting for the heat in her body to settle down before we can take her out of the ice. I have to keep a serious face. Elias is barely hanging on. My aunt is trying really hard to keep her hands steady and her team of nurses is all preparing for the moment it happens.

The room is hot. It's a baking kind of heat. The more her new abilities pulse inside of her the hotter she gets. Her skin is turning a beautiful glowing bronze and her hair is taking a sort of golden metal shine. Her eyes are pale and her veins are starting to bend to the will of her new powers. Giving Breeze anything for the pain is meaningless. She's burning through it with each millisecond sailing by.

Four months ago, I was in this exact same position. All of my senses were overwhelmed by darkness. I couldn't see, hear, feel, or taste anything by the time I got to this stage. For some time, I thought I was dead and by Elias and Rey's reaction, I looked dead. When my wings finally sprouted and everything slowed down, I wanted back into the abyss. Every single inch of my body ached. It felt like I had been skinned with an old blade and then seared to stop the bleeding. It took me a while to get used to my newly heightened senses along with the extra that comes with the void inside of me.

I can't imagine what she's feeling. The pain she must feel with this immense light shining out of her. Breeze, my geeky, defenseless little sister is a light fairy. I can't help but feel the pride aching in my bones. I was right all along. She would be the one to save all of fae kind. One science experiment at a time. She doesn't need a torch anymore.

"Sasha!" she cried out. I got close letting the void surround my skin when she reached to take my hand so she wouldn't hurt me.

"Hey, you're doing great," I tried to reassure her.

"Make it stop," she begged. I looked up at my aunt who was losing the battle against her tears.

"Stop being a cry baby, Blueberry. You're going to be fine you're almost there," I promised.

"Please. Please. Please. I can't anymore," she screamed. I let go of her hand when another surge pulsed through her.

"Okay, go outside," I instructed the others.

"Sage, you can't stay here," Elias grabbed my arm.

"I have to contain it. A blast this big might blow this entire wing away. I'll be fine. Go," I reassured him. He hesitated for an instant and then let go of me.

As soon as the doors were shut, I reached into the now boiling water and pulled her out. I set her on the floor face down before grabbing a pile of towels and tucking them under her chin. The muscles on her arms and legs are stiff. Her voice is stuck in her throat and she's barely taking in air.

"Okay," I whispered to myself as the light is starting to pour out of the two wounds on her back. "We've done this before. Not going to be the last," I took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

The void is starting to rise inside of me and spill out like a tub overflowing with water. The further it expands around us the more it takes over my senses. Caging the blast isn't going to be the problem. The problem is going to come when the light breaks the barrier I just put us in and my senses are all slapped back into place all at once. At least, that's what I'm preparing for.

Breeze is shaking. The edges of her wings are peaking out of her back. I pulled the darkness around us closer and used some of it to cool the skin on her back. She finally took in a deep breath and held it in for an instant before she finally let out a loud ear-piercing cry. She curled into herself trying to stretch the pain in her back. A kaleidoscope of golden butterflies all burst out from underneath her skin. I fell back taking cover as they swarmed my void. She continued to sob until they finally sprouted. Two sproutling butterfly wings fluttered on her back creating tiny golden butterflies around her. The kaleidoscope is fluttering around her slowly settling on her skin as she takes deep desperate breaths of air.

"Sasha?" she choked out. I went over to her side instantly.

"Hey," I whispered so I wouldn't startle her. I didn't need the barrier after all. The transition wasn't as violent as the book stated.

"Is it over?" she sobbed quietly. Her voice is coarse from all the crying and screaming.

"Yeah, it's over. They're here," I pushed her hair out of her face gently.

"Are they sprites like yours?" she asked.

"No, baby. Yours are prettier. Their golden light. Light butterfly,"

"What?" she lifted her head. I helped her sit up. She finally opened her eyes to reveal that they glow the same way her wings do.

"Yup, check it out," I reached for her light bugs. One of them landed on my index finger and I slowly brought it over to her. "Pretty, right?"

"I'm a light fairy?" she shook her head with disbelief. I sat up straight and crossed my legs so that she can sit on my lap. She didn't hesitate. I took some of the towels to cover her naked body and bundled her into my arms.

"It makes sense. There's a void fairy in every realm now," I nodded.

"Does that mean there will be a light fairy in every realm too?" she curled into me.

"No. One light fairy is enough for all the realms,"

"What does that mean?" she's falling asleep.

"It means it's going to be a while before we let you go outside again," I sighed releasing the barrier. My wings pulled the void back inside of me. "She's done,"

The doors burst open. Elias and my aunt all rushed into the bathroom. Her little butterflies are fluttering around the two of us. He stepped closer and knelt down in front of me. His eyes are on her face. Like my own, Breeze's changes are obvious. Her once pale skin is now tan. Like she's spent the last two years in the fire kingdom. Her eyebrows, her lashes, her hair, it's all gold now. There's even a golden shimmer on her lips.

"You used to be this shade," he whispered after a while. "When we were in Flameon for two months and then suddenly it all went away,"

"The void is cold," I answered. He tucked the towel under her and took her from me.

"Your skin sometimes looks silver," he lifted her up into his arms. "Your eyes,"

"What are you doing?" I asked annoyed that he's bringing all of this up.

"I'm just saying. You're just as special. The only difference is that you can hide it better than she can," he walked out into her room leaving me to ponder over his words. Does he think I'm jealous of the way she looks?

I laughed as I stood up and looked around the room. It's going to be hot for a couple of hours. I let him tuck her into bed. My aunt and her team cleaned everything up and cleared it out in a matter of minutes. I mindlessly floated down to the kitchen. She followed me and sat across when I took a seat at the kitchen island.

"Your parents would be really proud of the both of you," I know she meant it as a compliment but a wave of anger came over me. I didn't say anything but my reaction gave it away. "I didn't-"

"It's fine," I waved her off. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," she nodded looking down at her hands. "I've never guided a light fairy before. That was scary,"

"Yeah," I agreed.

"That was insane," Rey walked in. He placed a glass in front of me and went over to the fridge to get some apple juice. "I thought it would be worse considering what you went through. You almost killed everyone in the compound,"

"I thought void fairies just lost their senses," my aunt speculated.

"It depends on the origin of the fairy. Sage is a wind fairy. Most wing sprouts are dangerous. She lost all her senses but we didn't. Everything just got cold, her wind abilities created a massive twister. When it was over, we thought she was dead. Her skin paled, her eyes turned a cold blue, her hair is black now, and her vein design is unlike anything we've ever seen when she goes into a void state. A little heat was nothing compared to that. Drink that,"

"Where are you going?" I called after him. He paused. "Just because I don't bring it up doesn't mean I haven't noticed you not sleeping here,"

"It's not what you think,"

"I hope it really is what I think it is. What's his name?"

"Not what it is," he chuckled. I stood up, turning around to face him.

"Then you don't need to be going anywhere this late. Why don't you head upstairs?"

"Sage-"

"You get they'd replace you in a heartbeat if you got yourself killed out there, right? I hardly ever ask where you are because I don't always need to know but we can't afford to be doing this s**t right now,"

"You mean like you going out to see the Ace or Redwood?" he accused. "I know what you're doing. You know what the penalty for war crimes is, right? That's the kind of s**t we don't need right now,"

"So, what? You're out there doing what, Rey? I'm trying to protect us here. You and Bre are our main priority at the moment. Either tell me what you're doing or I'm going to put you to bed myself,"

"On that note, have a good night," Aunt Starstream got up and rushed out of the room, holding her ver pregnant belly.

"Why are you hackling me right now?" he growled. His eyes are glowing.

"What are you hiding?" I asked taking a seat. I took the glass of apple juice and put it to my lips. He sighed and took a seat where my aunt had been.

"I'm trying to get under General dumbass's skin. Until we prove he's the mole, he has clearance to everything we've worked on. We established alliances we can't afford to lose because of him. You said we split up the work. Elias is on media duty with Breeze. You're on Ace duty with Redwood and I take care of the Elders with Falcon,"

"Are you working with Falcon?" I asked interested in that because the last time we spoke of Falcon, everyone voted for me to kill him before he opened his mouth.

"I haven't needed him yet but I was about to go talk to him. He's down in the lab,"

"Rey, I need to know I can trust you out there," I set the glass down. He came over to me and rested his head on my shoulder.

"I'm not doing anything that needs you to be worried about me. I promise," he leaned closer and pressed a kiss to the side of my head. I tapped his arm and nodded.

"You'll ask for help if you need it right?"

"Yes," he patted my head. "Redwood,"

"My king," Elder Redwood answered from behind us. I shut my eyes and let out an annoyed sigh.

"Stop worrying about me and focus on your objective. I'm sleeping here tonight but Falcon and I are headed out in the morning,"

"If I find Falcon here in the morning I am going to hunt you down and drag your ass back here myself," I growled.

"Okay," he laughed. "Laters, Redwood,"

"My king," he bowed when Rey walked past him.

"I like this guy. He has good manners," he called back to me before disappearing out the front door.

"Long night?" he laughed.

"Long week. I'm glad it's finally kind of over,"

"Oh, so she finally sprouted her wings. What's the verdict,"

"Light Butterfly," I answered. His smile faded. "Exactly,"

"She's going to draw the other void fairies here,"

"I have two close by. Water and Earth,"

"Lightning," he added.

"I'm sorry?"

"My brother is a Lightning void fairy," he sat down where Rey had been. He has an electric aura around him right now. He's upset. Of course, he is.

"I knew there was something about him that just clicked for us," I laughed. "Anything else?"

"I think I know where to find the fire void but it's a bit of a long shot. We need to prepare for tomorrow night. That's going to be our priority. I also have a couple of questions,"

"Sure,"

"The king. Does he only respond to an aggressive approach when it concerns you?"

"No. As long as he respects you, that tone works,"

"Do you think he respects me? I really need him to listen to me and as of late, he looks at me with a smile before he walks away from me," that sounds exactly like Rey.

"Yes. Do not engage him calmly or professionally. The more you grovel the more you feed his ego. He's a f*****g asshole, Ericson. With that being said, make sure you do it somewhere private. Have it be something personal between the two of you. Rey swears he knows what he's doing but he likes the guidance. He was the only son on his mother's side. Actually, if you have a woman talk to him like that you'd get an even better result. He was a momma's boy,"

"I see. Elder Aire is going to love that," he nodded. "She's going to be in charge of the militia in a couple of years. She's getting a feel of him now,"

"I'm sorry about earlier," I tried to fix the awkwardness between us right now. "Rey is actually very affectionate. Not just with me,"

"It's none of my business,"

"Isn't it?" I smiled. "Maybe I was misreading what was going on,"

"Wait," he reached for my arm to keep me from walking out. "Yeah, it did bother me but I trust you,"

"Did you that know you spark when you're upset?" I grinned.

"Me being upset has nothing to do with the King," he admitted.

"This is about the meeting,"

"This about you and Airington. I know I'm new here and that you two have a history but I feel like there's more between the two of you. Something you're hiding. Something he's not going to like that you have. I know you're not the one in charge. He is but you're still stringing him along like you've got your claws deep in his back still. If I can see it, he knows it too,"

"The boy is his brother,"

"The boy?" he asked looking me over. "Elias?"

"Yeah. Elias has a foot in the hierarchy and working class. If Sess finds out, he might try to kill him and I know that he can. Sess holds back a lot because of everything we've done but he can be cruel when he wants to be. It's what made us work. I tapped into that rage and pushed him as far as he went because that's what he wanted. He'll never be rid of the warmth in his heart so as long as Elias exists,"

"Does the boy know?"

"No, he doesn't. The former Diamond had two different lives and it wasn't so much that he dated two women at the same time. I think he had some kind of dual personality disorder. The ice part was the part of him that took over the Aces and the air part was gentle. Not to mention that he didn't recognize me at Elite Towers. By day he had a whole job and family and by night he was gone. Until his wife died. Elias's mother. The ice part became dominant and eventually, he never came back. The night I killed him, was the last time he saw Elias. I followed him out and I killed him right outside our building,"

"If Airington doesn't know, why is he being as hostile as he is?"

"Because of you and now Lilly. He might feel it. Magic works a certain way in siblings. Even half,"

"Airstrike? Why me? Why wasn't he mad about Rey?"

"Yeah, he was mad about me moving on to something serious. He knew Rey and I never really made sense. Airstrike is his type. She's warm and inviting but also dangerous and passionate. I lost the first two a long time ago,"

"You can be warm and inviting," he shook his head.

"I can but it stopped being something I just am. I grew out of it, I guess. It's something I reserve for the people I love. Unfortunately, he no longer falls under that category,"

"You don't love him anymore?" he asked, condescendingly.

"I'm not in love with him anymore if that's what you're asking. Love is very subjective, I feel. I do care about him. Enough to not want to get him killed but I wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger should the need present itself. Does that answer your question?"

"It does. Yes," he nodded. He removed the carrier over his shoulder and placed it on the counter. "Here are the contracts we worked up. Do you want to go over them?"

"I do," I nodded. "Let me wipe down the counter. Actually, why don't we go up to my study? There's more space and no one is going to interrupt us there,"

"Okay," he nodded.

My study is joined to my room. I haven't gotten around to doing much to my room but I have set up my study. I started out with white. Everything, the shelves along the walls. the paint, the furniture, and all of my devices. All of it is white. I have everything set up by color. Books, Journals, profiles, anything I need for work. As soon as he walked in, he looked around with a smile on his lips.

"What?" I asked feeling a little self-conscious.

"Nothing. It's just very organized but it's also vibrant. You may not be a painter anymore but you are still very much an artist," he complimented. I waved him over to the coffee table. He sat on the love seat and began to take the paperwork out as I put decor somewhere else.

"What did you think about the terms on these?" I asked taking the one with Ace's name on it.

"They're a little unfair but considering we're dealing with criminals, I also think they're appropriate," he admitted.

Things seem pretty basic. The Elders want in on all the Ace businesses. Twelve percent of profits. It doesn't sound like a lot but when you add it up four ways, it's forty-eight percent of the entire organization. In return, Elder Arianna Aire and Lilly Airstrike will be tracking any and all product movements. The Aces will all have access to all portal transportation to anywhere in the fae world. He wasn't kidding when he said it was a little unfair. I tucked it back into the envelope and reached for the one with my name on it. It's almost the same. Except, this binds me to the Aces indefinitely. I have to continue weapon dealing and manufacturing. I sighed and put it back into the envelope. He looked up at me when I sat back feeling frustrated.

"Do you not like your deal?"

"I got into the military to get out of being an Ace. It's not easy to balance everything. The Spade, Sage, Guardian. It's a lot," he got up and came around to sit next to me.

"It feels like a lot right now because things are barely starting to make sense. You can see what you want at the end of all of this and you're not sure how to get there. It happens but when the difficult parts are over, you're going to love that you have more to do than just your Guardianship. Being the Guardian of the realm is extremely boring. You have an excuse to get out. Two,"

"You're probably right," I nodded. "I just didn't want to be part of this anymore. I thought I was leaving it all behind me,"

"I know," he pushed the hair on my shoulder back. "But you have to admit that there's a small part of you that is relieved. I've never seen anyone use old unusable weapons as decor. Do all of these have a story?"

"Yeah," I laughed looking around. "All of them. That one," I pointed to the gun on my desk. "This is a Glock forty-three: nine-millimeter capacity six + one," I picked it up to show it to him. It has a hole in it. "It saved me. Knuckles gave it to me the day after I saved Airington for the first time. I was sixteen. I put it in my bra. On my way home, the brother of one of the guys Sass killed came after me. He fired at me point-blank. He was maybe five feet away. The bullet hit the gun. The impact hurt like hell. I dropped down, he thought he had gotten me and he ran off,"

"What happened to him?" he asked inspecting the gun. The bullet is still in there.

"Sesshomaru found him the next day and he flash froze him. For a whole year, he sent his family pieces of him when he was bored,"

"What is that?" he asked. I put the gun back and laughed.

"It means he froze him alive and every time he took a piece off, the guy felt it but he couldn't move or scream,"

"Wow," he looked up at me, his expression complicated to read. "I didn't know he could do that,"

"It takes a lot out of him. Leaves him vulnerable for days. It's not something he can recover from easily so he rarely does it," I put my hand on the spot that was bruised for over two months. I can still feel the phantom pain there. "He's insane, but things would be a lot worse if Elias wasn't around. Which is why he can never know,"