Skye's Arrival

When I wake, I hear voices speaking. I’m in Rafi’s arms as he sits next to a campfire. A blanket is put over me, trying to give me some warmth from the chilling night air.

“Go back to sleep.” Rafi mutters to the top of my head. “Koan is nowhere near here.” He starts humming, lulling me back to sleep, my body gladly accepting the additional rest.

I wake again, finding myself in a cot, changed out of my silken garments. I’m in a pair of black leggings and a loose white shirt. My hair is braided to the side in a ponytail. A note next to my head reads; “You’re welcome-Dawn”

Well at least someone I know dressed me this time. Maybe I’ll even get to do it sometime. I slowly start to sit up, and find my feet are wearing stockings and white furred boots. Better than silk wraps I guess. Carefully, I stand. My legs are shaky at first. I have to will myself to stay standing, exhaustion starting to take over. That spell took more energy than I thought.

I glance at my neck using the water from the basin next to my cot. Still there. Every single detail. Well that’s just great, I think bitterly to myself. I step out of the tent and see dozens of people scurrying around. No one is paying me any attention, which is a bit of a relief. I can see most of them are concentrated to one area in particular. The serving area. It must be time for breakfast.

Ignoring my stomach, I turn to go towards the fire. “Hold it there princess.” A man says to me as he scoops me up in midstride, never breaking his step. “You’re not supposed to be walking.”

I look up and groan. “First off, I’m not a princess.”

Gerrickson chuckles. “You’re bledded to a prince. You’re a princess by default.”

“I’m a soldier, not a princess.” I insist, irritated beyond belief that someone actually picked up on that technicality.

“So a Princess Soldier, or Soldier Princess?” He muses, ignoring my dirty look. “Either way, your title still holds princess.”

“If you utter that title in combination with my name, I’ll eviscerate you.” I threaten, making him laugh. Several eyes turn towards us, but he ignores them.

“In that case, maybe I should behave, but that’s unlikely.” He sits me down next to the fire. “Now what will it be Princess?”

I glare at him and go to punch him. He gracefully dodges it as he jumps back. “Nothing for me.” I answer since he’s giving me a toying look.

“Two eggs coming right up. I’ll add some toast as well.” He skips away as I get ready to try and hit him again.

Once Gerrickson comes back, he sets the plate on my lap and sits next to me on a log, just out of hitting range. “Now I expect you to eat every bite, or I’ll tell Dawn.” He warns.

I roll my eyes. “Go ahead.”

He spears a fork into one of his eggs. “Interesting demon that one. She can make you feel inadequate and the center of attention all at the same time. Then again, I suppose that’s what happens when you challenge her to a fight.” He grins and flexes a fresh bruise on his bicep. I roll my eyes at that.

He purses his lips as he thinks of a new threat, “Now, Rafi might just have to sit on you until you eat.”

I giggle a little at a memory that popped into my head. Rafi was sitting on Koan until he ate the burnt dinner Ada made for him. It was Koan’s birthday and Rafi didn’t want him to make Ada feel bad on his birthday.

Once again I roll my eyes as I take an egg and put the whole thing in my mouth, much to Gerrickson’s amusement. Once I swallow I look around. “Speaking of Rafi, where is he?”

“Sleeping. Rafi didn’t go to sleep until Dawn practically knocked him out herself.” He looks me over, his eyes lingering on my bite marks. “He truly regrets the things his brother did to you. How long until the marks disappear? I thought celestials healed quickly.”

I shrug. “They do. However, demon venom can stay in their system for a long time, especially if they’re one of the ranking ones. The more exposed to it you are, the longer it takes to recover.”

“So how long then?”

I think about it. “Let’s see, I was bitten by the Demon Prince three times a day, every day for three months…I’m going with a really long time.” I give him a gentle smile as he grimaces. “It’ll also take longer because of the spell I performed to move Dawn to another space entirely. It took a lot because Dawn…well Dawn is Dawn. She’s strong and there is no one that surpasses her.”

He looks at the stone. “I’ve never seen a perfect rendition of that spell before. I mean, most of the time that spell is used to move one source of magic to another. Mortals have been using it for thousands of years. I’ve never heard of it being used to move an entire being, let alone something like Dawn.”

He looks me over again as a thought strikes him. “If you did that, while still severely weak, there is no doubt you could vanquish Koan.”

I chuckle. “Thanks for that vote of confidence.” I scoop up the other egg and put it on the piece of toast, before taking a rather large bite.

He raises his eyebrows. “When was the last time you ate?”

I snort. “You know how to make a girl feel special.” I roll my eyes. “The day Koan captured me, so three months.”

“And you didn’t die?”

I shake my head. “It’s not a requirement for celestials, we often forget to. Since I’m in a more mortal form here, when I don’t eat it’s more of a hinderance. I don’t have to eat, but my body can weaken to the point of illness if I don’t.”

“Mortal form?” Gerrickson asks, running his eyes over me for another time. “This isn’t your normal form?”

I shake my head. “It is. To live in a mortal realm, our bodies need to be adaptive to your environment. Your air is actually toxic to our lungs. When we are young we train our bodies to shift in a way, so they can adjust between worlds. Because our bodies work harder when we’re here, the need for quick energy renewal is almost required.”

“How long can you go without eating?”

I think about it. “The longest I’ve gone is six months. That was a hard winter.”

Gerrickson chews his food silently as he thinks about that. I take another bite of my egg toast, finishing it off while his mind is lost somewhere.

“Can I approach if I have a white flag?” A voice asks, bringing a smile to my lips.

“The bruise on your shin is satisfactory enough.” I turn towards Nathaniel who sits right next to Gerrickson. “How is the leg?”

“Sore. You bruised the bone this time.” He makes a show of rubbing it. “Sorry I got you captured by Koan.”

I wave him off. “It’ll be okay. Next time, just warn me if my ex shows up.”

He chuckles, “That I can do.”

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” I ask, more like demanding his answer.

“I honestly didn’t want Dawn to show up. The last time we met, she tried to rip off my head.”

“You did steal her food,” I say as I remember that day.

“I scared away three demons, not food.” He responds.

“Demons that killed six humans.” I argue.

“We didn’t know it at that time,” Nate shoots back.

“Dawn did.” I tell him. “She smelt their blood.”

“Well it would have been a different story if she explained that.” He huffs then grimaces. “I’d rather not relive that day. You spent three months in the palace?”

I glare at him then nod, “Yes I did.”

He points to his shin. “You got your revenge, remember that. What I wanted to ask you is who is working with Koan. I mean higher end demons.”

I roll my eyes as I lean back, popping my back. “Alona, Esmeralda-yes she’s demon now-Morticia, Heathe, and Adam.”

“Adam?” Nate demands, his face paling. “How do you know?”

“I’ve heard them talking, but I haven’t seen him. It was always when Koan had me in a trance, which was every single second of the day.” I shudder. “His voice is just as off-putting as I remember.”

“Who is Adam?” Gerrickson asks, cutting in.

“Evil,” I shudder. “He’s a Demon Soldier that was banished from the Demon World a century ago. He tried to kill Rafi and steal his identity. That’s his gift as a soldier. He can shapeshift into anything he desires. It’s nearly impossible to tell the difference.”

“How do you tell who is real then?”

“By the little things.” I answer as I shake my head. “I was the one that discovered his attack on Rafi. I walked into the room where he was talking with Ada, and he never once teased her. That’s not Rafi’s style.”

“You’re a little insane.” Gerrickson says as he looks me over.