CHAPTERONE
Through the small training room window, Drea and I watched Gage and Dash spar. Their blunted practice swords clanged as they went at it, not holding back.
“He still doesn’t remember his time there?” Drea asked again.
I shook my head.
It had been two weeks since Apollyon had dropped Gage in the middle of the courtyard with a note proclaiming Gage ashis. When he first returned, Gage had been confused about what had happened and where he’d been. Only over the next several days did he get flashes of his time as a hellhound in the Netherworld. It seemed that when he was in his full hellhound form he didn’t remember things or recognize his current reality. Now we had about two weeks until the next full moon when he’d be sucked into the Netherworld again and possibly never come back. Was there a word that was deeper thandepressing? Because that’s what this situation currently was.
Skye popped into view beside me and I started, which caused her to grin.
“You’re not a friendly ghost if you like scaring people,” I told her.
“Oh, Skye’s here!” Drea looked wildly around the hallway, and I pointed in the direction Skye was standing. She was wearing full battle gear, which made me nervous.
“I never claimed to be a nice ghost, and it’s hilarious when you scare like that,” Skye admitted. “You remind me of a little hamster.”
I heaved a sigh. “What’s up?” I gestured to her outfit.
She grinned. “Another training session with Aurum.”
This elicited a groan from me. I was still traumatized from the training we’d had three days ago. Aurum had dropped me from ten feet in the air with my wings bound so I would learn how to tuck and roll rather than rely on my wings for a soft landing. He and Skye were relentless.
School, sleep, train, repeat. It was endless.
“I gotta go train,” I told Drea.
She nodded, looking back at the sliver of the window in concern, and I couldn’t keep my gaze from following hers. I watched Gage deflect a blow from Dash, then a streak of black fur shot up his spine between the scars left by his ripped-out wings before retracting back into his body.
Neither of us knew what to do about the Gage thing. There’d been some grumbles among the Lumens about letting him stay at Lumen Compound, but Aurelia had quashed that argument almost before it started, stating that Gage was one of us and he wouldn’t be turned away. She’d also approved him to go on missions, but he was forbidden to use any hellhound abilities or he’d be benched.
Gage was an amazing swordsman, and his hand-to-hand combat skills were almost unbeatable, but still… I could see the stress of this last turn of events wearing on him more and more each day. Aurelia said not to give up hope that Gage’s condition could be reversed, but not even Dash—who was our resident hellhound expert—knew what to do for Gage now.
Drea reached out and squeezed my shoulder. “It will be okay.”
I gave her a small smile. It was super sweet of her to say, but neither of us believed that.
I left Lumen Academy with Skye in tow, who chatted excitedly about one of her newest conquests, a Lumen who was killed during World War I. I only half-listened to her as we crossed the courtyard and headed toward the sanctuary portal. I could almost feel the oncoming bruises and torn ligaments that awaited me. If not for my angelic healing I’d already be in a full body cast.
With a polite wave to the guards on duty at the sanctuary, we walked into the small chamber. I tried to stop the onslaught of emotions I got every time I entered this room now. Seeing the swirling white and blue portal used to give me peace, but the battle at my Ascension Ceremony, Gage’s death, Gage’s return… it was all here, creating a storm of turbulent emotions in my chest.
I shook my head and followed Skye to the portal while she did her soul magic to reroute it to where in Avalon she wanted to go.
I’d toyed with the idea of waltzing into Avalon and up to Cael and demanding to know why Gage hadn’t been given powers, but to be honest I was afraid. What if he stripped my powers too? He was a powerful archangel, and I guess I should be happy that Gage was even spared at all. Cael could have let him die. I was trying the be-grateful-to-Cael thing this week, but I would probably be back to being angry at him next week.
The portal swirled and changed colors to a pretty lavender with gold sparks, and then Skye walked through.
I sucked in a fortifying breath.
Here we go. Another afternoon of getting beaten up.
I stepped through, now barely noticing the tugging feeling at my navel the moment before my feet hit the ground.
I expected to see the meadow and the training dome, but instead there was a huge red brick building that went four stories high. Skye snapped her fingers and her battle armor was quickly replaced with a sunflower print romper.
“Gotcha!” She grinned.
“Skye, what the heck?” I looked around at the buildings and the beautiful flower bushes that graced the paved walkway.
