“Miss Castillo, I take it you’ve learned from your friend, perhaps?” The Professors inky tail swoops as he turns on four legs and faces me.
Not to ask for favors or hall passes, but haven’t I been through enough hell this week?
“Yeah,” I say with zero enthusiasm.
Syko’s palms slide across my stomach as he slowly releases me and I stand with my wings tucked in against my back like they don’t want to make any sudden movements around the vicious darts still eating merrily on the ground.
“You’ll have thirty seconds,” Professor Ravenstorm says, his lips pouting out to make extra chirpy noises to his preening gremlin of a bird.
My shoulders square.
I have plenty of time. Don’t rush. Don’t listen to the pounding demands of your slamming heartbeat. Do. Not. Piss. Off. The. Satan Birds.
The equivalent to ass demons of our dimension, I’m convinced. But, hey, I took down gargoyle dinosaur demon hybrids. Satan birds shouldn’t be a problem, right?
Right? I silently ask my Prod. The sad part is, she hasn’t shown a stirring of herself since I came back to this dimension. Once more, she’s hidden herself from me like a child throwing a tantrum and storming away.
I’ve discreetly tried to feel for the sliver of the amount of magic I displayed in hell. It’s just not there. I try not to let the heartbreak and anger at that situation collide.
I can do this. With or without her help.
“Go,” Ravenstorm tells me absently.
My feet press to the dirt as my knees bend and my wings take flight.
It’s gentle, calm strokes that carry me higher and higher and higher. And I’m all too aware of the many tiny arrow-like creatures that are zipping by me like it’s a race to the skies.
I level out, the weight of my body pulling against my strong wings. I make the mistake of glancing to my left and getting too much eye contact with the god of thunder bird keeping pace at my side.
Fucking weatherwings.
I notice immediately that they glide through the clouds in groups. A larger one leads and several smaller ones span out behind it creating a V formation. When I get too close to one of the V’s, squawking erupts out of the little one at the end and the big one at the front eyes me suspiciously.
I slow my pace and fall back a bit, finding myself cautiously giving the flock several feet of space between me and them. But there are dozens of V’s. Too many for me to keep track of as I weave and bob around them all.
I’m the weaker link here. Alone without a mate or ally.
Kindness and respect are truly the only things I can depend on right now. And so, I don’t use the full force of my wings. I take the long route instead of a straight line and it’s frustrating but I do finally reach the brick building and descend with delicate slowness.
My feet hit the ground without a sound and Syko’s assessing gaze drags over every inch of me the moment I’ve landed.
“Very nice, Miss Castillo.” Professor Ravenstorm looks so pleased with me I think I might be his new favorite pet and I can’t lie, I’m pretty proud of myself too despite how tired my wings are from the short flight. “Took you thirty-seven seconds though so try to do a bit better in the future.” He adds with a tight smile that tosses all my pride right into the trash.
Motherfucker.
Sixteen
Saint
If I thought she had a bad week in hell, it must have been a walk in the park compared to her first day as an Elite.
The expectations in this place sucks harder than any vampire ever could.
She closes her door behind her and I just watch as she tosses her binder on the floor and begins stripping out of her uniform.
Now this, this is a welcoming. I watch the curve of her spine as she arches her back to pull off her white sports bra.
“Bad day?” I ask and every part of her halts in place, the smooth underside of her breasts pushing against her half lifted bra as she slowly turns her head to find me perched on her windowsill.
