My Sister, The Chosen One

Twenty-Seven

REZZ & Eddie- Stress

Breeze:

There's a light jingle playing in my ears. Like someone is ringing bells somewhere far away. I've been trying to drown it out for hours but the more I try the louder it gets and I can't focus on anything other than that. I finally opened my eyes. I expected to see the ceiling in my room or Elias's but right now I'm not sure which room I am in. It's dark and I usually can't see an inch in front of my face like this especially not without my glasses.

Everything is as clear as day, no, even better. I can feel everything. The softness of my comforter around me. The way the mattress is cupping my backside from my head to my heels. For the first time since I started to work at the university, I feel relaxed. My thoughts are coherent. I don't have everything jumping out at me all at once. The tension I wake up to in my belly is gone.

The memory of the pain still lingers all over my body. It's the only reason why I haven't moved. That was terrifying. I had no control and I don't really remember what was going on around me. All I could think of was calling out to my sister as if she could somehow help me.

"I know you're awake," I flinched at the sound of the whisper. No not a whisper. She's just really far away. "When you're ready, come down and join us for dinner,"

"Sasha?" I answered. Is that what I sound like now.

"That's right. I'm in the kitchen,"

"How can I hear you?"

"I left your door slightly open," she answered.

"I feel sticky,"

"Take a shower. You were sweating a lot these past couple of days. You can take the I.V. off without hurting yourself right?"

"Yeah," I nodded.

I pulled the comforter off my body and sat up. A burst of golden butterflies all fluttered around me from underneath the blanket. The jingling returned. I lifted my arm wanting to get a better look at them. The butterflies hovered closely before landing on my arm and disappearing into my skin. That's when I noticed it. I'm no longer pale. I jolted up and ran over to my closet to find the full-length mirror.

"What the heck?" I whispered reaching for my hair.

I look like a completely different person. My blonde hair is gold. My skin is a few shades darker than it had been. The closer I lean towards the mirror the more it looks like I have body glitter on. I'm also completely naked. I looked down at my arm to see the portable I.V. drip. I removed the sticker and gently pulled it out. I grabbed whatever was in my arm's reach and walked out. A scream ripped out of me when I found him sitting at my desk. The lights in my room flickered before the light crystals burst.

"s**t," he sat up, looking around the room until his eyes landed on me. He had been asleep. The two of us are standing here unsure of what to do next. "Are you okay?"

"What are you doing here?" I asked, trying to catch my breath. I put my things down on the bed and sat down. I can feel the way my blood is rushing through my body with the added magic inside of me and it's making me light-headed.

"I-uh- you're-" he tried to avert his eyes. I looked down remembering I'm naked. I laughed and shot up unsure of how to should react.

"I'm naked!" I shouted.

"You are," he tried not to look. I can hear Sasha and someone else laughing in the distance.

"Get out," I pointed at the door feeling excruciating embarrassed. He covered his eyes and started laughing. "Elias,"

"I'm going," he laughed and walked out of the room before shutting the door completely.

It's cold. The air around me is at its usual temperature but I'm freezing. I started up a warm shower. Layers of skin are sliding right off. Chunks of old hair are falling into the drain. The change in my sister had been drastic. Her hair had been the same shade mine had been and it was suddenly black. Her now pale almost silver skin had been a pretty sun-kissed shade. Her hazel eyes changed into a beautiful gunmetal blue. None of the guys changed this dramatically.

I tried to pull my jeans on only for them to get stuck on my thighs. I groaned and struggled to take them off. I went back into the closet to find something a little more flexible. I went with some winter tights, a long t-shirt, and a zip-up hoodie. Despite the way I'm dressed, I'm cold. The more I move the more my skin cools. I put my shoes on and opened the door to find him standing against his door across the hall.

"Hey," I greeted him trying to hide my previous embarrassment.

"Oh, I am loving these changes," he pushed off the wall and stepped to me. My butterflies are back. I can hear their jingle as they flutter around me.

"They're a lot," I admitted. He nodded, stepping closer to offer me his hand.

"They are but we have time to adjust to them. You must be starving," he smiled genuinely. My stomach took the opportunity to confirm his theory and growled. His smile turned into a toothy grin.

I took a step forward and missed the ground. My wings lifted me off the floor a couple of inches without me wanting that. He tightened his hold on my hand and walked next to me. The butterflies are fluttering around him. He has a smile on his face as they gently dance around, every so often they land on him and then retreat. He doesn't seem to mind but it's doing something to him. There's a light around him. A white one.

"f**k," Rey stood up as soon as we walked into the kitchen. Sasha turned away from the stove to look at me.

"Cold?" she asked. I nodded. "You're going to have to learn how to channel your magic. You're equipt for heat now. That means you're going to have to generate it constantly throughout your body,"

"And if I don't?" I asked. She was about to answer when I felt my nose tingle. I let go of Elias and sneezed.

"s**t," darkness surrounded me as I tried to compose myself. My throat is irritated and I can't stop coughing. "You're fine. Look up at me," I did as she asked and almost jumped back when I saw the flames around us in the darkness. "It's just me,"

"What the hell?"

"Yeah, you couldn't see it before but this is my ability," she knelt down in front of me. I feel warm again.

"This is the void?" I asked looking around.

"Yes,"

"And the fire?"

"I keep it here. It helps me stay warm. Not because I need to the way you do but because if I don't I look like a walking Nickle statue and I'll be cold to the touch,"

"I didn't know," I reached for her.

"It's fine. Helps me work with different elemental magic. Gives me better control and boosts my stamina,"

"I am just now realizing that I don't really know that much about you, Sasha," I shook my head. She shrugged and stood up before offering me her hand.

"You kind of have more important things to worry about. It's not a big deal,"

"I think it's a really big deal. You know everything about me and I don't even know what your favorite color is anymore,"

"Anymore? It hasn't changed,"

"You never wear pink anymore," I pointed out.

"It's difficult to match baby pink to my new shades but it doesn't mean it's not my favorite color anymore. Enough of that. I am going to teach you how to keep yourself warm, ready?"

"Yes," I nodded.

"I know you can feel it. The added magic in your body. The clarity in your sight and the way things feel to you now. The first thing you have to remember is that you're never going back to the way things felt before your wings came in. Never. There is no going back. I know it's scary at first but you have to feel it. All the time. Let it rush through you. Start off a little slow. Take a deep breath and just feel it. You ready?"

"Sure," I nodded.

The flames around us instantly disappeared. The darkness around us looked so solid but it began to fade away like smoke. After a moment, it was pooling on the floor around us. Her wings are raised a little as she pulled the dark smoke back inside of her. I took a deep breath feeling the coldness again. I stepped back and shut my eyes. She's right. There is no going back, not that I want to. I've been waiting to see what kind of wings I have had since I was a little girl. When I saw Sasha's black sprite wings, I was alarmed by how dangerous they were. Sprite wings aren't very common and I didn't want the attention that comes with them. Her wings are built for agile and insanely fast fairies. I'm not either of those things.

I can feel it. The magic inside of me is warm. I feel it on my back mostly but I think I can do what she asked. I concentrated on it and began to try and feel it all over. Almost instantly, I felt a flood of relief all over my body. The itchiness in my throat faded. I opened my eyes when the jingling around me became a little more frequent. Sasha is looking around us with a smile on her face.

"That is flashy," she laughed reaching for the butterflies.

"Bad flashy?" I asked. She took a deep breath thinking about what she was going to say.

"No, but it definitely makes a statement. It suits your personality perfectly. It explains a lot, actually,"

"Like what?"

"Light fairies. Now, the second-rarest species in the Fae world once governed the overall fairies from the Aldrich Realm. Light fairies at a young age develop a logical view of their surroundings. Most have introverted personalities as well as passive reactions to difficult or exciting situations.

"Unlike their counterparts, Void sprite fairies, light fairies often sprout butterfly-shaped wings as well as traditional flutter wings that can grow up to seven feet long. Favored by magic, light fairy abilities are often linked to the race their born into. Air, Fire, Earth, Water, and Spirit.

"Spotting a light fairy is difficult post-sprout. However, once wings develop, light fairies all take a metallic glow that allows them to stand out much like their counterparts, void sprites. The power of one Light Fairy is the equivalent of five void fairies. For each light fairy, five voids sprites are born to each element as protection," Falcon read out loud. He came in with Elder Redwood and three others.

"We have four," Sasha informed me. "Air, Water, earth, and spirit," the three others walked over to her. "I am the Void sprite of air. This is viceroy Elliot Waterstorm, the void sprite of water. This is Kelly Bloom, the void sprite of earth. And this is Ishtar Redwood, the void of spirit,"

"Did you know?" I asked her.

"I had my suspicions. There are things that you've been able to do that as an air fairy, you shouldn't. Air fairies don't sit still enough to accomplish what you have without proper training. It just comes naturally to you. Before I became a void fairy, I thought you might be one,"

"This is a lot to take in," I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Elias pulled out a chair from the dining room table and offered it to me. I sat down trying to keep my body warm as I try to process what they just said. "What happens now?"

"We have to keep you a secret for as long as we can before we move," Elder Redwood answered.

"Move? Again? What about this place?" I looked over at my sister.

"Not, that kind of move, Bre," she shook her head. "He means before we go on the run. We have a lot of work to do. Right now, we're trying to secure certain areas in Aldrich where we can keep you,"

"Because of the Elder tree seeds,"

"Correct, I was able to reassign the psyche evaluation assignment for the loop spell to Falcon. You are going to be staying with Elias and Kelly at all times,"

"For how long?" I asked.

"For as long as it takes," my sister answered. "You have a task to finish, Breeze. I need you to focus on this and nothing else,"

"What are you going to do? You can't just stand between me and the danger coming for us. Do you know what it would mean if I finish this project,"

"We do," Rey answered. "We are all more than aware of what it means, Breeze. It doesn't change a single thing,"

"What if you die?" I asked her, shaking my head.

"I know you don't want to hear this, Bre,"

"Then don't say it. If you die none of us are going to make it,"

"Breeze-"

"Sasha, you know it's true. If you die we all die. I don't know how to fight. I don't even know how to properly hold a gun or knife. I cry when I get paper cuts,"

"Your strengths are different-"

"What strengths? I have no strengths," I disagreed. She let out a heavy sigh.

"Breeze, your strengths are up here," she tapped my head. "I know you don't consider being super smart an ability but a given. I can tell you that it's not a given. People can't just choose to be smart like you. That's not how things work,"

"You're super smart too and you're-" I motioned to her body. "Strong,"

"I have a collection of things that I am good at. Do you want to know what I excel at, the only thing I'm good at naturally?"

"Painting?"

"Killing," she corrected. "Killing comes to me as an instinct. Once I lock in on something nothing is going to stop me from getting rid of it. It takes over the same way you dive into your work. It clicks together for you, doesn't it? One second you're thinking of doing it and the next you're nineteen hours deep in coding and blueprints. Do you get what I'm saying?"

"Different kinds of strengths," I nodded.

"We're going to make sure they don't get to you. This goes beyond what you're feeling and what you want, Bre. We're a dying breed. If the last Elder tree dies, we all cease to exist. You get that right? You're the only one who can do this,"

"I can't do this by myself," I shook my head.

"Now we're getting somewhere. What do you need, princess?" Elder Redwood asked.

"I have the equipment here but I need specialists. Botany, geoengineering, aero-engineering, architects from all realms, elder tree specialists,"

"Okay," Sasha nodded. "Make us a list of people you need and we'll see what we can do. What about the brainiacs you have now?"

"I only need one from them. The rest you can fire," I nodded. I got up and tried to go up to my room to get started. I looked back at Elias when he stopped me. "What?"

"You need to eat first. You need to hydrate and get some cardio before you start anything. Your wings just sprouted and if you don't take of yourself properly, you're not going to be able to control the light inside of you. You can hurt someone and yourself. You can't skid by like before,"

"He's right, Bre. I have to adjust your schedule and if you don't follow it this time, you're going to end up on the floor again," Sasha agreed.

"That was a disaster. I apologize for that. In my defense, I've never had a fever before," everyone laughed.

"Rey?" Sasha looked back at the King.

"I got it. You guys can head over to your meeting. Falcon, Kelly, and I will take first watch," he reassured her.

"Meeting? For what?" I asked her.

"Those secure spots around the city. We need to start building them,"

"Okay, I don't fully understand your job outside of the military or your job in the military but I do know that you're not supposed to be going around Aldrich like you own the place. I know how territories work,"

"This is one of the things you don't need to worry about. Bre. I've got it. This is literally what I do,"

"Which is?" I demanded.

"What she means is this is what we do. We negotiate, deal, and conquer," Elder Redwood interjected.

"When all else fails, murder," Sasha grinned.

"She's kidding, right?" I looked up at Elder Redwood. He looked between us and laughed.

"No," he shook his head. "Is that what you're wearing for our meeting?"

"You don't like it?" Sasha looked down at her overalls. I've seen them somewhere before, not on her though.

"Please, change," Elias agreed with the Elder. "You're officially the Spade again. Act like it,"

"My overalls alone cost more than everything you have on now combined with what Elder Redwood is wearing. You guys can kiss my ass," she scoffed. She spun around and headed over to the stairs cursing them both under her breath.

"She's not wrong. Those are from the new Mazewind Spring collection. How she got her f*****g hands on them is beyond me," Falcon chuckled. Everyone turned to look at him. "What? I come from a commoner's background, if I don't maintain my image, my name gets slandered to s**t. In this industry, the only ones allowed to dress without a care in the world are those in old money. The rest of us are lucky to be here,"

"He's right. I used to wear jeans to work all the time and no one said a word but as soon as my old boss tried it, she quit the university and transferred to Flameon after the press found out," I stood up. "I am starving,"

"Wait, what people wear affects them in science?" Elder Redwood asked.

"What people wear affects everything," his brother answered. "Which is why Ansly took over your wardrobe. The people don't care about the work or the details, they want to see what you're buying. They want to know that you fit your payload profile and if you don't, well let's just say your picture with the words outfit repeater will be passed around the Avionnet and everyone is going to be making fun of you,"

"And that matters to me why?" he asked.

"You don't care. None of us really do," Ishtar shook his head.

"I do," Falcon and I raised our hands. Ishtar smiled.

"Most people care, Eric. This is how the world sees us. The labels and accessories. We have an inner circle for more serious matters like work and personal interests but it's civilians who pay for us to be where we are. The way you present yourself to them matters. Take pride in your image. Thanks to Ansly, you were just named the hottest Elder on the council. You're probably going to get a raise sometime soon,"

"You're kidding," the elder shook his head.

"Even I know how this works and I rarely leave my lab," I nodded.

"The same way you're teaching young Sage self-control, you should let her teach you how to be a little more impulsive," they all laughed. How are they so calm about all of this? My mind is still technically up in my closet wondering why I look like I was raised in a beach house.

"Is this better?"

My sister walked back over to us as Rey set a plate full of different foods in front of me. I smiled reaching for the roast slices. She's wearing a pair of elegant, soft gray, casual bottoms with a white long sleeve bodice for a top. Her hair is pinned up to show off her jewelry. The silver pumps are nice. She looks the way she used to before she joined the military. Before mom and dad died.

"Much better," Elias nodded without really looking up at her. "It's going to rain. Get a coat,"

"I will break your windpipe," she whispered to him when he walked past her. He paused, let out a low chuckle, and then continued to walk away. "d**k,"

"We should go," Elder Redwood smiled. "You look amazing,"

"Did you change to match him?" I asked. He's wearing a very elegant gray suit.

"Yes, we're Spades now. The signature color is gray," she nodded, taking his hand in hers. She slipped a watch on his wrist and adjusted it. It looks expensive. "We should go. Stay here. All of you,"

"All of us," Rey agreed.

"I love them together," Falcon laughed when they all left. "If you die, at least you know you're going to be replaced by a good man,"

"Do you ever stop talking?" the King asked him. I laughed. I can't stop eating.

"I was fairly quiet last night," Falcon mumbled. I dropped my dumpling and looked up at Rey.

"What?" I asked. His eyes turned to Falcon who pressed his lips together.

"Nothing. We were out on some kind of sting operation last night and I had to be quiet," Falcon didn't look up at me. "The King is kind of a brute,"

"I will kill you," Rey growled angrily.

"Mhm," he nodded and stood up. "I am working on the new schedule. I'll be down in the training hall. Meet me there. Let's stretch our wings,"

"Okay," I nodded. "I'm not done here,"

"I'll stay with her," Rey ignored him.

I'm going to have to talk to Falcon about him hinting at Rey. It's funny when he and Elias tease one another but having an outsider do it, isn't right. I've seen Rey lose his patience before and I don't want Falcon to be on the receiving end of that. It clearly bothered Rey that he said what he did. He might be part of the team now but what Rey, Sasha, and Elias have is different. They grew up together. Falcon barely has a foot in the door and the guys still seem to tiptoe around him. I ate all of my food but I'm still hungry.

"What?"

"You're going to be hungrier than ever," Rey took my plate. "Especially with your abilities. You're going to burn calories like never before,"

"Does that mean I'm going to be eating a lot?"

"Until you learn to control your magic," he nodded.

"I should have taken the course," I complained.

"I'm surprised you didn't. Why didn't you?"

"Elias was dating Stacy Windmore and they were taking the course together. I chose electrical engineering as an elective instead,"

"Elias is kind of an i***t, isn't he?" he shook his head.

"Yeah," I got up and went over to the fridge. "He learned from you. You had Sasha Airstorm at your arm. Now she's with Elder Redwood wearing the watch,"